FamilyPreneur®

Marina Darlow was trained as an industrial engineer. While she found great success in her work as a project manager, she doesn't look back on her time with great fondness. She left her project management career and enrolled in an interior design degree.

She joined a person/business development program so she could "figure out what she wanted to do with her life." She didn't feel like the other "Demi-God" entrepreneurs out there but found her success when her friend came to her help with her own business. Marina helped her crunch numbers and figure out what she needed to do to have a successful business.

"Apparently that was valuable, because to my great surprise, not everybody knew how to do this and definitely not everybody wanted to this. This is how my business was born."

Marina speaks about finding value in your own skills. "When we don't value ourselves, we actually do a disservice to those who don't think [what we do] is super easy."

Marina was a mom of a young toddler when she shifted to owning her own business. She says the results and success she is able to see of the work she is doing for others, "It's hard to describe this feeling. It's the reason to get up in the morning."

When there are instances Marina has a busier than normal schedule she remembers, "A, this is temporary and B, this is how business is."

In involving her now nine-year old daughter in the business, Marina describes how her daughter is very good at validating her content. When she has an email that going to be sent out, if she can explain it to her daughter in a way that makes sense, then she's good to go. "It's a huge productivity tool. Explain your stuff to your kids---If they understand, then you're good to go!"

Marina's number one piece of advice is to," Be very open about what is going on in your business. And if you see a spark of interest from your kid, talk to them about it."

"When it comes to you being who you are professionally, I think it's a great idea to communicate that to your children."

Learn more about the FamilyPreneur Business Accelerator and join today at »familypreneur.co«

I'm committed to building an inclusive and anti-racist business. I support LGBTQIA+ rights and the rights of all intersectional identities. I believe that business should be a force for dismantling systems of oppression and actively invest in my own learning to fulfill this role.

»Read My Full DEI Statement HERE«

I’d like to preface this episode with a little back-story... my oldest daughter was always smart. She was one of those kids who developed skills ahead of other kids her age. She walked early, talked early, counted to 10 and sang her ABCs early… so when she started school and struggled. I was completely dumbfounded. Things got progressively worse through her diagnosis with ADHD - we tried diet changes, therapy, and even medication - but in 1st grade we really hit rock bottom when she was kicked out of a private school that simply did not have to cooperate with her IEP… it’s for this reason that I’m so personally sensitive to how we educate kids labeled with ADHD - and really, any kids struggling in school. We spent so much time in her first school-aged years trying to make her fit the mold, then I heard a quote that went, “When a flower doesn't bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower.” And that’s when I realized I was taking the wrong approach. Since that time I’ve adjusted my parenting and expectations. I’ve discovered methods of learning that my daughter thrives with, and I credit her business launch as providing not only a source of pride and accomplishment, but hands-on experiences that really make learning fun and memorable for her. So, when I met Nicole Connell, I knew she needed to join me to discuss the correlation between ADHD and entrepreneurship.

Nicole confirms that my situation is not unique. She's been working in the educational system for over 6 years and sees the trend of trying to fix the child as opposed to trying to fix the environment.

As a student, Nicole was "Miss 4.0." She was the "golden child" with the ideal school-type brain and she was an easy student to teach and believes that she had a privilege in that regard. In college, she had a pretty massive breakdown because she was not prepared for the "real world" which made her question what she had been taught. She found her way back into education and began her career as a teacher's assistant in a Montessori school. She began to notice and identify the different types of learners, and then when Nicole had her own Kindergarten class she began to identify that many of the behavioral concerns were tied to problems with communication that lead them to act out. Because she wanted to influence as much change as possible, she shifted her career focus to educational therapy - a niche field that helps kids 1:1. Now she works privately with parents and students. Right now she is working very heavily with kids who have dyslexia.

Nicole really wants to encourage a mindset shift. If you have a child who's gifts are not in alignment with the school system, it does not mean that there is anything wrong with the child... it's just a mis-fit. The American education system has a lot of problems, so shifting that perspective is the best piece of advice - and also to listen to your child over listening to the testing.

We discuss the disconnect between adults who were good students in school and how they have difficulty teaching children who learn differently because they never had to think outside of the box. Nicole also discusses age segregation... so in her experience with Montessori, the classroom has a mix of ages in the classroom, which allows the older students to help teach and mentor the younger kids. Nicole believes that multi-age classrooms could help with the disconnect.

Nicole's philosophy is to support the tricky and nurture the amazing - mainly just creating space for the child, and following their interests. So, whatever they are into, and whatever they love - empower them to follow those passions!

Right now, the biggest lessons Nicole is learning is centered around how we view diagnosis and how we treat children. A student recently told her that she thinks that the purpose of testing and diagnosing is to fuel the parent's egos - so the biggest learning that Nicole is in now is a process of questioning how we diagnose and label our children.

Nicole reflects on that quote and it resonated with her because it hits on the misalignment with the traits that we value in school - sitting still, following boring directions - but, school is very different from the real world. And these kids don't fit in well in the school environment, but those traits are actually make them prone to success in entrepreneurship, artistry, creativity, etc. The traits that school wants are very different from what the real world wants. And the danger of our school system valuing those traits is that the kids who get those labels, go through school thinking that there is something wrong with them and that they are flawed, but really they are just gifts that are untapped and unable to be met in the school system.

Learn more about the FamilyPreneur Business Accelerator and join today at »familypreneur.co«

I'm committed to building an inclusive and anti-racist business. I support LGBTQIA+ rights and the rights of all intersectional identities. I believe that business should be a force for dismantling systems of oppression and actively invest in my own learning to fulfill this role.

»Read My Full DEI Statement HERE«

Mariana Ruiz shares the 5 types of impact our work can have on the world, and how that helps us overcome both sales blocks and money blocks. She is a Certified Business Coach + Consultant and international best selling author who uses her background in brain science, hospital administration and 12 years of marketing, sales and business experience to empower impact driven entrepreneurs to increase profits and serve more people all over the world!

Mariana’s career began as a nurse, and she moved into hospital administration where her main role was to increase profit margins while making sure she increased quality care while decreasing costs.

When she began to feel very unfulfilled in her role as a hospital administrator (because of the strain she felt in her family life, and as the mom to a three month old baby), Mariana started a health coaching business after beginning a weight loss journey of her own., After about three or four months of coaching, she became pregnant and wanted to quit the coaching because she felt like a fraud. Her own health coach convinced her to keep at it and stay focused on her long term goal.

Mariana found her new business was exactly what she needed when her daughter was born 2 months premature. She transitioned her business from health coach to help mom entrepreneurs get their businesses off the ground, and helped them focus on sales. When her client base began to grow (primarily through referrals) she was comfortable with the changes she was making because she came back to "this mission to make an impact and a difference in the world." A reflection of her former nurse-self.

Mariana discusses in detail five different types of impact our work can have on the world...

"If we continue to show up, we can have all the impacts."

"There is still power in what I'm saying, and if I help one person by showing up, I'm golden."

When asked how Mariana manages the money in her business to ensure she’s paying herself regularly, she recommends reading (or LISTENING!) to Profit First by Mike Michalowicz.

“Always pay yourself first. Allocate a salary and savings.”

Mariana provides some tips on what as entrepreneurs we should be paying ourselves and what should be going back into the business.

She also discusses how she breaks up her work day: she typically works in two hour increments for about six hours total a day, spending the rest of her time being a mom and managing a household.

The number one tip Mariana recommends is: Remember that you can do it.

Learn more about the FamilyPreneur Business Accelerator and join today at »familypreneur.co«

I'm committed to building an inclusive and anti-racist business. I support LGBTQIA+ rights and the rights of all intersectional identities. I believe that business should be a force for dismantling systems of oppression and actively invest in my own learning to fulfill this role.

»Read My Full DEI Statement HERE«

Rachel studied journalism in college but quickly learned that she could not support herself with journalism. Luckily, she had listened to her dad and took marketing and PR-related courses and quickly landed a job in marketing. She's worked in a variety of marketing positions and found SEO and content marketing in the very early days of digital marketing and for about 6 years she worked within a digital marketing agency. That is where she worked with some big clients like Kirklands Home, The North Face, Bert's Bees, Urban Decay, and more. She got her MBA, got married, had a baby - and then the company sold and eliminated her position. After about 6 months of looking for jobs and positions, she realized that she didn't want to return to the corporate world because she didn't want to lose the time she had reclaimed with her son. The journey has had it's highs and lows - but, now, just over a year later, she's on track to replace her 6-figure income.

Her advice for families who find themselves considering leaving their corporate world for entrepreneurship is to get clear on the budget needed to do so. She gives some actionable tips and advice for how to do that.

Rachel says not to bother with GooglePlus - from 2012-2015 the belief was that businesses needed to be on GooglePlus in order to improve their google rankings for SEO. Since then, the belief of SEO experts is that it's not necessary. Social media drives traffic to our website - but what impacts the rankings is engagement on our site - not social media. The Google algorithm is secretive and not all factors have been confirmed, but google identifies that content (keywords, meta description, title tags, blog posts, image optimization, etc.) and domain authority (how your website is represented throughout the internet with link-backs from other sites).

The recommendation she gives for SEO include the following best practices:

• Target the right keywords - you want to target keywords that are lower in the sales funnel. These keywords often have more words... so instead of "shoes" you should target the more specific keyword "womens asics gel kayano tennis shoes." This will help ensure that you get more highly qualified visitors AND give you a better opportunity to get visibility for the exact thing that you want. There is less search demand, but a higher potential to convert.
• Local Businesses should optimize local SEO - ensure your city and state (or local cities) are optimized, and that your Google My Business listing is set up, verified, and optimized with photos.
• Image file names should include keywords!
• Title tags: Maximum of 56-60 characters, with brand name and most important keyword. A call-to-action increases click through rate up to 33% if you can title your post like a short sentence.
• Time On Site - more than 1 min, 2-3 minutes is excellent.
• Bounce Rate - Under 60%. 40-50 is the best target - anything over 60 needs to be addressed
• Number of Pages Visited - want to see more than 1 page consumed per session. Ideally 1.5-2
• New vs. Returning Users - 80/20 is good... 70/30 is ideal (with 20-30% users returning, which tells Google that people think the content is useful.

When your domain authority increases (other people link to you), your keyword ranking increases because Google sees you as a more authoritative site, and then the leads start to come through.

Rachel recommends the use of the Yoast plug in if you are on Wordpress, and you only need the free version! Yoast is a user friendly, easy to use plug in that helps guide you to well-optimized pages.

Rachel loves helping people figure out SEO and Content Strategy - she has a SEO Fundamentals course that guides people through what SEO is, how google works, on-page optimization, keyword research, authority and pitching yourself, content creation, how to use a variety of free tools used for SEO, understanding the reporting of Google Analytics, and MORE! It's very comprehensive, but broken down with lots of videos and worksheets.

Rachel shares some tips for how she has found a satisfying work-life balance, which includes curbside pick-up at the grocery store, working while her son is at school, outsourcing housework like cleaning and landscaping if possible, ordering on Amazon Prime instead of going to Target. She wants to be present with her son, so she tries to delegate as many of the housekeeping tasks as possible so that she can work when he's at school and focus on her son when he's home.

Learn more about the FamilyPreneur Business Accelerator and join today at »familypreneur.co«

I'm committed to building an inclusive and anti-racist business. I support LGBTQIA+ rights and the rights of all intersectional identities. I believe that business should be a force for dismantling systems of oppression and actively invest in my own learning to fulfill this role.

»Read My Full DEI Statement HERE«

Samantha Barnes is a mom to an 8 & 6 year old. She's a female founder who is committed to running a results-oriented and flexible company built on autonomy, working smart, and work/life balance. She has a passion for food + family, and believes that the kitchen is the best place to connect with her kids in a meaningful way. She's a former middle school teacher, and her commitment to empowering kids’ confidence in the kitchen inspired her to launch her company: Raddish, a cooking club + curriculum for kids.

Samantha has always been passionate about education and began her career as a teacher. She noticed that her students were eating unhealthy lunches. She also noticed that they all seemed to love watching shows on the Food network. Samantha had an "ah-ha" moment where she realized that she could combine their interest in cooking with making healthier choices. She launched a side hustle teaching cooking classes and birthday parties for about a year before venturing out completely on her own.

She was not yet a mom when she was working as a teacher, and she had her 2 children during the early years of entrepreneurship - while she launched her first business KitchenKid, then rebranded and transitioned to Raddish. Balance to her is a pretty constant struggle.

About 2 years ago, Samantha's husband, Seth, who has a background in digital marketing, joined the business. They have a really good routine down and are able to act strictly as colleagues at work and not spouses. When it comes to keeping those roles separate they struggle most with not bringing work home... when they are at work they are really good about leaving family stuff out of their interactions.

Het kids have always been involved in the business. As infants they were in a sling while mom and dad worked, growing up they have helped test recipes and helped with packaging, labeling, loading boxes on to the trucks. The kids have watched the business grow from their backyard to a warehouse. They are living through the process of growth and her daughter is really drawn into the whole process and loves learning about the inner-workings of business.

A couple years ago, Samantha's daughter created a comic book series as a non-profit to benefit a variety of organizations. she has a big heart for social justice and often her leadership is rooted in a bigger philanthropic mission. This is not a project she is still tackling, but I love the discussion about the importance of allowing kids to explore their passions and pivot frequently.

Samantha shares a breakdown of how cooking with our kids can translate into a variety of lessons. The time cooking and waiting, math/measurements/ratios of cooking, and the details of where each ingredient comes from - it really helps kids understand the complexity of where food comes from. Then, you can talk about business concepts like yields and profits when you consider the costs associated with ingredients AND valuing time. Each recipe has "fun bites" with information that is related to the recipes but brings in a variety of related topics in history, science, social studies, math, and more!

Kids as young as 3 can benefit from Raddish alongside their parents because the recipes are all illustrated, and older kids and tweens can still benefit from it as well because everyone likes the easy to follow step-by-step pictures. They alternate themes and offer a variety of package options and some memberships include an apron for the child, then every month the kids get a patch to sew on their apron. Learn more about Raddish at RaddishKids.com

Learn more about the FamilyPreneur Business Accelerator and join today at »familypreneur.co«

I'm committed to building an inclusive and anti-racist business. I support LGBTQIA+ rights and the rights of all intersectional identities. I believe that business should be a force for dismantling systems of oppression and actively invest in my own learning to fulfill this role.

»Read My Full DEI Statement HERE«