Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer Ponce.
Jennifer, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I think a lot of who I am today comes from how I was raised.
Growing up, I was always good with numbers and money. Even as a kid, if there was something I wanted, my mind immediately went to, Okay, what do I need to do to get it? I liked making money, saving it, and figuring things out for myself. Looking back, that determined and independent side of me was there long before I ever considered myself an entrepreneur.
I grew up in a close-knit Mexican family with my mom, dad, and brother. Both of my parents come from huge families—each having around 10 to 12 siblings—so family gatherings were never small. 😂 Family was everything, and it still is.
We grew up very humble, and I was taught to appreciate what we had because my parents knew what it was like to grow up with very little. They both started working in the fields around the age of 12, and both knew early on that they wanted something different for their future.
My dad eventually attended college in Weslaco, where he earned his Associate’s degree as a dental technician. After graduating, he moved to Houston looking for an opportunity and found one. My mom immigrated to the United States when she was only 14 years old with two of her siblings in hopes of creating a better future. At 36 years old, she was able to become a U.S. citizen.
Those stories mean so much more to me now that I’m an adult and a mother myself.
My parents didn’t sit me down and give me lessons about hard work, respect, gratitude, or humility. I watched them live those things. That’s where so much of who I am comes from.
I’m also incredibly proud of my Mexican roots. I’m blessed to be fluent in Spanish because my parents made sure we stayed connected to our culture. Every summer, my mom would take us to her hometown of Tamazula, Jalisco, a small town about three hours from Guadalajara, and we would spend our school vacations there.
My mom maintained friendships and relationships there throughout her entire life, and we’re still so loved and cared for when we visit. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized how special that is. I’m getting to experience the seeds my mom planted years ago and now pass those same traditions and relationships down to my son.
Fast-forward a little bit: I graduated from Sam Rayburn High School in 2017 as a dual-credit student and went on to graduate from San Jacinto College with my Associate of Applied Science. I originally thought my career would go in that direction, but breaking into the industry was much harder than I expected. Eventually, I decided I wasn’t going to sit around waiting for an opportunity that might never come. I went to work.
I’ve actually been working since I was 16. My first job was at my best friend’s dad’s hardware store, Fischer’s Hardware. That job taught me so much about customer service and working with people, and I realized how much I genuinely enjoyed helping others.
I’ve also almost always had more than one job or something going on on the side. 😂 I’ve always enjoyed making my own money, saving it, and figuring out new ways to create opportunities for myself.
In the summer of 2018, I met my fiancé, James. From the moment we met, we were pretty much locked in. Then, in December 2020, we welcomed our son, Ezekiel, and becoming his mom completely changed my world.
He gave my ambition an entirely different meaning.
I wasn’t only thinking about what I wanted for myself anymore. I started thinking about the example I wanted my son to grow up watching. I wanted him to see a mom who worked hard, took chances, kept learning, and wasn’t afraid to change directions when something wasn’t working.
Motherhood also led me into another chapter of my life: fitness.
There came a point when I looked at myself and thought, Jen, you’re not happy with how you feel. Let’s do something about it.
So I got back into the gym, started eating cleaner, and honestly never looked back.
About a year into my own fitness journey, I decided I wanted to understand more than just workouts. I earned my Personal Training certification along with my Nutritionist certification because, as they say, you are what you eat. 😂
I started taking on clients while still working, and before I knew it, I was balancing my regular job with training, meal preps, catering, and whatever other opportunity I could get my hands on.
But while all of that was happening professionally, God was doing something much bigger in me personally.
In September 2024, during a difficult season in my life, I attended my first Young Adult service at Bethel Christian Center. I remember walking in carrying so many worries and burdens and walking out feeling lighter.
That night became a turning point for me.
I made the decision to truly give my life to Jesus, and my life did a complete 180.
I walked away from things I had once used for comfort—partying, clubs and bars, marijuana, and other things I thought brought me peace. People would ask me, “How did you just stop? Why?”
The answer is that I realized I had been looking for healing and peace in all the wrong places.
I wasn’t looking for religion. I was looking for healing, peace, and purpose, and I found all three in a relationship with Jesus.
So much has happened since then that if I tried to explain every challenge and milestone, we’d be here all day. 😂
Today, at 27 years old, my life looks completely different from what younger Jen probably imagined.
I work full-time in a career that provides stability and allows me to continue learning about business. I’m a Certified Personal Trainer and Nutritionist. I coach at an all-women’s gym. I lead the Faith & Fitness Ministry at Bethel Christian Center. I do meal preps and taco catering on the side. I’m continuing my education in business. My fiancé and I are building our dream home, we’ve stepped into real estate, and most importantly, I’m raising my son while continuing to grow into the woman God has called me to be.
My life probably looks a little crazy from the outside because I genuinely have my hands in a little bit of everything. 😂 But I’ve realized that I’m not meant to fit neatly into one box.
I love learning something new and immediately thinking, Okay, what can I do with this? How can I build from this? How can I use it to help somebody else?
I’m still building. I’m still learning. I definitely don’t have everything figured out.
But for the first time, I don’t feel like I need to.
I know Who I’m following, and I trust Him with where I’m going.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Absolutely not. I’m incredibly grateful for where I am today, but getting here has definitely not been a straight or easy road.
One of the first things I had to learn was that life doesn’t always go according to the plan we create for ourselves. I earned my Associate of Applied Science fully expecting to build a career in that field. I had invested years into my education, so when breaking into the industry wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be, I was discouraged. At the time, I felt like maybe I had wasted all that work.
Looking back now, I can see it completely differently. God was redirecting me. The career I thought I needed ended up not being the path He had for me, and that redirection eventually opened doors I never would have planned for myself.
Motherhood was another major turning point in my life. Becoming a young mom changed my priorities almost overnight. Suddenly, every decision wasn’t just about me anymore. I had to learn how to balance work, finances, motherhood, my own goals, and still grow into the woman I wanted to become.
There were definitely moments when I wondered if I was doing enough or if I was somehow falling behind everyone else. But my son became one of my biggest reasons to keep going. I never wanted him to look at me and think becoming his mom caused me to stop dreaming. I wanted him to grow up watching his mom work hard, trust God, take chances, fail sometimes, get back up, and keep going.
Entrepreneurship has humbled me too. It sounds exciting to say you own businesses, but people don’t always see what happens behind the scenes. There have been early mornings, late nights, catering events, meal preps, coaching, full-time work, school, ministry, motherhood, finances, and plenty of moments when I’ve thought, Okay Lord, how am I supposed to do all of this?
But truthfully, the biggest transformation in my life wasn’t professional or financial. It was spiritual.
There was a season when, from the outside, I probably looked fine, but internally I knew something was missing. I was looking for peace in things that could distract me temporarily but could never actually heal me.
During one of the hardest seasons of my life, I walked into a Young Adult service at Bethel Christian Center, and that decision changed everything. I encountered Jesus in a way I never had before.
Following Christ didn’t magically make life easy. If anything, there were things I had to confront. Habits had to change. Certain relationships had to be reevaluated. I had to learn a completely different way of living, and not everyone understood it.
But I wasn’t looking for religion—I was looking for healing, peace, and purpose, and I found all three in a relationship with Jesus.
Even now, life isn’t perfect. My fiancé and I have walked through challenges in our relationship, made difficult financial decisions while trying to build a future for our family, and learned how to balance careers, businesses, ministry, parenting, and personal growth.
The difference now is that I don’t expect a difficult season to mean God has abandoned me or that I’m on the wrong path.
Some seasons are simply hard. Some require patience. Some require me to admit I was wrong and grow. And some only make sense when I look back at them later.
I can genuinely say that the woman I am today was shaped just as much by the things that didn’t work out as the things that did.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
This is always a funny question for me because the answer is, Which job are we talking about?
By day, I work full-time in the HVAC industry, where I handle service calls and emails, coordinate and oversee 14 technicians, and help keep our day-to-day operations moving. That career has taught me so much about leadership, organization, communication, customer service, and what it takes to keep a business running behind the scenes.
Then there’s the side of me that most people probably know: health, fitness, and nutrition.
I’m a Certified Personal Trainer and Nutritionist, I coach at an all-women’s gym, and I’m the instructor for the Faith & Fitness Ministry at Bethel Christian Center.
I love helping women become stronger, but my approach to fitness has changed tremendously as my faith has grown.
I don’t want women believing their worth is determined by a number on a scale or what they see in the mirror. I want them to understand that taking care of themselves isn’t selfish and that honoring their bodies can be an act of stewardship.
Yes, I want you to get stronger. I want you to challenge yourself. I want you to eat foods that nourish your body.
But I also want you to know why you’re doing it.
Fitness can transform your body, but faith transformed my entire life.
Food is another way I love serving people. I offer meal preps and taco catering, which probably sound like two completely different businesses , but both come from my love of food, bringing people together, and serving others.
I’m also continuing my education in business and learning more about entrepreneurship, investing, and real estate because building wealth and creating opportunities for my family has always interested me.
I don’t want to simply make money to buy things. I want to create stability and freedom for my family, be in a position to bless other people, and eventually leave something behind for my son.
When I think about what I’m most proud of, though, it’s honestly not any certification, business, property, or title.
It’s the people.
It’s watching a woman walk into a workout nervous and leave realizing she’s stronger than she thought.
It’s seeing a mom understand that she can take care of herself without feeling guilty.
It’s someone telling me that something I said encouraged them to pray again or become closer to God.
Those moments mean more to me than another accomplishment ever could.
As far as what sets me apart, I think it’s that I genuinely don’t know how to separate my faith from the rest of my life anymore—and I don’t want to.
Whether I’m coaching a workout, preparing someone’s food, working my full-time job, studying, leading Faith & Fitness, or building another business, I’m still Jen.
I want to work hard. I want to treat people well. I want to make people feel seen. And I want whatever God places in my hands to be better because I was willing to steward it.
Ultimately, I don’t just want to build successful businesses.
I want to build a legacy.
I want Ezekiel to grow up seeing that success isn’t only how much money you make, what you own, or what title comes after your name. I want him to see faith, discipline, generosity, character, and service modeled in our home.
If I’m known for anything years from now, I hope it’s not simply that I did a lot of things.
I hope it’s that I loved people well while I did them.
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
If there’s one thing I’d want someone reading my story to take away, it’s this:
You don’t have to have everything figured out before you start. I definitely didn’t.
I think social media can make us feel like everyone else has life perfectly mapped out while we’re somehow behind. But most of the time, we’re looking at someone else’s finished product without seeing the mistakes, sacrifices, prayers, tears, failures, and starting over that happened behind the scenes.
I’m 27 years old and I’m still figuring things out.
I’ve changed directions. I’ve questioned myself. I’ve had things not work out. I’ve worked full-time while building things on the side. I’ve raised my son while chasing goals. I’ve gone back to school. I’ve started things before I felt completely ready.
And I’m sure I’ll pivot another hundred times before God is done with me.
I’ve learned that you can be incredibly grateful for how far you’ve come and still be a work in progress.
So start with what you have. Don’t be afraid to change direction. Don’t let watching someone else’s journey make you question the pace of your own.
And above everything else, don’t build your identity around what you accomplish.
I’m proud of what I’m building. I’m proud of my career, businesses, education, fitness journey, ministry, home, and every opportunity God has given me.
But none of those things are who I am.
My greatest identity is being a daughter of God.
Everything else is simply something He’s trusted me to steward.
My prayer is that when people meet me, they don’t only remember what I accomplished. I hope they remember how I made them feel. I hope they felt seen, encouraged, loved, and reminded that there’s still more possible for their lives.
If sharing my story encourages even one woman to take care of herself, start the business, go back to school, chase the dream, start over, grow closer to God, or simply believe that her story isn’t finished yet, then sharing it was worth it.
I’m still building. I’m still learning. I’m still becoming.
And through all of it, I’m learning to trust God with what comes next.
Pricing:
- $55 coaching sessions
- $10-12 meal preps
- $400 base catering
Contact Info:
- Website: https://ponces-goods.myshopify.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/glow.with.jenn?igsh=MWphbzI2cnJhcXQ3bQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1EGY6y8egN/?mibextid=wwXIfr
Image Credits
@britnysfocalpoint
