Jackie Jenks is an IOEE Ambassador and the CEO and founder of Leapfrog Mountain; an IOEE Academy that supports mentors, business leaders and entrepreneurs. When we first chatted to Jackie in June of this year, we congratulated her on the outstanding achievement of being awarded an OBE for her services to training and people development. Fast-forward a couple of months and we meet Jackie again to learn all about her journey with Leapfrog Mountain, her inspiring new marketing course and what’s coming up next.

Having only set up Leapfrog Mountain in 2016, Jackie’s professional achievements with the business are extraordinary. Designing the company for ‘helping enterprising people leap ahead on their journey in business and life’, Jackie’s passion for people is infectious, and this devotion to making a difference was recognised when she received a letter from the Cabinet Office in May 2016, stating that she was to be awarded an OBE for her services to training and people development. Jackie says:

“You can’t just look at the numbers - you have to look at what people are achieving. By investing in training, mentoring and developing people, you’ll get a higher return on your investment and one that is much more powerful and impactful than if you just measure results according to the finances alone, and being given the award was such a huge honour.”

Jackie had a 28-year corporate career in banking and training before setting up Leapfrog Mountain. Jackie says:

“I’m originally from a family business background and this inspired me from an early age, so I think I’ve always had that entrepreneurial spark. Setting up Leapfrog Mountain was my time to fully take that spark and run with it, and I find it such a privilege to be working in mentoring and training; knowing that I am making a difference is what really motivates me.”

Through a range of training courses, mentoring programmes and support networks, Leapfrog Mountain helps people on their paths to success, with a focus on business leaders and entrepreneurs, and one of the most recent additions to its offering is its Marketing Strategy course. Jackie says:

“What I’ve done is taken key marketing principles, distilled them into a very high-level overview, and made these accessible for small business - so that they can take all of that knowledge and information and ask the questions that will help them to move forward: What does it mean for my business day to day? Can I make the best decisions, best outcomes for business? What’s important is that people don’t get lost in the theory, that the course is a starting point to translate information into practical action.”

The new Marketing Strategy course is accredited by the IOEE and is being delivered in workshops, but Jackie had been delivering it on a one-to-one basis for some time before it launched on a group-basis, bringing her first-hand experience to the table. Jackie says:

“This is a one-day course and we run it with small groups so that it can be really interactive. We cover an absolutely fascinating range of areas with the Marketing Strategy course, such as External Markets, Key Markets and Social Media - and we do this in a variety of ways, such as having breakout sessions, looking at case studies, workbook theory and lively debate. However, my favourite bit of this course is looking at the area of Emotional Intelligence. We’ll look at such things as confidence skills, how to pitch effectively, the psychology of marketing and networking.”

In fact, Leapfrog Mountain’s Marketing Strategy course has inadvertently acted as a networking event of sorts in its own right:

“What’s particularly exciting is seeing people on the course forging great professional relationships. A lot of the businesses who are introduced to each other on the course are supporting each other afterwards, recommending each other professionally, doing referrals, and basically becoming a little support hub in themselves, which is just really lovely to see.”

Despite Leapfrog Mountain growing and developing so much since it began a year ago, Jackie shows no signs of slowing down, and in the next few months she is planning to launch another course: Leading Yourself and Others. Jackie says:

“This new course is really going to hone in on those business leadership skills; the skills that will enable big changes. Because that’s what we’re here to do - to help small businesses grow and develop, and give them all the support and tools to take their business up to that next level.”

To find out more about Leapfrog Mountain, please visit www.leapfrogmountain.com