Episode 320: Building Confidence Through Small Wins with Jen Mueller

Small Wins Stack Up to Big Success

Jen Mueller has spent over 25 years in one of the most male-dominated industries you can imagine. She’s a veteran sideline reporter for the Seattle Seahawks. She spent over two decades with the Seattle Mariners TV broadcast team. And here’s what she’ll tell you about persistence: it has nothing to do with waiting for huge breakthrough moments.

The real secret? Bubble gum moments.

I know. Sounds weird, right? But by the end of this conversation, you’ll get it. You’ll understand why Jen measures her success in pieces of bubble gum. And why that matters for your business, too.

Look, building something real takes time. Whether you’re launching a coaching practice or scaling any venture that matters to you, it’s so easy to get discouraged. Right now, 70% of small business owners are bracing for a recession. Everything feels urgent. Like it all needs to happen faster and bigger just to survive.

Here’s what Jen teaches: small actions create lasting change. The hellos matter. Showing up counts. Those tiny moments of progress that feel almost too small to celebrate? They’re actually everything.

This episode is for you if you’ve ever walked into a room wondering if you really belonged there. If you’ve questioned whether you’re doing enough. If you’ve felt the weight of trying to prove yourself over and over again.

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What You’ll Learn

• You’ll discover why the word “hello” became Jen’s measure of success. This simple shift helped her build relationships with professional athletes who had zero time and every reason to ignore her.
• You’ll learn the bubble gum moments strategy. It proves all your small actions are stacking up, even when you can’t see the results yet.
• You’ll understand how to stop selling past the close. If you’re in the room, you belong there. Period.
• Plus, Jen shares how staying competitive doesn’t mean grinding yourself into the ground. It means finding the right measures of success that keep you energized.
• And here’s the big one: your resume doesn’t matter as much as you think. Athletes don’t care about credentials. They care about how you make them feel. The same goes for your clients.

The Power of Hello

Okay, so picture this. Jen’s standing at the clubhouse door during spring training. The entire roster had changed over. She knew maybe five people out of 80. Walking in felt overwhelming.

So she made herself a promise.

“The promise that I made to myself while standing at the door of the clubhouse was all you have to do today is go inside and say hi. And if you go inside and say hi to five people and you use their first name, you get credit, and you can be done today.” – Jen Mueller

This wasn’t about lowering her standards. It was about creating a sustainable path forward when the big goal felt too far away. She was building relationships one hello at a time. Trusting that these moments would stack up.

And guess what? They did. 

Eleven years later, when the Super Bowl team came back for their reunion, those same players walked up to her on the sidelines. They said, “Hi, Jen.” They introduced her to their wives and kids. The small wins had compounded into something she couldn’t have predicted.

Why This Matters for You Right Now

You don’t need to land the dream client tomorrow. You don’t need the viral moment or the six-figure launch. You need to show up consistently with your own measures of success.

Maybe your ‘hello’ is sending a single-pitch email. Making one genuine connection on LinkedIn. Recording one video even though you’re terrified. Whatever it is? It counts. It’s stacking up.

Women receive only 2-3% of venture capital funding. Small business confidence has dropped for three consecutive months. Policy uncertainty makes planning feel pointless. In this environment, traditional measures of success can feel impossible to reach.

That’s exactly why redefining what counts as a win becomes so critical.

“If you were already in the room and I don’t care what room it is, you belong in the room. Stop selling past the close, right? You already have the credential. It’s not an accident. They would have stopped you at the door if you weren’t supposed to be there. Just go sit at the table and know that is the room you’re supposed to be in.” – Jen Mueller

Can we just sit with that for a second?

We do this constantly. We walk into meetings, networking events, and consultation calls. And we immediately start proving ourselves. We lead with our resumes. We list our credentials. We work overtime to convince everyone we’re supposed to be there.

Meanwhile, the guys Jen works with? They assume she has the credentials because she’s wearing the credentials. She’s on the sideline. She has the microphone. That’s all the proof they need.

Your clients don’t need another recitation of your qualifications. They need you to show up fully. Be present. Make them feel seen. That’s the real work of building confidence in business.

The Resume Doesn’t Matter

For years, Jen led with her resume. She’d tell people she was an all-American flag football official. That she’d been officiating high school football for a decade. All of which is true and impressive.

But here’s what she learned:

“The point is what’s happening right here and now between you and me as human beings.” – Jen Mueller

The guys listened when she recited her credentials. But they didn’t care. They cared about whether she saw them. Heard them. Made them feel valued in the conversation happening right then.

Think about the last time you walked into a professional space feeling like an imposter. Someone invited you there. Someone gave you access. Someone believed you belonged.

They were right.

Competition Without Burnout

Jen is ultra-competitive. She’s built her entire career on that edge. But she’s also figured out how to channel it without burning out.

“I have learned how to channel that competitiveness into something that is productive, and that has extended my career far beyond what most people told me that I would be capable of.” – Jen Mueller

Her approach? Stack wins. Chase edges. Don’t look for massive overhauls or huge decisions. Look for the little moments that keep you motivated.

This is the opposite of hustle culture. It’s not about doing more or working harder. It’s about identifying what actually energizes you and building your days around those small wins.

What Success Looks Like on Hard Days

On days when Jen didn’t feel like walking into the clubhouse, success was just showing up and saying hello. She gave herself permission to do the minimum viable action that still moved her forward.

And the next day? She had to make up for it. But she didn’t have to do everything all at once.

“My measure of success is really, really small. It is so small. I bet you overlook this multiple times during the course of the day.” – Jen Mueller

When market saturation means everyone’s fighting for attention and economic pressure makes every decision feel high-stakes, you need a way to keep going. One that doesn’t destroy you in the process.

Your bubble gum moments-whatever they are for you-become proof that you’re building something real.

The Bubble Gum Moments Story

Okay, so you’re probably wondering about the bubble gum thing. Here’s the story.

Jen keeps a piece of bubble gum in her makeup kit almost all the time. For years, she found bubble gum in every pocket of every coat she wore on TV. The Mariners pitching coach used to hand her a piece as he went out to the bullpen.

She was already on live TV or getting ready to go on. Didn’t really want it. But you have to do something with it, right? So she’d tuck it in her pocket. Put it in her little makeup kit. Completely forgot about it.

Until she couldn’t zip up the makeup kit.

Inside? Five or six pieces of gum she’d totally forgotten about.

“What I now know and how I look at gum is it is proof that all of the little actions add up because you can hide one piece of gum very easily. You cannot hide five or six pieces of gum.” – Jen Mueller

Here’s the thing about this:

“So when you are figuring out how to do something new, don’t look at everybody else’s measure of success. Create your own, and then watch all of these little moments stack up.” – Jen Mueller

Your bubble gum moments are yours. They’re personal. They don’t rate on anybody else’s scale.

What Persistence Actually Looks Like

Jen’s career didn’t start on camera. She was a producer. She wrote scripts. She produced the nightly sportscast. She spent six or seven years behind the scenes working on skills that would eventually get her on TV.

It wasn’t overnight. Not even close.

But she counted wins along the way. She had this belief that something great was going to happen the next day. That’s what kept her going.

The Three Things People Remember

After Jen announced she was leaving the Mariners broadcast after 19 years, she got flooded with messages. Overwhelmed, humbled, grateful. Three things came up over and over again.

First: “You showed up.” People turned on the TV every night and knew she’d be there. Small action for her. Big impact for them.

Second: “You were smiling. It’s like you enjoyed what you did.” She never thought twice about showing up with energy. Made a huge difference to others.

Third, and this one hit her hard: “You said hi to me.”

“I never thought about ignoring somebody that said hi to me, or that was trying to get my attention. Small thing that I took for granted that made a big difference on somebody else.” – Jen Mueller

All the little things you can’t see or that you don’t think make a difference? I promise you they have a much greater impact than you’ll ever know.

How to Apply This to Your Business

Start by identifying your version of “hello.” What’s the smallest action you can take that moves your business forward?

Not the big launch. Not the perfect website. Not the viral post. What’s the one small thing you can do even on your worst days?

Then give yourself credit for it. Actually celebrate it. Not with a parade. Just with recognition that you showed up. You took action. You moved forward.

Creating Your Own Bubble Gum Moments

1. Choose one small action that counts as a win for you. Make it specific. Make it doable even on bad days. Write it down.
2. Decide how many times you need to do this action to call it a successful day. Jen’s number was five hellos. Your number might be different. Three emails sent. Two connections made. One video recorded. You decide.
3. Keep track somewhere visible. Not to judge yourself. Not to prove anything to anyone else. Just to remind yourself that these moments are stacking up.
4. Trust the process. Just like Jen couldn’t see that those Super Bowl players would remember her name 11 years later, you can’t predict which small actions will compound into big results. You just have to keep showing up.

Key Takeaways

1. Your measure of success is personal. Don’t compare your bubble gum moments to anyone else’s. Create your own definition and celebrate it.
2. Relationships are built one interaction at a time. Five people saying hello is five wins. Five moments of connection. Five opportunities to show up as yourself.
3. Confidence isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about trusting that you belong in the room.
4. Small wins prevent burnout. When you give yourself credit for the small stuff, you create sustainable momentum.
5. Being present beats being impressive. People remember how you made them feel.

Related Episodes

Episode 309: From Beauty Tips to Building an Empire: Sarai Martinez on Confidence, Community & Career Growth

Sarai Martinez built a beauty empire by showing up where she didn’t belong. Her 20-year journey offers real wisdom for women entrepreneurs facing closed doors and proving they belong-just like Jen’s message about trusting you’re in the room for a reason. Listen here.

Episode 214: Coaching the Unconscious Mind: Unlock Your Genius with Jenn Beninger

Jenn Beninger helps you recognize and use your intuition to calm the inner voices of self-doubt. If Jen Mueller taught you how to measure small wins, Jenn Beninger shows you how to overcome the unconscious beliefs that stop you from celebrating them. Listen here.

Episode 253: Ready to Reinvent Yourself? A Conversation With Anita Rombough

Anita Rombough helps big-hearted dreamers discover their soul purpose and achieve soulful success. She talks about listening to that soft inner voice even when it makes others uncomfortable-perfect for when you need permission to trust yourself and define success your way. Listen here.

About Jen Mueller

Jen is a veteran sideline reporter for the Seattle Seahawks, and for over two decades, was a member of the Seattle Mariners’ TV broadcast team. With over 25 years of experience covering the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and more, she’s mastered the art of building relationships and delivering impactful stories in fast-paced environments.

As the founder of Talk Sporty to Me, Jen translates her locker room communication strategies into actionable insights for business professionals, helping them level up their conversations and leadership skills.

Connect with Jen:

•  Website: https://www.talksportytome.com
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenmuellertalksporty/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talksportytome
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/talksportytome
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/TalkSportyToMe/

Ready to Build Your Confidence?

If this conversation resonated with you and you’re ready to figure out your own version of small wins that stack up to big success, let’s talk.

I offer free 30-minute consultation calls. We’ll talk about where you are in your business and see if working together feels right.

These calls are perfect for women entrepreneurs who are tired of comparing themselves to everyone else’s highlight reel. Those who are ready to define success on their own terms. Who want to build something real without burning out to achieve it.

Love This Episode?

If this conversation with Jen helped you rethink how you measure success, I’d be so grateful if you’d leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Your reviews help more women entrepreneurs find these conversations and build businesses they actually love.

About Sarah Walton

Sarah Walton is a business coach on a mission to put more money in the hands of more women. Through her podcast The Game On Girlfriend® podcast, group coaching programs, and signature courses, Sarah helps women entrepreneurs build profitable businesses that align with their values and dreams. Her approach bridges spiritual alignment with practical business strategy, creating a unique space for women who want both authenticity and results.