1 00:00:01,040 --> 00:00:04,320 Remember a couple of years ago I had a few 2 00:00:04,320 --> 00:00:08,000 episodes that planned out my maternity leave, especially 3 00:00:08,160 --> 00:00:11,920 the one with baby number two. Let's just say reality 4 00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:15,720 had different plans. And in this episode I'm going to reflect a little bit on 5 00:00:15,720 --> 00:00:19,400 what changed with myself, my body, my 6 00:00:19,400 --> 00:00:23,240 babies, my business and what I'm focusing on next. This is your opportunity 7 00:00:23,240 --> 00:00:27,000 to be a little bit nosy, so I'm going to spin ability in this 8 00:00:27,000 --> 00:00:30,840 episode. But first, a word from our sponsor. Riverside is the all 9 00:00:30,840 --> 00:00:34,520 in one podcast recording and editing tool that I use for this 10 00:00:34,520 --> 00:00:38,320 right here show. 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The links in 21 00:01:15,300 --> 00:01:18,860 the show notes and make sure to use my code DREA D R E A 22 00:01:18,860 --> 00:01:22,140 at checkout to get 15% off your membership. 23 00:01:22,780 --> 00:01:26,140 Honestly, y' all had a completely different episode planned for today, 24 00:01:26,620 --> 00:01:30,440 but I am a week away at the time of recording. Recording this 25 00:01:30,600 --> 00:01:34,440 from my youngest, my one year old going to daycare. If you are 26 00:01:34,440 --> 00:01:38,120 new and this is your first episode, a little bit of context. I have been 27 00:01:38,120 --> 00:01:41,880 in business for 11 years. I got pregnant with my first baby in 28 00:01:41,880 --> 00:01:45,560 2021. Had her in 2022. 2022 was 29 00:01:45,560 --> 00:01:48,840 also our highest year in revenue as a business. We hit almost nearly a million 30 00:01:48,840 --> 00:01:52,680 dollars in business in the agency. That was 31 00:01:52,680 --> 00:01:56,520 great. Baby one, very easy baby. Now that I've done two, 32 00:01:56,520 --> 00:02:00,360 I'm like oh, the first one was the easy baby when she 33 00:02:01,700 --> 00:02:04,900 months old got pregnant with the second baby. Baby two 34 00:02:05,700 --> 00:02:09,540 and second pregnancy was more challenging still, 35 00:02:09,780 --> 00:02:12,740 like technically both easy pregnancies. 36 00:02:14,340 --> 00:02:17,819 However, my body had not 37 00:02:17,819 --> 00:02:21,660 recovered so I do not recommend that. I also had two C sections which 38 00:02:21,660 --> 00:02:25,140 also is very hard on the body. I'm still 39 00:02:25,220 --> 00:02:29,060 recovering to this day and a lot has changed. I'm going to 40 00:02:29,060 --> 00:02:32,620 get into all of those details in this episode. Just wanted to lay the groundwork 41 00:02:32,620 --> 00:02:36,320 because y' all are nosy and I love that for you. I also want to 42 00:02:36,320 --> 00:02:39,840 give a caveat and say I'm just Sharing my experience. There is 43 00:02:39,840 --> 00:02:43,320 nothing in this episode that's actual advice. And that's why this 44 00:02:43,320 --> 00:02:47,000 episode feels a little bit different. But I find it helpful as a 45 00:02:47,000 --> 00:02:50,520 parent to hear other parents talk about what 46 00:02:50,520 --> 00:02:54,040 happened in their business. I did do this before having the 47 00:02:54,040 --> 00:02:57,880 babies, and I got it in my head that, like, I 48 00:02:57,880 --> 00:03:00,720 would be different. I would be, like, the exception to the rule. 49 00:03:02,180 --> 00:03:05,460 I am not. My entire brain feels consumed by these children. 50 00:03:06,260 --> 00:03:09,260 And so I want to talk about that. But also preface this by saying, this 51 00:03:09,260 --> 00:03:11,620 is not advice. I am not a medical 52 00:03:12,420 --> 00:03:16,140 physician. Clearly can't even think of the right 53 00:03:16,140 --> 00:03:19,620 words for that. I am just sharing my experience. 54 00:03:19,860 --> 00:03:22,860 And this is more of, like, a personal episode. So pull up a chair, get 55 00:03:22,860 --> 00:03:26,660 cozy, get comfortable. All right, let's 56 00:03:26,660 --> 00:03:30,500 talk about the difference first between baby one and baby two. So baby one pregnancy 57 00:03:31,610 --> 00:03:35,290 was actually not that bad. At the time, I thought it was terrible. And 58 00:03:35,290 --> 00:03:39,130 I saw a post on Threads recently that said we need to talk more 59 00:03:39,130 --> 00:03:42,730 about the realities of pregnancy because it is so 60 00:03:42,890 --> 00:03:46,330 different than what I thought and also my frame of 61 00:03:46,330 --> 00:03:49,930 reference. The people around me who had kids before 62 00:03:50,970 --> 00:03:54,450 didn't complain about pregnancy. Okay. I never heard people 63 00:03:54,450 --> 00:03:58,010 complaining about pregnancy. It was always a blessing. It was always your glowing 64 00:03:58,250 --> 00:04:01,930 and even things like morning sickness. It's like, oh, 65 00:04:01,930 --> 00:04:05,510 that's so cute. Or like, your ankles are swollen. Here, have a seat. Give your 66 00:04:05,510 --> 00:04:06,790 seat to the pregnant lady. 67 00:04:10,470 --> 00:04:12,470 I did not like it one bit. 68 00:04:13,990 --> 00:04:17,710 I did not have morning sickness. I had all day sickness. It did not 69 00:04:17,710 --> 00:04:21,390 happen just in the first trimester. Happened all the way through. And with both 70 00:04:21,390 --> 00:04:25,030 babies, I didn't like meat. And basically only eight 71 00:04:25,030 --> 00:04:28,430 pickles, which y'. All. I never liked pickles before. In fact, if I went to 72 00:04:28,430 --> 00:04:30,970 a restaurant and it had, like, pickles on the sandwich, I would say, please, please 73 00:04:30,970 --> 00:04:33,690 don't put the pickles on there. Because then the pickle juice, like, gets on the 74 00:04:33,690 --> 00:04:37,290 sandwich. It's not like something you could just peel off. Now I'm like, extra pickles, 75 00:04:37,290 --> 00:04:41,090 please. Like, so bizarre how my taste buds changed after having 76 00:04:41,090 --> 00:04:44,810 kids. But my first pregnancy wasn't as 77 00:04:44,810 --> 00:04:48,570 challenging to me on my body. First of all, it was just the 78 00:04:48,570 --> 00:04:52,410 one. I didn't have any kids and my business was at its 79 00:04:52,410 --> 00:04:56,170 peak. I mentioned that 2022, we had our record breaking 80 00:04:56,170 --> 00:04:59,850 year of revenue. There's over $900,000 in revenue that year 81 00:05:00,270 --> 00:05:03,950 with the agency and the membership. And we were doing great, 82 00:05:04,030 --> 00:05:07,710 y'. All. Absolutely fantastic time for the business. Um, 83 00:05:07,790 --> 00:05:10,310 and it was great. Like, I loved it. I loved it. It was a lot 84 00:05:10,310 --> 00:05:14,030 easier Too, to have my team kind of run things while I was 85 00:05:14,350 --> 00:05:17,550 recovering, and it was fun. 86 00:05:18,030 --> 00:05:21,830 Then I wanted a second baby. I got baby fever. I will tell you 87 00:05:21,830 --> 00:05:25,550 this. Between 15 and 18 months, to 88 00:05:25,550 --> 00:05:29,190 me, is the perfect baby age. That's where my one year old is right 89 00:05:29,190 --> 00:05:33,000 now. It is adorable. She just started saying 90 00:05:33,000 --> 00:05:36,720 little things, but she's just, like, exploring. She's 91 00:05:36,720 --> 00:05:40,560 walking. She's kind of like, she's starting to understand what the words mean. 92 00:05:40,560 --> 00:05:44,280 Like, when she says a car, she says car. You know, it's, like, so 93 00:05:44,280 --> 00:05:47,640 cute. She's not talking back to me. You know, the three year old is like, 94 00:05:48,040 --> 00:05:50,720 we're in. We're in a little bit of a battle because she wants to do 95 00:05:50,720 --> 00:05:54,520 it her way, I got to do it my way, and I'm apologizing to her 96 00:05:54,600 --> 00:05:57,890 anyways. Baby 2 97 00:05:58,770 --> 00:06:02,570 happened so quickly, too. I do not recommend this. I did not expect this 98 00:06:02,570 --> 00:06:06,330 to happen, but apparently we fertile over here. Baby 99 00:06:06,330 --> 00:06:10,050 2 pregnancy happened much quicker than I thought it would, and 100 00:06:10,210 --> 00:06:13,970 my body had not recovered from the first pregnancy, and so 101 00:06:13,970 --> 00:06:17,610 I had a really tough time physically with the way that 102 00:06:17,610 --> 00:06:21,450 my weight was being carried. With my C section scar, 103 00:06:21,450 --> 00:06:23,810 like, stretching out from having the second baby, 104 00:06:25,530 --> 00:06:29,170 I started showing much quicker. And then I also had some 105 00:06:29,170 --> 00:06:32,570 family stuff that resulted in less family support. Okay. 106 00:06:33,290 --> 00:06:37,050 That's my other caveat for this episode. I'm gonna try to be as particular 107 00:06:37,130 --> 00:06:40,890 as I can be, but also, like, boundaries. Y' all don't need to know every 108 00:06:41,130 --> 00:06:44,850 single little thing. Just know that it's like, I didn't have as much 109 00:06:44,850 --> 00:06:48,450 support as with the first pregnancy. And with the first baby, my body wasn't 110 00:06:48,450 --> 00:06:51,530 recovered. I was literally, y' all taping my belly 111 00:06:52,600 --> 00:06:56,240 with reinforcement tape to hold it up because my muscles 112 00:06:56,240 --> 00:07:00,040 couldn't hold up my belly. This baby was bigger, too, and 113 00:07:00,040 --> 00:07:03,800 I was chasing a toddler. Anyways, the 114 00:07:04,040 --> 00:07:07,640 realities of my first baby to my second baby, 115 00:07:07,720 --> 00:07:11,360 totally, totally different. I will also say as 116 00:07:11,360 --> 00:07:15,040 newborns, they were different. First baby, very chill. Second 117 00:07:15,040 --> 00:07:18,650 baby was colicky. And so basically what I 118 00:07:18,650 --> 00:07:22,330 learned when people say their baby was colicky, this is a fun fact, y'. All. 119 00:07:22,330 --> 00:07:26,130 For those who don't have kids, when they say your baby's colicky, it 120 00:07:26,130 --> 00:07:29,610 basically means we don't know. Like, the doctors have no 121 00:07:29,610 --> 00:07:32,770 idea. And they just slap this word on there, colicky, 122 00:07:33,170 --> 00:07:36,810 and they're like, it'll go away. So there's, like, 123 00:07:36,810 --> 00:07:40,450 literally nothing you can do. She was crying all day 124 00:07:41,570 --> 00:07:45,180 for the first three months. She just cried all day and all night. 125 00:07:46,060 --> 00:07:49,780 She spit up a lot for her first year, she would just 126 00:07:49,780 --> 00:07:53,580 spit up almost everything. And so it was really gross. I 127 00:07:53,580 --> 00:07:57,340 think I've talked about this on the podcast before. It was really gross and frustrating 128 00:07:57,340 --> 00:08:01,140 as a mom. Plus you also have a toddler to take care 129 00:08:01,140 --> 00:08:04,060 of when you have to say like baby and toddler. 130 00:08:05,260 --> 00:08:08,380 And it was a lot. It was a lot on me. So July of 131 00:08:08,620 --> 00:08:12,450 2024, I realized that the business 132 00:08:12,450 --> 00:08:15,530 wasn't doing as well. Okay, so 2022, record breaking year, 133 00:08:15,530 --> 00:08:19,210 2024, not only was the business not 134 00:08:19,210 --> 00:08:22,530 doing well, there was just some shifts that 135 00:08:22,530 --> 00:08:26,289 happened. Financially, it wasn't doing well. I had to 136 00:08:26,289 --> 00:08:29,890 let go of some of my staff because of that. The 137 00:08:29,890 --> 00:08:33,690 economic situation we're currently in, like, y', all, we're 138 00:08:33,690 --> 00:08:36,730 in an. Not. Recession's a strong word, but it's in an economic 139 00:08:36,890 --> 00:08:40,739 downturn for sure. The rise of AI means 140 00:08:40,739 --> 00:08:44,299 some of the menial tasks we were doing no longer needed. I love that for 141 00:08:44,299 --> 00:08:47,139 everyone else, but as a business owner, it was like, eek, right? 142 00:08:47,779 --> 00:08:51,579 And so I mapped out this whole plan for my business, like, here's 143 00:08:51,579 --> 00:08:55,299 the steps I need to do to like revitalize it. But 144 00:08:55,379 --> 00:08:58,499 July 2024, I had a colicky three month old 145 00:08:58,979 --> 00:09:02,579 and a two year old and a C section I was 146 00:09:02,579 --> 00:09:06,259 recovering from with less family support. So I decided to sell 147 00:09:06,259 --> 00:09:09,410 my business. I have a couple podcasts on on that. I'll link in the show 148 00:09:09,410 --> 00:09:13,130 notes. So I sold my agency. I sold 149 00:09:13,130 --> 00:09:16,330 it to two of my team members. I sold our client list essentially in our 150 00:09:16,330 --> 00:09:20,130 processes and did a beautiful exit 151 00:09:20,130 --> 00:09:23,970 there. And now my focus for the past year has been on 152 00:09:24,530 --> 00:09:28,130 the Mindful Marketing Lab, the podcast, my 153 00:09:28,130 --> 00:09:31,570 courses, speaking and teaching. So I'm a marketing consultant. 154 00:09:31,970 --> 00:09:35,460 In that time, I also rebranded from savvy social to 155 00:09:35,460 --> 00:09:39,300 mindful marketing to really lean into more holistic marketing 156 00:09:39,300 --> 00:09:42,140 ecosystems. Okay, so that's kind of like 157 00:09:43,100 --> 00:09:46,700 bringing us to today. I want to 158 00:09:46,700 --> 00:09:48,940 highlight a few things though, in that process. 159 00:09:50,860 --> 00:09:54,500 One was that I am. I've learned that I am an 160 00:09:54,500 --> 00:09:58,220 optimistic person. Okay. And this is not necessarily a bad 161 00:09:58,220 --> 00:10:01,500 thing. It's just something I have to be aware of because I jump into everything 162 00:10:01,740 --> 00:10:04,300 with two feet and I'm like, it's going to work out. It's going to be 163 00:10:04,300 --> 00:10:07,920 great. If you go back and listen to my episode, I just listened to the 164 00:10:07,920 --> 00:10:11,400 one where I did my maternity planning before Baby one. 165 00:10:12,360 --> 00:10:15,560 I was so optimistic, so optimistic. 166 00:10:15,880 --> 00:10:18,600 Nothing wrong with that. But it wasn't the reality of my situation. 167 00:10:19,960 --> 00:10:23,720 The reality is that I was sick, I was tired, 168 00:10:24,520 --> 00:10:28,080 I couldn't stick to a rigid schedule because my 169 00:10:28,080 --> 00:10:31,760 life was so in flex and so I needed a business 170 00:10:31,760 --> 00:10:35,160 model that fit with that. Hence what I am working on now, which is the 171 00:10:35,160 --> 00:10:38,990 mindful marketing lab. I can batch create content, I can do 172 00:10:39,220 --> 00:10:42,460 things at naps and when the kids go to sleep. It doesn't 173 00:10:42,460 --> 00:10:46,060 necessarily have to be so structured. I set the pace for 174 00:10:46,060 --> 00:10:49,780 like how often I do lives and teach classes 175 00:10:49,780 --> 00:10:52,740 and if I can't do lives, I do pre recorded. Okay. 176 00:10:53,380 --> 00:10:57,060 So I've learned that that is a business model that fits for me 177 00:10:57,060 --> 00:10:59,940 and it's not something I thought going into it. Right. 178 00:11:00,740 --> 00:11:04,420 I do think if the market hadn't shifted and there wasn't 179 00:11:04,420 --> 00:11:08,080 this rise of AI that I could have very easily 180 00:11:08,080 --> 00:11:11,920 continued the agency. But in the world that we live in, things 181 00:11:12,000 --> 00:11:15,720 change. And as business owners and leaders, it's our responsibility to change for 182 00:11:15,720 --> 00:11:18,800 that. I'll also say emotionally, 183 00:11:20,480 --> 00:11:24,080 I had a really hard time with my second baby. I had 184 00:11:24,160 --> 00:11:27,760 postpartum depression and anxiety, which I didn't realize I 185 00:11:27,760 --> 00:11:31,360 had until my husband actually pointed out, bless his heart, 186 00:11:31,360 --> 00:11:34,990 so helpful, so supportive. He said, 187 00:11:35,070 --> 00:11:38,870 hey babe, you may want to ask the doctor 188 00:11:38,870 --> 00:11:42,670 about this emotional journey going on. And of course nobody wants to hear that. Right. 189 00:11:42,670 --> 00:11:46,510 So I had this like emotional breakdown and then I was like, oh, 190 00:11:46,750 --> 00:11:49,950 maybe he's right. So I went to the doctor, got my diagnoses. I'm on 191 00:11:49,950 --> 00:11:53,310 Lexapro now. It's been amazing for me. And then like looking back 192 00:11:53,550 --> 00:11:57,070 retroactively, I'm able to go, oh, I now see a very 193 00:11:57,070 --> 00:12:00,560 clear difference between my emotional state now than 194 00:12:00,880 --> 00:12:04,640 six months ago. Okay, so I was, I had a really bad 195 00:12:04,640 --> 00:12:07,520 postpartum depression and anxiety for me. Bad for me. 196 00:12:09,040 --> 00:12:12,640 That made it challenging to work. Okay, so that also added 197 00:12:12,640 --> 00:12:16,320 to this. Then we're also adding to all of 198 00:12:16,320 --> 00:12:20,120 this. Like post pandemic fallout. People were chronically 199 00:12:20,120 --> 00:12:23,760 online in 2020, 2021. They're not online 200 00:12:23,760 --> 00:12:26,320 in the same ways right now. In fact, people are 201 00:12:27,450 --> 00:12:30,570 craving more in person community, but their budgets are 202 00:12:30,970 --> 00:12:34,690 different. Their budgets have also changed. So even things like, 203 00:12:34,690 --> 00:12:37,610 I plan to do my retreat again this year. 204 00:12:38,570 --> 00:12:42,410 So optimistic of me. I didn't sell the tickets that I needed in the pre 205 00:12:42,410 --> 00:12:45,850 sale phase, so I canceled it. But now 206 00:12:45,850 --> 00:12:49,530 retroactively looking back, I can also see it wasn't priced correctly 207 00:12:49,770 --> 00:12:52,740 for where people are. There's a lot of things like that. Okay, 208 00:12:53,460 --> 00:12:57,260 so headed into where I am now, we. I 209 00:12:57,260 --> 00:13:00,100 am in a pivot. I would say that 210 00:13:00,900 --> 00:13:04,580 this pivot has been for the past year. If I can say that 211 00:13:04,580 --> 00:13:07,980 I'm like thinking out loud, here y' all are thinking with me because I saw 212 00:13:07,980 --> 00:13:11,220 I started the sale of the agency in July of 2024, 213 00:13:11,380 --> 00:13:14,100 completed it in October of 2024. 214 00:13:15,140 --> 00:13:18,860 And since then I do feel a little bit adrift because I 215 00:13:18,860 --> 00:13:22,500 have been as a service based business owner for 216 00:13:22,500 --> 00:13:26,100 11 years. Okay. So I'm going into my 12th year of business in 217 00:13:26,100 --> 00:13:29,340 March. So I've been doing this for a long time. 218 00:13:30,060 --> 00:13:33,860 And I went through the stages of grief when I sold my agency 219 00:13:33,860 --> 00:13:37,380 because there I had to let go of that title of agency 220 00:13:37,380 --> 00:13:40,860 owner. In that podcast episode, 221 00:13:40,940 --> 00:13:44,740 I positioned it as my Tom Brady moment where I said 222 00:13:44,740 --> 00:13:48,580 this is a goodbye for now, maybe not forever, but that I'm 223 00:13:48,580 --> 00:13:52,420 retiring as a service provider. And 224 00:13:52,420 --> 00:13:56,100 with that, I also lost my team. So I 225 00:13:56,100 --> 00:13:59,780 was so used to working with people that I went from 226 00:13:59,780 --> 00:14:03,500 working with like at its peak, my team had, we had 12 people. 227 00:14:05,900 --> 00:14:09,580 I went to working from 12 people, like half of them full 228 00:14:09,580 --> 00:14:13,430 time, half of them part time down to it's 229 00:14:13,430 --> 00:14:17,190 me and Jamie, my wonderful, amazing assistant, who 230 00:14:17,670 --> 00:14:20,950 honestly I've been working with her since 2019. So we don't really 231 00:14:21,270 --> 00:14:24,630 talk a lot. I think in the past three months we've had one meeting 232 00:14:24,950 --> 00:14:28,510 like, like we just like we send little text based 233 00:14:28,510 --> 00:14:32,270 updates and then that's it. And I'll send her like a podcast level voice note 234 00:14:32,270 --> 00:14:35,990 sometimes to be like, here's what I'm thinking, but that's it really. 235 00:14:36,070 --> 00:14:39,270 And so I felt lonely. This 236 00:14:39,660 --> 00:14:43,100 sounds really sad, but I felt lonely. And so 237 00:14:43,660 --> 00:14:47,420 I was dealing with that as well. And so that is 238 00:14:47,900 --> 00:14:51,740 where I am now. So let's talk about what's next for me. As 239 00:14:51,740 --> 00:14:55,539 I mentioned, my little baby, my little one year old, she's not 240 00:14:55,539 --> 00:14:59,180 a baby anymore, she's a toddler. She's going to daycare. 241 00:14:59,260 --> 00:15:02,980 And so I have an opportunity to go 242 00:15:02,980 --> 00:15:06,220 back to work, which I am blessed y' all with. 243 00:15:07,970 --> 00:15:11,650 I have space to figure this out. I'm in a 244 00:15:11,650 --> 00:15:15,210 season of life where fortunately 245 00:15:15,210 --> 00:15:18,450 it's. It's not urgent for me to 246 00:15:19,250 --> 00:15:22,690 work full time and I am the primary parent. 247 00:15:22,929 --> 00:15:26,370 My husband works a lot. So that being said, 248 00:15:26,450 --> 00:15:29,810 here's what I'm doing next and I'm really excited about it, y'. All. 249 00:15:31,010 --> 00:15:34,850 So I'm maintaining the mindful marketing lab. It is like literally one of 250 00:15:34,850 --> 00:15:38,610 my favorite places to contribute content to. I post in there almost every 251 00:15:38,610 --> 00:15:41,950 day. Day. I have tons of resources that I give my members. 252 00:15:42,590 --> 00:15:46,030 Like, I just created a new custom GPT for 253 00:15:46,110 --> 00:15:49,910 365 content ideas where I spent like a Couple 254 00:15:49,910 --> 00:15:53,710 of days training the AI on my philosophy for 255 00:15:53,710 --> 00:15:57,550 like creating content. What does it look like per platform? How do we 256 00:15:57,550 --> 00:16:01,350 repurpose? You know, if someone said, you know, today's August 22nd, what do 257 00:16:01,350 --> 00:16:04,350 I post today? Then I trained it on how to help 258 00:16:05,150 --> 00:16:08,790 our members. And so that's the stuff that I'm spending my time 259 00:16:08,790 --> 00:16:11,630 on. It's like I get to geek out on 260 00:16:12,430 --> 00:16:16,270 like, how do we fast track this content creation process? And yeah, some of 261 00:16:16,270 --> 00:16:19,310 it feels kind of silly because they don't need me anymore when they have a 262 00:16:19,310 --> 00:16:22,910 custom GPT. But also they need me because I'm the one who built the custom 263 00:16:22,910 --> 00:16:26,630 dbt. So that's what I'm doing in the membership. I have so much 264 00:16:26,630 --> 00:16:30,390 more planned for this year and just loving on my members. But a 265 00:16:30,390 --> 00:16:33,390 big part of what I'm doing as well is producing more free content. 266 00:16:34,590 --> 00:16:37,710 One of the things I've noticed in this market shift is that 267 00:16:38,110 --> 00:16:41,630 it takes a lot more to trust someone 268 00:16:41,790 --> 00:16:45,630 with your hard earned dollars. And so I'm 269 00:16:45,790 --> 00:16:49,430 doing that piece of it. But also, like, I have a deep love for 270 00:16:49,430 --> 00:16:52,950 supporting small business owners. And my 271 00:16:52,950 --> 00:16:56,590 membership is $97 a month, so it's not cheap by 272 00:16:56,590 --> 00:16:59,430 any means. And there is a ton of support. Like all of my members get 273 00:16:59,430 --> 00:17:03,100 unlimited strategy support. Like, you can't get that level of support for less 274 00:17:03,100 --> 00:17:06,060 than a hundred bucks a month anywhere. I digress. 275 00:17:06,860 --> 00:17:10,540 Still people, some small business owners can't afford that. 276 00:17:10,540 --> 00:17:14,180 And so I'm revitalizing my YouTube channel to bring more 277 00:17:14,180 --> 00:17:17,940 free content that can show you what's possible in your 278 00:17:17,940 --> 00:17:21,420 marketing. I'm really living through the values of my 279 00:17:21,420 --> 00:17:25,140 tagline, simpler, smarter marketing for busy 280 00:17:25,140 --> 00:17:28,500 people. Because I've learned in this process the 281 00:17:28,500 --> 00:17:32,280 shortcut. Like, literally, because I'm sick, I'm tired, 282 00:17:32,440 --> 00:17:35,720 I have two kids, I cannot follow the blueprint 283 00:17:36,360 --> 00:17:40,200 that is like the traditional marketing blueprint. Okay? Like, I literally 284 00:17:40,200 --> 00:17:43,720 don't have the time, space, capacity to do that. So I've taught 285 00:17:43,720 --> 00:17:46,760 myself the shortcuts, like, how can I still run a business with this 286 00:17:47,720 --> 00:17:51,560 marketing level of marketing? And it has been phenomenal, like 287 00:17:52,360 --> 00:17:56,080 life changing. I don't think I'll go back to doing it a different way, you 288 00:17:56,080 --> 00:17:59,880 know, and so this is how I teach it in my membership. And then 289 00:17:59,880 --> 00:18:02,460 this is how I'm kind of to teach it for free on my YouTube channel, 290 00:18:02,460 --> 00:18:05,700 if you're watching here. And then my 291 00:18:05,700 --> 00:18:09,340 monetization model. So I know y' all are curious about this. Yes, the mindful 292 00:18:09,340 --> 00:18:13,060 marketing lab. It's still like my primary revenue stream. 293 00:18:13,220 --> 00:18:16,940 But I also teach workshops and do 294 00:18:16,940 --> 00:18:20,660 live classes. So a lot of these I do through incubator 295 00:18:20,660 --> 00:18:24,420 groups or small business enterprise groups, co 296 00:18:24,420 --> 00:18:28,100 working spaces hire me, things like that where, you know, they need 297 00:18:28,900 --> 00:18:32,620 someone with a social media perspective, a marketing perspective to 298 00:18:32,620 --> 00:18:36,000 come in and teach small business owners. Usually I'm paid through grants 299 00:18:37,280 --> 00:18:41,120 or they have funding or if it's a co working space, it's kind 300 00:18:41,120 --> 00:18:44,400 of like your coworking fees go towards, you know, things like 301 00:18:44,400 --> 00:18:48,200 speakers. So I will go into those spaces. And I'm not paid 302 00:18:48,200 --> 00:18:51,960 directly by the small business so they that alleviates their cash 303 00:18:51,960 --> 00:18:55,760 flow. But I'm still getting paid. Right. And so grants actually have 304 00:18:55,760 --> 00:18:59,040 been a fantastic way for me to come into spaces. There's 305 00:18:59,520 --> 00:19:02,760 like a black business group that I work with out in Nova Scotia that does 306 00:19:02,760 --> 00:19:06,520 this. There's a local group here in Niagara region that does 307 00:19:06,520 --> 00:19:10,280 this where they're paid through government grant and government funding. And so I 308 00:19:10,280 --> 00:19:14,120 get paid, the small business owners get support. So that's where part 309 00:19:14,120 --> 00:19:17,840 of my income comes from. I also have a lot of affiliate arrangements with 310 00:19:17,840 --> 00:19:21,120 things. I have sponsors. Like this podcast is sponsored by Riverside. 311 00:19:22,000 --> 00:19:25,400 So that is how I also am able to produce more free content because 312 00:19:25,400 --> 00:19:28,840 honestly I still have to get paid. So I just get paid through a different 313 00:19:28,840 --> 00:19:32,380 means. You get it for free, but there's an ad involved. And 314 00:19:32,540 --> 00:19:36,060 if you click my link, I also get paid that way as well. If you 315 00:19:36,060 --> 00:19:38,940 click my link and sign up. I do get affiliate payment that way. 316 00:19:39,820 --> 00:19:42,140 But that's only if you're going to sign up and only if you're going to 317 00:19:42,140 --> 00:19:44,940 use it anyways. Right. Like don't feel pressure if you weren't. 318 00:19:46,460 --> 00:19:50,180 And so I'm leaning into this slower season of life for 319 00:19:50,180 --> 00:19:53,660 me because what I've learned with having two kids 320 00:19:54,300 --> 00:19:57,990 is that I have to be flexible. So I'm headed into 321 00:19:58,710 --> 00:20:02,470 the season of life where I have more time to work. But and this is 322 00:20:02,470 --> 00:20:05,750 a big but I'm not actually going to work full time. 323 00:20:06,310 --> 00:20:10,150 Gasp. So I have a few things going on. One is I 324 00:20:10,150 --> 00:20:13,750 have a new train your team workshop that 325 00:20:13,750 --> 00:20:17,590 I have launched. Where specifically local business. If you 326 00:20:17,590 --> 00:20:21,030 have a multi location business, think like a coffee shop, a 327 00:20:21,030 --> 00:20:24,150 gym, a cannabis store, things like that, 328 00:20:24,820 --> 00:20:28,380 where you have multiple locations, maybe you even have multiple people capturing 329 00:20:28,380 --> 00:20:32,140 content and they're sending it to someone or each location is responsible for their 330 00:20:32,140 --> 00:20:35,780 own content. You want a cohesive story. I come in and I like 331 00:20:35,780 --> 00:20:39,220 train your team on how to work together with the 332 00:20:39,220 --> 00:20:42,940 marketing. So that's my newest offer. I'm really excited about that. I do 333 00:20:42,940 --> 00:20:46,540 have one or two spots for services as well. But like I 334 00:20:46,540 --> 00:20:50,100 said, I'm being very picky about who I'm working with. And 335 00:20:50,340 --> 00:20:53,780 I'm not working entirely full time because of the 336 00:20:54,020 --> 00:20:57,720 children. The other thing that I'll say about this 337 00:20:57,960 --> 00:21:01,680 is I have started writing. Some of y' all 338 00:21:01,680 --> 00:21:05,400 know this already, but I write romance novels. They're very 339 00:21:05,400 --> 00:21:08,840 spicy, very queer romance novels. If that's 340 00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:11,840 something you're interested in, you can DM me. I can give you my secret pen 341 00:21:11,840 --> 00:21:15,640 name. I'm not sharing it with everybody because I'm keeping this one close to 342 00:21:15,640 --> 00:21:19,080 my chest because honestly, I don't want yalls opinions on this 343 00:21:19,400 --> 00:21:23,180 because it's my thing and I'm having so much fun doing it. It's 344 00:21:23,180 --> 00:21:26,620 essentially creating a second business. And what I'm doing 345 00:21:27,020 --> 00:21:30,460 with this business model is I'm taking everything I'm learning 346 00:21:30,700 --> 00:21:34,380 in a new vertical and teaching it in the mindful marketing lab. 347 00:21:35,180 --> 00:21:38,819 And I'm getting to practice what I preach. 348 00:21:38,819 --> 00:21:41,900 When it comes to marketing in a completely 349 00:21:42,140 --> 00:21:45,860 untapped field, like writing books, 350 00:21:45,860 --> 00:21:49,540 specifically romance books, it's not heavy on the marketing, it's not 351 00:21:49,540 --> 00:21:52,870 heavy on the funnels. There's so much 352 00:21:52,950 --> 00:21:56,790 untapped energy there that I was able to come in and actually get 353 00:21:56,870 --> 00:22:00,590 surprising about a success fairly early and somewhat 354 00:22:00,590 --> 00:22:04,390 easily because of my marketing skills. So it's a 355 00:22:04,390 --> 00:22:07,110 lot of fun for me to practice marketing in that way. 356 00:22:08,230 --> 00:22:12,030 But the most fun part as well is like taking that and sharing 357 00:22:12,030 --> 00:22:15,430 the results with my members and 358 00:22:15,670 --> 00:22:19,510 in my content. So I'm able to say, you know, yes, I know this works, 359 00:22:19,510 --> 00:22:23,150 but I'm not just doing it for me. I have another business that I'm doing 360 00:22:23,150 --> 00:22:26,610 it with and the results are surprising. Like, it. It is. 361 00:22:27,330 --> 00:22:31,050 I'm just. My mind is blown by how much traction I was able to get 362 00:22:31,050 --> 00:22:34,530 in such a short amount of time with zero marketing dollars. Like, 363 00:22:35,090 --> 00:22:38,810 pretty much all, like, boots to the ground, like, guerrilla 364 00:22:38,810 --> 00:22:42,210 marketing efforts. Okay. Like the stuff that I teach, right? And so 365 00:22:42,770 --> 00:22:46,610 it has been so fun to practice in that vertical and then go, 366 00:22:46,610 --> 00:22:50,130 okay, here's what's working on Instagram right now. Here's what I noticed about TikTok. 367 00:22:50,290 --> 00:22:53,690 This is the thing that worked on Threads. Here's how I grew my email list. 368 00:22:53,690 --> 00:22:57,150 Here's what tool I used to. And I only spent $30 369 00:22:57,390 --> 00:23:00,910 a month on this. You know, like, things like that that have been 370 00:23:01,470 --> 00:23:05,310 incredible to go through the process again, 371 00:23:05,470 --> 00:23:08,670 starting from absolute zero. And so 372 00:23:09,550 --> 00:23:13,390 I don't think that I would have ever explored this had I not 373 00:23:13,390 --> 00:23:16,390 had kids and had the market not shifted. Which is why I wanted to come 374 00:23:16,390 --> 00:23:20,030 to you with this episode. And it's kind of different because I wanted to 375 00:23:20,030 --> 00:23:23,800 share what I'm doing in my business in case you're in 376 00:23:23,800 --> 00:23:26,880 a similar spot or thinking about being in a similar spot, or maybe you're a 377 00:23:26,880 --> 00:23:30,400 little bit past this and you're like, now what? Okay, so 378 00:23:31,040 --> 00:23:34,720 with that being said, my core lesson for 379 00:23:34,720 --> 00:23:38,240 this right here podcast episode is that 380 00:23:38,480 --> 00:23:41,360 things are going to change. Life 381 00:23:41,680 --> 00:23:44,320 shifts, business shifts. 382 00:23:45,200 --> 00:23:48,880 Things go up and they go down. This is not about failing. 383 00:23:49,430 --> 00:23:53,230 It is about adjusting and adapting to what's actually happening, the 384 00:23:53,230 --> 00:23:56,710 circumstances around you. And it can feel 385 00:23:56,950 --> 00:24:00,310 challenging. I know so many people who 386 00:24:00,550 --> 00:24:04,310 used to own an agency. They lost all of their clients because of this 387 00:24:04,390 --> 00:24:08,150 weird market we're in, and they got a full time job. I know so many 388 00:24:08,150 --> 00:24:11,950 people who used to own an agency. You know, maybe they sold 389 00:24:11,950 --> 00:24:15,710 it, maybe they just closed the doors and now they're back to freelancing. I know 390 00:24:15,710 --> 00:24:18,990 a couple people who could completely shifted business models, one of which 391 00:24:19,310 --> 00:24:23,030 started a bookstore. And I'm like, hello? That is like my life dream now is 392 00:24:23,030 --> 00:24:26,710 to own a bookstore. You don't have 393 00:24:26,710 --> 00:24:30,430 to grow in the same way in every season of your life. 394 00:24:30,830 --> 00:24:34,430 And I think this is a lesson that I'm saying to myself mostly, but out 395 00:24:34,430 --> 00:24:37,990 loud to you as well. You don't have to grow in the same way in 396 00:24:37,990 --> 00:24:41,470 every season of your life. There was a period in time in my life where 397 00:24:41,550 --> 00:24:45,120 having a million dollar agency was like the penultimate 398 00:24:45,120 --> 00:24:48,880 goal. I was hungry for it, okay? Especially 399 00:24:48,960 --> 00:24:52,640 before I had kids. And even for a while there, in the early days 400 00:24:52,640 --> 00:24:56,400 of having my first kid, especially when we had that 401 00:24:56,400 --> 00:24:59,960 year where we were so close, I thought for sure the next year we'd pass 402 00:24:59,960 --> 00:25:03,040 that. Even my accountant was like, oh, yeah, for sure. Next year you're gonna have 403 00:25:03,040 --> 00:25:06,800 a million dollars in revenue. And then I didn't. Right. 404 00:25:07,600 --> 00:25:11,430 And that, that process of, like, acknowledging things 405 00:25:11,430 --> 00:25:15,270 are different, moving through it anyways and still finding 406 00:25:15,270 --> 00:25:19,030 contentment and creativity. It's a process that takes a lot of time. 407 00:25:19,030 --> 00:25:22,870 I'm not gonna lie and say, oh, it was roses. For a while 408 00:25:22,870 --> 00:25:26,710 there, it was not. It was very hard. And the lesson that 409 00:25:26,710 --> 00:25:29,430 I learned is I don't have to grow the same in every season. The season 410 00:25:29,430 --> 00:25:32,950 of life that I'm in right now is like the season of playfulness 411 00:25:33,030 --> 00:25:36,790 and fun and experimentation and creativity. And 412 00:25:36,790 --> 00:25:40,560 that means my growth are in those areas. Is it's not a season 413 00:25:40,560 --> 00:25:44,240 of life where I'm growing in other ways. And so you can 414 00:25:44,240 --> 00:25:48,040 pause, you can adjust, but then you can rewrite the rules. 415 00:25:48,040 --> 00:25:51,120 However you want to write them, rewrite them. And listen, 416 00:25:51,680 --> 00:25:55,480 if things don't work out, I'm sure y' all will hear about that as well. 417 00:25:55,480 --> 00:25:58,920 I think the most important thing to do is that to move forward with 418 00:25:58,920 --> 00:26:01,280 intention. This is where my optimism 419 00:26:02,960 --> 00:26:06,400 works in my favor, because I get to dive in with both 420 00:26:06,480 --> 00:26:10,330 feet and just figure it out. Just figure it out. Build the plane 421 00:26:10,330 --> 00:26:13,570 while I fly. And I think the most interesting thing, too, is 422 00:26:13,890 --> 00:26:17,570 people trust me more. At least, I've heard this. 423 00:26:17,570 --> 00:26:21,010 People have trust me more because I'm able to be this transparent 424 00:26:21,730 --> 00:26:25,530 in the way that I share things. All 425 00:26:25,530 --> 00:26:29,250 right, that is it for this kind of 426 00:26:29,330 --> 00:26:33,090 different sort of episode. I'll be back with, like, the usual marketing 427 00:26:33,170 --> 00:26:36,690 stuff next week. But as I head into the season of Life where 428 00:26:37,290 --> 00:26:40,890 both of my kids are in daycare, I am no longer having kids. That's 429 00:26:40,890 --> 00:26:43,850 literally impossible. There are no more children coming from this body. 430 00:26:46,250 --> 00:26:50,090 I got my tubes removed, y'. All. That's why I said it like that. No 431 00:26:50,090 --> 00:26:52,969 more children. I'm in a season of my life where 432 00:26:53,690 --> 00:26:57,450 it feels like I'm turning a page, I'm turning a chapter, and I'm really 433 00:26:57,450 --> 00:27:01,250 freaking excited about it. I know I'm talking softly, all because 434 00:27:01,250 --> 00:27:04,410 the baby's napping, but I'm really freaking excited about it, and I just want to 435 00:27:04,410 --> 00:27:08,210 share that with y'. All. So big love if you found this episode very 436 00:27:08,210 --> 00:27:11,910 helpful. Helpful. Come on over to my Instagram DMS and let me know. 437 00:27:11,910 --> 00:27:14,710 I love to hear the feedback. The ahas 438 00:27:15,830 --> 00:27:18,630 from last week. I kept getting people talking about 439 00:27:19,350 --> 00:27:23,190 poop scrolling. Y' all loved the poop scrolling one. Oh, that was two weeks ago. 440 00:27:23,190 --> 00:27:26,830 Poop scrolling. Y' all loved poop scrolling. So I love 441 00:27:26,830 --> 00:27:30,110 what y' all said. We DMS about that. One person even, like, tagged me in 442 00:27:30,110 --> 00:27:33,870 a meme about it. It was hilarious. So if there's anything in this episode 443 00:27:33,870 --> 00:27:36,970 that you're like, ah, come DM me. I mean, I'm on all the platforms, right? 444 00:27:36,970 --> 00:27:40,250 But, like, Instagram is where I spend most of the time. I'll be back with 445 00:27:40,250 --> 00:27:43,730 a new episode next week, so I'll see you all then. Bye for now.