But first, listen to the interview that I have with Jen. She shares some awesome stories. Some not so awesome stories that are a little harrowing, but understandable ’cause she had to on this show. But she’s also comes from a huge heart, a total Go-Giver pay it forward kind of person. It’s the kind of people that us in our tribe love to align with.

So, without further ado, here’s my [00:01:00] really good friend Jen Schuster from my dan angel.com. Let’s level up.

Hey, time to Shine today. Podcast Varsity Squad. Welcome back to another powerful edition of Time to Shine Today with Coach Fergie. I’m your host, Scott Ferguson. Blessed to be your gap coach, specializing in performance mental conditioning, working with professional, amateur, and. Professional athletes and amateur athletes, business leaders, entrepreneurs, entertainers, C-suite, and students to help them bridge their success gap.

To live a life of options and not obligations on this platform, we are stoked to bring you high performers who are not just chasing entertaining success, but redefining it through, providing above and beyond service. And today’s guest does just that. She’s on a mission to make online dating safer, smarter, and way more secure.

My good friend Jen Schuster is the founder of my dating angel, the revolutionary web app using ai, risk detection, background checks and identity verification to bring accountability and confidence back to dating. What started from her own experience has [00:02:00] now become a movement one that’s protecting hearts and restoring trust in the digital age.

So time to Shine today, varsity Squad. Jen’s here to help you level up. So let’s get rock and rolling. Jen, thank you so much for coming on. Please introduce yourself to the Time to Shine Today, podcast Varsity Squad. At first, what’s your favorite color and why?

Jen Schuster: My favorite color is red.

L. Scott Ferguson: Red, red, okay. Yes.

Jen Schuster: Might be because I’m an Aries. I have no idea. It’s

L. Scott Ferguson: been that perfect thing. Gotcha. And red is definitely in your color Will. And if you’re watching a Venmo or YouTube, she’s absolutely stunning. She’s so well-spoken except when she called my show of podcast Craft, perhaps. Which is funny though. We had, we had a fun laugh over that.

So, but Jen, tell us your origins. Like I know they’re gonna get to a story that’s probably gonna scare our pants off. But , just like, I’d love to hear your kind of origin stories and how you got to bring this very well needed my dating angel.

Jen Schuster: Yeah. , It’s a good question. You, I. From Seattle originally.

Okay. Moved [00:03:00] out to Phoenix, Arizona and didn’t know anyone in the area, so I joined a meetup group of 35 to 45-year-old women. Right. And it just so happened we were all single and we were all on the dating apps. And we all were having our own trepidation with, , meeting men online and all the stories that go along with that.

And a woman found a criminal background check app and we all became extremely dependent on that app. And it disappeared. One. And so I’ve had this idea ever since then, but I’ve had some of my own personal stories meeting men online from dating apps.

L. Scott Ferguson: Can you share one? It was maybe a little bit not so great.

Yeah. Did the app, did the app would’ve kind of.

Jen Schuster: Well, yes. So this is before we had that criminal background check. I was meeting men online. I think I’m a really good , judge of character and so I have [00:04:00] certain questions that can raise red flags and, , I’m able to discern whether.

Or not, I feel safe going on it with someone. Of course, you, I always meet people in a public place that’s really busy and drive separately and all the things. And I’ve always been this way, right? But this one particular date I met a guy off a dating app. There was no red flags. He was very smooth said all the right things and I felt like I.

Could trust meeting him. And we, and he wanted to take me out for dinner, which, , typically that’s kind of nice if someone makes all the arrangements, they, , ations and, and so I didn’t really have to think, I just showed up. We had a great evening, we were talking and and then at the end of the evening there was a little ice cream shop about.

Couple blocks away. And he said, oh, well, would you like to get some ice cream? And I thought, oh, that sounds like a great idea. And he suggested that I get in his car and we drive [00:05:00] over there. And I just, at that point I had felt really comfortable and I said, yeah, that sounds great. It was only a couple blocks away.

And under his breath he said, wow, that was easy to get you to trust me. I could stop you in the trunk of my car. And the shot of adrenaline. Yeah. And I remembered I had to do something and get home, but I would really love to make a rain check. And I started, my, my response was a fawn response, which means I was just being extremely nice and agreeable and yes.

And and. We said goodnight and I wanted to make a rain check, and as soon as I got home, I blocked him and reported him. And so this happened more than I would like to admit, right? But this is why it’s so essential to have a criminal background check or even just identify that they are who they say they are because right.

Mitigated this [00:06:00] easily by just running a quick background check on him because manipulators are so smooth. Yes. You, , and, and there’s a lot of victim shaming. And so that’s also what I want to, , achieve through my platform and coming onto shows like this. Just really be able to give a voice and be the voice for people that are voiceless.

Yeah. ? Their victims need to have a platform, right. To be able to, to speak.

L. Scott Ferguson: So when you say Vic I, I actually typed it down kind of like victim shaming. What, what does that mean? I think I know, but I maybe ’cause you have the experience of knowing and doing the deep dive into this world. What does that mean?

Jen Schuster: Yeah, I’m really glad you asked. So, victim shaming is blaming the victim that they should have not had as much to drink. , For example, women that are victims of sexual assault or rape. You shouldn’t have been wearing that. You shouldn’t have been out so late. You shouldn’t [00:07:00] have , had so much to drink.

This is really shaming the victim and placing the blame on the victim when tip, when theoretically the victim. It doesn’t matter how you show up, how much you have to drink, if, it’s really the responsibility of your date to make sure you get home safely.

L. Scott Ferguson: Right. In both ways. Men and women, men and women.

So I, I

Jen Schuster: I’m glad you di differentiated. Yeah. Because it’s good to define that I am a heterosexual cis woman, so my perspective and what, and from my experiences, it’s from that experience. Sure. But I support all uht, LGBTQA plus committee. Yeah. Hundred percent men and Yeah. Also have. Problems as well.

L. Scott Ferguson: Yeah. And I, and I’ve had the kind of things with, it wasn’t so much criminal, but when I dated in that world, like me and my Susan met, met on an app, right? Mm-hmm. Kind of thing. And somehow it worked out. It just did. And six years later we’re still here. Right. But like, I would be, because, so Florida’s [00:08:00] kind of a sunny place for shady people, right?

It just is, , and especially in South Florida where I’m at and it was like, it. So I would date women that had like also ulterior motives. Maybe not the violence of stuffing in the trunk, but like, hey, , I want to like date you for other reasons than just to have a long term. Right. So you’ve, , where it kind of comes from both sides.

So it’s like your app is almost kind of protecting both. Sexist. Oh. Which is absolutely which. Awesome. That, that, that’s what I love about this. So, , what are some of the biggest challenges so far that you face while developing, , the, the web app, , kind of being kind of a solo, , preneur kind of getting going on your own.

Like, what are some of those challenges, Jen?

Jen Schuster: For me it’s the challenge throughout the last year and a half is getting the app built. So I , as a, my history is in product design. I’m a ux. Wow. Okay. I’m a user experience designer, so I have 25 years experience as a user experience.

So I [00:09:00] have the app design, I have that built. I just needed to find the engineers to be able to build it. So that was now my next challenge is getting the word out there, getting people knowing what the app is, what it does, and, and getting as many people to be safer to help people is my main mission.

And so this is the next step in that challenge is really

L. Scott Ferguson: word out there. What, what does the app do? Let, let’s kinda get into it. Do you like, okay. Like, let’s say you and I had. Started conversing online, right? Mm-hmm. Do you, okay. My name is Scott Ferguson, but my first name’s really Larry. It is. It’s Larry Scott.

Mm-hmm. So like, do you have like a facial recognition that goes into it, or like, how does it work to know you have the right Scott Ferguson?

Jen Schuster: That is a good question again. So basically , on the dating app, it’s easiest to look people up based off of their phone number. And as a men, men are very, [00:10:00] they are very they give out their phone number very freely. Yeah, we do. So I have no problem getting a phone number from a man. And I hope I guess I’m outing myself, but if anyone gives me their phone number, first thing I do is I throw it in the app. It’s a reverse book up. Also if you give me your first name, last name, if I know the city state, typically because of the dating app mm-hmm.

Will give me a location. You can look up based off a date of birth or email address as well. Any kind of the combination. But a phone number alone is the easiest. Then you get results and sometimes you’ll get multiple results. Sure. And you can, and in the. The results, the people identity, you get the first, last name, their age, their addresses, their aliases, people, they’re related to email, phone numbers, past phone numbers.

So you get a lot of information to be able to discern which person is the correct person. Usually it’ss the age that we, [00:11:00] kind of gives you that kinda of

L. Scott Ferguson: gives it away or gives. And then from there

Jen Schuster: you can do a criminal background search.

L. Scott Ferguson: Gotcha.

Jen Schuster: And the criminal background will you’ll find either if they’re on the sex, sex offender list, number one any warrants out for their arrest, criminal arrest records traffic records.

Mm-hmm. Foreclosures, bankruptcies tax lis. So there’s a whole host of information that we do provide. Mm-hmm. In the criminal background, but I have to say a disclaimer is even if they have a clean record, please use discernment because these things are not always a hundred percent. I’m just gonna ask.

L. Scott Ferguson: Yeah. Right. Okay. So

Jen Schuster: please always use discernment. Always use caution. Drive. If you’re a woman drive alone, , take your own car, meet in a public place. Yeah. Time box your dates is another great recommendation.

L. Scott Ferguson: What’s time

Jen Schuster: boxing? , Set it for an hour.

L. Scott Ferguson: Okay. Gotcha. Gotcha. , And also maybe let a friend know, did you say that?

[00:12:00] Oh, always.

Jen Schuster: I have a friend in my phone that I share my location with her. Right. Every time. Sure. So I also partnered with a couple of folks I met along the way early on when I was creating my dating angel.com. Soul Punch is someone that I was partnering with and she teaches self defense.

Okay. And she is the retired cop. Excellent. She has a great TikTok channel. I think she’s on all the social media as well. Right. But she is doing a lot for protection in that, that avenue as well.

L. Scott Ferguson: I love that. I love, I love that you’re hitting on all different angles from personal protection to background checks and, and whatnot.

So, lemme ask something if, if a person joins my dating angel. Do you guys actually do a background check on that person?

Jen Schuster: No.

L. Scott Ferguson: Okay. Gotcha. So somebody that might have a. Yeah. Yeah.

Jen Schuster: So anyone [00:13:00] can join and maybe you’re

L. Scott Ferguson: not judging or like no pre-judging if you will, but I’m just wanted to ask that question ’cause it kind of stood out to me.

Jen Schuster: No, and what it’s really interesting since I did the TikTok, someone did raise a really great point and that is there are people that have a criminal record that have turned their life around, whether it’s through recovery. Absolutely. Yeah. Grants and they are really working that program.

, I just feel that when you’re meeting a stranger online, it is, , my I believe it’s my responsibility to not give people the benefit of the doubt. I think it is essential never to give safety the doubt. But if you meet someone in a recovery program, , I’ve seen many people change their life around, and I do not.

Judge anyone? Yeah. I don’t know you. Yeah. And I, I believe that everyone needs to be safe and, and deserves to be protected.

L. Scott Ferguson: Absolutely. I love that. By you, do you come from kind of a protective [00:14:00] environment being from Seattle or like a protective family, military police or something like that, that maybe it’s kind of ingrained in you or is just something that you’ve picked this up along the way through experience.

Jen Schuster: Unfortunately women, we have to be hypervigilant. I think the scariest thing is walking. , From the gym to my car in a parking lot and getting approached by a man. Yeah. So I think that all women are in one way, shape or another, hypervigilant and and this is just a truth that needs that a lot of people that, , it’s kind of like one of those things if you don’t have.

Problem or the issue. It’s not something you think about. Right. So you take it for granted. Yep. But women don’t. And so that is something I would love to educate men or and also be educated. What is, what is your fears? , What are you looking for? Because I’m not looking at people wanting to take advantage of me financially.

Yeah. , Or. To try to scam me out of money

L. Scott Ferguson: of, of course. Yeah. I mean, so that’s [00:15:00] Arizona’s kind of like a retiree place too, right? So it’s like people save up their money their whole life to move there and die. Same with South Florida, right. , Unfortunately it’s the truth. I mean, it’s, well not even for it’s life, ?

And like there’s people that are just dirt bags that are waiting for them, , to do that. And, , it’s like a, I’ve affectionately called it a sunny place for shady people. It’s my home. I love it here. Love that. , But it’s the same, it, it kind of the same thing. So. Like, can you walk us through a little bit of the user experience from deciding, , you’re, you’re joining, decide to vet a date to receiving the background check.

Like how is the user experience go?

Jen Schuster: So typically, , I’ll meet up with someone, I’ll start talking to them through the dating app. Mm-hmm. And a lot of times I will do a phone screening or talk to them on the phone. I noticed that a lot of dating apps coming into 2025 or removing that ability to talk or communicate too much through the phone because they want people to meet in person.

Right. They want this organic, , that’s where you’re really going to get to know someone. Sure. [00:16:00] And I love your story meeting your wife because that’s, that is what the ideal is and that’s what I am trying to get people to. Right. Weed out bad. So you can have a really good experience because it’s all about connection and love, right?

And that’s what I wanna do. But you go through the app you say. Get a phone number. They agree you wanna meet people. Sometimes if they’re not giving me their number I’ll do a bunch of Google searches on the information that they provided me. I know where they work a lot of times, and I can Google their name or see a LinkedIn or see something online that identifies maybe photos and then plug that name into my system.

And be able to get the information I need. But I’m telling you, 90% of the time I’ve got the phone number. I’ve got the phone number. Yeah. That’s not a problem. Right? Or you can ask someone, when they’re. Like their favorite birthday. I have a lot of tips and tricks in the app for getting the information you need in a [00:17:00] playful manner that’s not intrusive and also can , give you the information that you need without really drilling.

Yeah. Grilling someone because that’s never fun. And

L. Scott Ferguson: Yeah.

Jen Schuster: But no one wants to

L. Scott Ferguson: be interrogated to go. I mean, I’ll tell you, if a woman did that to me, I’d be like, dude, that it’s like this. I’m super laid back and when I mean I’m six one, I go about two 40. I’m pretty well put together. Big dude. But it’s like I’m the first guy to give you huge hugs.

You know what I’m saying? Yeah. That’s just the Midwest, you teddy bear. Yeah. Being from Michigan and stuff. So like how, like how about like so if there is a concern. If if a woman or a man came to you and you started the vetting process on them, how, how do you kind of point out the concern without.

Being an alarmist, what I’m saying? It’s like, , ’cause you’re not some of the, like, I live in a huge glass house. Okay. So I’m, I never throw stones. It’s just, I, dude, trust me. Okay. But it’s like anyone that says, trust me also, I mean, I don’t know why I said that, but like, seriously, [00:18:00] it’s like, I, I just don’t judge.

You can do anything as long as it’s not towards me.

Jen Schuster: Yeah.

L. Scott Ferguson: So. How do you kind of put that information out where again, like I saw the TikTok story you were talking about, where you addressed about, , some people do turn their life around, stuff like that. So how do you gently break the news that maybe there’s somebody that might have to do a deeper dive on.

Jen Schuster: It’s gonna be different for everyone, but for me personally if I find anything that looks especially any criminal records, I’m not going on a date with you. So and also I will stress, please do not ghost people. I think that that is also pretty traumatic. Mm-hmm. Eating experience for people. I always say, , at a certain point , I’m just really not feeling the chemistry or the vibe.

Mm-hmm. But I wish you a lot of luck. You seem like a nice guy. And and then just kind of [00:19:00] exit, right? Sometimes I’ll get a pushback like wow, that was sudden, or, yeah. That’s judgmental. Or, , because I find that people that are defensive, it’s, it’s kind of validating in my, mm-hmm.

Opinion, because if you’re gonna have that reaction off of no, because saying no is another great way. I test out to see if you respect my boundaries, right? So if someone gives, whenever someone gives me their number I tell them. , I don’t like giving out my phone number before we meet in person.

Okay. And I can judge how they react off of that. Sure. Typically people say, oh, okay, no problem. But then further down the line, maybe two or three text messages later, they’ll throw in a little joke that’s kind of not a joke. If I had your number, I’d be able to blah, blah, blah. Right. Send you a photo or whatever.

Or, sometimes I’ve had yeah, sometimes I’ve had just really like, oh, you’re an idiot. You can just get a Google Voice number. I was like, I [00:20:00] know I have one. Yeah. But now I know I don’t wanna date you. Right, right, right. So it’s just, it, it depends on what, what you’re looking for. Maybe some things are deal breakers for me are not deal breakers for other people, and that’s why you can do the criminal background check.

And if you do want to. Talk to them about a couple of things. I, I really recommend, not if it’s any violent crime sex offender. No, I appreciate that. , These are the things that you just are absolutely no, a hundred percent. Yeah. For foreclosures, bankruptcy, speeding tickets, maybe they have like 10 speeding tickets.

I wouldn’t say anything until you meet them on person, maybe second date, because that’s not your, your, you’re not at risk. Okay. And so it’s kind of more of these things that you would like a little bit of an explanation, but I would vet out if you even wanna date them or not. Maybe they like to watch football every Sunday and you hate football and you can’t stand people that you know.

So you decide right there and then you don’t want to [00:21:00] date this person. Why even bring it up? ? Sure. Why. Just avoiding uncomfortable conversations you don’t need to have in the first place. Right. I think a lot of people get into the situation that they want to kind of prove someone, like they want to, , show them how wrong they are or want to fix them or want to help them, or, , there’s a lot of things that happen from a psychological level and that’s where.

, Good therapy comes in and having that self-awareness and really doing the inner work, right? And knowing you’re the common denominator if you’re not liking your dating experience right, will really set some time to yourself. I, I took. , Probably about a year. I said a year. But then because of the pandemic, it ended up being two years that I was not dating, not talking to men on purpose, just so I could really hone in on, , what do I want to see in my reality.

Yeah, your flock.

L. Scott Ferguson: Yeah. Yeah. I got you. Yeah. Love it.

Jen Schuster: So [00:22:00] that’s how I’ve gotten to this. I

L. Scott Ferguson: love it.

Jen Schuster: To be able to, you’re on a

L. Scott Ferguson: mission. Yeah, I’m on a

Jen Schuster: mission, mission.

L. Scott Ferguson: Mission to, to protect and to serve. And so with the user experience, is it, if I was on there and I wanted to, like I met somebody, do I come to the, the web app and fill out the information and then do you do the work or does the AI do the work?

Or like, how does, how does that working right now?

Jen Schuster: Oh yeah. So you come to the site, you create an account, which is, you can just log in with your Google account. Okay. And that’s it. You’re in, and then you can right away do a search. Okay. So I have leading safety tips and, , a host of other resources hotline for domestic for, I’m sorry for, any kind of sexual assault reporting and all those kind of resources as well. But when you get into the app just log in with an [00:23:00] email or your g or your Google account and you and I believe we also support Facebook. And you can just go straight into the search, love it, and it prompts you just to put in a name or a phone number.

L. Scott Ferguson: Gotcha. And then the, the people have got to take into consideration if they wanna move forward. So the responsibility is on the user, but you’re just giving them, making sure they get the right information to make the best informed decision possible. And But you still caution them to use the discernment.

Yes, as well. And also. Okay. I, I know. I love this, this, this is great. So other than kind of getting on podcasts and stuff like that, how are you marketing, the, the app, , web app right now? Like what are you, what are you doing to kind of market it and get the name out there?

Jen Schuster: Yeah, the biggest tool I’ve been using is TikTok.

That’s where I’ve been able to get the most amount of the most audience. Mm-hmm. My Instagram, I have Instagram, I have Facebook, but of course. These things are, oh, there’s my, yeah. TikTok. [00:24:00] Yeah. My, I love it.

L. Scott Ferguson: You go in depth too, like you give it it’s good content squad. So, , if you’re look into this world of, , you’re looking for your significant other, I would definitely at least check out her TikTok.

Right. And, and ’cause she has some great stories. Then the My Dating Angel app as well. So there’s her face. Oh, that’s great. Love it. Yes, love it. Yes. , So. Let me ask you something. Have you seen, I wanna know a little bit about John. Okay. That we’re not on a date. I’m just asking about a couple things here.

So

Jen Schuster: I don’t date married men. Just, there you go.

L. Scott Ferguson: I’m not married, but Susan would kick my ass, so I mean, oh well. So as good as married to me. Right. Okay. So have you seen the movie Back to the Future? Of course. Okay, let’s get in that DeLorean with Marty McFly. Okay, let’s go back to the double do a 22-year-old.

John, what kind of knowledge nuggets with the experience that you have now, might you drop on her just for life’s journey? , Maybe like to shorten a learning, not change much of [00:25:00] anything, right? Because your life is, we all have blessings in life, but to maybe help her shorten a learning curve or blast through in her endeavors.

Maybe just a little bit quicker.

Jen Schuster: Oh God. First thing that came to mind is. Don’t care what people think about you. No one is thinking about you. Everyone is so self-absorbed. Don’t care. Yeah. Do what you wanna do. Don’t be worried about what people are thinking about you. Yeah. Know, , and even if they are thinking about you and you believe it’s negative it’s more of a reflection of where they Yeah.

Where they are than where absolutely you are. Love that

L. Scott Ferguson: you say that. Because I make, I make two New Year’s resolutions every year. One, to make someone smile every single day. Awesome. Okay. And two, unless I’ve hurt you, disrespect you, owe you or judge you, I give zero. What’s more, what do you think about me?

I don’t care,

Jen Schuster: dude,

L. Scott Ferguson: at all. , 100% nothing. You, hundred percent. No. You start affecting my money or my relationships, then we’re gonna have an issue. Yeah. But I don’t care what you think about me. Think what you [00:26:00] want. Right? Yes. I love that you said that. That’s, that’s beautiful advice. How about how does, how does.

Jen want her dash remembered that little line between your incarnation date and your expiration date, your life date, and your death date. Right. Hopefully it’s way down the line. But how does, because you’re doing so much to protect people right now, like mm-hmm. How does Jen want her Dash remembered?

Jen Schuster: Like my, my epitaph or my life purpose?

Yeah. , I Dash is

L. Scott Ferguson: everything, . Yeah. I really

Jen Schuster: wanna remember, service, , that I was here that I have integrity and I, I set my intention every day just to see where I could add to the stream of life and really help people show up. Because I’ve, and I, this is through my experience, if I could tell the 22-year-old Jen, , really focus on where you can add to life than what you can get out of life, because that’s when life really starts showing up for you. That was the most, probably the pivotal moments of my career and my [00:27:00] personal life when I shifted from seeing what I can get outta certain situations to where I can add value.

Hmm. I mean, when you see what you can get out of situations where it is, I wanna get that promotion, I wanna get the good product. I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, you’re in a scarcity mindset. You’re saying, I don’t have enough. You’re telling the universe I don’t have enough. But when you say, where can I be helpful?

What can I do to add value, then sure. That is abundance mindset. Yeah. And so then the universe reflects that back to me. Absolutely. And that’s why I have so many people helping me build my dating angel for practically for free. Right. Because of the relationships I developed.

L. Scott Ferguson: Right.

Jen Schuster: That into action. How are you

L. Scott Ferguson: being about re being reciprocated too, because you’ve given so much and like, are you good at receiving.

Jen Schuster: You know what, that’s that’s a difficult one for me. I’ve always been hyper independent and it’s a trauma response, so that’s one thing I am working [00:28:00] on. Me too. Yeah. I got you. And I’m better at receiving. Yeah. Not just compliments, but receiving help and, and better yet even asking for help.

L. Scott Ferguson: Yeah.

Get your asking here. Yeah.

Jen Schuster: Yeah. People love helping people. I love helping people. So I have to remind myself every day that how much I love helping and I’m giving someone else the opportunity to feel that right. Helping me. Right. So it’s I have to look at it from that perspective to really have the confidence to show up and ask for help and develop those kind of relationships because people that help people, you feel more connected.

Yeah, absolutely. And it’s just, it’s just been a really awesome experience. But I’ve been really challenged with being an entrepreneur because I can’t do this alone. Yeah. No one can do this alone. Right. So I’ve been out of my comfort zone for the last year and a half. Good for you. And and challenging myself, but it’s not something I set out to do.

Right. But it’s something that I have to do in order to be successful. Yeah. [00:29:00] Out of my own way. And you’ve gotta

L. Scott Ferguson: be able to receive I, yes. Like my, my, I had a huge issue with that. ’cause I’m a give, give, give. Yeah. Personally, I’m thinking. Okay. I mean, I’ll just get when it comes. But what, my coach, this is 1999, I think it was 27 or years old, and she said, listen, and she’s still my coach to this day.

Right. She’s like, listen. We were sitting outside, , I flew to see her and she lives in warm climate and she’s like, see that tree over there? Like, what do we breathe in? I’m like, oxygen. She’s like, what do you breathe out? Carbon dioxide monoxide? And she’s like, what does the tree breathe in? Carbon monoxide was a breathe out.

Oxygen is a tree. Give itself a choice. Why do we, what I’m saying? Ever since that day, I don’t just go out looking for handouts, but if someone wants to help. , It’s a lot easier for me. I can look at anything living and say, that doesn’t, , it doesn’t have a choice. Why do I, right. So maybe I pass that on to you, like, just receive man.

You know what I’m saying? I was just thinking I’m gonna steal that from you. Yeah. But I also credit goes where credit due. Yeah. So I quote people. So I’ll be quoting you [00:30:00] on that.

Yeah. Great. Appreciate it. Yeah. It, it’s it, yeah. For sure. So how about what do you think people might misunderstand about Jennifer?

Jen Schuster: Ooh, that’s a good one. I think that people misjudge, , I’m very vulnerable. I’m very honest and authentic, and people can mistake that for weakness. Okay. And so I often have people thinking that they can take advantage of me, and they don’t know. I’m a little quiet mastermind and I have you figured out.

And I have it all figured out.

L. Scott Ferguson: Smiling Assassin. Yes. So

Jen Schuster: minus the assassin, but I, it’s more of the, I’m gonna remove myself from situations so, , strong boundaries and. That’s really good to define too, because people ask me about boundaries or get that mistaken. Sure. But boundaries are in my control, so I am Yeah.

Telling you how close I’m willing to get to you. Right. Not how far you can come [00:31:00] to me. So in that aspect, I remove myself quietly. Mm-hmm. From situations that don’t serve me or Gotcha.

L. Scott Ferguson: You ever found yourself crossing a boundary that you weren’t welcome in?

Jen Schuster: Oh well, what would you mean by that?

L. Scott Ferguson: So, , like a lot of times, like women will play this.

Like, dude, he crossed the line with me. Oh. If you ever crossed the line with a man, be like, whoa, maybe I move too fast.

Jen Schuster: Oh, right. Yes, absolutely. , It’s like, these are the kind of things that you learn, but if I’m looking at it, well, if he would’ve done this, then I wouldn’t have done that. Now I’m not taking accountability.

I won’t. I’ll experience that over and over again. Right. He responsibility. Oh, I really overstep my boundaries here. Or, I really made that person feel uncomfortable. Love that.

L. Scott Ferguson: I love your transparency. I love your humility too, which is out there. Yeah. What I’m saying? That’s that’s because a lot of times, I’m gonna tell you this, like I’m not afraid to speak freely on this.

A lot of times you don’t seem jaded like a jaded woman. ’cause I’ve interviewed some, they’re jaded and they’re like, Hey man, they hate [00:32:00] them. Dad. Dad. And it’s like, dude. You know what? We’re a species too. Okay. And, and we are gonna get respect because if it would’ve went that way, you and I would’ve had a different conversation.

Right. But I love that you give everybody that respect that they deserve. Right. I understand that maybe it might go harsher towards women, , just naturally it seems like. But there are men out there, and I know them and I coach them mm-hmm. That have been taken advantage of by women, right? Oh, absolutely.

This, this app could have really helped with. What I’m saying? So, absolutely.

Jen Schuster: Yeah. And in fact, I have some men that I are, , CEOs and founders that I talk to on a regular and interviewing them on their dating experiences. Yeah. And they’re saying the same thing I’m saying. Right. So it really goes, it’s both ways.

I don’t think it’s more women than men. I think we’re having the exact same experience. Right. And that, , it’s interesting how we can feel so like, this is just happening to me, but really. Sometimes you’re part of the problem if you have these blind.

L. Scott Ferguson: Thank you. [00:33:00] That’s awesome. Yep, exactly. , It’s in both ways.

Jen Schuster: It’s like you have to, you have to surround yourself with people that are not Yes. People that will check. So I have plenty of people that will call me out and that’s a great way for me to be able to learn as well, but not call me out in a way that would be condescending or, , but these people are, , it’s the fist of love.

Mm-hmm. And we want each other to grow and be better. I called you

L. Scott Ferguson: out in a couple questions. You’re great with them. Yeah. What I’m saying? It’s like it gotta be, I, I gotta be fair, ? Yeah. And that’s just how it is. I mean, life’s not fair. But in this podcast, I wanna be fair to all sides.

So what is Jen’s definition of a life well lived?

Jen Schuster: , A connection. Keep it simple. Keep it simple. , The more connections, the more connected I feel. But people don’t understand that. It’s a paradox. In order to feel connected, you have to connect in order to feel connected, you have to understand, re to be understood, you have to give in order to receive.

, The giver always gets [00:34:00] more than the taker. Always, always, always, always. So it’s a paradox, , but it’s, you have to put this in per. Practice because you can over intellectual, you can intellectualize anything. If you’re not taking action, you’re not practicing this. So you’re gonna have the same experiences.

You really have to take the action, which is typically uncomfortable if you’ve been living your life in a certain way.

L. Scott Ferguson: Sure.

Jen Schuster: So taking the action

L. Scott Ferguson: responsibility, I mean, what, what is re, , you talk a lot about people need to be, what does responsibility mean to John?

Jen Schuster: Responsibility means that , I am powerless over 99% of things happening in my life.

Mm-hmm. People think they, they have control. And I think taking responsibility first is founded in awareness. Mm-hmm. , You can’t change anything or take responsibility for things you’re not aware of. And there’s so many blind spots because a lot of us like, it’s like that saying like, I judge myself.

I judge myself based on my intentions, but I’ll judge you, Scott, based on your actions. Right,

L. Scott Ferguson: right, right. [00:35:00] No, I love, yep.

Jen Schuster: So I need to get really clear on my actions, right? When I start thinking about them, like, wow, people are judging me based on my actions, not my intentions. Yeah. I judge myself based on my intentions, right?

So. It’s like being clear, having the awareness. When I’m controlling, I know I’m in fear, I’m in fear. It’s a self-centered fear. Either I’m not getting something I want or , I’m gonna lose something that I have. Right. And any action. The scarcity

L. Scott Ferguson: mindset you brought up before the

Jen Schuster: scarcity mindset.

Yeah. Yeah. And so it’s kind of like that awareness. And then when I have the awareness, I can pause. And reflect. And and with that awareness, I also have people I can call and I can say, Hey, I had this experience. I think this is what’s going on. I think this is my part. Looking at my part. How did I set the ball?

Rolling.

L. Scott Ferguson: Yeah.

Jen Schuster: Well, , that’s

L. Scott Ferguson: responsibility. I mean, yeah, that’s my responsibility. Responsibility is the ability to respond. It’s really right in the word. You’re not reacting. No responding right? Time to Shine today, podcast versus squad. We are back. And Jen, like definitely when I’m in Scott’s [00:36:00] here or something, we’ll grab a Java and wrap about a few of these things, especially building the business. I might be able to put you in touch with certain people to help you with that as well.

So, and we’ll talk about some of these questions maybe 15, 20 minutes, but today. You got five seconds with no explanations and I promise you they can all be answered that way. Okay? Okay. You ready to level up? Okay. Alright. Leveling up. Alright, Jen, what is the best leveling up advice you’ve ever received?

Jen Schuster: Don’t take things personally. Love it. Other than your share one of your personal habits that contributes to your success.

Meditation daily.

L. Scott Ferguson: You see me kind of at an event or you just see me anywhere and you’re like, Fergie looks like he’s in his doldrums. What book might was handed to you that you read that really kind of flipped the script towards prosperity and good mindset?

Jen Schuster: Oh gosh. New Earth by Ecker Tulley.

L. Scott Ferguson: Great book. Your most commonly used emoji when you text.

Jen Schuster: The rocket.

L. Scott Ferguson: I wouldn’t know since you don’t text back. I’m kidding.

Jen Schuster: I’ll text you back. Back. [00:37:00]

L. Scott Ferguson: Nicknames growing up.

Jen Schuster: Jen act actually when I was a snowboarder. Boots. Okay. Just ’cause I was always getting boots.

Yeah. Ready? Any

L. Scott Ferguson: hidden talent and or superpower that nobody knows about until now?

Jen Schuster: Hidden talent or superpower? Discernment.

L. Scott Ferguson: Love it. Great. The great superpower. Chess checkers or monopoly.

Jen Schuster: Oh, checkers.

L. Scott Ferguson: I’m a checkers sky. Just leave it there. We’ll, great.

Jen Schuster: But that came outta my mouth. I meant to say something else, but we’re gonna leave it.

That’s what to happen.

L. Scott Ferguson: Headline for your life.

Jen Schuster: Headline for my life. Follow your Heart. Yes.

L. Scott Ferguson: Go to ice cream flavor.

Jen Schuster: That’s a no brainer. You’re

L. Scott Ferguson: not getting in the trunk.

Jen Schuster: Salted caramel. That’s good. Waffle. Good,

L. Scott Ferguson: good waffle cone. You’re good stuff. There’s a sandwich called the boots. Build that sandwich for me.

What are we eating?

Jen Schuster: Salami. Just the salami, [00:38:00] ham Swiss mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato.

L. Scott Ferguson: Just gotta throw some man candy on there. Some bacon. We’re besties that,

Jen Schuster: so I have a friend that I’ve nicknamed P Pocket Bacon, but that’s another friend, another day.

L. Scott Ferguson: Favorite charity and or organization you’d like to give your time and or money to?

Jen Schuster: , I’ve adopted several cats from an organization. Oh man, they’re gonna hate me because. I would have to look it up, but it’s here in, they’re local, it’s in Dale and they run their business out of, and maybe we could post some links and I definitely, yeah, I’d

L. Scott Ferguson: love

Jen Schuster: it. Them out. Yeah, send it to me.

But they run this entire cat shelter out of their home. Oh, that’s, and they always are looking for donations and I always That’s awesome. Donate their

L. Scott Ferguson: great couple. It’s plenty. I’m breaking my own rule. I wanna meet them then if I’m gonna come to Scottsdale. I like, I’m breaking my own rule here, squad on my lightning round.

But I actually, like, when I speak, I have a lot of downtime in cities. So the first [00:39:00] thing I do, there’s two things I do. I find like a Jiujitsu Academy, which I, there’s a great one in Scottsdale. I go get a roll in and a workout in Nice. And then I go and find a like a pet rescue. And what I do is like, let’s say I was speaking for my dating angel, , I was speaking for your company.

I go to the. Pet Rescue one. I’m certified through furry friends here in Jupiter to walk dogs, pick up poop, clean kennels, all that stuff, right? But I say, listen, I’m here on behalf of Jen Schuster at my dating Angel, and I just wanted to see if I could, , make some time for volunteering. Here’s my, , qualifications.

They’re like, oh yeah. So they’ll call you and be like, Jen Scott, you’re. I didn’t know that. Who do you think you’ll hire another speaker? Nope. . Yeah. So I’m there and that was something another speaker taught me. ’cause we have a lot of downtime, you know what I’m saying? Like when we go to cities.

So like I will definitely get that name from you off. Don’t you shoot me a text with it, ? Yes, I will.

Jen Schuster: Text.

L. Scott Ferguson: Awesome.

Jen Schuster: Back. I added you as a contact in my phone, so we’re golden.

L. Scott Ferguson: Awesome. Last question so much [00:40:00] for that. What’s the best, what’s the best decade of music? Sixties, seventies, eighties, or nineties?

Jen Schuster: I’ll say, I grew up in Seattle in the nineties.

L. Scott Ferguson: Ooh, there we go. So we’re

Jen Schuster: talking Pearl Sound Garden Nirvana. But I’ll have to say the best decade is the seventies because no one has come out more than Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd. There’s no bank. Yeah. Like that today. The Gods, , Gabe, Earl

L. Scott Ferguson: Smith, like Eagles, they’re all Oh,

Jen Schuster: yeah.

Well, of course all the, those bands are, yeah.

L. Scott Ferguson: Yeah. And, and I love that. I like when I’m actually re-listening to a podcast. My team does a fantastic job and they send it to me to listen and kind of build the final show notes. It’s like, oh yeah, the seventies. They story told, like they would tell stories, , and I love the old folky guys like Croy and stuff as well.

’cause you could, like they told stories in all of their songs. Yeah. So it’s great. And it kind of takes me back to the time my mom and dad would kind of play stuff. ’cause . Right. I’m 50, 53 years old now and I just, I kind of grew up through the seventies and eighties, but I’m also a big [00:41:00] hair don’t care kind of guy.

You know what I’m saying? Like the eighties and the eighties. Yeah.

Jen Schuster: Well, , the eighties, it’s hard to decide. But I, I guess I would. I go with the seventies. I leaned to the nineties just because sub pop in Seattle, screaming trees, you name it like Yeah,

L. Scott Ferguson: I, it’s so funny. I was at a place in San Diego and they’re like, and this was, I was, I was in the military and I was stationed at at Seal Beach there.

And I went to a bar and it was, the bar name of the bar was Blind Melon of All Names, and Blind Melon was outta Seattle as well. Right. But the name of the bar is San Diego is Blind Melon. They’re like, oh, this is kind of a new band. And I’m like, this is 1990 or 91. It was Pearl Jam actually throwing down and we took pictures.

I actually have pictures. Oh, that up there. Oh. Text those to me. Yeah. Yeah. They’re actual pictures. I have to take a picture of a picture to They sent it to you. Oh, right. There was, yeah. But also I kinda like the nineties garage bands too. Like Blink and some and . Oh right. Stuff like that. And, ’cause they all came outta San [00:42:00] Diego, ?

Right. So it, it was awesome to just being stationed there. But how can we find you, my friend?

Jen Schuster: You can find me, jen schuster.com, LinkedIn. I have Instagram, Facebook. Yep. I have all of them TikTok. So find me on any of the socials.

L. Scott Ferguson: And you can find your My dating angel.com right?

Jen Schuster: My dating angel.com.

L. Scott Ferguson: Perfect.

Jen Schuster: Yes, absolutely.

L. Scott Ferguson: I love it. And. So I know that you’re running kind of some kind of a $3 or something for the time being like the Yeah, really. She’s not rushing you out there to start dating, but she’s saying if you’re in the market. Okay. , She does, you are having pretty good deals right now.

Can you explain that? Yeah.

Jen Schuster: Right now we’re running reverse phone lookup people. Identity is free right now. Wow. And criminal background check is running roughly around $3, depending on the credit package that you purchase. So. Credits you purchase credit packs and then you can use those. So criminal background is three credits, for example, so [00:43:00] that’s roughly $3.

So credits are running around. A dollar a credit, the bigger the package, the, the lower the cost. Sure. How that works. But we will be going into a subscription model and keeping that price very affordable because that’s my I need to be able to serve as many people as possible. Yeah. Make, and it, it’s needed, accessible as possible.

So, yeah, we’ll be transitioning over to a subscription service here in the next month or two.

L. Scott Ferguson: I love it. I love it. And Jen, can you please do me one last solid and leave us with one less helpful knowledge nugget that we can take with us, internalize and take action on

Jen Schuster: less known knowledge nuggets? I would say, go ahead.

Oh, I, I would say, , do something, pay it forward, do something kind for someone else without any expectation of anything in return, and don’t tell anyone you did it. It’s called character building. Yes. And it’ll make you feel so [00:44:00] good to do that. And, and I challenge myself to do, I mean, I don’t challenge myself, it’s just become a normal.

Part of being, but , put that shopping cart back that you see in the parking lot. Thank you. Or help someone out. It’s, yeah, act of service, man. It’s awesome. Acts of service. It will change your life. Yeah. Such a small thing that we can do to better, better this world. I love Get Forward, love

L. Scott Ferguson: and Squad.

We just had a, I had a really fun conversation with my good friend here, Jen, where, , she’s a very, very, very good judge of character, but she’s finding that other people maybe sometimes aren’t, and they want to feel safe. That’s why you go to like, kinda like my dating angel, like you get out there ’cause there’s a lot of manipulators out there that can be smooth.

Mm-hmm. And, and whatnot. And Jen’s will help you kind of. Feel a lot safer, , with, she knows a lot of the experience, tips and tricks, , like she said, Hey, don’t ghost people. , Don’t go into victim shaming, ? Mm-hmm. And one thing about Jen is like, she doesn’t really care as long as she hasn’t hurt you, disrespect you.

Oh, you’re judge. She doesn’t care what you think about her. , She’s will be [00:45:00] remembered as someone, as a person of, , provided stellar service and of high integrity. I mean, she is. Doing what she loves and listen to me here squad, she’s doing what she loves in the service of people that love what she does, meaning she loves what she’s doing and people that see her.

Knows that she loves what she’s doing, and those are the kind of people you wanna work with. She’s out there, I’m gonna say planting trees. She’s never gonna sit in the shade of, I think with this, like she’s really, really paying it forward and she does it for the intention, not the attention. Her. If you look at her TikTok, it’s all about her intentions on helping you.

It’s not like, look at me leaning against a Lambo or doing this and do that. It’s all her talking about how she wants to make your life better. Right, and she wants you to go out there and build solid connections to be more connected. That she reminded us that awareness is the key. From awareness.

You can pause and reflect and make the correct decision. The responsibility is the ability to respond, right? She doesn’t want you to take life too seriously, and I always, , tell my people that, , don’t take life too seriously. We’re not making it [00:46:00] out alive, right? Be safe, but don’t like life too seriously.

Lastly, Jen reminded us. Pay it forward, right? And do it quietly. Don’t let anybody know, like push our shopping cart back. , Hold a door for somebody. Compliment someone’s shoes even if you don’t like ’em. , Like, but seriously, make someone’s day, make someone smile and pay it forward. And that’s what my good friend Jen does.

She loves up her house. She loves upper wealth. She’s absolutely stunning. She’s earned a varsity letter here at Time to Sunday Day. Thank you so much for what you do. We absolutely love your guts.

Jen Schuster: Thank you. I love you too, Scott, and thanks for having me on the podcast

L. Scott Ferguson: ChatJen Schuster: soon.