Amidst The Chaos

I am so giddy to bring today's guest on the podcast!! My Marketing Director, Lauren Lorow is here! She is my behind the scenes, right hand woman on all things podcast and today she is here to tell her story! I found Lauren through a friend of a friend off of an IG story post and what started as an inquiry to be a VA, has grown into so much more!

Lauren tells me about her professional past, which was mostly in health and wellness in Manhattan. She talks about how she was able to mix her love for fitness (as a life long athlete) and passion of business into unique jobs that fit outside of the normal boxes we think of as careers. We talk about her family plans to leave Manhattan and how she had the foresight to build her skills for whatever was next work wise. Lauren talks about moving in the beginning of the pandemic and how it forced her to refocus her career plan and what was the best for her family. She started building relationships and was connected with some women entrepreneurs that needed marketing support. Since then she has built a strong collection of clients who she connects with personally and professionally. Lauren finishes off with some great insights on how she juggles multiple clients, teaching Pilates and a traveling husband.

I have been waiting to bring Lauren on to hear her story and share her tips with all of you!! This is such a great listen for anyone who has skills and has thought about branching out to start something but is not sure if they can or should! Lauren didn't plan on building this to what it is, but used her connections and passions to do just that! Make sure to check out her instagram for some great insights on women own business and marketing, as well as her site to reachout about working together!!

I hope you are all ready to be blown away like I was during todays episode with Elizabeth Miller. I have enjoyed hearing from these amazing women talk about how they took a problem and built out a solution. Elizabeth did that and then found a way to monetize work that truly fueled her soul -- which is not an easy feat! Elizabeth is the founder of Happy Healthy Caregiver, which is a resource for all caregivers to help them bring self care and happiness into their lives and roles. Elizabeth starts off our call by telling me how she is such a people person, and I cannot wait for you all to see that come to life throughout our talk!

Elizabeth became an unpaid caregiver after the loss of her father, and realized how all consuming it is to take that role on. Through her experience and talking with other caregivers, she has been able to work with companies and brands who are looking to talk to caregivers and the aging population, and provides them the tools to infuse selfcare into their lives. After years of working in broadcasting and IT, she was able to pull from her business management and project analysis experience to help her build this new business venture! Elizabeth also talks to me about how this business (and being a caregiver) has impacted her family as well -- she has raised some self sufficient kids! We finish with some great tips for self care and caring for others, as well as some CRAZY stats on caregiving in this country!

Caregiving is going to impact all of us as some point, so this is a MUST listen for all the tips. You want more? Head to Elizabeth's site to get even more tools and insights, and check out her blog and Instagram!

Super excited to share my conversation with Ciara Stockeland today -- I had an idea of what she did and what we would talk about and WOW was I blown away by where things went! Ciara has taken her experiences, her failures (which she owns up to!) and her passions to help boutique owners thrive! We start on talk with all the steps that led Ciara to where she is today -- from starting her own theater company, to opening a maternity boutique in North Dakota with no retail experience, she dives into everything she experienced and learned along the way! After a chance opportunity she expanded into a wholesale business, and continued to build her knowledge and edged closer to her current coaching business. We then talk about a big change that happened, including losing her business and her house. Instead of pointing fingers and blaming everything and everyone else, Ciara looked at how SHE had a part in what happened, and used that to make sure she (and her now clients) didn't make the same mistake again! One of my favorite parts of her story is when she realizes that what she is doing now (and thriving at) is the EXACT thing that she told herself she wanted to stay away from. We finish with some talk around imposter syndrome and what she continues to bring to her clients!

I truly loved hearing about Ciara's story and how she leans into things when they don't go the right way. Ciara left me (and all of you) with the courage to ask questions, to make things work when it seems like they wont -- and I cannot wait to see what that does for her, you and me!! Make sure to check out Ciara's Instagram and site to learn about all the amazing offers she has!

This was a real pinch me moment for the podcast! When I first thought of this podcast idea (years ago!), I had this vision of chatting with strong, independent and driven women and I have been BLOWN AWAY by the caliber of founders I have had on. Today's guest is no different -- I reached out to Allie Casazza's team pouring my heart out to get her on and .... NOW SHE'S HERE!

For those that don't know about Allie, she is on a mission to empower women by decluttering and simplifying their spaces (physical, mental and emotional). We start with how she came to helping people out -- hint, it's similar to many of our guests! She realized her life was hectic, things weren't getting done and got fed up with constantly being stressed and frazzled. Allie then dives into how she turned this into a thriving business, with tangible tips -- they are so worth it, and not what you might expect from someone with her success! We end up having a super honest conversation about the importance we put on formal education and if that is always the best learning tool.

Then we hit on how her business evolved, where her family plays into things and how she knew it was time to ask for help and bring people onto her team. We finish with my most favorite tip; Allie talks about her go to rule on being productive and efficient with her team. Finally, Allie gushes all about her book, how is came about, and the difference in leaving her strictly digital space. I am so fortunate to have had Allie on the show with me and I know you are going to take away so many tips just as I did! I have to give Allie an extra special shout out, because she has continued to support me and reach out even after recording which she most definitely didn't need to do! Make sure to check out her site, Instagram and her NEW BOOK which drops TODAY (9.7)!!!!

Who is excited for our first Shark Tank guest to join the show (aggressively raises both hands)?! Tara Williams is the founder of Dreamland Baby, which makes beautiful weighted blankets to help you stay calm, fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer.

Tara kicks off with some background on her professional experience; she started in medical device sales, which included a lot of travel and was really exciting for her pre kids! She also talks to me about how she now realizes being in a start up environment gave her the confidence to start her own thing, and insights into what may happen when/if she started something of her own!

We then dive into her path to Dreamland Baby, including the initial idea, the research and development behind it, and how to handle when it may not be the EXACT RIGHT time to start something. She gives some real honest talk about being an entrepreneur and how its not for everyone, and how she THRIVES in chaos which helps her in this entrepreneurial life. She also gets into the financials by telling me how long she went without pay and how they afforded to do so (all while her husband had just lost his job!). Finally, she tells me how the brand has grown and OF COURSE, all about her experience on Shark Tank -- make sure to check out her episode here.

Tara was such a fun guest to have! I loved how open she was about building her business and brand. If you have kids or know someone with little ones you MUST check out their products!! Make sure to head to their site, instagram, Facebook and now you can join Tara on her own podcast, the Mom Manual!

I am super excited to welcome my first UK guest on the podcast today -- Cara Sayer is the founder of SnoozeShade, the world’s best-selling range of sun and sleep shades. Cara talks about her extensive career in marketing, PR and event planning (and how being an inventor was not on her career plan). However, she had a need that she filled -- her and her friends wanted something to cover their babies and block out the sun while they were in the stroller. Since there was nothing on the market, she made it happen!

We then dive into some personal aspects of her life that I really appreciated -- including struggles to conceive, divorce, breaking down and taking a step away. She also talks to me about shame and how she is a big fan of changing the way we speak about those who need to seek mental health and medication, which I feel is so refreshing to hear. We pivot to chat about why she focuses so much on safety (and how she's not willing to compromise on it), why she thinks competition is good and how COVID affected her this last year. We finish with her talking about how she built her tribe in the industry and what i means to her.

Cara was such a fun guest, i loved how open and honest she was about a lot of things people glaze over when talking about their entrepreneur story. Plus, for all those looking for a perfect gift for mamas, THIS IS IT! Make sure to give her a listen below, check out her site and Instagram!

This is the first guest I've had that really melted my old career and entrepreneur life together! Debi Yadegari is the Founder and CEO of Villyge, which is an employer-paid benefit that sets families up for success and helps employees to thrive. I was excited to chat with her and as we got further into the convo I was continually impressed and in awe of her!

Debi tells me about her first career path, as a big time lawyer! She had always wanted the big family and it up until a co-worker said otherwise, she thought she could have them both! After getting pregnant with her first, she found out first hand that there was not enough support for working parents (insert light bulb moment)! After having her next 3 kiddos in 5 years (yeah you read that right!), she started to dive into supporting working moms through corporate lactation support. As she started listening to her clients and their needs, the business started to expand their offerings.

Debi gets super honest about the change in perspective she's been forced to have through being an entrepreneur. We also chat about how their business is a little different than most as their end use is not always the one making the financial decisions. Finally, she talks about something that so few business owners do -- hiring and firing, and the mistakes made along the way! She tells me about the first time she had to fire someone and how it was different than previous roles.

Debi has started such an amazing brand to help working parents and the energy she has is something I need to find a way to bottle and take with me! If you are an employee or head the HR/Benefits department at a business, you should absolutely listen to this one! Make sure to check out Debi and the Villyge team's site and Instagram.

Ever leave a conversation with someone and you feel like you just got a free therapy session and were able to unpack/unload so many things?? Well, that is what happened with today's guest, Tina Unrue. Tina is a certified life and mindset coach and the founder of Selfish Mama, which helps moms stress less in life and motherhood by focusing more on themselves w/o the guilt. Tina talks about her desire to spend more time with her daughter while she was working her government job years ago. She was torn between going back to school and becoming a life coach -- I loved the way she broke down the back and forth, telling me that going with her gut wasn't easy, but she knew she had to do it!

She explains what life coaching is (something even she hadn't heard about until she was being pushed into a different life trajectory). Tina drops some knowledge when talking about how you can't just project manage your life and sometimes you have to look at the bigger picture, even when you are plugged down in the day to day madness. We finish with her talking about purpose and how to find yours! I legit didn't even get to half the business questions I had planning to talk with Tina about because we connected so much on all the topics and truth bombs she was giving me.

Make sure to visit Tina's Instagram, Facebook and site to learn more about her, find out about working with her and gain SO MUCH MORE!

I never thought I would be thanking my TikTok scrolling for finding me a guest, but here we are! Janna Hattingh is the founder of Booby Food, which (wait for it..) freeze dries your breastmilk into powder so you never have to worry about tossing your breastmilk again! Janna tell me how her personal experience led to her starting this insanely genius brand. She opens up about breastfeeding and PPD struggles, leading her to look into how she could preserve her milk and not waste as much when she started to give her son solids. We dive into how she got things started, what she learned along the way and how she took big steps to push through.

Then Janna drops some real talk when she says that work-life balance isn't attainable and how she aims to be more flexible and less rigid in business. We talk about how her family plays into the growth and her plans for expansion (umm, yes please!). Finally, she tells me some of the most common questions/hesitations people have and how she caters to each client/mama. There were multiple times I legit questioned having another baby JUST to use this service!

Whether you are a breastfeeding mom or not, this episode is filled with so much that you can use to take into your life and business! Make sure to follow Janna on Instagram and check out their site if you or someone you know could use this service!

Full show notes here.

I am excited to welcome our second co-founder story today! Mattye Woodcock and Rachel Coffey are the founders of Namesake Celebrations, which combines their love for thoughtful planning, family heirlooms, and classic beauty. For all my mamas and caregivers that have always wanted that beautiful, thoughtful birthday party but didn't have the time or creative eye to make it happen -- these are your girls!

Mattye and Rachel start by telling me where the idea of Namesake Celebrations came about -- they loved throwing their kids bdays and noticed their friends did too, but were having a hard time finding all the things they needed in one space. They continue to tell me how their friendship grew throughout the years and through some really hard times personally. I was in such awe of how raw and honest they were with one another while they were going through different personal struggles that created some friendship tension at times. We then chat about the first brand they started, which was a collective for creative women to get together, and how this jumpstarted them working together and allowed them to understand how to work with a friend that has a different personality (and it wont take you long to figure that out)! We finish with them breaking down how they started Namesake while still doing their own things (which is true to this day) and an open talk about finances and family support.

These two were so fun to talk to and I found myself just sitting back and listening to them feed off one another. I (obviously) loved our highlight on our Enneagram numbers and the way they lean into their differences! Whether you are looking for some inspiration or want them to take over your next big milestone celebration, don't hesitate to reach out to these two -- you (and your IG feed) will not be disappointed! Make sure to check out their site and IG for all the details!