Mrs. Jacobs Classroom Podcast

Mrs. Jacobs Classroom

5.0 (2)
Entrepreneurship
Weekly

High school business teacher + forever entrepreneur. Built a six-figure business, landed on QVC + TODAY, and pivoted. Now I’m sharing lessons on teaching, entrepreneurship, motherhood & building what’s next. daneyajacobs.substack.com

4d ago

Before You Sign That Lease, Listen to This

I fell in love with the idea of owning a store before I understood what it would take to make one profitable. In 2014, we opened Candy Connections on our charming small-town Main Street. The windows were colorful, customers were curious, and the register was ringing. Then the excitement settled. Sales slowed. Rent stayed the same. Taking our business to events changed everything. We discovered we could sometimes bring in a week’s worth of store revenue at a single event—and started questioning how we were building. In this episode of Mrs. Jacobs Classroom, I’m sharing the lessons we learned through our storefront, events, mall kiosk, and seasonal pop-ups: * How to position your product where customers are ready to buy. * Why you need to negotiate beyond the excitement of getting a space. * What turns foot traffic into paying customers. * How a temporary pop-up could make more sense than a year-round commitment. Before you commit to a storefront, give yourself permission to explore what else could work. 🎧 Press play for the lessons I wish I’d understood before signing our first lease. Ready to build with support? Subscribe to Mrs. Jacobs Classroom for weekly podcasts and articles or choose a paid subscription to join our After School Club for monthly live Q&As. Bring your business questions—there’s no reason to build alone! Class is dismissed. Get full access to Mrs. Jacobs Classroom at daneyajacobs.substack.com/subscribe
Oct 23

How to Leverage Your Brand Story to Land National Press

What does cotton candy have to do with landing a four-part series on NBC’s TODAY Show? More than you might think! When my husband and I started Candy Connections, we had no idea our small business would eventually capture national attention. But looking back, I believe one of our greatest assets wasn’t just our product. It was our story. In this episode of Mrs. Jacobs Classroom, I’m taking you behind the scenes of our TODAY Show experience and sharing how building a memorable brand can create opportunities beyond the sale. We’re talking about: * Why branding is so much more than a logo or pretty packaging. * How storytelling helps customers connect with your business. * Three practical ways to make your brand more memorable. * Why national exposure doesn’t always equal business success. Whether you’re building a business, growing a personal brand, or starting something completely new, this lesson is for you. Your product might get their attention. Your story gives them something to remember. 🎓 Class doesn’t end here! Subscribe to Mrs. Jacobs Classroom on Substack and join our After School Program, where we continue the conversation with practical business lessons, resources, and a community of women building something of their own. And if you missed our previous episode about ADHD, being easily distracted, and discovering the strengths in how your brain works, I’ve linked it below! Dream big. Plan small. Execute monthly. Class is dismissed! Listen to Our Previous Episode Missed our conversation about ADHD? Catch up on What If You Need a System, Not More Motivation? and explore how understanding the way your brain works can change how you approach productivity, creativity, and everyday life. Listen to the ADHD Episode on Substack Get full access to Mrs. Jacobs Classroom at daneyajacobs.substack.com/subscribe
Oct 19

What If You Need a System, Not More Discipline?

What if the reason you’re struggling to follow through isn’t a lack of ambition, but a lack of systems that actually work for you? From million-dollar ideas and last-minute deadlines to doomscrolling when there’s work to be done, I’m sharing the superpowers and kryptonite of my ADHD brain—and what more than a decade of entrepreneurship has taught me about getting out of my own way. Plus, I’ve got homework for you! In my latest article, What If You’re Not Unmotivated, Just Overstimulated? I’m exploring how our surroundings can influence our motivation and focus. Head over to read the article and grab your FREE Brain Dump & Do workbook to help you organize your thoughts, identify your priorities, and turn ideas into action. Get full access to Mrs. Jacobs Classroom at daneyajacobs.substack.com/subscribe
Oct 9

Stop Setting Yearly Goals. Start Thinking Like a CEO.

Think big. Dream bigger. Set a BHAG. But what happens after you write down that big, intimidating goal? That’s where so many of us get stuck. We have the vision boards, the notebooks, and a million ideas, but turning those big dreams into actual progress? That’s another story. In this episode of Mrs. Jacobs Classroom, we’re talking about reverse engineering your goals—not for the next five years or even the final quarter of the year, but one realistic month at a time. I’m sharing lessons from my own entrepreneurial journey and walking you through five practical steps to help you choose one priority, create a realistic 30-day action plan, manage your time, and measure progress without feeling overwhelmed. Whether you’re building a business, changing careers, working toward financial freedom, or simply trying to get your life together, this episode is for you. Because you don’t need another vision board. You need a plan you can actually execute. Ready to put today’s lesson into action? Grab my free worksheet and turn one big goal into four weeks of achievable steps. FREE DOWNLOAD: Your 30-Day CEO Planner Your homework: What’s ONE goal you’re committing to over the next 30 days? Share it in the comments. I’d love to cheer you on! Dream big. Plan small. Execute monthly. Class dismissed! — Mrs. Jacobs Get full access to Mrs. Jacobs Classroom at daneyajacobs.substack.com/subscribe
Oct 2

Keep Your Job. Build on the Side

Everyone tells you to bet on yourself. Quit the job. Go all in. Figure it out. I did that. And now that I’m building again, I’m doing things a little differently. 👀 Get into these 5 tips with me for building your business while keeping your job — including the questions I think you should answer before you make the leap. 🎙️ Keep Your Job. Build on the Side.The less glamorous, more practical way to build a business. New episode of Mrs. Jacobs Classroom is live. Class is in session. 🎧 I especially like “the questions you should answer before you make the leap” because it creates curiosity around what those questions are. Get full access to Mrs. Jacobs Classroom at daneyajacobs.substack.com/subscribe
Sep 25

What Business Owners Need to Know About AI and the Future of Work

Get full access to Mrs. Jacobs Classroom at daneyajacobs.substack.com/subscribe AI is already changing how we work, create, learn, and build, but how do we make sure we don’t lose ourselves in the process? In this episode of Mrs. Jacobs Classroom, I’m sharing my first introduction to AI, how it has become an incredibly useful tool for me as an entrepreneur with ADHD, and what I’m learning now that AI is showing up in my classroom. We…
Sep 19

How I Got My Product on QVC

What does it really take to get your product on QVC? In this episode of Mrs. Jacobs Classroom, I’m sharing five lessons I learned while taking Candy Connections from a small business to a nationally televised retail platform. We’re talking about the unexpected email that started it all, the “hurry up and wait” process, becoming camera-ready, preparing your product for major retail, and managing the financial realities that come with a big opportunity. Getting your product on television is exciting—but your business must be prepared for what happens before, during, and after the cameras turn on. Press play for the lessons I wish more product-based entrepreneurs knew. Class is in session. 🎙️ Get full access to Mrs. Jacobs Classroom at daneyajacobs.substack.com/subscribe
Sep 11

What Closing My Business Taught Me About Success

For Episode 2 of Mrs. Jacobs Classroom, I decided to do something that makes me a little uncomfortable: go completely unscripted. No notes. No carefully written outline. Just me telling a story I know better than anyone else: the story of Candy Connections. For more than a decade, my husband and I built a business that opened doors I once only dreamed about. Some of those opportunities literally started on my vision board. We grew the business, worked together as husband and wife, experienced some incredible highs, made expensive mistakes, and eventually made the difficult decision to close. For a long time, I had a very specific picture of what success in business looked like. Recognition. Big opportunities. Being able to point to something and say, Look what we built. Closing Candy Connections forced me to reconsider that definition. In this episode, I talk about how I defined success when I first became an entrepreneur, the surreal experience of watching things from my vision board actually happen, what it was really like building a company alongside my spouse, and what closing the business taught me that achieving the dream couldn’t. Most importantly, I share how I’m defining business success differently as I build again. Because maybe success isn’t simply about how big you can build something. Maybe it’s also about building something profitable, sustainable, and aligned with the life you actually want to live. Class is in session. 🎙️🍎 Get full access to Mrs. Jacobs Classroom at daneyajacobs.substack.com/subscribe
Sep 4

Starting Over at 39: From Entrepreneur to High School Teacher

Welcome to Mrs. Jacobs Classroom: Class Is in Session! After more than a decade of entrepreneurship, building a six-figure business with my husband, landing on QVC and the Today show multiple times, and learning some very expensive business lessons, I somehow ended up exactly where I belong: teaching business to high school students. But I’m still building. In this first episode of Mrs. Jacobs Classroom, I’m sharing why I finally stopped overthinking and pressed record, what you can expect from this podcast, and why I believe starting imperfectly is still starting. Around here, we’ll talk entrepreneurship, education, ADHD, AI and the future of work, marriage, motherhood, rebuilding after disappointment, and what it really looks like to keep pursuing big ideas while living a very full life. I’m also building something new—a patent-pending product that my husband and I are developing from the ground up—and I’ll be taking you behind the scenes as we figure it out in real time. Your assignment: Take one step toward the thing you keep saying you want to start. Class dismissed. 🎓 Follow Mrs. Jacobs Classroom for honest weekly stories about building businesses, rebuilding after disappointment, and becoming who you’re meant to be next. Get full access to Mrs. Jacobs Classroom at daneyajacobs.substack.com/subscribe

9 Episodes

5

out of 5

2 Ratings

High school business teacher + forever entrepreneur. Built a six-figure business, landed on QVC + TODAY, and pivoted. Now I’m sharing lessons on teaching, entrepreneurship, motherhood & building what’s next. daneyajacobs.substack.com

Creator

Mrs. Jacobs Classroom
Years Active

2026
Episodes

9
Rating

Clean
Copyright

© Mrs. Jacobs Classroom 📝
Show Website

Mrs. Jacobs Classroom Podcast