Podcast Episode: From Network Marketing to Building Empires: The Raw Truth About Reinventing Yourself with Jenn Fasano

Let me tell you about someone who’s going to completely change how you think about reinventing yourself in business. Jenn Fasano is a 48-year-old mom who built three successful companies, has 14,000 Instagram followers, and created a networking community that has literally changed hundreds of women’s lives on Long Island.

But here’s the kicker – she used to be someone who genuinely didn’t like people and had zero interest in building relationships outside her inner circle.

“My friend that I grew up with looked at me and said, ‘How are you doing this, Jen? You’re a bitch. You don’t even like people,'” Jenn told me, laughing about her transformation.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re not “naturally” suited for entrepreneurship, or you think you need to be a certain type of person to succeed in business, Jenn’s story is going to blow that limiting belief to pieces.

The Accidental Evolution: From Corporate Manager to Network Marketing Student

Jenn’s entrepreneurial journey didn’t start with some grand vision. She was always a natural leader – she became a manager at GAP when she was just 17 – but she didn’t understand what real leadership meant beyond basic management skills.

When she got into network marketing, she approached it like the good student she’d always been: “You tell me what to do and I’m going to do it. So when I was told to go out and work on your personal growth and development, I didn’t really know what that meant.”

She followed the typical network marketing playbook: wake up at 5 AM, meditate, journal five things you’re grateful for, read five pages of a book. “Half that shit didn’t work for me, but I did them because I was told to do them.”

But here’s what’s brilliant about Jenn’s approach – she kept what worked and ditched what didn’t. She discovered she loved audiobooks and podcasts. She learned organizational systems. Most importantly, she learned how to build genuine relationships with people.

“I genuinely didn’t really feel the need to get to know people that weren’t in my circle. And then when I was given this opportunity to grow a business and I saw the opportunity, the financial reward that came along with it, I understood that I could be interested in people and I could learn from people.”

The Network Marketing Advantage (And Why MLMers Have a Leg Up)

Before we go any further, let’s address the elephant in the room. Network marketing gets a bad rap, and some of it’s deserved. But here’s what most people don’t understand: the skills you develop as a network marketer are pure entrepreneurial gold.

Jenn and I both agree that our network marketing background gave us advantages that would have taken years to develop otherwise:

• Personal development as a daily practice
• Organization and systems thinking
• Relationship building and collaboration
• Leadership skills under pressure
• Understanding the balance between serving and selling

“I think for both you and I, we understood what it was to be authentically ourselves and then still be able to build and make money,” Jenn explained.

The key difference between successful network marketers and those who flame out? They stick around long enough to figure out the dance between authenticity, selling, and leadership.

“Most people are not meant for true entrepreneurship because most people want fast cash, most people want fast results. And when they don’t get them, they blame everything else other than their ability to quit something without really putting in the effort.”

The Pivot That Changed Everything: From Following to Leading

In 2019, Jenn discovered Babes in Business through a friend in New Jersey. She’d been attending traditional networking events – “eating egg omelets with men in business suits and women with open-toe white shoes and pantyhose” at 7 AM in diners – and getting nowhere.

But when her friend described these female-driven events that were fun, at night, with drinks, and always looked pretty, Jenn had an instant realization: “Holy shit, Long Island needs this.”

Her first event in November 2019 was a massive success. Then came March 13, 2020 – her second event – and the world shut down two days later.

Instead of giving up, Jenn did something brilliant. She went live every single day with a different female business owner from her community. “No matter what the situation, if my hair was in a ponytail on the side of my head, my kids were screaming on the side of me, I got on and I went live.”

The momentum exploded. When she finally got back to in-person events, she started with 30 people in her backyard (and it poured, so everyone ended up in her house). Today, Babes in Business Long Island has over 100 members locally and is part of a national network with hundreds of members across the US.

The Real Magic: Creating Connections That Change Lives

What sets Jenn apart isn’t just that she built a successful networking community – it’s the transformations she’s facilitated for other women.

Her favorite example: Two women who both owned backdrop companies met at a Babes in Business event when Jenn asked them to collaborate on a project. “That was a year and a half ago. They now have two successful event design businesses together and they’re booked out a year and a half in advance.”

Another member, Nicole, came as a friend just to shop and have drinks. Today, she’s having multiple six-figure months with the business she created after seeing what was possible at that first event.

“Those are the stories that I tell forever and ever and ever that keep me so inspired and keep me doing what I’m doing.”

The Three-Business Empire Built on One Foundation

Today, Jenn runs three companies:

1. Babes in Business Long Island – The networking community that started it all

2. Jenn Fasano Consulting – Where she helps female entrepreneurs “get through the junk and figure out what matters the most to them and then achieve the things that they want to achieve”

3. Interflow – A white-labeled CRM she created with two partners to help entrepreneurs streamline their operations

The consulting business came naturally from all the “How do I?” questions she was getting. But Jenn’s clear about her approach: “I’m not a coach. I don’t want to be a coach. The consulting piece really fits and aligns with me because we get straight to business.”

The CRM business is strategically brilliant – it’s a Software as a Service (SaaS) model that creates recurring revenue and deep customer relationships since switching platforms is such a heavy lift.

The Motherhood Reality: Building an Empire While Raising Humans

Let’s be real about what building multiple businesses as a mother actually looks like. Jenn has two daughters who were infants and toddlers when she started this journey.

“I put my head on the pillow at night and I’m like, holy shit, I did a lot of things today. If you look at my calendar, it makes most people’s heads spin.”

But she doesn’t just survive the chaos – she thrives in it. “The chaos is what keeps me going and my mission and the idea of what I want to build for my kids.”

Her why has evolved from wanting to afford manicures and pedicures to something much deeper: “Leaving a legacy for my children is really important to me. Every decision I make in business is about what I’m leaving for my kids.”

She wants to teach her daughters that “you can be and do anything that you want to be and do in this world. That you can be strong and soft at the same time.” And she’s building something foundational they can step into if they choose to.

The Biggest Lesson: Not Everyone Will Like You (And That’s Okay)

One of the most powerful shifts in Jenn’s journey has been learning to be unapologetic about her direction.

“I’m 48 years old, soon to be 49, on the cusp of 50 years old. I’ve been around a long time and in years past, I always cared a lot and worried a lot that people liked me.”

Now? “I’m becoming a lot more unapologetic about my direction and what I’m doing because I know that I know that I know that in my heart, I’m good and everything I do is in service of my community.”

This shift didn’t happen overnight. It came from what she calls “keeping promises to yourself over and over and over again.” When you build that track record of following through on your commitments to yourself, you develop unshakeable self-confidence.

“Not everyone is gonna love the Babes in Business community. Not everyone is gonna love the end result when they have a conversation with me about consulting. And it’s okay. I’ll love you from afar and I’ll continue building exactly what I’m building.”

The 99% Rule: Why Application Beats Education Every Time

When I asked Jenn what percentage of business success is education versus application, her answer was stunning: “99% is the constant education… but I mean constant application.”

“You have to every single day go to work for the things that you need to apply into your business and learn every single day because the world’s constantly evolving and changing.”

She uses a perfect analogy: “How do you train a dog? It’s sit, sit, sit, sit, sit, sit, sit until the dog actually sits. You can’t tell a dog sit one time and they’re gonna learn how to sit. You have to do it over and over and over.”

The key is coupling that repetition with flexibility: “When things don’t work, it’s okay to pivot and evolve and change and try new things and not get stuck in this little bubble of fear of change.”

The Foundation She Wishes She’d Built Sooner

Jenn’s biggest business mistake? Not understanding the dollars and cents from the beginning.

“I winged it all the time. The money comes in, the money goes out. The money comes in, the money goes out.” She’d make money, spend money, then go to her accountant who’d suggest basic things like setting up a business bank account.

“Not understanding that you need a team and that you need someone – you need a lawyer, you need a bookkeeper, you need a foundation, you need people that help support.”

With her newest business, Interflow, she did it right: “We built the foundation first, and then now we’re building out the business.”

Her advice: “Build a foundation for yourself. Understand some basic legalities around your business. Understand that you need to know your dollars and cents and hire the right people that are going to help support your growth.”

The Anti-Social Media Strategy That Actually Works

Here’s something that might surprise you: despite having 14,000 Instagram followers, Jenn’s success isn’t built on social media alone.

“You can’t just post and pray. Get out there and put yourself in rooms of people that are gonna support your education, that are gonna support your growth.”

Her breakfast clubs cost $32 and give you “two hours of pure greatness sitting in a room with people that can lend support to you and collaborate with you.”

She’s not anti-social media, but she’s pro-real relationships: “Don’t be afraid to collaborate. Don’t be afraid to barter. Have those conversations, but put yourself in the room and get yourself out there in the real world. Don’t sit behind your computer.”

The Bottom Line

Jenn’s story destroys every excuse about why you can’t reinvent yourself:

• “I’m not naturally good with people” → She learned relationship skills
• “I don’t know enough about business” → She applied what she learned daily
• “I’m too busy as a mom” → She built around her family priorities
• “I don’t have the foundation in place” → She built it as she grew
• “People might not like me” → She learned to be okay with that

The real secret to Jenn’s success? She stopped trying to be someone else and started being unapologetically herself, while never stopping the work of growing and learning.

She went from someone who “genuinely didn’t like people” to someone who has created a community that transforms lives. Not because she became a different person, but because she learned to channel who she already was in service of something bigger.

As she puts it: “I’m doing it on my terms and I’m not apologizing for it.”

If a self-described bitch who didn’t like people can build three businesses and change hundreds of lives, what’s your excuse?

Stop hiding behind your perceived limitations. Start building something that matters. And remember – you don’t have to like everyone, but you do have to show up authentically and consistently.

The world needs what you have to offer, even if you can’t see it yet.

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Ready to dive deeper into building your digital empire? Subscribe to Beyond the BS and follow me on Instagram @the_no_bs_newyorker. Connect with Jenn here. Website: www.jennfasano.com. Instagram: @babesinbusinesslongisland

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