RTDM: Jennifer Turnage
Jennifer Turnage
Cofounder & CEO at myBeeHyve
Wilmington, NC
We want to get to know you! Briefly tell us about yourself: Where you came from, where you've been and how you're living your dream?
I’m proud to be a North Carolina native, and grew up working in my family's business in Winston-Salem. After beginning my professional career with PricewaterhouseCoopers, I served as the CFO of eight investor-backed startups with five successful exits, and was a finalist for the Triangle Business Journal's CFO of the Year Award. My first entrepreneurial venture, the fractional professional services firm TechCXO RTP, was recognized in the 2013 TBJ's Women in Business award. In my current role as Co-founder and CEO of myBeeHyve, I was selected for an NC IDEA SEED grant of $50k and the NC IDEA SOAR program for female entrepreneurs, and was a nominee for the Cape Fear Region YWCA Women on Achievement Award. I’m passionate about helping women achieve financial independence through entrepreneurship. I enjoy a coastal lifestyle in Wilmington, NC with my husband Carl and retired racing greyhound named Snickers. I’m proud of my son who recently graduated from Savannah College of Art and Design, and my daughter who recently completed an exciting Disney College Intern program in Orlando and transferred to UNC-Wilmington.
How do you define success?
Success is living a life of design and intention.
What did it take to make your dream happen and when did you know you had arrived?
When people began asking for my advice, I realized I had achieved a level of success. I’ve always had very clear goals along with an open mind about how to achieve those goals. Success often comes through recognizing and acting on opportunities and taking risk. Take action, learn from mistakes and course correct quickly. Celebrate when you achieve your goals, whether big or small.
What are you most proud of? Go ahead, boast a little!
I’m most proud of achieving a level of financial independence that provides the freedom that comes from living without debt. My skills and experience allowed me to balance my time as a divorced working mother with my need to support my family. I’m proud to have provided a debt free education to my children, passing along the same gift my parents gave to me.
What was your biggest obstacle/fear and what was your turning point?
I struggled to overcome a fear of visibility. Many of the messages I received growing up as a petite woman in the South combined with a fear of rejection to keep me playing small and waiting for someone to recognize me. I thought that being a good girl and doing what was expected of me was enough. And it was...for a while. Then I lost my job in the same month my divorce was final, after over 10 years of dedication to one company. That was my wake-up call to face the fact that if it is meant to be, it is up to me.
What’s the best advice you’d give to a younger you?
Stop waiting for permission to be asked and start making things happen yourself.
How do you stay motivated and purposeful when you feel overwhelmed?
My mind is always running a mile a minute generating new ideas and lists of things to do. Staying organized and compartmentalizing my day into time blocks helps to reduce feelings of overwhelm. I’ve learned to focus on only one priority for each day, and to seek guidance on that priority through journaling and meditation.
Tell us a time when a perceived failure was actually a blessing in disguise or served you in a surprising way.
When I lost my job in 2008, it felt like the biggest professional failure in my life. Looking back 10 years later, I realize it was a gift and blessing. I don’t think I would have had the confidence to leave a highly paid corporate job with benefits for the uncertainty of entrepreneurship had I not been pushed. Now I can’t imagine how dark my life might had become if I continued to invest in an environment where I was not valued and able to contribute as my best self.
What is your favorite vice/guilty pleasure/strange habit? Come on now, we all have them!
I’m absolutely obsessed with reading historical fiction.
What's the smartest investment you’ve made for yourself?
Coaching!!!! I’ve had the benefit of working with several executive and leadership coaches over the years. My coaches guided (and are still guiding) my awareness of my talents, confidence and highest contribution to the world, and provide the accountability to take action. This support helps me convert ideas in my head into actions in real life, which is where the impact happens.
What’s MOST important to you right now?
The most important thing to me right now is to use time intentionally and powerfully.
Share 1-2 books you've given as gifts:
Last Christmas, I gave several copies of “American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America” to family and friends. My go-to graduation gift is “Oh, the Places You'll Go!” by Dr. Suess.
What have you learned to say no to?
I’m still learning to say no when I really mean no, and to trust my intuition. I’m most protective of my time, and saying no to evening and weekend business events that take time away from my family and friends.
What's something most people would never guess about you?
Only people that know me well realize it’s not a good thing when I’m really quiet. It’s the calm before the storm.
The Risk Taker Dream Maker(s) who inspire you?
Charisse Hart, CEO at YWCA Lower Cape Fear
Lauren Henderson, CFO of Castlebranch and President and tekMountain
Suzanne Miglucci, President & CEO of Charles & Colvard
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