Charlena has a double undergrad degree from Towson University in Mass Communications and Marketing with a double minor in Sociology and Psychology. She went on from there to earn my MBA from University of Maryland, and my Masters in International Affairs from UMUC. She worked as an event planner throughout college planning events that ranged from Beyonce's 21st birthday party to the Dalia Lama's Retreat on Death and Dying (yeah... they were, literally, in the same week). Then She went on to work in the fast paced world of advertising. When it was time to slow things down and consider a family, Charlena accepted a position as COO of a family friendly marketing company here on the East Coast and began to pursue her tenured professorship at the same school She, herself, had graduated from: Towson University, while pursuing her PhD.   Where to Find Charlena Online:

• Website
• optio.guide
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram
• LinkedIn
• Try The Personality Test with Just TWO Questions!

  Episode Summary:

• Charlena shares her story of struggling with hyperemesis for both of her pregnancies. If you are not familiar with hyperemesis, it's like morning sickness times a million! After the birth of her second child, the hyperemesis turned into a major medical scare that sent her to the ICU for several months. 
• Once Charlena had survived a surgery that almost took her life, She said that having to figure out how to live was just as difficult. After months of being in the ICU, she was finally released on Christmas Eve! Charlena talks about the support that she received from family and friends made her appreciate the meaning Christmas and the power of community!
  • "I had figured out how not to die but it was really hard to live." -Charlena Smith
• After almost losing her life, Charlena talks on how this gave her an opportunity to change her priorities in life. She mentions how her actions did not match her values and before, it was a hard to change because she got into a habit of always yes! Now, she puts most of her focus on her family, spiritual life, and health.
  • "I was blessed with an entirely new blank life that I could write however I wanted." -Charlena Smith
• Charlena goes on to share about her accountability program called, Optio: A matched and guided accountability program for women. Optio members are intentionally trained on best practices of accountability, and then optimally matched using Optio’s innovative psychographic algorithm. Partners then support one another within a 90-day structure to set goals, and hold each other accountable in order to succeed: unlocking their greatest potential.
• Charlena talks about her multi generational living lifestyle. Although they may not agree on certain topics, they are still able to communicate with each other in a healthy way. 

Let’s Connect!

1. See all that Stacey has to offer at Side Hustle Moms!
2. Join The Busy Mom Collective Facebook Group and continue the conversation!
3. Connect more with Stacey on Facebook and Instagram!

       

Running a business is rarely a straight path. There are twists and turns and bumps in the road, sometimes huge boulders in the way. And while we're on this path, sometimes - often times, actually - we find that the lessons we learn while winding our way along lead us in a different direction than where we first thought we were heading. So how do you know when to follow that new direction, and when to stay the course you were already on? Well, today we're talking all about when to pivot in your business.  

• Twists and turns and bumps and boulders are normal!
  • Sometimes we think that our journey is not typical. It is! It's typical because there is no such thing as typical! We all need to figure out along the way what are the twists and turns that we are willing to follow, and when do we need to jump onto a new path! It's going to be different for everyone but very few successful businesses started out doing the same thing that they ended up doing.
    • "You are going to have to climb mountains and scale tall buildings no matter what path you take." - Stacey Ogden 
• Business is hard.
  • Despite what it said in that Facebook ad you just saw, there is no key to overnight success in business. It's hard work. It will make you question your decisions, but that doesn't mean they're wrong. It will make you question your abilities, but that doesn't mean you're not cut out for this. It will make you question your intelligence, your dedication, yourself in every way possible, but that doesn't mean you have to change.
    • "Don't confuse the hard for the need to pivot." - Stacey Ogden 
• Think about the long term. 
  • What would life be like if you continue on the path you're on? What would it look like if you pivot to a new path?
    • "You're creating a business for yourself. It should be a business you want." - Stacey Odgen 
• What do you feel called to do?
  • What's your heart telling you? Is there a path you ignored that you still think about? Is there something that keeps you up at night wishing you could do, but it just doesn't fit with your current business?
• Make the call.
  • You can sit on a decision indefinitely. It's not good for you, your business, and the people around you. You have to make a decision. As Earl Smooter so eloquently said in Sweet Home Alabama, "You can't ride 2 horses with 1 ass." You've got to decide.

Let’s Connect!

1. See all that Stacey has to offer at The Busy Mom Collective!
2. Join The Busy Mom Collective Facebook Group and continue the conversation!
3. Connect more with Stacey on Facebook and Instagram!

Hunter Clarke-Fields is a mindfulness mentor, coach, host of the Mindful Mama podcast, and creator of the Mindful Parenting course. She coaches moms on how to cultivate mindfulness in their daily lives. Hunter has over twenty years of experience in meditation and yoga practices and has taught mindfulness to thousands worldwide. She is also the mother of two active daughters, who challenge her everyday to hone her craft! Find out more about Hunter at MindfulMamaMentor.com. Where to Find Hunter Online:

• Website
• Facebook Group
• Instagram
• Get on the waiting list for the next Mindful Parenting course!
• Free Audio Training: Mindfulness For Moms (The Superpower You Need)

Episode Summary:

• Hunter speaks on her journey of practicing mindfulness in her own life and how much it has helped her from the high and lows of depression. It started with 10 minutes of daily meditations and although she didn't notice the difference right now, she noticed later on how she no longer had the dips of depression! Once she became a mother, It was a whole new challenge and she had go back into her mindfulness skills but relate it to motherhood as well! Hunter and I talk about some grounding skills that we use when motherhood overwhelms us. 
• How can you manage your stress levels when you're a full time working mom with a side hustle? Hunter gives us some tips on how to stop feeling overwhelmed when we feel that we have to do all the things! She says one of the biggest question she gets is, "How do I stop yelling at my kids?" and one of the biggest things to do is to reduce our overall stress levels.
  • "If we go by everything society tells us to do, we will just be completely exhausted and totally unhealthy! You don't have to do everything and you don't have to do everything perfectly!" -Hunter Clark-Fields
• How are you speaking to yourself? Are you saying kinds things to yourself or are you always telling yourself that you're a complete failure? This could be something we have not thought about before but Hunter talks about how this kind of negative self talk can increase your stress levels.
  • "Mindfulness is that intention to pay attention fully in the present moment!" - Hunter Clark-Fields
• You have permission to take time for yourself! These mom stereotypes can be so frustrating and Hunter reminds us that it's completely ok to say no to some things and you're allowed to have time for yourself. When you model self care, you're showing your children how to have a healthy fulfilled life! 
• How can you practice being present with your children? Hunter talks about really being present and how you can train your brain to stop being on planning mode.
  • "If we are training our brains to always being on the phone and checking off the next thing on our list, than we are never practicing to be really present." - Hunter Clark-Fields

Let’s Connect!

1. See all that Stacey has to offer at The Busy Mom Collective!
2. Join The Busy Mom Collective Facebook Group and continue the conversation!
3. Connect more with Stacey on Facebook and Instagram!

Episode Summary

• With 2018 coming to an end, you've probably heard others talk about planning for the next year but before you start planning, you need to take a look back at this year and really look at the details so that you can look at the big picture! Today, I am walking you through a simple process to look back at your year. Here are four questions to reflect on when you're looking back at your year. 
• What went well in your business this year? What did you do that was a success? This could be things that were unexpected! One example for me was when I rebranded from Busy Mom Collective to Side Hustle Moms. I pivoted the business in March but I didn't pivot the name to match my new vision of what I had for my company. This was a big win for me! All of a sudden, people for finding the podcast because they knew what the podcast was about. Take a look and really take the time to look back at all of the wins no matter how big or small! 
• What didn't go so well? Did you run Facebook ads that didn't work out. Did you hire someone that didn't work out? What did you try this year that didn't work the way you thought. We tend to make this list a lot longer but I want you to think honestly and objectively and stay away from making judgments on yourself. 
• How are my finances? It's time to sit down and look at your books and it can be intimidating but it needs to be done! The reason this is important is because you can really evaluate where your money is going and if it's actually worth it in you current stage of business. Be sure to check out my budget freebie to help you on this task! https://side-hustle-moms.com/budget 
• Why? You can't just look at what went well, what didn't go well, and where your money is going. You have to ask WHY? Why did that went well and the other didn't? If you are racking in the money, why is that? What is it that you did this year that really brought in money. If you are in the red, why? Could that be because of the start up costs that is associated with a business and next year, those costs won't be there? Why is a very important question in any solid year end review. 

  • "If you're looking at next year without reflecting on this year, you're going to find yourself making the same mistakes." - Stacey Odgen   

Links Mentioned: 

• Raising Your Biz with Dana Malstaff
• Overwhelmed to Overbooked with Micala Quinn

Let’s Connect!

1. See all that Stacey has to offer at The Busy Mom Collective!
2. Join The Busy Mom Collective Facebook Group and continue the conversation!
3. Connect more with Stacey on Facebook and Instagram!

Jenny is a former reading specialist who “retired” from her teaching career when her blogging income far exceeded her salary. Through hard work and dedication, her lifestyle blog, The Melrose Family, became regularly sought out by nationally recognized brands such as Neutrogena, Smuckers, Glad, Costco, Stanley Steamer, Sara Lee and many more. The unique pitching process she developed for working with brands, transformed an empty editorial calendar into one that was completely booked months in advance. Now, she’s combining her passion for teaching with her extensive experience working with brands to help other bloggers do the same via JennyMelrose.com and her podcast, Influencer Entrepreneurs with Jenny Melrose. Where To Find Jenny Online:

• Website
• Instagram
• Facebook
• Take the Fear out of Live Broadcasting!

Episode Summary:

• Jenny shares how you  can repurpose your content and grow your audience without reinventing the wheel! She says how she will use her live broadcast and turn that into a blog post, podcast episode, youtube episode, instagram post, and pinterest!
  • "We put out so much free content, it doesn't make sense to continually put it out there and not use it elsewhere." - Jenny Melrose 
• Your audience is everywhere and you can't possibly be everywhere. With so many platforms available to us, it's crazy to think up new content for each one. Instead, take your one content and tweek it for each audience because they will be just a little bit different. 
• It's all about consistency ladies! When Jenny first started doing live broadcasting, it scared her to death! She is a natural introvert and was nervous messing up on live broadcast! Once she continued to go live as she is, that fear slowly went away and she started getting better and the audience started showing up!
  • "When people can come and know when they can find you at what time and what day, they will be there! Your die hard fans will go there!" - Jenny Melrose 
• Always have a call to action! Jenny goes live every Tuesday at 11 am and she says that she always has a freebie or call to action after her facebook live. This same freebie can also be shared on your podcast, blog, youtube, etc. You always want to build your list because although Facebook and instagram is a great tool to build your audience, when it's taken away, you've just lost a way to get a hold of your audience. 
• Go live on your Facebook page instead of your group. When you go live on your Facebook page, it's much easier to share that in multiple places as well as capture data that is needed to help your business grow. 
• Should you be present on ALL of the social media platforms? Jenny recommends showing on two but choose wisely! For example, if you're looking to be a blogger and attract to sponsored brands, you have to be on instagram because that is what brands are looking for! 
• There is no such thing as an overnight success! Jenny and I share our journey in the blogging world and how long it has taken our blogs to actually create a revenue. It's certainly not as easy as it looks and like anything, you have to build the know like and trust in your audience! At times especially on social media, it can be tough to see others that make it look easy but you really have to dig a little bit deeper into their journey. Just because it looks simple for someone else, it doesn't mean that you're a failure! Everyone's journey is different. 

Let’s Connect!

1. See all that Stacey has to offer at The Busy Mom Collective!
2. Join The Busy Mom Collective Facebook Group and continue the conversation!
3. Connect more with Stacey on Facebook and Instagram!

Carol Gavhane is the co-founder of Asha Blooms, a husband and wife team whose business was born from their walk with secondary infertility. (For those who don't know what that is, it's not being able to achieve or sustain pregnancy the second time around.) Everything about their first child was fairly typical, but trying to add to their family afterwards was incredibly difficult. During those years, They have tried everything under the sun - clean eating, support groups, fertility yoga, acupuncture, meditation, negotiations with God, many visits to the fertility clinic, and on and on. These things did help as they provided comfort or bits of positivity, but there were many dark days thrown in the mix. Who would have ever thought a fertility bracelet found online would help as much as it did? Carol and her husband found solace in the bracelet because it was a tangible reminder we could touch to give us the strength we needed. On Carol's wrist, its weight provided a beacon of hope that she could feel at all times. Similar to what a wedding ring or rosary bead may mean to you, this bracelet meant something. That's when it dawned on them - the intentions behind jewelry matter as much as the beauty of the jewelry itself.  Asha Blooms handcrafts purposeful jewelry intended to inspire, uplift, and help you believe. Words and thoughts carry enormous power. Use them to elevate your days.    Where To Find Carol Online:

• Website
• Instagram
• Facebook

Episode Summary

• Carol shares her struggles with childcare and juggling a business at the same time. Although she and her husband works on their business full time, the actual hours spent working on the business is also mixed in with taking care of their second child. 
• We talk about how Carol feels guilty for wanting to spend so much time on her business and also want to be present when she's around her children. She certainly is not alone with this mindset! 
• On our call, Carol and I start with her and her husband's daily work schedule. We suggest a routine where they designate days of who spends time caring for the baby while the other works in the office. Another suggestion was to find a friend to pick up their kindergartener from schold and switch off pick up days! 
• Let's get on a schedule! Carol shares how she has about 3 hours in the morning where her and her husband can work on the business while the children are at school or daycare. They both have daily morning meetings together but Carol shares how sometimes she still feels like she's trying to make a full lap for the day! I suggest Carol to create a meeting with her husband at the end of the week and talk about the ups and downs of the last week and prepare for the upcoming week! 

  • "Sometimes, I feel like I don't know what I should prioritize next." Carol Gavhane

• Have a big picture day once a month! Another tip I share to Carol is to schedule a monthly meeting with her husband where they talk about the BIG picture of the business and share their goals of the month! Maybe, even turn it into a mini date! 
• Carol and I talk about her top 3 most focused tasks that she can prioritize when they children are away at school. 

   Let’s Connect!

1. See all that Stacey has to offer at The Busy Mom Collective!
2. Join The Busy Mom Collective Facebook Group and continue the conversation!
3. Connect more with Stacey on Facebook and Instagram!

Episode Summary

• Since it's the first week of November and it's the season for sales especially in the US, I thought we would talk about the age-old question of to discount or not to discount? On the podcast, I am going to talk about both cases and why they both make sense and at the end, I'm going to let you all draw your own opinions. 
• Let's start with the not to discount side. There are people that feel that when you discount your services, you're discounting the value of your services. So, by discounting you are creating less value in the mind of your customer. Another argument I hear is that many of us are running on a shoestring budget and when we discount our services, we are giving up our profit. There is the argument that when you discount you sell more, but there is no guarantee of that! 
• Now, let's talk about the argument for discounting your services. I mentioned previously that often times when you discount your services, you get more people to buy. Black Friday is a perfect example of that! The other argument for discounting is that it makes your product accessible to those that couldn't afford it at full price. 

  • "There is that other benefit of discounting your services is that you reach and help more people!" - Stacey Ogden 

• Are there options to discounting? Absolutely! One of the big options to discounting is to add more value! An example of that would be adding more to your package at the same price. 
• With the holidays coming up, we have to consider the mindset of people who are buying our products or services. It's a big sale time in the US and what the means with people who are trying to sell anything is that their potential customer is going to be inundated with sales, discounts, offers, upgrades and all sorts of other things! 
• Let's talk about a couple ways that YOU can get more for your holiday buck! If we are talking about trying to get more sales during the holiday, There are a lot of sale techniques that can increase your revenue. A great example of this would be bundling your service or product. 

  • "Another option to discounting is you can provide services or products that you don't offer any other time of year!" - Stacey Ogden   

Let’s Connect!

1. See all that Stacey has to offer at The Busy Mom Collective!
2. Join The Busy Mom Collective Facebook Group and continue the conversation!
3. Connect more with Stacey on Facebook and Instagram!

   

 

Episode Summary

• Meredith and I talk about setting your revenue, sales, or growth goals where you design your plan backward! Meredith says to plan with the end in mind. One of the key things to think about when you are starting your side hustle and plan to transition out of working outside of the home is to ask ourselves, "How much money am I going to need?"
• Let's talk about the elephant in the room... FEAR! Looking at these numbers can be overwhelming and Meredith shares how you can create a plan backward and have a healthy mindset of money.

  • "We have to learn to manage that mindset that this is a huge obstacle and break it down to small obtainable milestone chunks that we can absorb and give us a little bit of grace!" - Meredith Messenger

• The 3 step process for low-stress revenue generation - it's like building a house:
  • Lay the foundation with the right mindset - sales is not a dirty word - we are in control, we are our only limiter
  • The structure of your business is the buyer's journey - 3 pillars: the "M" phase, the funnel phase, and the retain and grow phase
  • The roof of your house protects the structure that you have built and allows you to scale
• Track your success! We talk about tracking your conversion rate and what is the number of leads that are turning into sales. Meredith says that if you're not tracking this information, you won't know where to improve things in your business.

  • "Track the success of those leads!" - Meredith Messagner

• Grab Meredith's freebie just for Side Hustle Moms fans!

Full show notes: http://busymomcollective.com/ep44

About the Guest: Alison grew up in a home where creativity flourished and spent many hours of her childhood drawing, painting, sculpting and creating. She spent weekends in the woods at her family cabin, running through ferns and using her imagination to the fullest.   Academics were always important in her home too, so she pursued her career and stumbled upon her wonderful full-time job at a local non-profit (where she still work today). Alison's creative life was always there, on the side – She took art classes at night and on weekends – She made things for her home, herself, and for friends. That imagination from her childhood was (and still is) an important lifeline for her.

 

How to Connect with Alison:

• Website
• Facebook
• Instagram 

 

Episode Summary:

• Alison shares how she feels like she's never doing enough. A lot of that comes downs to prioritizing her tasks. For example, when she is focusing on her business, she feels that there is not enough time somewhere else. So, how can she get everything done and feel that she has done enough?!
• Alison also shares that she works 4 full-time days at her job and stays home once a week to work on her business. On the day that she is home, her children are not with her and stay at daycare. We talk about the guilt that some mothers may have with staying home while your children are in daycare. This is the time Alison spends on herself and on her business and it's so important for her self-care!
• Since Monday is the only day Alison has to work on herself and her business, we go over her daily routine and find out how to best prioritize the little time she does have.
• How many of us struggle with our daily to-do lists? Alison shares how she manages her to do list but struggles with figuring out which tasks are more important than the other! I recommend choosing a day in the week and write down your tasks of the week instead of creating that list the day of.
• When we love what we do, we never stop working! How many of you relate to this? But, the reality is that if we don't stop working and forget about ourselves, we can get burned out and we don't want that. Alison and I talk about creating a hard stop time for yourself. Having that time limit for yourself really helps you focus on what needs to get done!

  • "It's ok to not set your hard stop by time and instead do it by tasks." - Stacey Odgen

• Alison and I talk about content creation and the time it takes to create new content. One of the best solutions to that is to repurpose your content! We talk about how to create one main content and send them out through a blog post, newsletter, podcast, video, and so much more!

 

Let’s Connect!

1. See all that Stacey has to offer at The Busy Mom Collective!
2. Join The Busy Mom Collective Facebook Group and continue the conversation!
3. Connect more with Stacey on Facebook and Instagram!

About The Guest: 

Carrie Sharpe is a Communication Consultant, Speaker, and Co-Owner of He says, She says. She earned her degree in Political Science and Psychology from Lake Superior State University. A highly sought-after international speaker, Carrie develops courses and coaches clients in communication and public speaking skills. Carrie is a Huffington Post Contributor and has been quoted in a variety of publications including LiveStrong, Forbes, Business Insider, and Bustle. She resides in northern Michigan with her husband, Ryan, and their five children. She homeschools her children and works from home.

 

Where to Find Carrie Online: 

• Website
• Facebook
• Join Carrie's Facebook Group! 
• Instagram

Episode Summary

• Carrie shares her journey through motherhood and how she came into the career as a communication consultant. It started when she gave birth to her third child Maverick and almost lost him, she and her husband had to really learn how to communicate such a difficult time to her family. It was through their experience in the NICU that sparked her speaking career.
• Carrie and I talk about the best way to share our message in our own brand. Carrie says that the best way is to find out what message you would want to put out into the world!
• You're allowed to make changes in your business but you should always make sure that what you're communicating is in line with your core value, beliefs, and what results; you want your clients to have.

  • "What are you trying to communicate to your clients and what do you hope that they receive from you!" - Carrie Sharpe

•  What are the best ways to communicate with your own team? Carrie shares a story of working with a copywriter and how she was very clear with her mission and when you tell your team what exactly that is, it makes it that much easier and you'll still be able to share your message in your own voice!
• How can you produce content and share your message in a clear way? Carrie says that she creates content in many ways but the main ones are video and/or audio and this works best for her business. It's about choosing what is best for you and your business! There are so many ways that you can reach out to your audience and it's up to you to choose what you enjoy using! If you don't like using Pinterest, there is no shame in that and you don't have to use it if you don't want to!
• They say it's just to be yourself in your business but should you share everything to everyone? Carrie shares how in her business, she chooses what she puts out to the world and what she doesn't. She continues to be herself and show her best self but there are certain topics that she keeps to herself because she doesn't want to alienate her audience! Decide what is best for you and YOUR messaging!

  • "Decide who you are and be proud of it!" -Carrie Sharpe

Let’s Connect!

1. See all that Stacey has to offer at The Busy Mom Collective!
2. Join The Busy Mom Collective Facebook Group and continue the conversation!
3. Connect more with Stacey on Facebook and Instagram!