Bridging Personal and Professional Development in Teams
Janelle Reeb launched her entrepreneurial journey in March 2024. JReeb Consulting offers tailored team performance enhancement services. Through coaching, training, simulations, and problem-solving activities, Reeb helps companies to invest in their frontline leaders. In her group huddles, she promotes personal and professional development skills for the individuals while enriching the company culture, leading to increased productivity.
Reeb had no entrepreneurial experience, but she had been drawn to launching this venture since the pandemic. When she experienced a career change, she began reflecting on her passions and felt the calling to facilitate and support individuals in a group setting. Her passion lies in empowering and equipping frontline leaders through professional development, training, and team building. Her clientele includes business teams, athletic teams, family units, sororities, fraternities, clubs and organizations on campuses, and community organizations, helping them to fill the gaps in their team structures. She has provided services across the central Illinois regions, having huddle sessions in LaSalle-Peru, Woodford & Tazewell Counties, Bloomington, and now expanding to Peoria.
Reeb shares that a series of intertwining pieces has brought her to this point. Before launching JReeb Consulting, she worked as a production assistant at a landscaping company, where her skills were recognized. She spent four years developing the leadership team there. Before that, with a Master's in Educational Leadership, she taught full time, and coached Volleyball at Illinois Central College. During this time, she discovered her passion for incorporating and facilitating training that applies and continues to create essential work skills, communication, teamwork, minimizing stress, navigating conflict, and, most importantly, building trust within a team. “It’s all about trust,” Reeb said. “You can’t move into the next level of growth without trust.”
Her first step into the entrepreneurial realm began with a boot camp she participated in with Founding Females, a local female entrepreneurial empowering community. It was here that she set the intention to launch JReeb Consulting. “It is the tiny steps forward, not big leaps and bounds,” she shared. Reeb then attended a workshop on Starting Your Business in Illinois with the Illinois Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at Bradley. Here, she met Chris Youngmark, the assistant director of the SBDC at the time.
“I really had no idea where to start,” Reeb shared. “Chris helped me figure out the basics of starting a business, and he’s helped me launch my LLC.” Chris helped her navigate the logistics, legalities, insurance, and explaining what should be run by a lawyer. “All these pieces were a big obstacle that I wasn’t sure I was ready to tackle. It helps to have people who understand those things and help you along the way,” she said.
Once she began asking questions about social media and marketing her business, Chris connected her with Theresa Bloom. “Theresa knows her stuff, and she’s very encouraging. She’s given me a ton of good resources,” Reeb shared. Theresa is her official mentor, but Reeb expresses that the collective team at the Illinois SBDC is a critical player in the success of startups in the area. “You’ve got to have the right people around you,” Reeb explained. While her business is singlehandedly owned and operated, with the support of the Illinois SBDC and the local entrepreneurial community, she’s well-equipped to tackle any obstacle.
Like many entrepreneurs, Reeb faced the challenge of identifying her target market. She was faced with every entrepreneur's question: “I know my passion and skills, but who is it for, who wants it or needs it, and who can afford to buy it?” Theresa is helping her navigate who her target audience is and the best avenues to reach them. She also shares her challenge to discover being intentional about where you invest your time and energy.
Currently, she’s investing her time with the Woodford Country CEO program, where she interacts with and educates high school students about entrepreneurship and leadership. In December, she will mentor and guide one of the students through their business development processes, which they will showcase in May. “It’s very exciting to give back that way,” she shared. She’s also building new relationships within the community and partnering on workshops with the Illinois SBDC.
Reeb has already begun setting goals for J Reeb Consulting for the new year. She’s exploring new ways to expand her client base and hone her less sought-after skills to build those new development avenues. She will offer an exclusive opportunity to join a Building Stronger Teams a series of four huddles (professional development workshops) at the Morton Chamber in 2025.
