Meet Janna Markir of Raleigh/Cary

Today we’d like to introduce you to Janna Markir

Hi Janna, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
12 Years ago, I was a college drop out – a receptionist making $12.50 an hour working at an IT Consulting firm in Downers Grove, IL. After a few years of partying with my friends, a now mentor of mine, helped me land a job as an Administrative Assistant in construction project management at a local hospital that changed my life forever. I would continue from that role to climb the corporate ladder, go back to school full time at night, earn my Bachelors degree in Business Administration, and transitioned over to the technology/software industry. After a few years in tech, I started working with my Vice President on a career development plan to prepare me for promotion into a “Director, Project Management Office” position. Shortly thereafter, she was let go and the role I had been working towards since Day 1 was given to a friend of a sales associate. Soon after, I would get let go entirely and then move onto another tech startup where I was able to hit the ground running and was promoted into my DREAM Leadership role within 5 months, where I was fully immersed, well-paid, and I was totally obsessed. I gladly rearranged my whole life for that job and worked 60 hours a week because it allowed me to step into my greatest potential thus far and I loved the company’s product; I really believed in the CEO’s vision. Then 5 months later, I got laid off again.

Only that next time, I realized how burned out I was – I couldn’t even read LinkedIn job posts without tears welling in my eyes and getting a splitting headache. Heartbroken, jaded, and bitter, I decided I wouldn’t go back to a corporate role again until I had built something for myself and had some leverage and a life outside of work. I took my severance check, drained my life savings and I got to work on building a dog training business and personal brand using my smartphone and an Instagram account.

That was almost two years ago; I was laid off in March 2023. Today, I’m a fractional leader in technology startups and boutique consulting firms, focused on driving business transformations and directing Marketing, Sales, Operations, and Professional Services. I also coach women all over the world on life, business, trauma and energy healing, and rehabilitating reactive, aggressive, and highly anxious dogs into calm, well-behaved pets.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has *not* been a smooth road. The most challenging aspect has been becoming the version of me who can sustain the level of success I have today, while also finding balance. When you’re first starting out as an entrepreneur, it’s hard to define success; for some it’s a certain number of dollars, for others it might be a feeling of freedom to have work/life balance, and for a while I struggled to know what I desired or truly aspired for. Now I have more clarity on my goals.

For me, success looks like making a living by doing things I love and I’m really good at, taking care of my mind/body/soul, and building wealth so I can invest back into my community. One day, I’d like to get involved with mentoring the youth but right now, success means building a diversified income portfolio by monetizing all my most profitable skills, talents, and gifts, and living within my means so I can achieve financial freedom, be engaged in my community, and experience joy in my life. That might be vague to a reader but it’s extremely specific for me, and that’s what matters.

When you’re living off a business as you build it, it’s easy to feel like you have “nothing to show” for your hard work. The only evidence I’ve had at times is social media vanity metrics, sales analytics, and client testimonials; there is nothing opulent about the early years of your business unless you come from money (which I do not). There still many days where the only proof I have of success is the roof I have kept over my head, my car payment, the food I have in my fridge, and being able to feed my two dogs a high-quality kibble with fresh & raw toppers plus a daily probiotic powder (bougie pups). Perhaps it’s not a coincidence that this interview is occurring at the same time that I am intentionally downsizing my apartment so I can strengthen myself financially without sacrificing my dreams. I am literally taking a break from packing as we speak. I am learning to not just be grateful for the life I am providing for myself as an entrepreneur but also immensely proud of myself, while giving myself grace on the days where I struggle with comparing myself to other entrepreneur/lifestyle influencers. Everyone on the internet seems to have it all figured it out; they have more money, and are farther along in business (or maybe they aren’t but they are really good at faking it) and knowing what matters to you or what you are working towards helps keep it in perspective. Having the discernment to look online for inspiration without comparison and understanding how to be present, grateful, and proud of each step along the journey is critical to keeping a positive mindset.

Along with self-validation, re-parenting myself into being disciplined and accountable has been another massive hurdle. I grew up in a ‘tough love’ environment and while I respond well to shame and fear, lately I am learning to flourish with empathy and compassion. I think many new entrepreneurs can relate to being overwhelmed, but learning how to stop procrastinating, eliminate distractions, and manage time, while also taking care of my physical and mental health, while taking care of my personal life and basic adult responsibilities/duties is a special type of hell that no one prepares you for. There’s no class in business school called “How to BE an Entrepreneur”. There’s not enough hours in a day and there’s always too much to get done. Figuring out how to leverage my masculine, feminine, and neutral energy, in addition to routine, structure, and boundaries has been paramount to my success so far. 2 years ago I spent all my time obsessing over my content, my sales and performance metrics, and marketing strategies, now I am focused on those things but I also spend ample time reading, praying, doing breathwork, lifting in the gym, hanging out in nature, spending time with close friends, and reflecting.

The last major challenge has been re-establishing my relationship with social media apps! Learning the intricacies of how to post content on social media to reach new audiences, capture and hold people’s attention, build trust, and sell authentically has dramatically influenced the way I consume content on apps nowadays. It took me the better part of the last two years to stop consuming content like a “consumer” but now I consume content with intention and mindfulness so I don’t lose hours of my life to doom scrolling through organic marketing campaigns from influencers, brands, and service providers. In 2025+, using social media is mandatory for entrepreneurs to build relevancy! Since I cannot actually separate myself entirely from apps, dopamine-detox style, reshaping my relationship with apps has been crucial to gaining momentum in my business and being able to sustain an entrepreneurial lifestyle. I use the apps to post first, engage with my audience second, and doom scroll last. It’s not always perfect and I still have my binge doom scroll days where I might as well crawl into a cave with my phone; but they are much fewer and farther between lately.

I said it on my Instagram stories lately, “the version of you who will build an empire isn’t the same version of you who will start your business, but you are the same person and I think that’s really beautiful.” Although the struggle of becoming the version of me who can carry and hold massive amounts of success has been heavy and filled with sacrifice, it’s shown me how capable and strong I really am, and given me clarity on the impact I have on the world around me.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
For the last two years I have focused on helping dog moms stop their dogs difficult, reactive, aggressive, and anxious behavior so they can start to love life with their dog after having wasted thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours on rewards-based dog trainers and membership pages before figuring out exactly what works to rehabilitate my personal dog Savannah, who is now my primary Service Dog for medical alerting. R,.E.S.T.™ is my proprietary, proven, and holistic approach to dog training based in Dog Psychology and Pack Leadership using balanced communication. It has helped every dog mom achieve relief and significant improvement in their dog’s behavior and mindset starting in the first three weeks, including dog moms who have worked with up to 4 dog trainers prior to starting.

There are no quick fixes, tips, or tricks to stopping difficult behavior or mental health issues with your dog, but it also doesn’t make more than 4-6 months of consistent work to see long-lasting results for most dogs! So far, there has not been a single dog and owner to complete my program that has NOT had incredible improvement in their behavior and mindset.

The reason it works is because I show dog moms exactly how to live with dogs behind the scenes in a way that aligns with a dog’s most natural, wild instincts as a pack animal. When owners are thinking, “speaking”, and acting like a balanced pack leader, dogs start perceiving their humans as parents/leaders who they can respect, trust, and love/be loyal to because they feel safe and secure in their pack. Often once a dog is fulfilled properly from this perspective, they stop misbehaving because their need for ‘order and structure’ is satisfied. Furthermore, when dog moms are empowered with tools, techniques, and weeks of personalized coaching to understand context, they are in better positions to self-perform their own tune ups, as needed in the future!

Inside FOUNDATIONS DIY Board & Train, dog moms get a step-by-step instruction manual to resetting their lifestyle and relationship with their dog from scratch, like a professional dog trainer does it in a board & train, and direct access to me for personalized support in a private Facebook group! All they need to do is order the equipment listed on the equipment list, follow the instructions (no skipping steps), and maximize the available resources included to start feeling relief and get on the right track ASAP.

We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
Although I am not religious, having been a victim of religious trauma, I subscribe to occultism and am an attuned Reiki Master. I’ve always felt called to something greater, and I’ve always felt “special” or “different”, I have a deep connection with my intuition and despite surviving a tumultuous childhood, I believe in ‘silver linings’ and “everything happens for a reason”; physical, mental, and spiritual/existential hygiene are majorly influential in my work and my teachings.

Exploring my relationship with the spiritual world as an Entrepreneur has brought me relief following decades of perpetual suffering. After spending almost 20 years struggling with mental health challenges, POTS, ADHD symptoms, mystery immune deficiencies and chronic illness, and after almost 20 years of medicating, numbing, distracting, and disassociating, I’ve started working through c-ptsd recovery from childhood trauma, and am finally feeling deeply connected to the physical/natural world we live in and finding my “purpose” at almost 35 years old. After years of repressing emotions, I am learning how to tell my story, set healthy boundaries, form healthy relationships, and feel safe and existing as my fully expressed, most authentic self.

No one is going to force you to heal, grow, or build a life you love and you don’t need to be given permission or validation, you need to have the audacity. You need to feel worthy of more and be willing to demand more for yourself in life, and you need to have or create capacity; mentally, emotionally, physically, materially, financially, and spiritually. As I mentioned earlier, becoming the version of myself that could hold and carry success was/is a challenge and it is not for the faint of heart; you need to have desire, hard work, and be willing to make heavy sacrifices on the path of entrepreneurship, but it’s worth it to build a life you love, doing things you love, with people you love and if I could do it all over again? I would.

Pricing:

• Low cost & budget-friendly options available

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jannaspack/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jannamarkir/
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@jannaspack