Each month, we select one of our Impact Tribe members to be our Daring Member of the Month. Jendayi, or "J", is an amazing therapist, coach, author and speaker (among other titles), who has been a role model in our community for many years now.

She's a shining example of how women entrepreneurs can expand their businesses and impact more lives by becoming an author and speaker. 

Today, Jendayi and I will be discussing:

• How she got started building her therapy practice, and then transitioned into being an author and speaker
• Her greatest wisdom for health and wellbeing
• The impact mothers have on society, and how she’s helping families across the globe

Meet Jendayi Harris

Jendayi Harris is a minister of practical advice on how to do life in Christ well. She’s a Licensed Professional Counselor (CO), Senior Productivity Consultant, Board-Certified Health Coach, and Board-Certified National Counselor. 

She believes the best thing we can do for our families and Nation is to get healthy in body, soul, and spirit.

Jendayi speaks at Fortune 500 firms and churches alike, with an affinity for coaching Christ-centered leaders to optimize their time, personality, priorities, and resources to powerfully impact the Kingdom of God.

Q: How did you get started as an entrepreneur?

After majoring in business and working in corporate America, Jendayi started her own personal discovery and healing journey from everything she’d gone through earlier in her life. Throughout her childhood, her family battled addiction, divorce, domestic violence, early death of a parent, and more that led J to later walk the path of self-discovery through her healing journey. 

J was irreversibly inspired when attending a healing event, she heard a speaker talk on deep, personal topics that she’d never heard spoken about publicly before. So after the event, she went to ask how the woman did it, and she’s been working to do something similar ever since. 

She now supports people in healing their own wounds so they can become whole and free. J is passionate about helping others overcome turmoil in their lives, just like she did in hers. 

Q: Through therapy, who do you most enjoy working with?

Though her business is multi-faceted, J is still practicing one-on-one therapy with her perfect-fit clients. She describes these clients as people who have already started “doing the work.” She can best help someone who has already started their own self-discovery and healing process, and is ready to deepen their relationships and connection with themselves, and overcome other issues they are experiencing regarding health and wellness.

She is also passionate about helping couples. As a child of divorce, she understands the deep and lasting implications it can have on a family – she states that as a child of divorced parents, you are 70% more likely to divorce your own spouse. Furthermore, as a daughter of domestic violence, divorce, issues with either or both parents, and more family struggles, you are 91% more likely to divorce your spouse. There is a lot to overcome to fully understand you are worthy of a healthy and happy relationship, and you deserve to have that! Couples counseling is one of her major specialties. 

Q: What can you share from your book, The Chubby Church, that today’s listeners might be able to take on their own healing journey?

J states, “inner transformation brings about the body revelation.” Our bodies are a symbol of who we are and what we’ve been through. She mentions looking into what she’s coined “chubology,” to understand how beauty and weight have impacted people’s lives, and how some people use weight gain as a sense of security and safety. This book explores all that and more.

For your own healing, she recommends fitting your soul, and then the skinny jeans can follow. Rather than dieting, hating on your body, or struggling to lose weight in the traditional ways, J recommends healing your soul, learning your identity, and treating yourself with love and care first. Then, and only then, can you truly get healthy, lose weight, and improve your wellbeing.

Q: Can you share more about how you started the journey from therapist to author and speaker?

From a young age, J remembers feeling called to write about her own life experiences. She was a natural speaker and presenter, and has always loved sharing information. 

When J started her practice, she also started teaching on some common topics to educate clients along the way. But, she realized that so often therapists are telling their clients the same things over and over again. In an effort to make her knowledge and information more accessible, and spend less time repeating herself, J wrote her first book. 

She shares that as long as you have the basic information and are ready to do the necessary research, you can fairly easily put together a book on what you are teaching right now! A book does take some time and effort, but it is a great way to multiply your impact and message. Not only that, but it increases clarity on what you’re describing, depth on what you’re teaching, and builds credibility for you and your business. 

Q: What have you learned along this journey that you wish you had known when you started?

The message J so powerfully shares is that you have to believe in yourself, believe it can happen. Whatever your faith is, the creator specifically created you and believes in you. To get started, you just have to believe you can and then go for it. There doesn’t have to be a lot of build-up and there are no prerequisites to getting started. 

She wishes she had known earlier that it’s not as hard as it seems, that you just have to get started and believe in yourself! 

Q: Can you tell us about your upcoming book?

J’s new book is, “How to Not Suck as a Mom" and contains an 8-step action plan to win back the heart of your adult child and find your joy. 

There is such a need right now to heal from the words of critical parents or moms. Jendayi recognizes that so many people struggle to get started on their journeys or passions because of their poor relationships they have with themselves – which is a direct product of a poor relationship with their mother or caregiver. 

She was inspired to write this book when her friend requested her presence in her dying days. J received a call from Amy's husband, who relayed that she had only wanted to see three people in her final days – J being one of them, and Amy’s mother not being invited. Though she was incredibly touched, she struggled immensely with the fact that Amy’s mom was ostracized from the last few months of her daughter’s life. She saw that Amy’s mother did not realize the extent of the damage she created in her daughter’s life, and wanted to help her and other moms be able to overcome these issues they have with their children and repair their relationships. 

Even in her own life, J has repaired her relationship with her own mother as an adult, learned exactly what needs to be done to start healing, and how it needs to be seen from both perspectives. Through her book, she represents the adult child who is struggling. She releases this book as a love offering to help change families and change the world. 

“How to Not Suck as a Mom: An 8-Step Action Plan to Win Back the Heart of Your Adult Child and Find Your Joy”  is expected to launch July 7, with pre-orders opening soon. 

Q: What does Daring mean to you?

To J, daring is to be your authentic self. Putting yourself out there when you could be criticized, but setting those thoughts aside and going out to inspire people and share your mission regardless.

Q: How can someone get in touch with you?

Whether you are looking for therapy, book writing support or health support, you can get in touch with Jendayi at this link.

If you want to join Jendayi and other amazing members in the Impact Tribe, we would love to welcome you! When you join the Impact Tribe, you get access to a library of brand-building courses, time-saving resources, an uplifting community of women entrepreneurs and so much more! Learn more and join us today at this link.