PP 310: Choose Impact and Happiness! with Jenna Zigler

Kim Sutton: Welcome back to another episode of Positive Productivity. I am so happy that you are here to join us today, and I’m thrilled to introduce our guest today, Jenna Zigler. Jenna is the SeeOO of Eye Love. And if you recall, a few episodes back, we actually had her husband, Travis, on this show who is the SeeEO. But it’s not C like the letter, it’s S-E-E, which I just love. Jenna, I am so thrilled to have you here. I look forward to hearing about your journey. Travis’s was awesome, but thank you for joining us today.

Dr. Jenna Zigler: Yeah, absolutely. Thanks for having me.

Kim Sutton: Oh, you’re so welcome. I’d love for you to go back and share your side of the journey, because I know, although some of it’s going to be the same as Travis’s, some of the listeners may not have heard his episode, and I know you have a different perspective as well.

Dr. Jenna Zigler: Absolutely. So a little bit over three years ago, we both quit our optometry jobs in Ohio. We moved across the country to South Carolina, and we opened up two new optometry practices that were run just by he and I. So we were spending a lot of our time just seeing patients. But you know, when you open up a new office, you don’t get a ton of traffic at first so there was a little boredom in there every once in a while. And my husband came across an email about teaching us how to sell on Amazon. So he brought it to me and he’s always been interested in selling online and things like that. He brought it to me thinking I would never go along with this crazy idea. But basically, I said yes. So we bought a course that taught us how to sell online, and we started a company called Eye Love. And really, not knowing where we were going to start or what we were going to sell, we just decided to start selling the thing that we knew best. And we’re in the eye care space. We’re both optometrists. So we said, why don’t we start selling sunglasses? And so that’s what we started selling. And of course, they say that what you start selling is not what you end up selling. Eye Love is a completely really different company now. But the main goal was actually to just give us extra funds to go on our eyecare missions that we go on every year to Jamaica. So that was kind of the main goal of Eye Love, to make a little extra money for that. And it’s morphed into this amazing company that we absolutely love.

Kim Sutton: That is so amazing. I started my first company in 2005, Jenna, and it was also selling online, but I didn’t have a clue what I was doing. And I certainly didn’t sign up for any course. I have to say I made all the worst mistakes, including selling products that I was not passionate about.

Dr. Jenna Zigler: Yeah. And I think that’s one of the big things is we chose something that we were passionate about. Because at the time, we didn’t have kids or anything. So we were looking at baby products and things like that. But what do I know about baby products? So we really wanted to sell something that we believed in, and that we were really passionate about. And I think that has really helped our company grow, truthfully.

Kim Sutton: Absolutely. How did you get introduced to your mission work?

Dr. Jenna Zigler: So back?

Kim Sutton: Yeah. Did you find that? Or was it already a mission that was in process?

Dr. Jenna Zigler: Yeah. The one that we go on every year is a mission that is already in process. But both of us kind of got into mission work back in school. We went on a trip to Ecuador, and that was really our first eye care mission trip. And being there was so humbling, and just so amazing to see the needs of people around the world. You don’t realize when you live here and you have access to doctors, other types of doctors and anything that you want, people in Ecuador and Jamaica, they don’t have access to everything. So going there, it was so great. The feeling of helping people was just so amazing for me. When I got back to the US, I just felt like, what do I need all this stuff for? People in Ecuador are happy and joyful, and they love their life without all of this stuff. Even if they don’t have access to eye care or anything like that, they still love their lives. And I’m over here with stuff that I don’t need, it’s kind of how I felt when I got back. So that’s really what started our journey and our mission.

Kim Sutton: I completely hear that about stuff. I was recently watching the TED talk, I actually not so recently, a few months ago, and they were showing photos of what low class, middle class and upper class look like in different countries around the world. And it blew my mind. Because even lower class in the US, we still have a roof of our own overheads. Whether we rent it, or we own it, they’re still usually some basic things that we have. And some of those can even be in the category of stuff. But watching this video, I was just floored. Parts of the world, the lower class doesn’t have toilet paper, no flatware, silverware, or even plastic where to eat their food with it. It was very humbling. And then listeners, and Jenn, I just want to give an apology. Today, unexpectedly, I have five kids at home with me and all that stuff. Honestly, very often leads to just more quarrels, especially with my five kids. They have plenty of stuff that they can play with, but they always want to go after that one. So sometimes, I wonder if they only had one to play with, would they still be arguing about it?

Dr. Jenna Zigler: Yeah. It’s an interesting thing to think about. And it’s just always amazing to me, like, no matter where we go on trips, we’ve been to Peru also, the people are just so warming and so nice. And so appreciative of everything that we do for them and of us being in their country. We’re really welcomed with open arms. And like you said, they might not have more than one toy to play with, but it’s the best toy ever. And they make it work. And they love it. So, yeah.

Kim Sutton: Have you been introduced to this new show that’s on Facebook, I guess? It might be a year old. I’m actually not sure because I was only introduced this week. It’s called Returning The Favor.

Dr. Jenna Zigler: No, I need to look it up.

Kim Sutton: Oh, my gosh. Okay. Mike Rowe, who used to host Dirty Jobs is hosting it. And I believe it is in collaboration with Facebook. But what the show is, they’re going around the United States and returning the favor to do gooders in communities. Listeners, if you have not watched it in general, I’m going to warn you to get a box of tissues or a roll of toilet paper ready when you’re watching it, because it’s a tear jerker. I mean, just real feel good television. I’m actually sad that it’s only available through Facebook, because network TV needs more good stuff like this. But it’s really showing out people who may not even have much themselves are going out and giving to the communities around them. And actually, in a later episode of the podcast, which hasn’t been recorded yet, one of the do gooders is going to be featured, Christine, and I can’t wait. She actually is accepting donations from people almost like the Goodwill, but rather than selling it. She’s giving it away to people in her community who need it, and she’s getting garages. I absolutely love what you and Travis are doing, because that is, actually my husband and I, our mission, not Eye Love, but a way to give back. Because I know that very often, we take for granted what we have been given and what we have.

Dr. Jenna Zigler: Yeah, absolutely. I think, the more you give, the more you get. And the better you feel about yourself and your life, the legacy that you’re creating, really. Our mission is to end preventable blindness by going over to these countries and helping, potentially build clinics in the future. We really would like to put a dent in that. And I just think that the more you help people, the more you’re going to get back yourself.

Kim Sutton: I completely agree. Jenna, how did you decide to get into eye care yourself?

Dr. Jenna Zigler: I had a really great optometrist when I was in school, like in high school, and I was at my appointment and he asked me what I wanted to do with my life. And I told him that I was interested in the medical field, but I don’t do blood and I don’t do needles. And so he said, oh, well, I have the perfect opportunity for you, you need to be an optometrist. I was like, okay, that sounds kind of cool. So I went to college, and I started working at just a lenscrafters, helping people pick out glasses and sunglasses. I learned a ton there. I really fell in love with glasses, and just helping people see better. Because putting glasses on someone for the first time, there is just nothing like it. They put on that first pair of glasses for them to be able to see, especially a child is absolutely amazing. And optometry, I’ve learned over the years that it’s just such a feel good medical profession. Most of the time, we’re giving really good news, and we’re giving people glasses, and they can see better, and it really enhances their lives. And we don’t give bad news very often. We have to do it just like every other Doctor out there. But it’s few and far between that I’m giving bad news versus helping somebody see better. So that’s really why I chose optometry, and I would not have it any other way.

Kim Sutton: And the episode with Travis, he was telling the story of, I believe a fisherman who was able to go back to work after YouTube helped him because he could actually reliant his–

Dr. Jenna Zigler: Yeah. Exactly.

Kim Sutton: I had never thought about that before.

Dr. Jenna Zigler: That’s what they do, they fish for a living. 100% of people in the world will need glasses over the age of 40 to 45, because you start to lose your near vision. We don’t think much of it in the US, because we can just go out and grab a pair of reading glasses at the drugstore, and the world is better. But when you’re in a country like Ecuador, or Peru, or Jamaica, it’s not that easy. These people think that they’re going blind, because all of a sudden, they can’t see. The fisherman can’t line his hook to be able to fish and make money for his family. So then he ends up begging instead. And by giving him a pair of glasses, just a simple pair of reading glasses that we buy at the drugstore, we’re giving him his sight back, and he’s able to work and provide for his family, and really enjoy his life again. It’s just amazing what you can do with a simple pair of glasses.

Kim Sutton: I just have to ask, because I’ve already admitted that Returning The Favor required a box of tissues for me. Are there those times that you need to have the box of tissues handy for you when you are delivering sight to people?

Dr. Jenna Zigler: Oh, yes, absolutely. It’s always stories like that where it’s a fisherman that can finally see again, or I’m drawing a blank on what they’re called, but they fix people’s shoes, those types of people really need that fine detail work and they can’t see if they don’t have reading glasses. When you hear those stories, it’s just amazing. And I have a soft spot for children too, and kids that really need glasses. And when they first put them on for the first time, I mean, we’ve all seen those videos of babies getting their first pair of glasses, and it’s so awesome to see the joy on their faces, because babies, it’s going to be pure joy. They don’t know anything else. They just know that, oh, my gosh, I can suddenly see my mom. And those are the times where I’m like, okay, where’s the box of tissues? So, yeah, it’s really just rewarding.

Kim Sutton: Oh, my gosh, we’re talking about wet eyes. I know you both have a passion for dry eyes.

Dr. Jenna Zigler: We do. Yeah.

Kim Sutton: Could you talk more about that?

Dr. Jenna Zigler: Yeah. Yeah. So with Eye Love, we had started out just selling sunglasses, polarized sunglasses. And then about a year to a year and a half into our business, we decided to kind of go into the dry eye market. So we created a Facebook group called the Dry Eye Syndrome Support Community. And we had a lot of mentors tell us that it was an awful idea, and nobody would want to get on Facebook and talk about their dry eyes together. But it turns out that there are a lot of people out there that want to get online and meet people that are going through the same thing that they are. So we created this group, we provided content for them, taught them how to cure their dry eye in a more natural way rather than just reaching for pharmaceutical medications. So we’ve been doing that for, oh, my gosh, a year and a half or so now. And we have a group that’s over 4,000 people. Every Sunday, we do a Facebook Live, which is actually super rewarding. I don’t like being on video a lot. But I love seeing the people that come to our Facebook Lives, and they’re able to ask any questions they want us. So any dry eye question they might have, we’re gonna answer it for them. I just love seeing their responses and watching the people that have followed us since the beginning. And that has implemented the things that we’ve suggested to them. Those people are now getting well, and there’s nothing better than seeing people get well from what you’re doing. So it’s been interesting, but we really, really enjoy it.

Kim Sutton: Jenna, I want to take a quick break to thank our sponsor of today’s episode. But then we’ll come back and talk about community and a whole lot more. 

Kim Sutton: Jenna, just before we talked about our sponsor, you were talking about your Facebook community. If you could do it again, do you think you would start the community earlier? Or do you not believe you were quite ready to do it yet?

Dr. Jenna Zigler: I think we started it at a good time. If we had started it earlier, we wouldn’t have had products in the queue that we had thought about that we wanted to provide for them. And also the content too, because it took a lot of time to go in and write blog articles, and do videos and things like that, that we really wanted to be ready for. So I think it came at a good time. But then, also looking back, you can say, well, if we started it earlier, we would have so many more people and be able to help so many more people than we’re helping now. But you can always look back and say, I should have done it earlier. But I think it was a really good time for us.

Kim Sutton: Oh, my gosh, I can do the same thing. I mean, I could have started the podcast earlier. But it wouldn’t mean nearly the same to me now, nor would any other part of my business if I started it earlier, everything for a reason. And the same is the case for my husband and I, we met when we did for a reason. I heard by the way that the two of you met in a bar watching Ohio State vs Michigan. Am I remembering this properly?

Dr. Jenna Zigler: You are? Yeah. So I went to University of Michigan for my undergrad degree, and Travis was at Ohio State. And I came down to Ohio State with my girlfriends to watch the Ohio State Michigan game, it was back in 2006, I guess. And it was number one versus number two. So it was a big game. And we were at a bar and randomly, I met Travis and ended up taking a picture with him. It was random. But we found out that we were both, he was in optometry school at the time, and I had already been accepted to Ohio State’s optometry school. So I knew I would be there next year. We really didn’t talk too much until I got to Ohio State. But it was just so interesting that we met in that way. And once I got to school, we started dating and it’s been good ever since.

Kim Sutton: I have to ask, if you had to pick one of those two shirts to put on today, which would it be?

Dr. Jenna Zigler: Oh, Michigan for sure. I have to root for my undergrad, but if Ohio State is not playing Michigan, then you know.

Kim Sutton: If you had to pack a small suitcase today with the most important possessions that you have, because you had to leave your home forever, what would you take with you? I know that’s not positive, but I’m just curious.

Dr. Jenna Zigler: So I’m guessing that people don’t fit in suitcases. Travis can go with me, and my little boy can go with me. So other than them, I would definitely bring my computer because our whole world is on our computer. I would bring my yoga mat, my running shoes, and hmm, probably my VitaMix. I think those are the main things that I would bring. I’m pretty into health. I think that would be pretty much it. I’m sure I can fit a couple other things in there, but those would be the main things.

Kim Sutton: I just had to ask, what would be your little boys go to one item?

Dr. Jenna Zigler: Definitely, we have this little soft Eric Carle crinkly book. It’s only like four pages, but he loves it. He just chews on it, and it makes crinkly sounds, and he loves that thing. As long as we have that, he’s good. So I would definitely bring that, it’s called The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

Kim Sutton: Love The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Absolutely love it. What is your dream to see come to fruition in the next five years?

Dr. Jenna Zigler: I would love to see Travis and I going on more mission trips, not just to Jamaica, but possibly to other countries as well. And I would also like to see Eye Love being able to support a clinic being built in Jamaica, or one of those other countries if we were to fall in love with something else. But so far, our work has mostly been in Jamaica, and that’s kind of one of our eventual goals is to start a free or low cost clinic in Jamaica. And so I would like to see the wheels kind of turning there. Maybe we’ve gotten into contact with some people that can help us out, and we’re starting to get the funding together to be able to do that. So I would love to see that happen. And then I would like us to find a good home as well. We live in South Carolina now, but we’re actually getting ready to move. And we’ll be moving to Austin, Texas, so we’re excited about that. But we’re ready to find somewhere that really feels a little bit more like home for us. That’s where I’d like to see us in about five years.

Kim Sutton: I can hear that completely. I moved to Ohio 14 years ago from New York City, actually from Westchester County, and that it never felt like home there. But I can completely understand how that would be important. I think I just messed up the word completely. But Positive Productivity does not mean I can always speak clearly. For entrepreneurs who are listening who are struggling with making an impact versus making income, what words of advice would you have for them?

Dr. Jenna Zigler: Yeah, it’s interesting. I was just talking to somebody the other day, and they were asking me advice on how I feel better about the money I’m making, and feel like I’m making a difference in the world. And the thing is, you can make all the money in the world, you can have a nice car and you can have a nice house. And by all means, if you want that and you can have it, then go for it. But you will find no greater joy than helping other people. Whether it’s something like going on a mission trip, and helping people overseas, or if it’s even in your own hometown helping people and seeing the joy on their faces is always going to make you feel better. And whether using your time, or you’re using money, or other resources that you have, it doesn’t really matter. You’re gonna feel so good. Money’s really fleeting, it doesn’t really mean anything. So if you can see the joy on other people’s faces and really help other people, you’re going to have so much more joy than just having a ton of money that you don’t know what to do with.

Kim Sutton: Oh, yes, I completely agree. I’ve been no stranger to sharing the struggles that my family has experienced on the podcast. And I found that when I was chasing income, the tough money times were always harder to handle because I wasn’t happy with what I was doing. Number one, that just made the pursuit of income even harder. Now that I am working on making an impact through the work of Positive Productivity, even when money is tight, and I won’t deny that sometimes, it’s so much easier to handle. And amazingly, we always have what we need. And even when money is really short, it always, for lack of a better word, manifests itself soon enough. And we’ve really never been without, there’s always food in the cupboard, and we always have what we need. 

So yeah, listeners, if you’re really trying to figure out what you should be doing and there’s something that’s pulling at your heartstrings, follow it. Follow it. I can’t imagine, even if somebody offered to pay all of our living expenses for the next 100 years in return for me doing the work that I was doing, when I was chasing income, I would have to say, no. I was actually thinking about that while you were talking. And I hurt for a second, I have to admit it hurt for a second just knowing that all that money would be there. But I see the people on social media who are sharing their five cars and 18 houses, but if it meant that I wasn’t happy while I had all that? No, thanks.

Dr. Jenna Zigler: I agree. Like you said, with Positive Productivity, you’re doing absolutely what you love to be doing. And there’s no greater feeling than doing what you love, and being able to make money doing what you love, and being able to help people in the process. So as long as you do what you love, and you follow your heart, then I think you’re going to be just fine.

Kim Sutton: Yes, we need more of you in the world. What do you see as being another void in the health market that you would love to see somebody feel doing similar to what you are doing?

Dr. Jenna Zigler: I think a lot of the problem now, not only with our kids and all of the hyperactivity, ADHD, everything going on right now, a lot of it comes down to food. We do the best we can to put great food in our bodies and provide great food for ourselves. And I think that is where America is really lacking. We have such a disordered view of what food is, this processed junk that’s in your cupboard, that’s not food. You need to eat real food, and we need somebody that can come in, I mean, it’s a huge problem. I don’t even know how you would fix it. But I think in the health space, there are so many things that can be solved by eating whole foods, plant based diet, real food, and dry eye is one of them. That’s one of the things that can be solved by that. Diabetes, high blood pressure, you name it, all of those things come down to food a lot of the time. And so if somebody could try to heal that food crisis, then that would be amazing. I don’t know, I think we’re moving in the right direction. But that’s definitely needed.

Kim Sutton: I agree. But I also have to admit that my family struggles with that. And often with my family, I’m going to admit that it’s a disorganization of time and not prioritizing, getting to the grocery and buying the healthy stuff versus feeling rushed and then hitting up the fast food drive thru on the way home. But in retrospect, feeding our family of seven through McDonald’s drive thru is ridiculous. I mean, 35 to $40 easily, with 35 to 40 would have bought two healthy meals for a night at the grocery if I just replant.

Dr. Jenna Zigler: Yeah, it’s very true. Like you said, it comes down to time, and just priorities and things like that. But you’re going to have those times where you just need something quick. And that’s fine every once in a while, but it becomes a habit. I read a crazy statistic that was like, a third of all kids eat fast food every single day, and I was blown away.

Kim Sutton: Wait, do that one more time. A third of all kids eat it every day?

Dr. Jenna Zigler: It was something crazy like that. Yes, it was. The statistics were crazy. When I heard it, my mind was like, wait, what? Did I hear that correctly? So it was something like that. And I could not believe it. But in a way, I can believe it because we live in South Carolina. And I know how many fast food places are everywhere. No matter where you live, really. But definitely in the south, it’s a problem. And yeah, something has to change there.

Kim Sutton: Yeah, the whole area of Ohio, I mean, within one mile of my house, I’ve got McDonald’s, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and about four more. It’s no joke to say, I think there are five pizza restaurants within a mile of my house. It’s easier to find the junk than it is to find the real thing. I was feeling guilty for once a week, fast food in my house. But oh, my gosh, daily. Wow. When you were talking about stuff earlier, I was actually thinking this past weekend. My husband and I cleaned out our littles room, we have three year old twins and a four year old, and I was embarrassed. I’m embarrassed to even be admitting this on the podcast. I was embarrassed by the number of happy meal toys that I found, and that made me start thinking about how much we go through fast food. But when we’re getting three in a trip, it doesn’t take very long for those to add up. But it really got me thinking about the junk food and the junk that we bring home when we’re doing that.

Dr. Jenna Zigler: Yeah. And I don’t think people realize that a lot of the time, they just don’t realize how much junk they might be eating, and it just all comes down to making small steps. Drinking more water, eating one more meal a week at home, things like that, it doesn’t have to be all at one time that you make a change. Those changes can be incremental, and I think that’s what is really going to help people make a change. Just those small little baby steps.

Kim Sutton: Absolutely. I know you’re your baby’s young, but have you thought about ways that you can nurture him into being a giver in a society like his parents?

Dr. Jenna Zigler: Yeah, we’ve thought a little bit about it. I think we want him to witness everything that we’re doing to help others. So we would love to, as soon as it’s possible, bring him on mission trips that we go on, so that he can really see that what he has at home isn’t what everybody else has. Some people might have more than him, some people are gonna have less than him. But I think that bringing him on those mission trips and letting him really see that will be a huge way for him to learn that helping people is really going to bring him the most joy in life. So that’s one of the ways. And I think just having him. He’s home with us now when we work from home, and he sees how hard we work, and we do it all for our mission. And we want him to know that. And so yeah, that’s why I think.

Kim Sutton: Yeah. I absolutely love that. Thank you so much for sharing. Would you share with the listeners where they can learn more about Eye Love and how they can contribute to your mission?

Dr. Jenna Zigler: Absolutely. So you can go to eyelovethesun.com, which is E-Y-E lovethesun.com, and that’s where you’ll find all of our products, polarized sunglasses, dry eye products and things like that. So when you make a purchase from us, we donate a portion of our profits to our foundation. And that foundation is used to help fund our mission trips, and then it will also be used in the future to help fund a clinic. And so that’s one way that you can help us out and participate. Another way, if you do happen to have dry eyes, you can join us on Facebook, the Dry Eye Syndrome Support Community Group, or we also have our dry eyes support page. And if you Google, or if you type in Dry Eye Support, you’ll see both of those. So those are really two ways that you can either get in touch with us or help us out in our mission.

Kim Sutton: Awesome. Listeners, the links will be in the show notes, which you’ll be able to find at thekimsutton.com/pp310. Jenna, thank you so much for being here today and sharing just the awesomeness that you are creating for the community and for the world. You are very inspiring, and I thank you for that.

Dr. Jenna Zigler: Thank you, Kim, for having me. It was really fun.

Kim Sutton: Oh, you’re so welcome. Do you have a parting piece of advice or a golden nugget that you can offer to listeners?

Dr. Jenna Zigler: My parting piece of advice would be, you choose happiness, you choose how you want to feel everyday when you wake up. And whether that’s how you want to feel physically, do you go work out? Do you eat well? Or emotionally, do you say nice things to yourself? Are you happy about your life? If you choose to be happy, then you will be happy. And that’s my big piece of advice.