From Rock Bottom to Restoration: A Journey of Resilience, Reinvention, and Rising Above Adversity

In this inspiring episode of Shine On Success, host Dionne Malush welcomes Carmen Jordan, a powerhouse of resilience who transformed her life from overcoming foreclosure and single parenthood to building a successful business and thriving as a motivational speaker. Carmen’s story is a testament to the power of getting back up, no matter how many times life knocks you down. From starting a cleaning business with her last $20 to inspiring countless others through her CCL Inspires platform, Carmen shares candid insights into finding purpose amid hardship, embracing the journey of self-reinvention, and surrounding yourself with people who uplift. Her wisdom and authenticity remind us that adversity can be the foundation for greatness. Tune in for a powerful conversation about hope, growth, and the courage to chase your dreams.

Connect with Carmen here:

Website: https://carmenjordan.com/

Chapters

• 0:02 Turning Adversity Into Achievement
• 12:49 Building Character Through Commitment
• 21:04 Empowering Through Adversity and Success

Transcript

Speaker 1 0:02

Hello everyone and welcome back to Shine on Success. I'm your host, dionne Malish, and I wonder have you ever wondered what it takes to turn adversity into achievement? Today we're joined by Carmen Jordan, an embodiment of resilience and empowerment. Carmen's journey from a sales and marketing professional to a triumphant entrepreneur and public speaker is a testament to her spirit. Through her experiences, she has not only reinvented her life, but also dedicated herself to uplifting and inspiring others. Let's dive into her remarkable story. Welcome, carmen. It's been a long time coming. How are you doing today? I'm doing pretty good.

Speaker 2 0:37

I'm doing really good. Thank you so much for having me on your podcast. Very appreciative of this.

Speaker 1 0:43

I think when I first started, we were going to do it and then something happened and we couldn't, so now we're coming back together. I think I'm on episode 53. Wow, a year of podcasting. So I love it, and I think for me, the best part of it is I get to meet people from all over the world and I get to have interactions that I may not have had without this.

Speaker 1 1:02

So I do love it and I'm glad to have you. So my very first question that I'd love to ask is what is one thing you would like people to know about you that they may not know?

Speaker 2 1:11

Well, I don't know if I should say this or not, but you know, I tend to be a people pleaser and you know that could be a good thing and that could be a bad thing. I can understand and if there's any way that I can help or to bring you know a good change to someone's life, I will do that.

Speaker 1 1:45

Yeah, well, I do think it's a good thing, but I know it's stressful being that way, because I feel that I do the same thing.

Speaker 2 1:51

I'm always worried about everyone else trying to help them, and sometimes I forget about myself.

Speaker 1 1:55

In that Exactly, I get that.

Speaker 2 1:57

And then sometimes people can take advantage of that. Yeah, no doubt about that, it's definitely, especially as business owners.

Speaker 1 2:05

You know we get. It happens a lot more than people understand.

Speaker 2 2:09

So tell me a little bit about you, and what you've been doing your business.

Speaker 1 2:11

Let's talk about that first.

Speaker 2 2:18

Well, I'm a sales and marketing professional and coming out of the gates at 18, 19 years old, I've always been in sales and marketing and, you know, had high level jobs doing so Fortune 500 companies and things like that and, originally from Pittsburgh, moved to Los Angeles as a kid in grade school, grew up there and there's where I had my first professional sales job One of my first professional sales jobs and moved back to Pittsburgh, met my then husband, who is now my ex-husband. On a visit to Pittsburgh after my parents retired and moved back, I came back to visit them, met him, came back here, continued my sales and marketing career and married for 17 years Through that, contemplating divorce after you know, so much time contemplating divorce, house in foreclosure. And 2008 and the market crashed. So I had to do something. Filed for unemployment. Unemployment was going to take eight to 10 weeks.

Speaker 2 3:18

I happened to be at a cookout and with my girlfriend, and this woman overheard my conversation that I was laid off and looking for a job, and so she said to me she says well, you know, my cleaning lady hadn't showed up in a couple of weeks. I don't know where she is. Would you like to clean my house? And I said sure, you know, I had small children. I had to do what I had to do, you know. You know a lot of people would have thought that was insulting, but you know, I knew that, like I said, my unemployment wasn't kicking in for a while and 401k was dwindling down. So I went on and did that, and I did it for two years to supplement my unemployment while looking for a job.

Speaker 2 3:57

It was really a tough job market out there at that time and so I had about six months left on unemployment and I said you know what? I'm not making the money that I was making in corporate America, but I like the fact that I'm able to do football practice and basketball and track, yeah, these different things. And so I said you know, I'm just going to go for it. What I did was I took one of my last unemployment checks and I started the LLC, got the insurance, but during that two years I got 11 clients, 11 residential clients. After I decided to start this business, I started going after investors you know people that flipped houses and then I started. Then I started going after corporate accounts and post-construction cleaning, like in the malls and things like that retail stores. So that's how I got started. Have you been doing?

Speaker 1 4:46

that since 2008?

Speaker 2 4:48

I have been doing it since 2008.

Speaker 1 4:50

So how many clients do you have?

Speaker 2 4:51

now I have about six or seven residential. I've cut down considerably on that. So I have about six or seven residential and I have seven corporate clients.

Speaker 1 5:02

Wow, that's great.

Speaker 2 5:04

Yeah, I have seven corporate clients that are just steady. That's awesome, yeah, and thank you. I haven't really grown it, you know, like I guess I could, but I'm fine and comfortable where I'm at.

Speaker 1 5:14

So, but you also are a public speaker as well, correct? Or a professional speaker, correct? Yes, yes, can you tell us a little bit about? What do you speak about?

Speaker 2 5:22

Uplifting and inspiring others. Now, through my life's journey, you know, I've had the passion to speak and inspire and give back, and the reason is because of my overcoming my obstacles in life, and so I just want to give back to young girls. I suffered from low self-esteem as a kid.

Speaker 1 5:41

You did Okay. So I think that's important, that we talk about that, because here you are, you suffered from that, but you've pushed through the adversity of it and you know you're now an entrepreneur. You're professionally speaking, which is one of the greatest fears of a person's life. Terry Seinfeld said he would rather die than speak professionally Like that's how bad people don't like to be. So you really pushed through that. So can you tell me a little bit about that and how did you do that?

Speaker 2 6:06

Well, how it started was when I was going through my divorce and foreclosure and my children and I were sitting on our porch. At the house that we were losing, I had the real estate lady. She was putting the sign in the ground and the sheriff came to put the sign on the door. I was trying to sell. The sheriff came to put the sign on the door I was trying to sell the house before I lost the house and we were sitting on the porch and my kids looked at me and says, mom, what are we going to do? And I says we are going to inspire and uplift people who are being thing that we are going through right now. And we're going to get through this and we're going to talk to people and we're going to, you know, inspire because I'm sure that there are a lot of people out there that are going through what we are going through. And so it was at that moment where I said I wanted to do public speaking.

Speaker 1 6:54

So I didn't know if you know this about me, but I am on the board of directors of the National Speakers Association in Pittsburgh. Oh, I didn't know that. Yeah, so it's been about six months that I've been on the board, but I joined a year ago and it's helped me tremendously learn how to be a better speaker in all aspects. So I don't think you just have to be on stage to speak well. You have to speak well in front of your company, in front of your clients, in front of your family. I love that, and if you ever wanted to join with us, that would be amazing. And there's some great people there and we're all just learning together, learning just to be the best versions of ourselves, and I love that.

Speaker 1 7:30

You have experienced that. So you know you've had some struggles in your life, right, I mean you talked about foreclosure. There's a lot of people that have been through that and it's not easy. You know you've been very difficult mentally, physically, and it just takes its toll. But you did it, you push through it and you know that's what I wanted to do this show for just to share with everyone, knowing that you can, everyone has stuff, we all go through things, but it's how we pick up the pieces and move back. You know, move forward.

Speaker 2 7:59

And one thing with families and people, people and you know everything is in everyone's business. Ok, so you know, you do have to have a private life and you have to pick and choose what you let people know about you, but I believe that you have to share some things about you to be authentic and real and so that people can identify and relate to what you're going through. And so you know, I just want people to know that life isn't perfect and we just have to keep moving. We have to keep moving in an upward direction and we have to have a positive attitude and help people along the way.

Speaker 1 8:36

I agree, and you know, if we're all going to go through it, there's things that are going to come up in our lives, that are going to shock us, they're going to maybe traumatize us. But if you, just if it was perfect, it would be boring right. If every day was the exact same thing over and over again. It would have been fun. You know, at least you get the opportunity when you do fall which many people do I have too? I've, you know I've had lost my business. It was so difficult. I almost you know I had chest pains went to the hospital, thought I was having a heart attack. You know it was.

Speaker 1 9:02

It was a lot to go through and I rebuilt and rebuilt myself. So you know, not every day is perfect right now. You know this year has been very difficult in real estate and you know we're feeling the pressure, but we're also pushing through it and I like the collaboration that we're having. So let's talk about when. Did you realize that your personal struggles were not the end but the beginning of a new chapter, like what happened? Do you remember that point when you thought I am not going to let this define me?

Speaker 2 9:28

Well, it was a while it was a while, and the reason why I say that is because I was in survival mode, like you know, which I failed to mention earlier. I took my last $20 that I had. Okay, and you know, what can people do with $20? I mean, I'd rather go to the wine and spirit store and buy a nice little bottle of wine on sale, right?

Speaker 1 9:52

Yeah for the 20 bucks is about it right.

Speaker 2 9:55

So I took my last $20 and I bought those cleaning products to start cleaning, and I was a professional salesperson and I still am. I put those sales and marketing skills to work to sell my own business. However, it was a while, because I was in survival mode for so long, and so I think it just came here maybe just recently, maybe in the last five years or so where I said you know, I'm really reinventing myself here in at 50. You're not 50. Well, I'm older than 50.

Speaker 1 10:28

No way.

Speaker 2 10:35

Well.

Speaker 1 10:35

I like Colonel Sanders, or wasn't there someone else at like 50s that started?

Speaker 2 10:41

You know the research that I've done. Like Martha Stewart, well, she was a Wall Street girl, but you know, when she made it big she was in her 50s. I believe Colonel Sanders was in his 50s Sears, the Sears and Roebuck.

Speaker 1 10:59

Oh yeah, that's cool.

Speaker 2 11:00

Yeah.

Speaker 1 11:00

So it's a lot of people in their 50s. We still have time, right, we still have time. I always feel like I'm on the other side of my life. My time is. It's so precious right now and I want to get everything done as fast as I can because I'm 56.

Speaker 2 11:13

It really is, it really is. And my one girlfriend, she says to me, she said this to me a couple of years ago. She says, Carmen, we're in the fourth quarter.

Speaker 1 11:21

I said the fourth quarter.

Speaker 2 11:28

we're in halftime she says no, we're in the fourth quarter. I said no, we're not. I refuse to believe. I refuse to believe in the fourth quarter.

Speaker 1 11:34

So here you are with $20 to your name. You decide to buy the cleaning products, start the cleaning business and from that point, have you ever been in that situation again where you were down back to the $20?

Speaker 2 11:45

No, no. I mean my back was against the wall and I just came out swinging and I haven't looked back. I mean I've looked back emotionally and mentally. You know the journey along the way, but you know, I never looked back, I just kept going.

Speaker 1 11:58

So you've been involved with various organizations. How do these experiences align with your mission to inspire and uplift? Can you tell us a little bit about that?

Speaker 2 12:06

Yeah Well, the Bootsy Collins Foundation won. I don't know if you are familiar with Bootsy Collins. He is a famous bass player.

Speaker 1 12:13

Yeah, I'm not.

Speaker 2 12:16

Yeah, he got his start with James Brown, playing the bass for James Brown.

Speaker 2 12:21

So his wife and I are good friends and they have the Bootsy Collins Foundation and she heads up the Groovement Girls, which is her organization attached to the Bootsy Collins Foundation, and they had had me come to Cincinnati to speak with some girls at a school and it was very uplifting and just wonderful to talk to those girls Because I know, like I said, as a young person I suffered from low self-esteem and sometimes I still question myself about things I mean, you know.

Speaker 2 12:49

So it was very nice speaking with them and what we talked about is character, conduct and commitment, which is my three C's and that's very important to me because I believe that character you know building one's character is so important and how you live your life and how you, how you move in general, and commitment, and how you have to be committed to yourself and committed to your goals and committed to your loved ones and just things in life that you want to accomplish and conduct. You know how you conduct yourself, in private, in public, even in your mind, you know. So that's my thing conduct, character and commitment.

Speaker 1 13:28

I love that. It's important. And one thing you just said about how you carry yourself in your mind I think that's literally where it all starts, Because if you don't believe in your own self, if you don't believe who you are and what you're capable of, it's hard to really let anyone else to believe you, right? How are they going to believe you if you don't believe you? So I find that very interesting. And you know, you have such a great story of really rags to riches, right? You really fail.

Speaker 2 13:53

Yes. Now you did ask me a question. You said have I ever been back to that $20? No, I haven't been back to that $20. But there have been peaks and valleys along the way, because that's just part of it, right?

Speaker 1 14:05

It's not going to always just go straight up.

Speaker 2 14:07

Yeah, no, there's ups and downs and you know you have to keep reinventing yourself sometimes. You know, you know it's like a chess game. You know you got to think three moves ahead and and just just keep, keep going.

Speaker 1 14:21

That's why I spoke in Vegas a couple of weeks ago. No-transcript purpose if you're not up, right, you can't start a new life if you're not up. So I like. I like what you stand for, Carmen. I think you're incredible and you know, I think I saw something about a motorcycle on your Facebook page.

Speaker 2 15:08

Oh, I just took a picture in front of a motorcycle. Yeah, I had a girlfriend that came in town and I took her to a cigar lounge and when we came out of the cigar lounge there was a motorcycle there and it matched my outfit Perfectly, Like I literally thought it was yours I was like you know, I didn't even realize you were over 50, but I was like she's getting a little brave.

Speaker 1 15:31

That looks like fun. Yeah, yeah, it's funny because you know, my husband used to have a motorcycle and we used to ride all the time, but as we got older like we just don't anymore, I miss it because it was fun. But you know, I like to be in control of my own destiny, so if I need to be driving or I don't want to be on the back of a bike anymore. So what advice would you give to someone that's currently facing some similar challenges to what you've overcome?

Speaker 2 16:03

especially in terms of building back their self-esteem and, in this, making new decisions to get to the next level.

Speaker 2 16:07

You know, I would say, surround yourself with people who are interested in your growth and in your well-being, because if you have those naysayers around you, you know they're going to keep you down. It's like. You know, it's like misery loves company. You know, honestly, I would say the first thing to do is, if you don't have a support system and I don't mean financially or someone that's physically giving you monetarily you know, money or things to help you but just to speak life into you, you know, I would say the first thing to do is just surround yourself with people who are going to uplift you and help you navigate through your mind how to overcome and to get through. And honestly, that's what I had. I had some some really good friends of mine who was in my corner who helped me through the fog in my own mind, to help me get through, and they still help me. I mean, you still have to have mentors to feed into you, to help you.

Speaker 1 17:02

Have you ever read the book Thinking Grow Rich? No, I haven't.

Speaker 2 17:05

But I read who Moved my Cheese.

Speaker 1 17:07

Oh yeah, that's a good book too. I love reading it. I mean, I have books everywhere. In fact, when I die, I ask my husband to please bury me with all of my books, all of my books. I want them to go with me. I want to take that energy along. But when I talk about masterminding and surrounding yourself with people you know that are they have your best interests in mind, that they want the best for you, like you want for them, and I agree with 100% your surroundings make a world of difference. If you're down and you're having, you know, bad time, whether it's financially or mentally, you need to be uplifted by other people and we are as humans.

Speaker 1 17:39

We have this amazing gift to be able to help people if we want to right I feel that and I know when I look at what's my purpose and that really is my purpose to help people. I've been through so many things that I feel like that I've taken all the tests so that I can teach it now. So I've went through it all so that I can teach some of the things that I've been through too.

Speaker 2 17:58

Right.

Speaker 1 17:59

So what else would you like our audience to know about?

Speaker 2 18:01

you. Well, I do want to touch on aging parents, OK, ok. So, going through my divorce, raising children, school age children I also had had elderly parents, so it was like I had four children. I had my, the two that I birthed and the two that birthed me. Yeah, and it was a challenge. But you know what I believe? I believe this with all of my heart. I believe that when you honor your mother and your father, your days will be long upon this earth and I believe A lot of the blessings and a lot of the things that are happening for me in business and just in life, I believe it's because I took good care of my parents and I didn't do it grudgingly, you know, I did it because I wanted to do it.

Speaker 2 18:45

It was a hard, hard task, particularly going through a divorce, losing your home you know all the things you go through in a divorce and just navigating a young teenage daughter, a soon to be teenage son. You know all of those things. And then you know trying to have a personal life and running a business. So it was very challenging for me, very challenging. And then you know, and then when you're going through foreclosure, you know, as you know, that affects your credit. So everything that I did for my business was cash I wasn't able to obtain, you know, business lines of credit and things like that. So you know, the universe just made it available that. You know, things just lined up for me.

Speaker 1 19:26

And so, because you got up and did, the work, it didn't just yeah, I got up to do the work, no matter what, to get it get back on track, right, you had no choice. So if you were to just stay down and not do the work, you had to do the work, no matter what, to get back on track, right, you had no choice. So if you were to just stay down and not do the work. I don't think it can line up. You can't align with something if you're out of line right, right, right right.

Speaker 2 19:44

And trust me, there were days that I questioned myself I'm like Carmen, what are you doing? Maybe you need to go get a job somewhere. But it never happened. I kept on the path. I kept on the path what is the name of your company? The name of my company is CCL Restoration and I named it that I called LegalZoom, like I said, a few months before my unemployment ended.

Speaker 2 20:08

And the woman on the other end, you know, starting my LLC, and the woman on the other end said what's the name of your company? And I said I don't know. I said let me think about it. And she says, okay, well, I have to put you on hold. When I come back, maybe you'll have a name. So when she came back, she said do you have a name for your company yet? And I said, yes, ccl Restoration. And she says, well, what does that stand for? And I said Carmen, courtney and Landon being restored. And that's my name, my daughter's name and my son's name, and restoration means being restored. So I don't know if that's a. You know, that's kind of a tricky thing because I get calls and say do you restore? You know, we had a fire, we had water. Yeah, it's the restoration business. Right, that makes sense. You know, that was what was in my heart, and I did it for myself and for my kids, and so I named the company after us and my speaking business is CCL Inspires.

Empowering Through Adversity and Success

Speaker 1 21:00

CCL Inspires. I love it. That is so great. So could you share with our audience how they can connect with you?

Speaker 2 21:07

You can connect with me through my website, CarmenJordancom, which you know email and phone numbers there, and you can connect with me on Facebook, Carmen Jordan, and Instagram. Ccl underscore inspires.

Speaker 1 21:22

So if a company wants you to speak, is that something that you do for companies? Yes, great. Well, that's good to know. And everyone out there, you know, pay attention to Carmen. She's, you know, like me. She's been through a lot in her life and she's pushed through to the other side of adversity, and when you get there, it's amazing.

Speaker 2 21:38

Yes, it is.

Speaker 1 21:38

Yeah, it's amazing. It doesn't. It doesn't. There's no better word to say that once you get to the other side of it, it is, but it's hard to get through. You just have to surround yourself with the right people. So thank you so much for joining me today. I'm honored to have you on here and I'm so glad we finally got to do this together.

Speaker 1 21:54

And also, if you could like, share, subscribe this episode. That would be great, because if we just help one person with each episode, then our podcast is a success. So thank you, carmen, it was a pleasure.

Speaker 2 22:05

Thank you. Thank you for having me.