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As a part of the Morning Lazziness sequence highlighting empowering girls who’re making a outstanding impression with their concepts, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jessica Fabus Cheng.
Jessica Fabus Cheng is a uncommon thyroid most cancers survivor, accessibility advocate, and Mrs. DC Worldwide 2025. A former registered nurse and Workforce USA Taekwondo athlete, Jessica now channels her power and resilience into empowering others by means of her platform, Accessibility in Motion, and her podcast, All of the Greatest with Jess. Regardless of dwelling with solely 80% vocal operate, she makes use of her voice—actually and figuratively—to champion digital inclusion and assist manufacturers construct extra accessible content material by means of her Turnkey Accessibility program.
Topped Mrs. New York Worldwide 2023 earlier than her present title, Jessica carries many roles: surgical nurse, athlete, mom, Duchenne service, and most cancers survivor. She was additionally acknowledged in 2021 as certainly one of Taekwondo Life Journal’s “10 Ladies to Watch.”
Jessica’s advocacy journey is deeply private. In 2004, her youthful cousin Tommy was identified with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. That very same 12 months, genetic testing revealed that Jessica herself was a Duchenne service. As a substitute of retreating, she leaned into neighborhood help—elevating consciousness, fundraising, and strolling alongside households affected by Duchenne.
From determine skating to martial arts, from nursing to world advocacy, Jessica embodies resilience, management, and repair. Whether or not on stage, on-line, or in her neighborhood, she continues to encourage by turning life’s best challenges into platforms for change.
On this interview, she presents a candid take a look at the realities of entrepreneurship, sharing each the challenges and the victories that outlined her path.
What impressed your leap into entrepreneurship, and what private experiences sparked the concept behind your present enterprise?
My leap into entrepreneurship wasn’t a alternative. It was a calling. After I was identified with uncommon thyroid most cancers, I used to be informed I’d completely lose my voice. For somebody who moved to New York at 19 to pursue music, then spent years working in working rooms as a nurse, that felt like a merciless twist. However in that silence, I discovered readability. I noticed I didn’t want an ideal voice to talk up. I wanted goal. That’s how Accessibility in Motion was born. I noticed what number of voices had been being unnoticed of digital areas. I knew I had the story, the technique, and the guts to vary that.
What core downside does your small business remedy, significantly for girls or underserved communities—and the way does your strategy stand out in at the moment’s aggressive house?
Most manufacturers overlook disabled and neurodiverse communities, regardless that they signify over $13 trillion in world shopping for energy. By way of Turnkey Accessibility and my Triple A Framework (Consciousness, Allyship, Motion), I assist companies create content material and experiences that embody everybody, not simply the bulk. What makes my strategy totally different is that it’s rooted in lived expertise and pushed by human connection. I don’t educate accessibility as a rulebook. I educate it as a relationship.
What had been among the hardest obstacles you confronted early in your journey as a girl entrepreneur, and the way did you navigate by means of them?
One of many hardest issues was feeling like I didn’t belong within the dialog. I don’t use a wheelchair. I didn’t undergo years of therapy. So I used to surprise if my voice was sufficient. However dropping 20 % of your vocal operate and nonetheless selecting to talk up is its personal sort of energy. I needed to unlearn the concept that advocacy has a single look or language. I leaned into the intersections of my story, and that’s when issues began to shift.
When the going will get powerful, what retains you grounded and motivated to maintain pushing ahead?
My daughter, Coco. She is my why. I would like her to develop up in a world the place inclusion isn’t non-obligatory. The place empathy is modeled, not simply taught. I additionally take into consideration my cousin, who misplaced the flexibility to stroll after tripping on an inaccessible sidewalk. These are actual lives impacted by techniques that had been by no means designed for all of us. That’s what grounds me and retains me transferring.
What every day habits or non-negotiable routines provide help to keep targeted, creatively energized, and balanced as a founder?
I design my day round vitality, not simply duties. I schedule vocal relaxation prefer it’s a gathering. I stroll our information dog-in-training. I play with my daughter. I take time to unplug. These aren’t extras. They’re necessities. They usually’re a part of the explanation I can present up with readability and goal when it counts.
What’s been the simplest progress lever for buying new purchasers or increasing your buyer base?
Talking. Whether or not on a podcast, a panel, or a company coaching, after I get to inform the story behind the mission, folks join. They don’t simply perceive accessibility. They really feel it. And that’s what turns consciousness into motion.
What branding or advertising determination had the most important impression in elevating your small business and constructing belief along with your viewers?
Selecting to guide with my actual voice. For a very long time, I frightened that folks would hear the distinction in how I converse. However it seems, that distinction is what makes my message stick. When folks perceive the place your story comes from, they belief the place you’re taking them.
How do you personally outline success—not simply as a enterprise proprietor, however as a girl dwelling a purpose-driven life?
Success is alignment. It’s when your actions match your values, and your work displays your goal. For me, that appears like creating areas the place folks really feel seen, heard, and valued. If my daughter grows up realizing that’s regular, not distinctive, then I’ve carried out one thing proper.
Are you able to share a mistake or misstep that taught you a lesson you continue to carry with you at the moment?
Ready to really feel “prepared.” After most cancers, I believed I needed to be totally healed earlier than I spoke publicly about accessibility. However therapeutic isn’t linear. And your story is effective even whilst you’re nonetheless dwelling it. The lesson I carry is that this: you don’t need to be completed to be impactful.
What’s your finest recommendation for girls simply beginning out—particularly first-time entrepreneurs feeling overwhelmed or uncertain of their subsequent steps?
Begin small and begin with coronary heart. You don’t want a flowery emblem or a five-year plan to start. What you want is readability about who you need to serve and why it issues. From there, the following step all the time reveals itself.
How do you strategy danger and innovation, particularly when breaking new floor in a male-dominated or fast-changing trade?
I strategy danger like I strategy accessibility, with curiosity and braveness. Generally the boldest innovation is just asking, “Who isn’t being thought of right here?” While you lead from that place, your options change into extra inclusive by design.
For those who lead a crew, how do you foster a tradition of belief, inclusivity, collaboration, and progress?
Whether or not it’s a crew of contractors, collaborators, or volunteers, I lead by instance. Meaning ensuring everybody feels heard. It means constructing versatile techniques that help totally different communication and studying types. Inclusion is not only what we do. It’s how we do it.
What are the highest 5 mindset shifts or private practices that helped you overcome self-doubt and develop your confidence as a girl entrepreneur?
- Progress is best than perfection
- Relaxation is strategic
- Vulnerability builds belief
- You might be allowed to take up house
- Visibility is an act of service
Every of those helped me present up, even after I was afraid.
For those who may spark a world motion by means of your work, what wouldn’t it be—and why is that mission significant to you?
I need to make accessibility the default, not the afterthought. If we design with inclusion from the beginning, we don’t simply accommodate extra folks. We invite them to guide, create, and thrive. That’s the world I’m working towards, one model and one voice at a time.
What’s a quote, philosophy, or guiding perception that shapes the way you lead, create, and dwell on daily basis?
You don’t want a loud voice to create massive change. I’ve discovered that impression comes from intention, not quantity. For those who present up with readability and coronary heart, your message will echo in methods you possibly can’t all the time measure.
The place can our viewers join with you, discover your work, or comply with your entrepreneurial journey on-line?
Go to Jessica Fabus Cheng or comply with me on Instagram and @bestwithjesspodcast. You may also tune into All the Best with Jess, the place I highlight entrepreneurs and voices of impression throughout industries.
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