Jen Gotch: Co- Founder and Chief Creative Officer at Ban.do

Jen Gotch's lack of prior business experience did not stop her when she decided to create ban.do, a creative brand that sells lifestyle products such as empowering planners and colorful clothing. Her goal with ban.do is to bring a smile to people’s faces and help them become the best versions of themselves. She currently serves as the Chief Creative Officer for ban.do. Jen recently published a book called, The Upside of Being Down: How Mental Health Struggles Led to My Greatest Successes in Work and Life. We can all learn from her authenticity, mindset, and optimism. 

What was a key decision you made that helped you get to where you are today?

In college, I decided to become an optimist and to really lean into that. I was prone to negative thinking and negative talk, and I decided to let myself go to the other side. I feel like my optimism throughout all my challenges such as building a business was one of the biggest decisions I made that had the greatest impact.

If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be?

I think if I could help everyone to realize that their thoughts are not necessarily their own. I also want people to understand that fear and negative thinking is just an ingrained mechanism. It causes us a lot of pain and anxiety and makes us act out of our fear and anger. Basically, I would like to make the world more mindful because I think being able to have a different relationship with our thoughts changes everything else. 

What was the greatest challenge you came across, and how were you able to mentally challenge through it? 

The greatest challenge I came across was trying to get a proper diagnosis for my mental illness and a proper combination of medications that would help give me a stable baseline.

Growing up, what was an assumption you had about the world that ended up being incorrect?

I realized that things people said to me or how people reacted to me were actually unrelated to me. Our reactions to others are just about how we feel about ourselves and how we're feeling in general. I took that all personally, and we don't have to do that to ourselves. 

What advice would you give your younger self?

I would say to myself that your path is going to look different from a lot of other people, but that doesn't mean you're not on the right path. 

How do you cultivate a mindset to achieve your goals?

I consider myself a very resilient person, and I think that a lot of that resilience is based on the trust of myself and my abilities both in success and in failure. I think having that thought to come back to and hold onto has helped me the most. 

What was a small change you made that had a large impact on your life?

Making my bed every morning, which is something I didn't start until I was 45. It was a late-life decision, but you feel like you have accomplished something at the start of the day. Plus, at the end of the day, you get to get into a made bed. 

How do you define the word “success”?

I think the mistake in defining success is that people are using it as a comparison to how others are doing. I think success is ultimately self-approval and feeling content with where you are no matter where that may be.