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Jessica Santana is a business and leadership coach for entrepreneurs and executives. She specializes in teaching founders, entrepreneurs and executives how to build strong businesses, careers and lives they love.
Behind The Work is the podcast show for ambitious executives and entrepreneurs looking to build businesses that scale and careers that leave an impact. Hosted by Jessica Santana, each episode features in-depth conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and executives who are building companies from the ground up and are succeeding in their career fields. Discover the real successes, honest failures, pivots, and the vision behind the most successful people reshaping industries.
Some episodes, we’ll sit down with some dope guests and hear about their journeys. Other times, it’ll just be us—breaking down the lessons, strategies, and real talk that I have learned as an entrepreneur and executive – It will be everything you need to keep pushing forward and you’ll always walk away with something tangible and practical.
This show will provide answers to questions like:
- What does the real journey from zero to success actually look like—beyond the highlight reel?
- How do I turn my business idea into a profitable, scalable company?
- How do successful founders navigate failure, pivots, and setbacks without giving up?
- What's the difference between entrepreneurs who scale to millions and those who stall?
- How do you secure funding, and what should you know before approaching investors?
- What does it actually take to build product-market fit?
- How do you build a high-performing team and company culture from the ground up?
- What blind spots do first-time entrepreneurs have, and how do you avoid them?
- How do you balance growth with profitability and sustainability?
- What's the real behind-the-scenes strategy that successful founders use?
- How do you stay motivated and resilient through the tough seasons of building?
- What's the path to building a company that can scale beyond you?
- How do you know when to double down on your vision versus pivot?
- What does leadership actually look like when you're building something from scratch?
- How do the most successful entrepreneurs think differently about risk, money, and opportunity?
You can't half step your way into greatness. You really gotta be all in on yourself. Because the reality is that if you don't take yourself seriously, who else will? Hey, everyone. Jessica Santana, host of Behind The Work, and I wanna thank each and every one of you who has been tapped in and tuned in since the launch of this show in 2025.
Jessica Santana:I've been so excited about the progress that we're making. And I know a lot of that has to do with the community that taps in and tunes in via YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify every single week. I don't take it lightly that you can be spending your time anywhere and yet you're choosing to spend your time with me. So I decided that it would be a good idea now that we're over a year into the show to recap some of the most important lessons that we've learned together on this journey. The lessons that we've learned together has a lot to do with the mindset and the behaviors that ambitious people need to have in order to make sure that they stay the course on their dreams.
Jessica Santana:So without further ado on today's episode, we are going to be exploring 10 lessons, 10 whole lessons on what we can be doing every single day to show up as the best and highest version of ourselves. So I hope that you find this episode incredibly, incredibly, incredibly helpful and make sure that you tap in, you subscribe on YouTube, you subscribe on Apple Podcasts and on Spotify, and that you follow us on social media. I hope to see you all soon and enjoy today's episode. Lesson one, don't wait for the right time. You really just gotta start.
Jessica Santana:So many of my guests talked about launching projects, businesses, or careers without having every detail figured out. And honestly, that's how most of us begin. I think a lot of us delay starting because we want to feel ready, but readiness is a myth. You become ready through action. The clarity comes after the leap and not before.
Jessica Santana:And I want you to remember this. Progress is always better than perfection. You'll learn more by doing than you'll ever learn by sitting on an idea, waiting for everything to align. So if you've been sitting on something, this is your nudge. Just start.
Jessica Santana:I waited a long time to start behind the work because of my own fears because I was waiting for the right time because I couldn't see how I was going to make the time to manage the show and then also manage, you know, my businesses and then eventually, I was like, you know what? Jessica, if this is important to you, you will find a way and whatever is not for you, you won't you will either miss it. Well, whatever is not for you, you will miss it. Whatever is for you, you won't miss it. And I just want you all know that that you don't have to ask for permission, you know, from the world to get started on your dreams.
Jessica Santana:Lesson two, you gotta take big bets on yourself. If there's one pattern I saw over and over again in the guests that I highlighted this season, it was that people took wild courageous bets on themselves, and that means investing in an idea that no one understands yet. It means quitting the job. It means launching the thing, saying yes to things that are scary, saying yes to exciting opportunities because playing is safe might feel more secure but in the long term, you lose time, you lose momentum, and you even lose self trust and every guest I had this season said that they were the best investments that they can make in themselves. So, take the risk because you really are worth it And remember that you never ever lose.
Jessica Santana:You either win or you learn. Lesson number three. Doing business with friends is a flex. We've all heard people say and never do business with friends. But this season, we challenge that.
Jessica Santana:Because doing business with people you love, trust, and believe in, that's a blessing. It's a flex and it's part of the legacy that we build. That doesn't mean it's easy and you still need to obviously structure your boundaries and contracts and real communication. But when it's rooted in respect and shared vision, it creates magic. So don't let fear or outdated rules block you from collaborating with your circle.
Jessica Santana:Just move smart and honor the relationship as much as you honor the work. Lesson four, putting God at the center of your business is the key to entrepreneurial success. If I'll say it plainly, your business can't go further than your faith. When God is the CEO, the decisions hit different. The strategy feels more aligned.
Jessica Santana:The vision is bigger than you. So many guests this season said, I didn't know this was going to work but I felt called to it and that is what I call alignment. That is what alignment sounds like. For me, I've learned that every time I move without god, I end up doing double the work and getting half the peace. Put your vision in the divine hands.
Jessica Santana:It won't make things easier, but it will make them clearer. Lesson five, rest is powerful for the mind, body, and spirit. This world will have you believing that rest is weakness, that hustle is the only path to success. But if your mind is foggy and your spirit is heavy and your body is exhausted, what are you really building? Rest isn't a break from the work.
Jessica Santana:Rest is the work. It's in rest that we recover. It's in stillness that clarity comes and if you don't make rest a priority, your body will eventually force you to. You know, this season reminded me that rest isn't lazy. It's about prioritizing leadership.
Jessica Santana:Lesson six, building something from scratch takes years. We're so conditioned to expect quick wins, but every guest who built something meaningful, they took years, years of trial and error, years of nos before the yes, years of questioning, pivoting, learning, and I think we need to normalize that because sometimes we internalize the slow pace and think what we're falling behind when we're actually just planting roots. So don't compare your year one to someone's year 10. You gotta trust your timeline and build something that can stand the test of time and not just align with current trends. Lesson seven, playing about yourself is not an option.
Jessica Santana:This one is personal. Too many of us shrink because we're afraid of being too much. We dim our light. We play small to make others comfortable, But the work you're being called to do, it requires the full volume of you. You can't half step your way into greatness.
Jessica Santana:You really gotta be all in on yourself. Because the reality is that if you don't take yourself seriously, who else will? There's power in reinvention. Sometimes the version of you that got here can't take you there. Reinvention isn't about failure.
Jessica Santana:It's about alignment. Growth is going to require you to evolve, and that might look like changing your mind, ending a chapter, starting fresh. And to be honest with you, some of the most powerful episodes this season were about people choosing to become new versions of themselves boldly and loudly. Don't let fear of what people will say keep you stuck in an outdated version of you. You have to reinvent.
Jessica Santana:You have to reclaim, and you do have to repeat as needed. Pivoting is not a failure. We've been taught that changing directions means you messed up. And that's a lie. Because pivoting is wisdom.
Jessica Santana:It means you've learned something and you're acting on that knowledge. And so if something no longer aligns, you have to move. You have to let it go. You have to try something new. The most successful people I know pivot often and they pivot boldly.
Jessica Santana:The bonus lesson of this season is you gotta love yourself at your lowest. It's easy to be proud of yourself when things are going well. But what about when you're unsure and you're broken and you're rejected and you're lost? That's when it all really matters. This season showed me how important it is to honor yourself and the in in the in between.
Jessica Santana:To look at yourself even when it's messy and to say I still got me. That's a flex that nobody can take from you. And remember, keep being you and remember that you are the person that you've been waiting for. Thanks for tuning in.