Mama Making Podcast

What if the life you've been dreaming about didn't require waiting until retirement?

 In this episode, Jessica sits down with Kate Kurdziej — business strategist, retreat host, and founder of Olivier Consultancy — who packed up her family and moved from the UK to France to Spain, built a multi-six-figure business along the way, and now helps established female founders do the strategic thinking they never have time for from a villa with an infinity pool in the Mediterranean. Kate talks about the decision to move abroad with a baby, the bureaucratic realities of building a business across three countries, the Instagram story that accidentally launched her retreat business, and why most people don't have a marketing problem — they have an alignment problem. This one is for every ambitious mom who has ever felt like her business is running her instead of the other way around.

MAIN TOPICS COVERED

• Why Kate left a toxic corporate job while pregnant during COVID — and never looked back
• The decision to move from the UK to France with a five-month-old: YOLO, aligned values, and a resilience mindset
• Two years in France, then three in Spain — and what drove the pivot
• Raising a multilingual child in an international school in Valencia
• The behind-the-scenes reality of setting up a business across three countries: visas, accountants, bureaucracy, and driving licenses
• Going from nap-time freelancer to burning out at 12-hour days — and what changed
• The Instagram story that accidentally launched Sun, Sea and Strategy retreats
• Why retreats sold out in 30 minutes — and what makes them work
• The two-sided business: hosting business strategy retreats AND helping other founders launch profitable retreats
• The Clarity, Strategy, Action framework Kate uses on retreat
• Why it's almost never a marketing problem — it's an alignment problem
• The financial mechanics behind profitable retreats most people don't think about
• How to build a retreat business that's sustainable, repeatable, and actually makes money
• Who Kate works with and what established means
• What's coming: the 2027 retreat waitlist and free resources

HOW TO CONNECT WITH KATE KURDZIEJ

• Website: https://olivier-consultancy.co.uk/
• Instagram: @kate_kurdziej https://www.instagram.com/kate_kurdziej/
• Retreats: https://olivier-consultancy.co.uk/business-retreat/
• Retreat strategy: https://olivier-consultancy.co.uk/retreat-planning-consultancy/

This episode is sponsored by Collabs Creative - a boutique digital marketing company helping small business owners and creatives tell their story.

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What do you do when life falls apart — and you feel completely alone in it? 

In this episode, Jessica sits down with Elizabeth Rago, founder of MGW Media, The Modern Domestic Woman magazine, and executive director of MDW CARES — a nonprofit dedicated to helping women navigate life's transitions through trusted information, meaningful connection, and accessible support. Elizabeth shares the season of financial crisis, shame, and isolation that sparked everything, how a transparent post in a small Facebook group changed the trajectory of her life's work, and what she's built over 12 years into a full ecosystem of support for women in Kane County, Illinois and beyond. This one is about what real community looks like — and what it costs when we don't have it.

MAIN TOPICS COVERED

• The car accident, bankruptcy, repossessed car, and seven-year legal battle that cracked Elizabeth open
• Why she felt shame about struggling — and what happened when she finally said so out loud
• The Facebook post that changed everything — and the flood of private messages that followed
• How a spreadsheet of local resources became a website, a magazine, and eventually a nonprofit
• The difference between hosting events and actually building community
• Why the lifestyle and magazine elements are not separate from the mental health mission — they're the entry point
• The dignity of being a full human even in your hardest season
• How Elizabeth acts as a care navigator — connecting women to therapists, lawyers, and other providers before they hit crisis
• The 708 Mental Health Grant from the City of St. Charles — and MDW CARES' first funded program
• Support groups: Mom support, women's general, and perimenopause groups meeting weekly and bi-monthly
• The Essentials Exchange: grocery gift cards during SNAP disruptions and the new period poverty initiative
• The Wildflower Project: connecting teenage girls through agriculture, gardening, and multi-generational community
• Saturday morning coffee with show-and-tell themes — and why it works
• What it took to quit her corporate job in February and go all-in on MDW full time

RESOURCES MENTIONED

• Tri-City Family Services — local mental health organization partnered with MDW CARES

HOW TO CONNECT WITH ELIZABETH RAGO

• MDW website: https://www.themoderndomesticwoman.com/
• Nonprofit website: https://www.mdwcares.com/
• Support Listing: https://www.mdwcares.com/support-us

This episode is sponsored by Collabs Creative - a boutique digital marketing company helping small business owners and creatives tell their story.

Follow The Mama Making Podcast on socials on Instagram and Facebook!
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What do you give someone when you don't know what to say? 

In this episode, Jessica sits down with Lauren Dewey — mom of two boys, former corporate sales leader, and founder of Brooksy Box — a curated care package company serving women at every stage of the motherhood journey: infertility, baby loss, pregnancy, the NICU, postpartum, and beyond. Lauren shares her nearly three-year infertility journey before IVF, the corporate layoff that forced a pivot, the rocking chair moment at 2 a.m. that made the decision clear, and why empathy — once labeled a weakness in corporate — became the foundation of everything she's built. This one is for the moms who needed someone to show up — and for everyone who wanted to but didn't know how.

MAIN TOPICS COVERED

• Lauren's three-year infertility journey before conceiving her first son Brooks via IVF
• Why COVID was unexpectedly a gift — giving her the space to be home for treatments and appointments
• The identity of "climbing the corporate ladder" and what happened when motherhood shifted her entire perspective
• The corporate layoff that became the unlikely catalyst for Brooksy Box
• The rocking chair moment at 2 a.m. that made the decision clear: she didn't want to be in a hotel room
• How a sister-in-law's postpartum care basket changed everything she thought about gifting
• Why the path to motherhood is not linear — and why her boxes had to reflect that
• The full suite of Brooksy Boxes: infertility, baby loss, pregnancy, morning sickness, NICU, postpartum, and mama and baby mini
• What goes into every box: clean ingredients, no hormone disruptors, women-owned small businesses
• The practical and pretty philosophy — why the aesthetic matters as much as the contents
• Moving from direct to consumer into B2B with healthcare practices and corporate companies
• The emotional weight of the baby loss and infertility boxes — and why empathy keeps her going
• What's coming next: the deluxe mama and baby box designed for corporate gifting
• The full circle moments: following customers from loss to infertility to pregnancy to postpartum

HOW TO CONNECT WITH LAUREN DEWEY

• Website: https://brooksybox.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brooksybox
• Also on TikTok, Facebook, Pinterest, and LinkedIn (Lauren Dewey — founder)

This episode is sponsored by Collabs Creative - a boutique digital marketing company helping small business owners and creatives tell their story.

Follow The Mama Making Podcast on socials on Instagram and Facebook!
Share and subscribe to the podcast: click this link
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What happens when the person closest to the problems decides to go fix them? 

In this episode, Jessica sits down with Michele Clark — former early childhood learning center owner, director of development for the D300 Food Pantry, and candidate for Illinois State Senate in the 33rd district. Michele talks about 11 years of running a preschool while raising her own children, what she learned about childcare costs and deserts from behind the curtain, her work with Boys and Girls Clubs during COVID, and why she decided the next door to walk through was Springfield. This one is for every mom who has ever thought: somebody should do something about that — and maybe that somebody is me.

MAIN TOPICS COVERED

• Growing up in a family business household — and how early entrepreneurship shaped her path
• Leaving corporate sales to start a preschool when her daughters were four and a half and one year old
• Why childcare is so expensive — and what running a center for 11 years taught her about the system from the inside
• Childcare deserts across Illinois and why families are being forced to choose between career and children
• What happened to families during the 2008 housing crash — and what she witnessed firsthand
• COVID and opening 13 emergency learning centers across four school districts with Boys and Girls Clubs
• Building relationships with legislators through nonprofit work — and how one of them tapped her to run
• Becoming campaign manager for a state house representative and what it taught her
• Why District 33 became an open seat and how Michele decided to run
• Her platform: childcare, youth development, equal opportunity for kids from every zip code
• What she's hearing at the door: affordability, SNAP benefits, Medicaid, and families hanging on by a thread
• Why Illinois has one of the highest percentages of mothers in the General Assembly — and why it matters
• How to get involved: volunteer, host a coffee, canvass, become an election judge
• Election Day November 3rd, early voting September 24th
• Her ask: if you're in District 33, she's coming to your door

HOW TO CONNECT WITH MICHELE CLARK

• Website: https://micheleforilsenate.com/
• District 33 covers: Crystal Lake (north) through St. Charles and Geneva (south), Kane County, McHenry County, and DuPage County
• To vote or get voting info: Kane County Clerk's office
• Election Day: November 3rd | Early voting: September 24th
• Ways to support: postcard writing, door knocking, hosting a neighborhood coffee, becoming an election judge

This episode is sponsored by Collabs Creative - a boutique digital marketing company helping small business owners and creatives tell their story.

Follow The Mama Making Podcast on socials on Instagram and Facebook!
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What if getting dressed postpartum didn't feel like a battle with your own body?

In this episode, Jessica sits down with Catherine Walsh — mom of three under four, trained doula, and founder of Holly Rose Co. — a Canadian brand creating locally made, organic cotton breastfeeding clothing that is comfortable, beautiful, and functional all at once. Catherine shares the body image journey that sparked the idea, the winding road from overseas manufacturing samples to finding local seamstresses she could trust, and why she believes that dressing well postpartum is one of the first acts of self-care most new moms forget to give themselves. This one is for every mom who has ever stood at her closet and felt defeated.

MAIN TOPICS COVERED

• Growing up knowing she just wanted to be a mom — and the three back-to-back pregnancies that changed her wardrobe and her business idea
• Gaining 50 pounds in her first pregnancy and navigating the closet dread so many postpartum moms know
• Why she wanted clothing that was comfortable, beautiful, AND functional — and how hard it was to find all three
• The long road from overseas manufacturing samples to finding local Canadian seamstresses she could trust
• Organic cotton, GOTS and OEKO-TEX certifications, and why fabric quality matters for postpartum bodies
• The iteration process: changing zipper placement, adding pockets, adjusting for bigger busts during breastfeeding
• What her customers say about feeling beautiful and comfortable at the same time
• Why she designed the breastfeeding opening to be simple — and how her own difficult breastfeeding journey with her first shaped that decision
• Doula training, a love of birth, and the dream of becoming a midwife someday
• Scrap fabric reuse: scrunchies and minimalist quilted diaper bags made from fabric remnants
• What's coming: new summer styles in GOTS-certified green gingham and OEKO-TEX certified yellow floral
• Where to find Holly Rose Co and how Catherine helps customers find their size

RESOURCES MENTIONED

• GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) — certification for organic fiber content in textiles
• OEKO-TEX Standard 100 — certification testing for harmful chemicals in textiles

HOW TO CONNECT WITH CATHERINE WALSH

• Website: https://hollyroseco.ca/
• Instagram: @hollyrose_co https://www.instagram.com/hollyrose_co/

This episode is sponsored by Collabs Creative - a boutique digital marketing company helping small business owners and creatives tell their story.

Follow The Mama Making Podcast on socials on Instagram and Facebook!
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What does it look like to build a practice from the ground up — not to fit the system, but to actually serve the people in front of you? 

In this episode, Jessica sits down with Katrina Ostmeyer, licensed psychologist, board certified behavior analyst, mom of two neurodivergent kids, and founder of Beyond the Individual. From a difficult pregnancy and a preterm birth that shifted her entire trajectory, to building a practice that serves children, families, and schools across complex behavioral and mental health presentations, Katrina brings the expertise of a researcher, the honesty of someone who has made every mistake, and the heart of a mom who knows firsthand what families navigating neurodivergence actually need. This is a conversation about doing things differently — and why it matters.

MAIN TOPICS COVERED

• Katrina's winding path from pre-med to research psychologist to nonprofit director to private practice founder
• How a difficult pregnancy and preterm birth shifted her priorities from academia to family and community
• Making her own PhD internship to get back to Kansas City — and what it taught her about forging your own path
• Leading a not-for-profit expanding autism services in Kansas — and why quality versus scale became a values conflict
• Starting Beyond the Individual with a van, no plan, and a willingness to figure it out
• Opening a brick and mortar clinic in July 2020 — and everything that happened next
• Expanding to multiple locations, then pulling back — what she learned from scaling too fast
• The decision to leave the insurance model behind and serve a niche, complex population
• Joining the University of Kansas as associate faculty — and the three most successful years of the business
• Leaving academia again to return to Beyond the Individual full time
• The transdiagnostic approach — what it means and why specialty diagnoses miss the full person
• How Beyond the Individual works across home, school, and community systems
• Supporting parents of neurodivergent kids: acceptance commitment therapy, emotion regulation, and advocacy
• The birth to five program (Beyond Beginnings) — why early intervention is paramount
• Services available across 44 states

HOW TO CONNECT WITH KATRINA OSTMEYER 

• Website: http://beyondtheindividual.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/beyondtheindividual/
• Services available across 44 states

This episode is sponsored by Collabs Creative - a boutique digital marketing company helping small business owners and creatives tell their story.

Follow The Mama Making Podcast on socials on Instagram and Facebook!
Share and subscribe to the podcast: click this link
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What if the book you needed in postpartum didn't exist — so you wrote it yourself?

 In this episode, Jessica sits down with Courtney Naliboff — writer, teacher, EMT, musician, and co-author of Your Postpartum Body: The Complete Guide to Healing After Pregnancy — for a conversation about refusing to lose yourself in motherhood, processing identity through punk music, and the postpartum information gap that prompted her to do something about it. 

From living and parenting on a remote Maine island to starting a feminist post-riot punk band at 37 to writing the book she desperately needed after her own birth experience, Courtney is living proof that becoming a parent doesn't have to erase any part of who you are.

MAIN TOPICS COVERED

• Moving to North Haven Island at 24 — and the challenges of building identity in a condensed, fish-bowl community
• Becoming a parent nine years into island life — and how it expanded and contracted her world simultaneously
• Six weeks of maternity leave, a half-year sabbatical, and why she was so ready to go back to work
• Nursing with one arm and typing a memoir with the other — what intentional creative identity looks like in early motherhood
• How she found community on the island through shared parenthood
• Starting Bait Bag — a feminist post-riot punk band — at 37, in 2018, because she had a lot of anger to process
• What modeling creative expression and collaboration means for her daughter
• The song "Tear Me in Two" — and the chorus that became the seed of a book: nobody told me
• The postpartum information gap — pelvic floor, bladder changes, returning to running, and everything nobody explains
• Co-writing Your Postpartum Body with pelvic health PT Ruth Macy
• How a summer-resident literary agent changed the trajectory of the project
• The book's core thesis: centering the postpartum person regardless of gender or parenting status
• Toxic productivity culture, body image pressure, and why so much postpartum experience is still hush-hush
• Courtney's current diagnosis — breast cancer, curative treatment, great prognosis — and her Substack Mud Puppy

HOW TO CONNECT WITH COURTNEY NALIBOFF

• Book: Your Postpartum Body — available at Amazon, Bookshop.org, and wherever books are sold (https://bookshop.org/p/books/your-postpartum-body-the-complete-guide-to-healing-after-pregnancy-courtney-naliboff/a8bd729776629857)
• Substack: Mud Puppy — courtneynaliboff.substack.com
• Instagram / Threads / Facebook: @chnaliboff
• Bait Bag Instagram: @baitbagtheband https://www.instagram.com/baitbagtheband/
• Bandcamp: baitbag.bandcamp.com | Streaming everywhere except Spotify
• Deery Band Instagram: @deeryband https://www.instagram.com/deeryband/

This episode is sponsored by Collabs Creative - a boutique digital marketing company helping small business owners and creatives tell their story.

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What does it take to build a children's publishing house rooted in imagination, equity, and purpose — while raising two kids and learning the industry from scratch? 

In this episode, Jessica sits down with Ashley Wall, founder of Mama Bear Books and award-winning children's author, to talk about the books she was called to write, the under-resourced classrooms that shaped her mission, how she found balance between purpose and profit, and why she believes every child deserves a book that sees them. From screen time to storytelling, from math teacher to publisher, this conversation is for every mom who has a big idea and hasn't quite let herself go for it yet.

MAIN TOPICS COVERED

• Ashley's journey from middle school math teacher to stay-at-home mom to children's publisher
• Why imagination is the foundation of innovation, confidence, and change — and what happens when kids don't have it
• The under-resourced classrooms that shaped Ashley's mission around equity and access
• Partnering with the Barbara Bush Foundation to get books into the hands of kids who need them
• Screens vs. books — what Ashley has observed, and the practical advice she gives to parents
• How she found balance between purpose-driven mission and business sustainability
• What happened when the business started consuming her — and how she pulled back
• Batching work, setting hours, and involving her kids in the business in age-appropriate ways
• Building a publishing house as a co-founder with her husband — and how they keep family and business separate
• The Day I Had series, Vix's Balloons, and the Wildflower Girls chapter book series
• Ashley's mission to build confidence in girls through the Wildflower Girls initiative
• Where to find Mama Bear Books — Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Target, and local stores

RESOURCES MENTIONED

• Puddle Jumpers — parenting book on raising leadership and confidence in kids, recommended by Ashley
• Barbara Bush Foundation — literacy nonprofit Ashley partners with to get books to kids in need

HOW TO CONNECT WITH ASHLEY WALL

• Website: https://www.mamabearbooks.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mamabear_books/
• Books available at Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Target, and local bookstores https://www.mamabearbooks.com/collections/all-books

This episode is sponsored by Collabs Creative - a boutique digital marketing company helping small business owners and creatives tell their story.

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What if you could scan any food in any grocery store and instantly know whether it's safe for where you are in your pregnancy? 

In this episode, Jessica sits down with Erica Bunton — co-founder of Good Roots, a pregnancy nutrition app backed by FDA, CDC, and ACOG data — to talk about the app she built after her own scary prenatal health scare, the statistic about Black women and childbirth complications that drove her mission, and how Good Roots is helping pregnant and postpartum women make more informed, confident nutrition choices — from the family dollar store to their home kitchen. 

This one is equal parts health education and entrepreneurship story, and every mom planning or expecting a baby needs to hear it.

MAIN TOPICS COVERED

• Erica's background in pharmaceutical and medical device sales — and how it shaped her approach to healthcare
• Passing out during her first trimester in Denver — discovering severe anemia she didn't know she had
• The statistics about Black maternal mortality and preventable complications that drove her to act
• What Good Roots is — a pregnancy nutrition app that lets users scan any barcode for gestational safety scores
• How the app works: scanning packaged goods, generating recipes, building grocery lists, and allergen flagging
• Why the app is built on FDA, CDC, and ACOG data — and why that matters
• Serving women in under-resourced areas — how the app helps people make better choices anywhere food is available
• How Good Roots is being used by OBGYNs, doulas, and private practices as a between-appointment resource
• The pivot from wearables to nutrition — and what providers taught her about what women actually need
• Three active pilot programs: doula organization, hospital, and large private practice in the DMV
• Building a business with her husband as co-founder and CTO — and what that's actually like
• What's coming next: community features, registry partnerships, and more under the Maternal Health AI umbrella
• Advice for any entrepreneur: don't lose sight of the star — know why you built it

HOW TO CONNECT WITH ERICA BUNTON

• Website: https://usegoodroots.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/usegoodroots
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@usegoodroots
• Email: [email protected]
• Download Good Roots on the App Store or Google Play: https://usegoodroots.com/download

This episode is sponsored by Collabs Creative - a boutique digital marketing company helping small business owners and creatives tell their story.

Follow The Mama Making Podcast on socials on Instagram and Facebook!
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What if the most powerful thing a mom can do is understand that politics and motherhood are not separate? 

In this episode, Jessica sits down with Amanda Kingsley Malo — civic educator, democracy advocate, and founder of PoliticsNow — for a conversation about making civic engagement accessible, getting more women into office, and why not voting is also a political choice. 

Amanda has helped elect 60 women across two election cycles in Ontario without pushing any political agenda — just by giving people the tools, language, and confidence to participate. From managing news overwhelm to her daughter forming a union in second grade, this is one of the most energizing conversations the Mama Making Podcast has ever had.

MAIN TOPICS COVERED

• Growing up in a household where politics was discussed like weather — and why that's rarer than it should be
• From teacher to campaign volunteer to founder of Politics Now
• Why municipal politics is the most tangible and immediate form of civic engagement
• How Politics Now has helped elect 60 women across two Ontario election cycles
• Why accessibility is the most important thing missing from political participation
• The public transit analogy: how to think about voting, parties, and changing your mind
• What it actually takes to get more women to run — campaign schools, workbooks, and meeting moms where they are
• Managing news overwhelm: Amanda's daily radio routine and how she protects her mental health
• Not voting is still a political choice — why that matters
• The unique gifts every mom can bring to civic engagement right now
• Non-traditional ways to support campaigns: making dinner, babysitting, bringing coffee on election day
• Time, talent, and treasure: how to contribute at whatever capacity you have
• Why politics is not over there — it's in the air you breathe, the schools your kids attend, the parks you visit
• Her daughter forming a union in second grade — and what that says about raising civically engaged kids
• Free campaign schools coming up in Ontario ahead of municipal elections

HOW TO CONNECT WITH AMANDA KINGSLEY MALO

• Website: https://www.polinow.org/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/polinoworg/ | https://www.instagram.com/kingsleymalo/
• Free downloadable resources: available at polinow.org https://www.polinow.org/resources

This episode is sponsored by Collabs Creative - a boutique digital marketing company helping small business owners and creatives tell their story.

Follow The Mama Making Podcast on socials on Instagram and Facebook!
Share and subscribe to the podcast: click this link
Watch on YouTube: Click here!