In this episode, I'm pulling back the curtain on what 2025 actually looked like while building a business on lunch breaks and weekend mornings while working full-time, providing for my family, and caring for aging parents.

No highlight reel. No guru 'expert' advice. Just the real lessons from the trenches.

What You'll Learn:

• The Reality Check: What I planned for 2025 vs. what actually happened
• The 5 Unglamorous Lessons:

1. It Takes WAY Longer Than You Think
2. Visibility Is Practice, Not Personality
3. You Have to Become a Different Person
4. Building While Employed Is the Smarter Path
5. Small Wins Matter MORE Than Big Wins

• What I'm Taking Into 2026

This Episode Is For You If:

• You didn't hit your 2025 goals and feel discouraged
• You're building a business on the side while working full-time
• You're scared of being visible on LinkedIn (what if your boss sees?)
• You're overwhelmed by how long it's taking to see results
• You need permission to celebrate small wins instead of fixating on the gap
• You're a sandwiched mom providing for family while building something of your own

Resources:

• Business Clarity Session (1-on-1): In 60 minutes, we'll identify your monetizable expertise, map your first income stream, design your 1-hour/day plan, and handle the fear of being visible while employed. Book here: https://sharonsinghsidhu.thrivecart.com/business-clarity-session/
• Create 2026 Workshop: Review your 2025, set your 2026 vision, and create your action plan. Includes Annual Planning Guide + 5-Step Problem-Solving Framework. Get it here: https://sharonsinghsidhu.com/create2026

Learn More:

• Website: https://sharonsinghsidhu.com
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharonsinghsidhu/

Subscribe & Review:

If this episode resonated with you, please subscribe and leave a review. It helps other working moms find this podcast.

Recording this on the last day of 2025, I'm sharing what came up for me while facilitating my Create 2026 workshop. It's probably not what you expect from a typical year-end review episode.

Yes, we talk about goals. But more importantly, we talk about WHO you need to become to achieve them.

In this episode:

• Why building a business is harder than anyone admits (and why that's okay)
• The skills employees aren't taught that business owners need
• How to hold two opposing energies: caring deeply while staying detached
• Why your 'failures' are actually stepping stones
• The perspective shift that changed everything for me: the process IS the goal
• How to approach 2026 with joy and gratitude instead of frustration

This is for you if:

• You didn't hit your 2025 goals and you're feeling discouraged
• You're building a business on the side while working full-time
• You're tired of the hustle culture and want a more sustainable approach
• You want to become the sort of person who figures things out even when it's hard

Resources mentioned:

• Create 2026 Workshop (FREE): Review 2025, set your 2026 vision, create an action plan
• Bonuses: Annual Planning Guide + 5-Step Problem Solving Framework
• Get it here: sharonsinghsidhu.com/create2026

Connect with Sharon:

• LinkedIn: @sharonsinghsidhu
• Weekly guides: sharonsinghsidhu.com

As the year comes to a close, many of us are reflecting on our jobs, our lives, and what we want next. But when you’re a working mom building a business on the side, it’s easy to skip reviewing your own progress especially when results feel slower than expected.

In this episode, I share what my 2025 business review revealed after 20+ years of leading reviews and goal-setting in corporate roles and what I’m doing differently in 2026.

You’ll hear:

• Why your vision can stay constant even when priorities shift
• How different seasons of motherhood require different strategies
• Why avoiding your numbers is often about emotion, not discipline
• How to review your business without beating yourself up
• A simpler, more sustainable way to plan goals when time and energy are limited

This episode is especially for working moms who feel:

• Busy but unsure if they’re making real progress
• Discouraged by slow or uneven results
• Overwhelmed by 'big goals' that don’t fit real life

Mentioned in this episode:
Create 2026 (Free Live Workshop)
A guided year-end review + 2026 planning session designed for busy working moms building a business on the side.

You’ll review what worked (and didn’t) in 2025, clarify your 2026 vision, and leave with focused priorities you can actually follow through on.

Register here: sharonsinghsidhu.com/create2026

Have you ever felt deeply exhausted, discouraged, or disillusioned while working toward something that truly matters to you - your career, your business, or your long-term goals?

In this episode, I share what I’ve been personally moving through over the past few weeks, and the deeper reason many high-achieving working women feel drained even when they’re doing “all the right things.”

This episode isn’t about time management or productivity hacks.

It’s about how a lack of self-belief and self-trust quietly running in the background drains our energy, leaving us feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, and feeling like we want to give up.

In this episode, I share:

• Why exhaustion isn’t always about workload
• How doubt and uncertainty drain more energy than action
• Why acceptance is not giving up but a powerful reset
• How to build self-trust when progress feels slow
• What to do when even loved ones don’t believe in your dreams
• How to stay committed without burning out or rushing the process

If you’re a working woman building something meaningful alongside a full life and wondering why it feels so heavy lately, this episode is for you.

Key Takeaways

• Exhaustion often comes from doubting the outcome, not the effort
• Acceptance clears emotional resistance and restores clarity
• Self-belief is a muscle, not a personality trait
• Big goals exist to shape who you become, not just what you achieve

Resources

• Follow the podcast so you don’t miss future episodes
• CLICK HERE to download the weekly guide with key insights and actions
• CLICK HERE to book a free discovery call if you want support navigating burnout, visibility, or career uncertainty

Links are in the show notes and on https://sharonsinghsidhu.com

Most corporate women are sold the same story:

Get a good job, climb the ladder, earn more and you’ll be safe.

But what happens when restructures, mergers, pandemics, or one decision you didn’t make suddenly threaten your income, your identity, and your family’s security?

In this episode, I share the moment I realised my 9–5 job was not safety and what true financial resilience really looks like for corporate women.

Drawing from nearly 30 years in HR, including hiring, firing, restructuring, and my own story of quitting a 6-figure job, taking on 6-figure debt, going back to corporate, and then building side income as a freelance trainer, I walk you through:

• The illusions of job security we’re sold in our 20s and 30s
• Why higher salaries often make you more financially vulnerable, not less
• How layoffs, mergers, and pay cuts helped me see who really controls your income
• The hidden emotional cost of depending on a single paycheck, partner, or employer
• The mindset shift from “I need a stable job” to “I can create money on demand”
• Why your existing skills and lived experience are enough to start earning outside your job
• What “paying the price” really means and how to decide what’s worth it
• The 3 core truths that helped me stop acting from fear and start building safety from within

This isn’t an episode about quitting your job overnight. It’s about never again outsourcing your security to someone else’s decision.

If this resonated and you want support to build your own safety, visibility, and side income while staying employed:

1. Follow the show so you never miss an episode
2. CLICK HERE to book a free discovery call to explore working 1:1 with me

In this episode, I share what’s really happening inside you when you try to post on LinkedIn and suddenly freeze. This isn’t about algorithms or content hacks. It’s about your brain, your conditioning, and why visibility feels unsafe especially for high-achieving corporate women and working moms.

You’ll hear my own stories of posting 'scary' selfies on LinkedIn, being the quiet compliant girl growing up, and how my failed café and 6-figure debt eventually led me to write online, build a side income, and show up consistently on LinkedIn all while still working in HR.

If you’ve ever stared at a drafted post and then quietly deleted it, this episode will help you understand why, and what to do next.

In this episode, we cover:

• Why your brain is wired for survival, not visibility
• Why LinkedIn feels uniquely risky compared to Instagram or Facebook
• The 'spotlight effect' and why it feels like everyone is watching you
• Catastrophizing: the worst-case stories you tell yourself before you post
• Old scripts from childhood, culture, and school especially as an Asian woman
• Identity conflict: 'good employee”'vs 'visible thought leader'
• Perfectionism & all-or-nothing thinking that stops you hitting post
• 5 practical ways to work with your psychology, not against it

Links:

• Sign up for the weekly guide & episode summary: https://sharonsinghsidhu.com (Click 'Guides').
• Book a discovery call: talk about your LinkedIn fears and your next safe steps: https://sharonsinghsidhu.com (Click 'Discovery').

Why do the smartest, most capable women stay quiet in meetings, on LinkedIn, and in their careers while others with less experience speak confidently? 

In this episode, I break down the real reasons behind women’s silence (spoiler: it’s not a confidence problem), how it quietly hurts your career, and how to start speaking up in small, safe ways that build real confidence over time.

If you’ve ever held back from sharing your ideas, posting online, or putting your face out there because you’re afraid of being judged, wrong, or 'too much', this episode is for you.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• What the 'confidence gap' really looks like in real life
• 3 core reasons smart women stay silent: conditioning, safety, perfectionism
• How silence quietly harms your career, visibility and opportunities
• Simple ways to recognise you’re already competent, confident and full of potential
• 3 practical steps to start speaking up and being seen (without shocking your nervous system)
• How tools like MAP, journaling and affirmations can help you shift your identity over time

Visit my website to join the newsletter or book a free discovery call: https://sharonsinghsidhu.com

If you’ve ever felt guilty for not being consistent enough in your business this episode is for you.

As working moms, our version of consistency looks nothing like what business gurus preach. We’re juggling full-time jobs, caregiving, school runs, and career responsibilities. We can’t stay online for an hour after every post or leave 100 comments a day.

This episode is an honest conversation about:

• Why every small step you take still counts as progress
• The difference between consistency vs frequency
• How to design a business rhythm that fits your real life (job, kids, exhaustion and all)
• How to stop beating yourself up when you can’t keep up with 'expert advice'
• My Lunch Hour / Early Morning business model - creating, engaging, resting
• The question that changed everything: 'If this were easy, what would it look like?'

Links mentioned:

•  Book a Power Hour: https://calendly.com/sharonsinghsidhu/powerhour
• Free course – Build your business in 1 hour/day: https://sharonsinghsidhu.com/start
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharonsinghsidhu
• Podcast RSS: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/1390135.rss

Ever felt like your full-time job is swallowing all your time and energy, leaving nothing for your business, creativity, or dreams? That was me last week. New job, kids, travel, business ideas… and zero time to breathe. I felt trapped, frustrated, and on the verge of burnout.

In today’s episode, I share:

• What triggered this wave of overwhelm
• Why being the primary provider makes quitting your 9–5 not an option
• The 10-step process I use to move from “I can’t do this anymore” to calm, grounded action
• How overwhelm can actually be training for the next version of you as a business owner

This is for you if:

• Your 9–5 is draining your energy
• You’re a mom juggling work, kids, and a side business
• You feel behind, stuck, or scared you’re losing momentum
• You want practical and emotional tools to keep going

Links Mentioned:
🎧 Free course – Your First Brave Step: Build your coaching business in 1 hour a day without quitting your job or being on social media 24/7: https://sharonsinghsidhu.com/start

💬 Book a Power Hour (HR-safe visibility, side business planning): https://calendly.com/sharonsinghsidhu/powerhour

Does the thought of posting online make you feel like a fraud? You’re not alone. For many working moms starting a side business, imposter syndrome and fear of visibility are the biggest roadblocks.

In this episode, I share:

• Why imposter syndrome shows up (and why it never fully disappears, even for 'successful' people.
• How to use your lived experience as proof you’re already qualified to help others.
• A 7-step process to move through self-doubt so you can share your story without fear.
• My personal journey of posting on LinkedIn as a full-time HR leader and working mom, even when senior leaders were watching.

Key message: You don’t have to be the world’s top expert to be valuable. You just need to share your story, because someone out there needs to hear it in your words, at this exact moment.

Listen to the full episode now!

Want to sign clients in just 1 hour/day without cold DMs or hustling? Get my free course: sharonsinghsidhu.com/start

Prefer to book a 1:1 power hour with me? Go here: https://calendly.com/sharonsinghsidhu/power-hour-with-sharon