We recently connected with Jennifer Birn and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Jennifer, so great to have you on the platform. There’s so much we want to ask you, but let’s start with the topic of self-care. Do you do anything for self-care and if so, do you think it’s had a meaningful impact on your effectiveness?
My morning routine, getting 8 hours sleep/night, exercising 4-6 days/week, eating nutritious food and taking time for my family each day are all imperative to my self-care and help me to achieve optimal performance and productivity during my days.
After 8 hours sleep, my morning routine is:
-Make the bed
-Drink 16oz of water
-Got outside with the dogs and breathe in the fresh morning air
-Splash my face with freezing cold water and then apply Herbivore oil and moisturizer with sunscreen
-Stretch
-Morning Pages Journal (gratitude journal that has morphed into a morning brain dump)
-Play with the dogs for a few minutes.
-Make a cup of coffee and go to the (home) office…
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I’m fortunate to do a few things I love simultaneously. I’ve come back to being a (somewhat) full-time journalist as Editor of Austin Lifestyle Magazine and I’m grateful for the platform to share stories of incredible people, places and things in a city I’ve quickly grown to love and call home, in addition to the opportunity to do some really fun cover shoots alongside some really talented people here.
I also own Birn Communications, a marketing, PR, booking and communications company I started in 2012. Here I pull from a toolbox of talent, media and brand relationships to execute on client goals. Some clients currently on my roster I’m excited about are:
The Statesman: an elevated supper club and cocktail lounge opening in Austin January 2024
Abbot’s Butcher: A plant-based meat alternative that’s real food, no fillers and really good. https://abbotsbutcher.com/
estilo boutique, estilo men and estlo kids: retail stores owned by brilliant Austin entrepreneur Stephanie Coultress O’Neill who merchandises a huge inventory of amazing pieces – that are also all available at estiloboutique.com
Brian Johnson: Author of a new book called Arete: Activate Your Heroic Potential that summarizes hundreds of books I’ve been wanting to read – and is filled with knowledge that at the least is a great way to start a new year, and at best can have a profound impact on a person’s life. He also owns a self-development platform called Heroic and is a well of inspiration and positivity. https://www.heroic.us/
Bathroom Chronicles: I help book and produce a podcast co-hosted by Kimberly Van Der Beek and Peggy Rometo that gives a microphone to conversations people are often apphrensive to have in public. @bathrooomchroniclespodcast on Instagram.
And through the April 2024 eclipse I’m spreading the joy of sustainable and stylish protective eyewear working with HALO Eclipse Spectacles, a female-owned company Liya Brook started to sell solar-safe eclipse glasses and now has a hero item that comes with multiple lenses: solar eclipse lenses + blue light blocker lenses and polarized lenses to use the frames as traditional sunglasses. https://haloeclipse.com/
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Three qualities/skills I think have been impactful in my journey I encourage my interns to nurture are:
-Networking and relationships – like Porter Gale’s book title, “You Network is Your Networth.” Be kind to everyone you meet. This should go without saying in life in general but applies to work because industries are small and you don’t want to burn bridges. I’m really proud of all of my former interns – and have pitched more than one when they went on to became editors and writers at big national media outlets.
-Tenacity – I was called tenacious relatively early in my career by both Richard Branson and former NBC president Ben Silverman. I still am. If you have a goal, harness the naivety of a child, believe you can achieve it and then go out and do it.
-Enjoy the journey – I decided while still in college to not pursue anything if I didn’t enjoy the path to get there, to never sacrifice my happiness in the present for the future. That’s not to say don’t put in the work and every day is sunshine and rainbows, but if you don’t like studying for the LSAT, (like I didn’t when I tried during the pandemic), you probably won’t like law school…or being a lawyer.
What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?
Time. I generally have a vision for how I’d like things done, both at the magazine and my marketing/PR company and I struggle with delegating. I’m working to resolve this by finally hiring someone full-time (where I’ve generally relied on only an assistant and/or intern).
Contact Info:
- Website: https://jenbirn.com/
- Instagram: @Simplyjen22
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferbirn/
