Do you want to know how to work successfully with your husband? Do you wonder what life looks like with an entrepreneur, businesses, and kids? I discuss that and more with my guest and friend, Kelly Altman. We chat about ALL the things: what it’s like for her to run a business with her husband; why she wanted to create her own business coaching women; how she sets boundaries both with herself and with her husband; and what it’s like raising kids in an entrepreneurial family.

Kelly is a health coach, a fitness business owner, a mother of four young kids, and the wife of a die-hard entrepreneur. She is passionate about helping women create more space for themselves so they can live lives of abundant energy, consistent learning, and pride. Kelly wants to help women feel strong and confident in their bodies and with their lifestyle choices so they can live their best lives.

Kelly’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kelly.altman/

Kelly’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kellyaltmanhealthcoach/

Kelly’s website: https://www.kellyaltman.com/

Mrs. Startup Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/mrsstartup/

Mrs. Startup Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/mrsstartup/

Mrs. Startup website: https://mrsstartup.com

Karen’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/howellkaren/

Stress. Anxiety. Burnout. Exhaustion. Those are common problems for entrepreneurs and their spouses. But how do you manage stress as the wife of an entrepreneur? Are there natural, holistic approaches to mental health that include diet and lifestyle changes? 

Ellen Vora, M.D., answers those questions and more. She is a board-certified psychiatrist, medical acupuncturist, and yoga teacher. Dr. Vora takes a functional medicine approach to mental health - considering the whole person and addressing imbalance at the root, rather than reflexively prescribing medication. In addition to her private practice, Dr. Vora is also a writer, speaker, blogger and a consultant for two healthcare startups. 

Dr. Vora explains how simple changes to food, sleep, exercise, and community can make big impacts on our mental health. We discuss how to work through the cycle of emotions (and that it’s okay to be emotional!), how to support our entrepreneurs when they’re stressed, and - you may have guessed it - how less is more. You’ll also hear her remind me to stop thinking, “I should,” and to start embracing who I am because I have something to contribute to the world.

Dr. Vora’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ellenvoramd/

Dr. Vora’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/ellenvoramd

Dr. Vora’s website: https://ellenvora.com/

Dr. Vora’s Online Group Enrollment: https://ellenvora.com/online-group/

Mrs. Startup Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/mrsstartup/

Mrs. Startup Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/mrsstartup/

Mrs. Startup website: https://mrsstartup.com

Karen’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/howellkaren/

Do you want to understand why your entrepreneur husband thinks a certain way and makes the decisions he does? Then don’t live in an echo chamber! If your husband thinks one thing, and you think another, you need to listen to understand why. But how do you do it? You listen to the same people who influence him. Well, that’s the simple answer, but it’s a little more complex if you want to do it the right way.

That’s why I wanted to discuss why it’s important to hear other viewpoints, how to pay attention effectively (spoiler alert: it deals with your mindset!), and how to discuss what you’ve heard with your spouse.

Mrs. Startup Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/mrsstartup/

Mrs. Startup Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/mrsstartup/

Mrs. Startup website: https://mrsstartup.com

Karen’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/howellkaren/

How do you build the lifestyle you want? That’s what Ariana Sylvester and her husband, Tom, want to help you do. Ariana is a co-founder of Lifestyle Builders™, a coaching and training company that helps entrepreneurs build their businesses to create more impact with their customers and more freedom in their lives.

Ariana shares the ups and downs of starting multiple businesses, growing a family, and cultivating a thriving marriage. I love that she talks about how they’ve pivoted multiple times in business and how their journey throughout entrepreneurship, like so many others, has not been a straight line.

We discuss the disconnect entrepreneurs sometimes have between their businesses and their marriages, and how Ariana and Tom are trying to shift the conversation so entrepreneurs can succeed in both.

Tom’s and Ariana’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tomandariana/

Tom’s and Ariana’s website: https://tomandariana.com/

Lifestyle Builders website: https://wearelifestylebuilders.com/

The Lifestyle Builders Podcast: https://wearelifestylebuilders.com/podcast/

Mrs. Startup Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/mrsstartup/

Mrs. Startup Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/mrsstartup/

Mrs. Startup website: https://mrsstartup.com

Karen’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/howellkaren/

Have you ever thought about why you buy the things you do? I sure have, so that’s why I’m diving into my own issues with money and how entrepreneurship changed my spending habits for the better. The second part of the episode includes three steps to change your own habits and declutter your mind and your home.

Mrs. Startup Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/mrsstartup/

Mrs. Startup Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/mrsstartup/

Mrs. Startup website: https://mrsstartup.com

Karen’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/howellkaren/

Today I'm talking marriage and minimalism with my friend, Katy Wells! Katy is the host of the Maximized Minimalist Podcast and a declutter expert who finally ditched her clutter for good in 2017. But before she decluttered her home, she was an overwhelmed, stressed-out mom living in survival mode. Decluttering her home was the catalyst that helped her to get back her motherhood and leave the relentless stress behind.

Katy's mission is to help women minimize their belongings and live a simpler, intentional, more meaningful life. She helps women ditch the modern-day hamster wheel of motherhood by providing expert advice on achieving a life with MORE, by having LESS.

We talk about what it was like for her to work with (for?!) her husband in his chiropractic clinic, how they balance business with marriage and family, and how she takes care of herself.

You’ll also hear us discuss her new course - Your Simplified Home: Decluttering Made Easy - which is a one-stop-shop for ALL things decluttering! We recorded this episode in July, and her course was only open for a few days in August - BUT!! - it re-opens in January, so be sure to get on her VIP waitlist (click here)!

Katy and I met through a coaching group when I was working on my meal planning course. I was a guest on her podcast back in May… it’s Episode 7 if you want to listen… and I don’t think I ever would’ve considered my own podcast if I hadn’t been a guest on hers. So I guess we can all thank Katy for The Mrs. Startup Podcast!

Katy's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katyjoywells/

Katy's website: https://www.katyjoywells.com/

The Maximized Minimalist Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/maximized-minimalist-podcast/id1460805372

Mrs. Startup Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/mrsstartup/

Mrs. Startup Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/mrsstartup/

Mrs. Startup website: https://mrsstartup.com

Karen’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/howellkaren/

Flexibility. Freedom. Control. These are some of the reasons people tout for becoming entrepreneurs. Then they dangle the big carrot in front of would-be business owners: the ability to work from home. It sounds amazing, right? No long commutes in crazy traffic. More time with the family. No need to wear real pants!

Except sometimes working from home isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. I believe it takes a special type of person - and a special type of home office - to make it work well. My husband tried it for several years. It wasn’t a good fit for him. Or for me. That’s not to say it won’t work for your spouse and your family, but I want to give you some things to think about before you try it out.

And that's what this episode of The Mrs. Startup Podcast is all about: five questions to ask before your entrepreneur spouse works from home.

Mrs. Startup Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/mrsstartup/

Mrs. Startup Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/mrsstartup/

Mrs. Startup website: https://mrsstartup.com 

Karen’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/howellkaren/

Do you want to know how to stay in love with your entrepreneur in a crazy startup world? How about learning from someone who wrote the book (literally!) on the subject? That’s what you’ll get from my interview with Dorcas Cheng-Tozun, who is an award-winning writer, a former columnist for Inc.com, and the author of Start, Love, Repeat: How to Stay in Love with Your Entrepreneur in a Crazy Start-up World. 

We talk about self care, learning about yourself, and setting boundaries, and I am telling you, this show is good for every woman to hear, even if you’re not married to an entrepreneur. So press play and listen in on my conversation with Dorcas.

Learn more about Dorcas Cheng-Tozun: https://www.chengtozun.com/

Purchase Start, Love, Repeat

Mrs. Startup Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/mrsstartup/

Mrs. Startup Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/mrsstartup/

Mrs. Startup website: https://mrsstartup.com 

Karen’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/howellkaren/

I’m poking some good-natured fun at my husband and his entrepreneurial “quirks.” The more time I spend around other entrepreneurs, the more I realize these things are actually quite normal for them.

Mrs. Startup Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/mrsstartup/
Mrs. Startup Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/mrsstartup/
Mrs. Startup website: https://mrsstartup.com 
Karen’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/howellkaren/

Chances are you’ve been told that you need to be supportive of your entrepreneur. And yes, you do. But how exactly do you do it? Spouses are just left to figure it out without much guidance. It took me a really long time to figure out what I should do, and it turns out I was doing it wrong. I’ll share what I learned and how supporting your spouse begins with understanding yourself first.

Blog post on recommended books to read: https://mrsstartup.com/binging-on-books-personal-development/ 

Mrs. Startup Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/mrsstartup/
Mrs. Startup Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/mrsstartup/
Mrs. Startup website: https://mrsstartup.com
Karen’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/howellkaren/