Hidden Gems: Meet Jen BARILARO of CARVING THOUGH LIFE LLC 🌸

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jen BARILARO.

Hi Jen, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My story definitely hasn’t been a straight line, and I think that’s what makes it mine.

I’ve spent most of my adult life bartending. I’ve also operated heavy machinery, worked in national parks, taught snowboarding and skateboarding, became a certified doula, and eventually became a mom. I’ve always been someone who would rather take the unconventional path than follow what everyone else says I’m “supposed” to do.

For years, I was really good at working hard. I could work long shifts, raise my kids, take care of everyone around me and just keep going. But eventually I started asking myself a different question: What do I actually want my life to look like?

Choosing an alcohol-free lifestyle was one of several changes that really shifted my mindset. It made me much more intentional about my health, what I was putting into my body, how I was spending my time and what kind of example I wanted to set for my kids.

That curiosity eventually led me deeper into hydration, wellness and molecular hydrogen water. I purchased a Japanese water ionizer for my own family and became fascinated by the technology and the science behind electrolysis. What started as something for our home eventually became something I wanted to share with other people.

At the same time, I discovered an online business model that completely challenged what I thought work had to look like.

I had no background in marketing. I didn’t have a huge social media following. I didn’t know how to make a reel, build a funnel or run an online business. I was a bartender and a mom with a phone who was willing to learn.

So I learned.

Little by little, I started creating content, learning digital marketing and building a business in the pockets of my day. Today, through Carving Through Life, I get to combine so many pieces of who I am: adventure, hydration, wellness, mindset, motherhood and entrepreneurship.

I share the products and lifestyle changes that have become part of my own life, and I also help people who want to build their own health and wellness business plug into a system built around high-ticket products, automated marketing, proven training and mentorship.

But Carving Through Life has become bigger than any one product or business.

It’s really about questioning the life we’ve been handed and realizing we’re allowed to carve our own path.

I’m still bartending. I’m still teaching. I’m still raising my kids. I’m still figuring things out as I go.

The difference is that now I’m intentionally building toward a life that gives me more space for the things that matter most to me: my family, adventure, being outside, helping people and actually experiencing my life instead of constantly working through it.

That’s where the name Carving Through Life came from.

Whether I’m carving down a mountain on my snowboard, carving around a bowl on my skateboard, or simply carving a completely different path for my family, the idea is the same:

You don’t have to follow somebody else’s line. You can carve your own.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
One of my biggest challenges has been learning to trust myself enough to take a different path.

For most of my life, I knew how to work hard. I’ve bartended for decades, operated heavy machinery, taught snowboarding and skateboarding, raised two kids and taken on just about anything put in front of me. Hard work was never the problem. The challenge was realizing that working harder wasn’t necessarily going to create the life I wanted.

Starting an online business was completely outside my comfort zone. I had no background in sales, marketing or social media. I didn’t know how to make a reel, build an audience or create a business online. I essentially started with a phone and a willingness to learn.

There have been plenty of moments of doubt. I’ve had content flop, technology frustrate me, people question what I’m doing and times when progress felt painfully slow. I’ve also had to build this while being a mom and continuing to work other jobs. There was never a magical moment when life cleared my schedule and said, “Okay, now you can build your dream.”

I had to build it in the middle of real life.

Another challenge has been learning that not everyone is going to understand the direction you’re going, especially when you start doing things differently. I’ve had to become comfortable asking questions, doing my own research, changing my mind when I learn something new and standing behind the choices that make sense for my family.

But those challenges have probably taught me the most.

I’ve learned that you don’t have to know exactly what you’re doing before you begin. You just have to be willing to learn, stay consistent and keep moving forward.

I’m still building. I’m still learning. I’m still carving my own path.

And I think that’s the point.

As you know, we’re big fans of CARVING THOUGH LIFE LLC 🌸. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Carving Through Life was created around a pretty simple idea: we get one life, and I want to actually live mine.

My business combines hydration, wellness, adventure, education and entrepreneurship. I help people become more intentional about what they’re drinking, what they’re bringing into their homes and ultimately how they’re choosing to live their lives.

A large part of what I do is hydration education. I demonstrate Japanese water-ionization technology that uses electrolysis to produce different types of water for drinking and household use, including molecular hydrogen-rich water. I love actually showing people the technology, testing water and encouraging them to ask questions and do their own research rather than simply believing marketing claims.

I also bring hydration into my local community through hydration stations, water shares and demonstrations. Being able to hand someone a glass of water, start a conversation and educate them about something most of us rarely think twice about has become one of my favorite parts of the business.

The other side of Carving Through Life is helping people who are interested in creating an online health and wellness business of their own. I plugged into a business model built around high-ticket products, automated marketing systems, proven training and ongoing mentorship. I started with absolutely no digital marketing experience, so I’m passionate about showing other ordinary people that these are skills that can be learned.

What sets my brand apart is that I don’t want to pretend my life is perfectly curated. I’m a mom. I’m a bartender. I’m a skateboarder, snowboarder and Lake Erie surfer. I’m happiest outside, getting dirty, learning something new and probably laughing at myself along the way.

My motto is “Sk8 • Hydrate • Elevate,” and that really encompasses what Carving Through Life represents.

Get outside. Move your body. Take care of yourself. Keep learning. Question things. Take some risks. And don’t wait until someday to start creating a life that actually feels like yours.

What I’m most proud of isn’t a product or a number. It’s the community that has grown around the brand and the conversations it has started.

If someone walks away from Carving Through Life feeling inspired to drink better water, get outside with their kids, try something that scares them, learn a new skill or simply question what they thought they had to do with their life, then I’m doing exactly what I set out to do.

We’re all carving through life. I just decided to make a business out of it.

So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
What Matters Most to Me

What matters most to me is being present for my family and having the ability to actually live my life while I’m earning an income.

I don’t want to spend my entire life working so that someday I can finally have time to do the things I love. I want to be there now.

I want to be there for my kids. I want to skateboard, snowboard, surf, travel, get outside, spend time with my husband and family and say yes to the experiences that make me feel alive.

That’s a huge reason I started building Carving Through Life.

For most of my life, earning money meant physically being somewhere and trading my hours for a paycheck. If I wasn’t at work, I wasn’t getting paid. Building an online business showed me that there could be another way.

I can build something from my phone in the pockets of my day. I can create content, educate people, help someone start their own business and continue building an income while still being a mom and living my actual life.

I’m not trying to escape work. I genuinely enjoy working and helping people. I just don’t want work to require me to miss my life.

My family, my time and the experiences we get to have together matter more to me than anything. I want to earn an income while my life is still being lived, not wait until someday to start living it.

That is really what Carving Through Life means to me.

Pricing:

• Community Water Share $50/month for up to 30 gallons of fresh molecular hydrogen-rich water.
• New Water Share Members The first 4 weeks are complimentary so people can experience the water before deciding if they want to continue.
• Home Water Ionizers Several different models and options are available depending on the individual or family’s needs. Pricing varies by model, and financing options are available.
• Business Mentorship For those interested in creating an online health and wellness business, I also offer mentorship and access to the training and systems I personally use. Information is available upon request.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carving.through.life?igsh=YmpkbWxlM2c4aWY4&utm_source=qr
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1Qy3U5YD9B/?mibextid=wwXIfr