Let me take you back in time, 13 years ago.
I had this idea, a little consulting company called Plucky, that I could do two days per week (which needed to cover Brooklyn daycare for our first baby and bring in Real Income within 6 months or so…). I really loved where I worked but I had outgrown the role and, honestly, before we had a mortgage or more kids or pets or a car or WHATEVER, I wanted to fuck around and find out. I wanted to see if this idea had legs.
Look how cute I was with my new haircut and website wireframed on a whiteboard:
And we all know how that went. Consultant turned coach! Coach turned Manager Trainer! Manager Trainer turned Product Maker! Product Maker turned Day of Big Dreamer! Finally, author.
Thirteen years in, this sweet Plucky ride keeps getting better and better.
Over the past year, I’ve heard the same phrase many times over. It’s often muttered bashfully out of a woman’s mouth. She says:
“So, I have this idea…”
And then these women casually unleash these wild ideas on me. “I want,” they say, “to make jewelry / become a death doula / turn my apartment into an AirBnb while I spend a year interviewing my family in Hong Kong / start a podcast / organize a conference for short story writers / groom local dogs / bake cupcakes and sell them on HotPlate / resell thrift store finds / get certified to teach the fitness class that I love attending.”
I MEAN, AD NAUSEAM. And I’m like girl, DO IT. Freaking do it.
I can’t tell you how many of my girlfriends have side projects, some paid and some not, but all completely under their creative control. In a world that’s continually removing women’s authority by the day, I say build your own queendom.
I’ll help.
To celebrate 13 years of Pluck, I’m going to host a coach-a-thon next week, Wednesday, September 16. This day is full of FREE 25-minute quick coaching sessions for ladies with ideas… you should grab one of the spots if:
– You’re a lady.
– You have an idea that does NOT need to replace your full-time job (time or income-wise).
– You’re beyond ready for the final push towards action.
If this sounds like you, grab a spot here.
Speaking of ideas…
Recently, a friend had sad news: her husband’s cancer is back. The next few months will be stressful (to say the least) and she’ll spend hours driving him to/from appointments and treatments. I wondered: what would help?
Then I had an idea. What if I picked 30 inspirational quotes and wrote them on small cards and put the cards in envelopes and fit them all in an old tea tin? What if I called them Pluck-Ups and she could grab one anytime she was at the end of her rope?
So I made one for her. She was touched and now texts to tell me when she picks one from the box… and, you see where this is going, I wondered: wait, don’t OTHER people need to be plucked-up, too?
If you want to know what I did during my month off, it’s this: I traveled, I redecorated my office, I bought a bunch of plants and I wrote hundreds of inspirational quotes by hand. I’m happy to put a bunch of these little boxes up for sale today… all proceeds go to the American Brain Tumor Association because science is the only way we’re gonna solve this heartbreaking stuff.
Book Tour Fall Dates!
Upcoming book tour dates, including a West Coast week in November:
Event: Crozet Book Fest (Author Marketplace)
Date: Saturday, October 24, 2026
Location: Crozet, VA
Event: Portland, OR Reading & Signing (moderated by Lisa Congdon!)
Date: Tuesday, November 10 at 6pm
Location: It’s Just a Feeling, Portland, OR
Event: Grieftastic Book Fair
Date: Friday, November 13
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Event: Flying South Literary Series
Date: Wednesday, December 9, 7:30pm
Location: Richmond, VA
Haven’t yet picked up a copy of I Believe in Everything? Grab one wherever you get books…
In recent weeks, we lost Dolly Parton and Gloria Steinem, two women whose ideas did not stay in their heads. Between them, they launched SO much good shit into this world.
I am so sad to have lost them and – AND! – I see that they serve as templates for the kind of impact one person can have. It feels full-circle to both celebrate 13 years of Plucky while dreaming up what the upcoming years have in store and, after a month off, I’m rested, creative, ambitious and hungry.
Or, you might simply say, I’m feeling plucky.
xo Jen
P.S. Behind-the-scenes of living the latest dream!
Want to subscribe to Plucky’s monthly newsletter? Give us your deets here: www.beplucky.com/newsletter.