Aaron: I see you just kicked off a mobile ice-cream trailer. And I know you’ve expanded. There’s the store plus a great event space. Were these ideas planned or more spontaneous?

Jenna: It’s a bit of both. I set goals but also trust my gut. That’s what drew me to Business Marketing in the first place. I plan, but I’m flexible. I’m always looking at things from a business angle. I’m thinking if something is going to be profitable, or how to switch things up if something isn’t working.

Aaron: And if it doesn’t work out? How do you deal with setbacks?

Jenna: There was a time I was so fearful of failure, but surrounding myself with entrepreneurs and being in the business world more gave me a new perspective.

Jenna: You hear entrepreneurs talk about how many times they failed before something was successful — it just rolls off the tongue. I realized failure is just part of the process. My husband’s an engineer, so he has a different way of thinking, but he’s also really helpful when I need a sounding board. But even my family would probably lose their mind if they gave too much thought to how business failures come with the territory. I didn’t grow up with that mentality, but now I think it’s a cool way of looking at things.

Aaron: Before you started your business, you worked for other entrepreneurs. Would you recommend learning from others first, or is it okay to dive right in?

Jenna: Honestly, I think you can go either way. I was fortunate to work for some amazing entrepreneurs and I learned a lot from them. But when I think about my three daughters, for example, I know I would champion them to start their own businesses right out of high school if that’s what they wanted.

They’ve grown up in a family where we work really hard — we have several businesses. I think they see it all as an everyday thing. As I mentioned, that wasn’t my childhood experience. So, I think for me, working with other entrepreneurs first was useful.

I also want to emphasize that the support I get from my husband and kids has allowed me to take what I learned from working with others and apply it. My family’s support has been essential.

Aaron: How old are your daughters?

Jenna: 13, 15, and 16. And right now, unless any of them change their minds, none of them want to be entrepreneurs. They all have different ideas of what they want to do, but right now none of those paths involve owning their own business. But they’re so young and who knows? I didn’t start this business until I had kids. I wanted to be a mom first. And that’s fine too.

Aaron: What does the phrase “Open Doors” mean to you?

Jenna: Open Doors represents hope, light, and opportunity. But sometimes doors close, and that’s okay too. You pivot and keep moving.

Aaron: Part of the Open Doors experience was about telling the Bean’s Ice Cream story. What do you think helped you share your business journey so clearly?

Jenna: I was so grateful for the NBCU team. Their input was invaluable. But for my part, I think it was probably my ability to stay consistent. I’ve always been a huge advocate for doing one or a few things well, instead of throwing mud on the wall and hoping something sticks.

Jenna: For us, it’s about community. Poquoson is very community-driven, and I think people crave that sense of connection, especially with all the craziness in the world.

Aaron: A big part of your story is that your daughter had food allergies. You wanted to create something where she and others like her could feel safe, right? Did that personal piece drive your decisions?

Jenna: It was definitely a factor, but not the only one. I opened a business that my family needed, and I knew the community would benefit too. The allergy-friendly aspect got a lot of attention after a news interview, and we started seeing people travel from all over just to visit us. It’s really touching when families, who have kids with allergies, go out of their way to come to Bean’s because it’s a safe space for them.

Like this family who was here the other day. The grandparents live in the outer banks of North Carolina and the kids live in Maryland. They all go out of their way to come to Bean’s because one of the children has severe allergies. Coming this way literally adds an hour or more to their trip, and they hit crazy DC traffic, but I’m so grateful for their story and I love that we can be here for them and other families and groups with similar concerns.

Aaron: Do you think female entrepreneurs have challenges that are gender specific?

Jenna: I think it’s great to be a female entrepreneur. I get to work with a ton of teenagers, and I’m able to empathize with them because I have teenagers, you know. I’m not going to be a hard person to work for if you want to take off and play your soccer season, for example. That means you might not work at all for that season, or you might work one day a week. I’m good with that because I want my girls to have that option.

When I was in high school, my junior year, I quit sports because I needed to work to pay for college. That’s just the way it was going to be, and I knew that. But I don’t want that for my kids – “my kids” that work for me or “my kids” that are my blood.

Now on the flip side, being a mom that runs her own business means I’ve missed quite a few of my kiddos sporting events. I don’t want to discount dad guilt, but I know about mom guilt, and it’s a huge thing balancing work and all the schedules of all the kids and the family and everything.

Aaron: What do you consider your greatest strength?

Jenna: I think I’m a hard worker. My dad used to say this thing when I was in high school: “You’ll do anything for money.” It’s easy to misinterpret that. He didn’t mean all I cared about was money. No, what he meant was; I didn’t turn down work. I rolled up my sleeves and it didn’t matter what they paid.

I had three jobs in high school, three jobs in college. When my kids were little, I used to work overnight unloading trucks at Target, and I had a degree. But that’s what fit into our schedule as a family for me to make money.

My dad was like that and my husband too. Both super hard workers. We’d rather do it ourselves if we can. But at some point, your value outweighs certain work, and you need to hire someone and focus on all the other things your business needs.

So being a hard worker is probably my strength, but it also may be my weakness.

Aaron: Strengths can be weaknesses. Any other major challenges?

Jenna: I’m still learning how to manage people. I could do that better. I love the kids that work for me and when I get a difficult case, I tend to give too much of myself, which I always thought was a good thing – but I’m realizing it’s not.

Aaron: Do you believe entrepreneurs go it alone? Or is collaboration and community a stronger choice?

Jenna: A little bit of both. The first couple of years, I think I put my head down in order to grow something I was proud of and that was exactly what I wanted. Now I think it’s time to start really building even more connections. I’ve started collaborating more over the years, and it has been such a joy and so much sweeter. That’s kind of on my 2025 bucket list – I try to have a goal for each year of the business and it’s very different every year. Some years it’s financial, some years it’s marketing – this year it’s a lot more social because I’ve seen so many cool partnerships, and I’m excited to move in that direction.