Meet Jesska Layne Herfst of Layne & Hugh Consulting in San Tan Valley

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jesska Layne Herfst.

Jesska, before we jump into specific questions about the organization, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
My company, Layne & Hugh Consulting recently launched an online academy called ‘Funds to Flourish’; a Comprehensive Funding Preparation Program for Female Entrepreneurs and business owners looking for money to launch or expand their ideas in the market.

Born and raised in North Phoenix, I completed my undergrad in Marketing and my Masters in Professional Counseling with three post grad degrees (two in Trauma and one in Expressive Art Therapy). After my first professional decade working as a clinical therapist specializing in trauma with unique populations (and moonlighting as a Marketing Consultant), I began to shift towards gifted clientele and practicing performance-based coaching. I was obsessed with understanding what caused a person to move from lack (poor health, difficult relationships, emotional issues, etc) to stability (no/less negative symptoms) all the way to flourishing (great health, good relationships, emotional vibrancy). I began writing my own theories, doing my own ‘research’ and even re-working Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (bold, I know). But I knew I was onto something. My interest shifted from the personal to the collective.

After a decade in the world of psychology, I ventured back in the Business realm, taking with me a big vision: to speed up cultural evolution by integrating women into the general marketplace. I believed two major premises: integration creates healing and healing allows us to evolve quickly, freely in a mutually beneficial way. The more women involved in the economy (politics, business, science, religion, art, etc.), the more integration we have as a society. It’s not about men vs women, it’s not political or feminist/anti-feminist. It’s simple logic. The question was how it in an elevated way. Enter: Funds to Flourish.

The program is now a 16 week online course that focuses on three pillars: (trauma-informed) High Performance, Business Fundamentals and Creative Financing (our financial education is our secret sauce). We offer coaching throughout and are building a community around this goal, these principles, and most importantly, on equipping women with the funds, mindset and education to truly flourish.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has been neither smooth nor a ‘road’. Picture an untouched jungle with a few old footpaths here and there. There was a lot of ‘creating our own road’ and going back and forth over it to try and ‘smooth’ it out for others to follow.

Ironically, one of the struggles was funding for ourselves. Building the program, the team, testing it out, getting the word out, all of these things cost money and time. I stretched myself thin over and over trying to pull it all off. In the end, though this was a gift because now we have a story that will resonate with most of our clients. Most of the women we will work with will experience something similar, and it’s pure gold now that we can say we’ve been there and show them how we got through. In a way, my struggles help prove the business model’s success.

Please tell us about your organization.
We help close the gap in funding for women, first and foremost. We’re providing an alternative to traditional capital, lending and business financing. Women traditionally will have a difficult time getting access to these, which is why we designed a program that focuses on creative solutions.

We want women to thrive financially, we want them to have access to the information that will help them get ahead and we want to do it with a sustainable, performance based approach.

Our ‘secret sauce’ and what makes us wonderfully unique is two-fold: One is the high performance coaching and Two is the Creative Financing education and assistance. My team trains women how to cultivate sustainable, high performance as an individual and then shows them how to structure their debt (investment, loans, capital) in a way that will protect and grow their financial success over a lifetime.

Some newcomers are intimidated by the financial piece but we’ve found that our approach creates genuine excitement and empowerment in even some of the most ‘number-shy’ individuals.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Diligence. My business is for a niche client, it’s not a universal product that will appeal to the majority of women. We’re going after a unique population; women who are ready and interested in acquiring money for a business or idea. Niche markets require specialization, patience and a lot of diligence. We have a long way to go still to accomplish all we hope to, but the key to getting this far is that I simply kept going. One small step every day creates a lot of movement over time.

Pricing:

• We now have a Membership Option for our program, which is a our most affordable offer: $99/mo

Contact Info:

• Website: https://laynehughacademy.thinkific.com/
• Phone: 6027408497
• Email: jesska@laynehugh.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fundstoflourish/

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