Lifehacks with Shelly Boucher

Do you ever wish your digital life would just synchronize itself?

I mean, it seems conceivable, right? That technology could self-organize to your benefit? You could just sit back and watch it all happen, tweaking now and again.

Well, hang on to your mousepads because...wait for it...it can. And that's what we're delving into in this episode. It's a web service called IFTTT (If This, Then That, rhymes with "Gift") that enables you to create 'recipes' linking one platform (channel) to another.

Sound confusing? Yeah, I thought so too until Rash Pixel's Pete Wright (and this show's producer) explained in a bit more detail with a few examples. Here are some simple 'recipes', to give you an idea:

If my daughter posts a photo to Instagram, send me an email.

Thankfully Pete is an amazing teacher and walks us through the ins and outs of IFTTT. Give a listen.

If you have a kiddo that’s into sports, you’re going to want to pay close attention today because I have a guest that may very well change the way your family approaches those sports activities.

John O’Sullivan has been involved in soccer full time as a player and coach since 1996. He is now an international speaker and national best-selling author of a book called Changing the Game: The Parents Guide to Raising Happy, High-Performing Athletes.

Does travel run in your blood?

Ever dreamed of taking your kids to another country?

If so, then today’s episode is a dose of inspiration for you. In September of 2013 Kathrin Spaccarelli and her husband sold most of their belongings, including their home, and traveled the world for a year with their two sons who were ages 6 and 10 at the time. They visited 25 countries on 5 continents in the experience of a lifetime.

Kathrin joins me in today’s episode to share a little bit about their journey, how they made it a reality and why they were motivated to embark on this adventure.

Raise your hand if you purchase those thick summer learning workbooks for your kids.

Now keep them raised if you’re successful in getting them to complete their allotted assignments all summer long.

If you’re hand is still raised, congratulations, you’re the one super parent on the planet who has accomplished this feat. The rest of you, read and listen on!

I have a confession to make. Part of me really hates summer vacation because it’s a long stretch of 10 weeks when my kids are not in school, not in a routine, are either running from camp to camp or bored out of their minds. As someone that works from a home office, it’s really challenging to manage. Arguing over doing workbooks just adds another dimension of strife to our summer days.

That’s why I was so excited when I heard about a cool summer adventure called Brain Chase to help the kiddos keep their academic skills strong and give them a consistent task to focus on.

I’m joined today by Brain Chase co-founder Heather Staker. Heather gives us the audio tour of what Brain Chase is all about and why she and her husband Allan felt strongly that this product needed to be invented.

Do you ever feel the itch to do something just a little out of the ordinary?

Something that would have a lasting impact on you, your family and the world?

I do. All the time.

One thing I’ve been researching seriously over the last few months is volunteering overseas with my family and today’s episode is all about that: having a meaningful volunteer adventure abroad.

I’m joined by Dave Santulli, Founder & Executive Director of United Planet, an organization that offers volunteer opportunities in 35 countries. And Dave walks us through the ins and outs of what that means if you choose to volunteer through his organization. It’s pretty fascinating stuff!

Do you own your own business?

Or have you ever dreamed of starting your own business?

If so, today’s episode is for you.

According to Jill Salzman, moms make the best entrepreneurs because we know how to make it up as we go. Jill created the mom entrepreneur MeetUp, The Founding Moms. Their mission? Helping moms get down to business.

Jill shares what happens at these monthly MeetUps in cities around the world, a few amazing and inspirational stories of successful mom entrepreneurs and why getting together with other women is so powerful.

If you own your own business or have dreamed of starting one, today’s episode is a must-listen.

The Minute by Minute Recap

2:35-4:15: At the beginning, the MeetUp groups addressed the logistics of ‘How do I do this?’. Then it morphed into a marketing, branding conversation.

4:15-7:00: The Founding Moms is currently in 40 cities in the U.S., 9 countries with 8,000 members and growing quickly. Members are all ages with children of different ages. When you show up to one of Jill’s meetings, there’s always a speaker giving practical, actionable tips on marketing or legal or branding. Chicago and Oak Park groups have over 600 members. At each meeting, there are no more than 20 people. In San Francisco, for example, they have larger groups. For the most part, they’re smaller.

7:10-8:18: The Founding Moms is free to join in your city and then $10-$15/month per event. Soon there will be an online forum that’s a paid membership (stay tuned!).

8:22-9:10: The online course is not available quite yet, but there will be an active forum, a Directory (like Angie’s list for mom entrepreneurs), video courses.

9:15-11:50: Another thing currently available from the Founding Moms is called the Founding Kit, which bundles services all business owners need (things like graphic design, a website, virtual assistant, etc.). All clients are already in business and see the value of the kit.

12:00-12:40: Megan picks a small bone with Jill…there’s no Founding Moms community in Portland. What?! Jill welcomes any mom with her own business who’d like to start this group to go to FoundingMoms.com/StartOne.

12:55-14:25: Jill’s advice for moms that want to start their own business: get out fast! The Founding Moms is that place women can go to sit in a room with other mom entrepreneurs to get the inspiration they need to take that next step. One conversation could charge you right out of the corporate rat race. Whether it’s The Founding Moms or just visiting a local co-working space, have conversations with people who are doing this work already. Talk to them about how they do it.

14:25-18:37: Jill shares a few stories of successful women entrepreneurs. One woman came to the MeetUp every month wanting to start something but not knowing what. She now runs a wildly successful branding firm by meeting the needs of the very women she was communing with.

Another woman showed up at an exchange and wanted to quit her job to start a business with her husband. They started OptionsAway.com, a now successful business that allows you to hold the price of an airline ticket for a few days. Brilliant!

Another woman was experimenting with chemicals in her kitchen to create an amazing “perfect manicure” product, she’d show up at MeetUps with her product and people’s mouths would drop. She is now being courted by major beauty brands. The company is Liquid Palisade.

18:37-20:04:Having the inspiration and watching other women be courageous is contagious and very powerful. Find Jill and Founding Moms online, on Twitter and Instagram.

How important is your child’s education?

Hard to quantify, right?

It’s probably safe to say that your knee-jerk response is something along the lines of, “Very!”. At least it is for me.

Choosing the right school for your child can be a weighty and complicated decision, no matter their age. Whether you’re deciding where to settle as a family based on the public schools or checking out private or charter school options, there are so many factors that come into play. Where to start may well be the most difficult.

In this episode I’m joined by Suzanne Podhurst, Editor-in-Chief of the education website Noodle. Suzanne shares a list of 10 critical things you’ll want to add to your list of questions when considering a K-12 school for your child.

Oh, how I wish I had had this list several years ago when I was considering where to enroll my own kids. But, luckily for you, this episode provides you with the learnings from my own experience as well as Suzanne’s expertise.

Tune in today!

Do you ever feel like your wardrobe could use a serious makeover but don’t know where to start?

I work from home, so the motivation simply isn’t there most days to do much other than shower and pull on a pair of yoga pants and a hoodie. The challenge comes when I do need to go to a professional meeting or just want to look put together. I’m at a bit of a loss. I have a few go-to outfits but that’s where it ends.

For today’s episode I pull in a fashion big gun to help. Elizabeth Smith founded a company called Wardrobe Therapy to help the fashion frazzled like me navigate her way past the yoga pants and to a style she loves.

If you’re reading these words, you’re probably a parent.

If you’re a parent of children that can speak, you’ve probably experienced the topic of today’s episode – and that’s back talk. Rude, snarky comments in response to your authority as a parent. It’s maddening!

Luckily for us, we have a parenting expert to help us address this dynamic in our homes. Dr. Becca is a child psychologist and host of the blog, Parenting the Modern Family.

Tune in to hear Dr. Becca’s wisdom!

Waking up to realize that you are a parent…in charge of another human being’s life…is typically a pretty life-altering experience. And while our Facebook feeds show much of the joyful, silly, happy and proud sides of being a parent, what we seldom admit to ourselves, let alone to our social circles is that parenting is hard and not always a lot of fun.

My guest today is Jennifer Senior, author of the much acclaimed book All Joy and No Fun, named one of Slate’s Top 10 Books of the Year which I can almost guarantee will make you feel about 6 degrees closer to sanity because it is such an honest, fascinating look at modern parenting.