Meet Jaime Umphenour

We were lucky to catch up with Jaime Umphenour recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jaime, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?

Resilience is a choice. When situations happen that knock you down, we have the choice to wallow or get up and keep moving forward. For most of my life, business and personally, there has been alot of dusting off! My choice to keep getting up is deeply rooted in my faith. My faith gives me the strength each day to keep moving forward and knowing that there is always a reason for a setback, as God has a plan for my life.

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?

Home Ec Express is growing, slowly and steadily (especially after moving 3 years ago to a state where I knew no one!) My business has many parts under the umbrella. I teach a lot of private life skills classes, especially sewing and cooking. I do all kinds of alterations and custom sewing, specializing in Bridal. One of the most important parts of my business is Financial Coaching. I coach individuals, couples and small business owners to get learn how to budget, get out of debt and get their financial house in order so they can live in financial peace.

One of the biggest accomplishments of this year is the completion and publishing of my first book! It is an e-book titled, “How to Adult- Almost everything you should know before going out into the world” It was a labor of love and alot of work! In the book, I have also added many how-to videos and resources to further expand the skills and knowledge taught in the book. It is available now at www.homeecexpress.com

We are continually adding to our resources and You Tube Channel with the goal of becoming your Go-To source for all things Home Ec and Life Skills.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

My journey has been quite a long one. I believe the reason I have made it this far is due to several factors. I started learning my specialties, sewing and cooking, at a very young age- making my first ball gown by the age of 12. I fully immersed myself into the skills that I love and took every class that I could to grow my skills and knowledge. The jobs that I held all had to do with the skills I had in industries that I love. I have also never been afraid to take on a challenge and find the best solution for my clients.

I have had alot of ups and downs in life, and much has been required of me on the family front. I have never given up on goals and dreams. I have simply had to accept that I have to go about things to meet goals or the pace in which I do things.

One of the other valuable parts of my journey are the people along the way. I have had some wonderful mentors and teachers over the years. I am still friends with my high school Home Ec teacher from over 30 years ago! The impact of the various wise people who have come into my life has affected me not just in business, but personally as well. My clients are also a huge part of my success. The biggest compliments and signal that I am doing my job right is when I receive a referral! I always tell those seeking advice from me, is to always treat your customer how you would like to be treated in the same situation. Kindness and Professionalism always wins!

Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?

The biggest challenge I have right now is marketing my book and services on a bigger scale. As we know, being a solo-prenuer is a challenge within itself- serving clients, doing the bookkeeping, marketing and of course putting out all the little fires of being a small business owner. I want to share all of what I have built with the world!

I have been reading books and listening to podcasts in the specific area of marketing and implementing tips and techniques that I believe align with my business model. I have also been working on being consistent with social media posting. It can feel like a full time job!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.homeecexpress.com
• Instagram: @home.ec.express
• Facebook: @homeecexpress
• Youtube: @HomeEcExpress
• Yelp: Home Ec Express