Dr. Jessica Moore-Jones is the Founder of Unleashed Coaching and Consulting, which dedicates itself to ‘the people part of the animal industry.’
Since 2017, Dr. Jess has helped vet clinics and animal shelters with their people issues – from the burnout rate of animal welfare professionals to the attrition from the veterinary industry, from helping communities do better by their pets through to helping vets stay engaged in the profession.
From humble hobby beginnings to now lecturing at vet schools, training big pharma, advising industry bodies, and supporting local governments, Unleashed is rapidly becoming a name to be remembered if you are an animal professional with people troubles.
For more details, visit their website here.
Here we sit down with Dr Jessica to know a bit more about her journey as an entrepreneur.
Q. Tell us a little more about your journey as an entrepreneur – how did you get started? What inspired you?
Dr. Jessica: I started my career as a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed veterinarian but, like many others, quickly discovered the challenges of the profession – intense workloads, emotional abuse from clients, inexperienced leaders, and the struggle to convince owners to care for their pets properly.
Driven by the desire to make a difference, I sought to improve the lives of both animals and the people working with them. After earning a few master’s degrees, I took on various roles, such as Senior Advisor to the largest Animal Management Unit in the Southern Hemisphere, Executive Manager of RSPCA WA, CEO of RSPCA Darwin, and Manager of Wildlife Health for Taronga Zoo.
During this time, I founded my passion project, Unleashed Coaching, and Consulting, which began as a side hustle to investigate the answers to pressing challenges in the veterinary industry. As I discovered hundreds of vets facing the same issues, my mission grew.
Now I find myself working in the people part of the animal industry, helping vets and their clinics foster a healthy, engaged, and sustainable veterinary profession.
Q. What entrepreneurial tricks have you discovered to keep you focused and productive in your day-to-day busy schedule?
Dr. Jessica: I believe the biggest asset in being able to succeed as an entrepreneur is the capacity to be bold. To make bold choices, say bold things.
Nicely, of course, but boldly.
No one writes history about the people who did what was already being done.
Q. How do you stay organized with such a busy schedule?
Dr. Jessica: Being the Founder of a small business requires you to do a little bit of everything, and if you’re not careful, suddenly you spend all your time working on your business rather than in it. For me, it’s important to stop and remind myself why I’m here. What am I trying to achieve?
Then all the little things return to their proper perspective, and it suddenly becomes a lot easier to outsource things. I try to do the things that ONLY I can do and give away (or let go of) the rest. People seek Unleashed out because I deliver a fresh perspective in an engaging way, not because I have a pretty website. Someone else can deal with that!
Q. What is the most memorable thing you’ve done since you started your business?
Dr. Jessica: I don’t know if I can narrow it down; I’ve done so many fun things. I think my favorite thing is working with recent graduates to help build their resilience and keep them engaged and well in the intense, stressful, crazy, varied profession that we share.
Q. What motivates you?
Dr. Jessica: I’d like for someone, one day in the future, to look at me and see that it IS possible to have it all. So it’s important to me that I can succeed at building a business in a field that people hadn’t heard of, as well as being a great mum at the same time, and doing it with as much fun, travel, and fulfillment as is possible.
If one day, just one person goes, “I want to be like that!” then I’ll be pretty satisfied that I achieved something great.
Q. What key activities would you recommend entrepreneurs invest their time in?
Dr Jessica: Deciding what things only you can do and sticking to them. Even if you’re just starting out and it’s hard to find the resources for outsourcing, start small. Being able to do the one thing that people come looking for your services for should be 90% of your time.
Q. What is your ‘one-sentence’ piece of advice you’d like to give to someone who wants to become an entrepreneur, coach, or business owner?
Dr. Jessica: Aim for progress, not perfection.
As long as things are going better than they were last month or last year, don’t sweat the rest!
Jessica Strieder: The VA and Business Coach Who Champions Women(Opens in a new browser tab)
To keep up to date with Jessica and her journey, connect with her on Facebook, and LinkedIn.