Welcome back to the Moms Do Business Different Podcast. I'm your host Kay Hillman, believer, wife, mama, and creator of the Shmani Mama Kay. Myself and my team support mamas who are service providers and coaches in creating strategies that make buyers say take my Shmani and create companies that bring in high cash months during the bare minimum. Join me for conversations on money, business growth, sales, productivity, and the mindset of being a mom who does business different. Mama, are you ready for the vibe? Listen up and let's get this Shmani. Hey, boo. Hey, I am so excited. You know, I'm always excited. I'm always excited for an interview. I say that every time, but I really am excited because I have my girl Felicia here. Now listen, Felicia and I, we couldn't go way back. We've been together for a minute now, like, I haven't fallen you for a long time. And then you've been following me and then you're in my membership, like, we've been rocking for a good minute. So I'm so excited about this conversation because I feel like you compliment and you like just reinforce what I believe and say about being a mom and business. So I'm so excited to talk to you. Welcome to the show. Thank you. So so excited to be here. And yes, we do go way back. I think I actually found you through Andrea. She was talking about you on her podcast. I was like, who is Kay? And so I went and I went through all of your stuff. I'm like, yes, she gets it. And I'm like, let's stay connected. So I've just been stalking your stuff ever since then. I love it. I love it. Ever since I heard about your podcast, which I was just on her podcast. So definitely go and listen to that episode. But ever since I like heard about you and I heard your podcast, I was like, wait a minute. This is a woman, a mom, after my own heart. So I'm so excited to have you here and just to have this conversation. So we're talking about this. I want you to tell us a little bit about you and about your business. Like, what do you do? The moms you serve, that kind of thing. So about me, I'm Felicia. I am a woman of faith, a Christian. That is like the core of who I am. Can I do anything without my relationship with God? And I'm also a wife. I'm still a newlywed. I consider myself a newlywed still been married for two years now. And I have two little kids. I was sitting here thinking today, like, man, I really have kids. I really have kids, like these little humans are calling me mom. So I have two kids. My daughter is three. My son is well, he's about to be 10 months now. And you know, I'm in the DMV area. I'm really chill. Like, in real life, I'm just a super chilly, big person. The business is the mom CEO suite. And we help mom entrepreneurs, especially those with small kids. We help them create life and a business systems that lead to work life harmony, because that's what I'm all about. I talk about work life harmony. Believe that you can do both. You don't have to sacrifice your life for the sake of the business. And you can do it in a way where you're not always constantly stressed or always juggling things falling through the cracks. It can be very peaceful and harmonious. And so I really talk a lot about work life harmony over balance. And so, yeah, that's who I am and who I serve in all the things. Yes. Okay. So you see why I said compliment like a woman after my own heart, because yes, yes, yes, and more. Yes. And it's so crazy that you, well, I knew you were going to say the work life harmony thing, because that's your brand. And it was literally the first thing that I wanted to talk about, because one thing that like really drew me to you when I was just like, yes, somebody else that gets it, somebody else that's kind of like really speaking that message is, I love to see people talking about like work life harmony. And I never felt like you are like bashing work life balance, but I just love that you give us that word of harmony. And that's a word even that I've used when I talk about like that, you know, elusive balance thing. It's like, it doesn't have to be balanced. It could be work life harmony. And I love, I know that like a lot of people are like anti-balance and, you know, balance is a myth and all those kind of things. But I love the way that you explain it. So I would love for you to maybe talk us through like your philosophy of work life harmony. And you know, maybe where that came from. Where did it come from? Honestly, I don't know where it came from, but I knew I just did not live with balance. And anytime I think about the concept of balance, me personally, I think about like that scale where there's the two sides and you're trying to make everything equal. So for me, when I think about work life balance, that's what it feels like making all these different parts of my life equal. And that for me is not realistic. And so I never really relate it to work life balance. So for me, work life harmony is really more so about integrating all of the different parts of your life in a way that makes sense for you in a way that is peaceful. And so I have a, what is that thing? A private podcast. And I really dive deep into it. And so one of the things I talk about with, with harmony and just the whole mindset shift about it is that I don't know if y'all grew up in a church, but when you went to church and then you had the choir singing, they were singing in harmony. And so with all these different parts, but then when they came together, it was like this beautiful sounding thing. And so for me, that's really what work life harmony is. It's like all of the different parts of your life. You as a mom, you as a wife, you as a believer, you as a sister, a friend, whatever it is that you do all integrating in a way that is beautiful. Really, that's what it's about. Just this, this wonderful integration. Now, that does not mean that sometimes things will not be chaotic. It doesn't mean that sometimes you won't have stressful moments, but that won't be your norm because you've created this, this life, this situation where it's set on your terms, right? It's not about what anybody else is talking about what anybody else is doing. It's what makes sense for you, your life, your business in a way that's peaceful in harmony. It's always like, when I say work life harmonies, like I always hear like a little choir in the background. Okay, I love that visual. When you said it, I heard it in my head and I was saying, this is a really good visual for this. But also, I think that you hit on something so good where you were saying even the visual for when people say work life balance is being that scale. And it's like my first thought was, but there's nothing in life that is really balanced. Marriage is not balanced. A lot of the things that we actually experience in life doesn't have a true balance equal 50/50 kind of situation. There's always going to be a little bit more on one side than the other. And if you ever did get the skill to balance, it probably took a lot more worth it necessary. Anyway, it's just even enjoyable. And so I love that harmonious and peaceful, peaceful. That's my word, honey. That's my word. I love me some peace. And I just love how you explain that in the visual behind it because it's so true. There are as women, as moms, as business owners, as wives, there are just so many different moving parts that it will be crazy for us to try to make this everything is equal versus if we just make it a symphony. Like, okay, we got music playing in this sound like, and it's yours. It's unique to you. What works for me might not be somebody else's couple. Because a lot of people will be looking at me crazy when I'm like, oh, yeah, I work at 12 in the morning to 3 a.m. And they're like, girl, what? I'm asleep. And I'm like, I can't relate to anybody that wakes up at 7 a.m. So it's like, or before 7, 7 is early to me. Like, I'm like, um, no. So funny. I wish I could sleep until 7. My children will not let me listen. I praise the Lord every day that I have late kids. Like my kids wake up this morning, they woke up at 11 30. I was like, thank you, God. Yeah. Thank you, Lord. Wow. But I was actually listening to one of your recent episodes. You know, I listened to all your episodes, actually. I had to like go and figure out which one was because I literally listened to every single episode. So you need to go listen if you haven't gone to the podcast. And I'll link it in the show notes as well. But I listened to an episode that you were talking about creating a routine and a rhythm as a mom of 202. And that was so relatable to me because that was, I was definitely in that season like a year or so ago where I had two under two and I was just like trying to figure out like a routine for me. And I love that you, like I just said routine, but I love that you use the word rhythm instead of routine or like schedule or like structure or whatever. And you know, my husband always lasted me about like, girl, you just have no structure. And I'm like, no, I have it's because I have a rhythm. Like rhythm is better. Like rhythm of five is better. So I would love for you to talk like maybe share with us like maybe why you use the word rhythm. And then also, what would you maybe recommend? Because a lot of my moms that listen, you know, we all have, you know, relatively small kids. So if people are juggling like, you know, toddlers in their business, or if they have like 202, maybe like, how would you recommend them create their own rhythm or like navigate having a rhythm between their, you know, mom life and their business life? Yeah, that's a really good question. I love it. So I like a rhythm over routine because for me, when I think about routine, it feels very rigid. And it's very time down like, okay, eight o'clock, we do this, nine o'clock, we do this, ten o'clock, we do this. And if you have kids, you know, that's just it's not going to work. It's not going to work. So rhythm is more so about creating a framework, if you will, just letting your day flow. And you know what your priorities are, you know, the things that you need to get done and fitting them in spaces where they can fit in. And so that's why I like rhythm because routine, again, it feels very rigid and rhythm is more flexible. And with kids, you need flexibility because they, they thrive on routine. But when you're trying to get them into a routine, they can sometimes like, I don't want to say rebel, but reject it, right? And so it can be challenging sometimes. And so that's why I like the rhythm. It's very unpredictable with the kids. And so I think the main thing that helped me when I was trying to create a rhythm. And if you're trying to do this with your young kids is that you have to observe your kids, like first understand what your priorities are, but just observe your kids. And also if you have a spouse observe what their schedule is to figure out what your priorities are and then kind of create your framework or rhythm from there. And like for me, both of my kids are napping right now, but it's not like I said, you guys are going to nap at 1230. I observed them. It took some time for me to watch them to understand what they were doing. Like, okay, are they more, you know, independent in the morning or in the evening? When can I really fit into things that I need to fit in? So I think the main part that sometimes we skip out on is their observation because we want them to fit into our schedules. And I think that what really helped me is just making my day, fitting my day around them, keeping them as a priority. And then once they're kind of comfortable and they feel safe in that, then you can fit in the things that you need to. And I know it may not be the same as, you know, before when you weren't a mom, but it's possible. It's able, you know, you're able to get these things done. It just might look different in this season. Okay, this was so good. And also, I think that you, I don't know if you were like a musician previously, but like you have an affinity for music. And I catch on to the vibe though, because I was in band, like I played all my life like so. But anyway, when I heard you talking about the rhythm and like how fluid it is and all kind of stuff, and then you set the observation piece, it made me think about like, in a traditional song, you know, there's like the, what is it, verse one, the chorus, verse two, chorus, outro, right? Like, it like, if you observe music, you know, this is the cycle that it goes through. And when you said observe, I thought the same thing of like, oh, right, if you observe how your children act at different points of the day, what your husband or your partner's schedule looks like at different points of the day, like you will be able to create that rhythm and that that flow that just works for your family. And I love how you said once they're there and they feel safe and secure, then you can add in some other things, or maybe even shift it, because I've actually noticed, because my husband, he was like really big on like, you know, they wake up so late, like what about school blah, okay, when that time comes, because they feel safe in the in the rhythm that we've created here, we can shift things, you know, to like slowly shift them so that they can be where they need to be at that time. Because like, my kids wake up very, very easily for like, appointments or like, we just went traveling, they were waking up, you know, at six in the morning, like literally, I was shocked that they would wake up at six in the morning. I'm like, whoa, this is crazy. But like, they woke up with with ease. And I think it just goes to that same point that you were saying about like, when you understand, and observe their rhythm, like, you can like, it really does work in it and putting it around them makes things easier. That was so good. That was so good. I feel like you set that in the episode too, but that like hit different here in it, like face to face. That was really good. You know, you make a great point too, like that this might not be the same rhythm. It might shift. So I think that's another thing to keep in mind too, is that things are constantly going to be changing season seasons are going to be changing. And so don't necessarily get like, married to one particular rhythm. Like, you have to remain flexible in in motherhood period. Right. Exactly. And I think that that I think when we say it as rhythm, you can see the flexibility better versus routine. And because whenever I, like you said, you said it when you think routine, you think structure or like rigid, and I do too. And when I think about that, it makes me think I can't change it. Like we can't deviate. And I remember like, I don't know if you remember this like when your baby, well, you have a baby baby now. So like, when your baby was small, like your first one, and they were like, you know, you have to track every single time they eat and poop. And like, that was so rigid or like how they tell you you have to feed every two hours. And it's like, this is so rigid. Like I, if there's no flexibility, and you feel like, oh, I can't deviate from this plan or something like a rhythm. It's like, oh, you know, now I'm with the second baby. I'm like, nah, I'm a feed, I'm a feed on demand. When the baby wants to eat, I'm a feed like, it's just different. The vibe is completely different. So I love this. I love it. It really is. So I last thing I want to talk about, because I, you know, again, listening to your podcast, you did an episode back in April about how motherhood made you a better business owner. And I 500% agree with this because I literally said, okay, so I went full time of my business, like four months, there were no four months before, no, four months after I found out I was pregnant, I went full time and everything shifted. But after I popped out babies, like, my husband and I joked about the fact that like babies make me profitable because I made more money with each kid. So I know that's not what you meant in that episode, but I was like, girl, you might be onto something with like how motherhood just mixes a better business owner and how it like shifts things for us. So I would love for you to maybe share like two or three things that you feel like, and you could share what you said in the episode, but like some things that you feel like made you a better business owner as, you know, when you became a mom, like maybe a strategy or a tactic or just something that you recommend a mom's kind of leverage or implement so that we can navigate this space of like, now that we're a mom and a business owner, like, how do we kind of navigate this together? Yeah, so I remember the episode, but like I'm at the point now where I'm like, oh, I did do an episode about that. So so the first thing, okay, is with the time management piece, like now as a mom, and I think about how I operate it and I managed my time before, like, yo, I wasted so much time. But oh, gosh. I got so much more days. But it's okay. You live and you learn. But now that you have children, you know, your capacity is limited. Your time is limited. There's more things in your calendar. And so you have to figure out how to get the things done in a limited timeframe. And it just helped me to manage my time better. I'm much more I actually get more done now than I did before, because it's like, I know I have two hours. I can't, you know, lolly gay, I have to get these things done. And it's just I'm just more productive before, which is like, Oh, let me, you know, do this. Let me see what I can do. And I end up browsing or whatever, scrolling. And yeah, it's just it's just helped me to be better with my time and really just also understanding how precious time is because when you're literally with your children all day, like my kids are home with me all the time, you see them growing up, like right before your eyes and you're like, wow, time is so precious. And so it just helps you to appreciate time and just manage it and be a good steward of it. So that's the first thing that that helped me. So the other thing is being a mom, I have to be resilient and persevere through a lot of different things. And when I just think about even just giving birth. So with my birth stories for both of my kids, I gave birth to them naturally with like no epidural and all of that. So no, I was a little side note, y'all hard past, but good job. I'm so I was led to do that. And so it worked out for both. Thank you, Jesus. But when I think about the perseverance that I had to have to get through that, business issues feel minor compared to that. Say that again. Okay. Say this issues feel minor compared to giving birth. Yes, you pushed out a baby, you can run this business. Listen, I literally posted that a few months ago, I was like, you pushed a whole baby out of there. You can like the businesses is nothing. Like it's nothing. Nothing is as hard. Yeah, it's not nothing is it's hard. And I have to remind myself of that because you know, sometimes we can get in our feelings and all of that. But sometimes I just have to remind myself you did this so you can you can you can run this business. So that's the other thing, the time management piece, the you know, the perseverance. And then having a child again kind of related to the time management piece is just getting deeper into systems and how they can really help. It helped in motherhood. I had to have systems, right? That's kind of where the rhythm comes in. You know, you think of routine. Some people may say, that's a system. A system is really just how you do things, right? I always was into systems, organization and planning. But once I had my children, it really was like, oh, this is really needed. This really works. It's necessary for that harmonious life that we talk about, right? And so really just just figuring out how I operate day to day, both as a mom and as a business owner. It just helped me to be better in the business because I had to do it with the kids. Like when when it's the business, it's really just you starting out, you might have, you know, a couple of people helping you, but you have these kids relying on you. So you have to have a plan. You need to figure out what you're going to do. And so kind of being forced, not like in a bad way, but forced to have these home systems. It was like, okay, let me I deeper into this in my business because with the business, it was like, you know, surface level. But I know it's time to go deeper with this. And then the last thing that I'll say about this is that you're managing little kids, little humans, right as a mother. And so if we can do that, we can manage adults. Okay, if you can do that, you can manage adults, exactly. So yeah, that's just some of the things that came to mind in terms of how motherhood made me a better business owner. So like this was all so good. And I feel like I've resonated with really all the points, but especially like the the very first thing that you were saying about like time management and stuff. And when you said the thing about like, you realize how much time you wasted, like that's so relatable because sometimes like, and it's not often because actually I'm entering a season where it's hard for me to remember life before my kids, which is so crazy. But like sometimes I like just completely forget that the kids were at one point not with me, you know, or such. And so I'm like, Oh, wow. But just thinking about that, you know, I always have to in that respect, I have to remind myself like, don't beat yourself up for like not being a good steward of that time. Then like, you know, I feel like with that resilience piece is like, you're doing the best with what you have. And so that's why I love that you said the thing about resilience and even saying like, you know, you pushed a baby out, like there's no reason why you can't do this business thing. Because like for real, like, I've been saying, I said, this is my client so much. And I actually, you know, say like your whole hoo hoo, like I get a little bit more vulgar. But I'm just like, you know, like, if you could do that, you could do anything. You can manage people, you can, you know, deal with hard clients, you can run the business, you can take care of the children, right? Like, there's no better mother than you for them. There's no better business owner or service provider for your clients than you are. And when you think about it from that perspective, it just, it really does hit different, but it also like gives you a little bit more. I feel like my backbone just like grew immensely, becoming a mother. Like I just, it's a whole different, it really is surreal. Whenever I talk to our half clients that like they're planning for kids, I love to see the transition. Like I love to see before kids. And then once they baby gets here and how they, I'm just like, yeah, girl, I told you it's a whole different vibe. And you know, I think once you're in it, you really understand and you know, but it's like, yeah, I feel like everything you say here was so spot on, especially like, you know, even when you said the whole thing about like you need systems in your life as a mom, and also those same systems you need as a business owner, like that couldn't be more true. Because I feel like that was, that was part of the demise of my business the first time is that I didn't really have systems or anything in place to really support me. So because of that, you know, when things fell apart, it really fell apart, you know, so that's really good. I guess in speaking about that, do you have any systems in particular that you're like, if you don't have anything else, have this, what would you say that would be? Oh, my goodness. That's such a hard question. It's a good question. But because everybody's is different in their needs are different. So it's really hard when it comes to systems for me to give blanket statements. And when I think about systems, I know a lot of people think software. I more so think about like, what is your process for doing the thing? And like the software is a part of the system. It's like an ecosystem for you. But in terms of business, I mean, so I kind of think of it in five core areas. So it might be a lot, but marketing sales, client experience, human resources, and finances. So just think about how you do what you do in those five areas. And it can be super simple. I think we overcomplicate systems. It's just super simple. How do you do what you do? How do you get people to hear about your business? How are you going to make a sale? Write it out step by step. You have a system. And then what tools are you going to use to support you? And then are you going to have people supporting you? That's your system. Okay. Thank you for saying that. Thank you for taking us through your five parts. But also, thank you for saying that it could be simple. Even today, I was talking to one of my clients, and she was like, yeah, I just feel like it's not enough. And I'm like, it can be simple. Like, it's okay for the work you do, for how your process is, for whatever the situation is, it's okay for it to be simple. I think that we're just so used to overcomplicating things, or having to do the most that we don't realize that a lot of the stuff we're doing is just not even necessary. But it's not. It's really not. And simpler is better anyway. Yes. And it's more sustainable. It's something that you can actually just with and maintain. And then to your point about the systems are the add-on, I 100% agree with that, because in my case, when I closed the business the first time, I think one of the linchpence to the downfall is that I really didn't have, I was doing every client in their own bubble. So there was no process for how I was doing everything in its entirety. And that leads to burnout quickly, because it's like you're basically starting all over again. I wasn't even duplicating tasks. Like I wasn't even duplicating things. So it's like, yo, you're really starting from scratch for every single thing. And it's like, no, if I just had a process or just, you know, observed, like you said with the kids, it's like, observe even in your business. If you just observe your process and what you're doing, write all those steps out. That is the system. That is the process. And then we can use tools, like you say, to kind of help us maybe speed it up or like automate some things and stuff like that. So I love that explanation. And I feel like that also follows your whole harmony thing. Like, it is going to be relative to like who you are, what your business is, what's going on in your life, the steps that you take. And I just, gosh, you just really make it sound so good. So easy. That makes me happy. But people have systems, like everybody already has systems. It just may be that they don't have good systems or efficient systems. And so the goal is efficiency. Yes. Oh, love, love, love. I always say, my job, I like to come in and optimize everything. Like, yes, I'm going to optimize it for you so that it stops being a hot mess. Because like you said, you do have a system, you do have a process, you just don't know, I was actually talking to one of my clients about that. And she was like, yeah, I actually don't have a process, blah, blah. I said, okay, so tell me what you do. And she told me and I was like, okay, that's the process. What do you mean, you don't have a process. So that was so nice. I love that. I love that. Well, this has been so fruitful. I feel like this just, I think one big thing for me is that I just love your approach to and how you think about work, life, harmony. I love that phrase. I love that concept that you have. And I feel like I really, what really draws me to your show is being able to see that like, you are living in that rhythm and you really share like transparently, like what that looks like for you in different seasons. And so that's, that's been like really exciting to see because I feel like when I entered the space and when I started having kids, I didn't see other moms that were sharing like their journey as well. So it became very hard for me to like know that it was possible. So I really, I just want to give you your flowers for that because I really appreciate like someone just being honest and saying like, hey, this is what it looks like. This is what the situation is. And here's how I'm keeping my sanity or as much of it as possible, you know, with these two small, you know, because your kids are 202, like, so you have small baby babies. So I just, I wanted to give you your flowers for that because I really do love the show. And with that, I would love for you to tell us how we can keep up with you, like your Instagram, your podcast, all the things so that we can stay connected. Yeah, this has been so much fun. First, thank you for that. I always love to hear that people are listening to the podcast. It's like my favorite part of the business right now. So yes, how can you connect with me? I am on social media everywhere. I'm more present in other places, but everywhere at Felicia Pugh. And then in terms of the business, you can go to the website, themomceosweet.com. And yeah, that's also our Instagram, the momceosweet. So, you know, pretty straightforward. And the podcast, the momceosweet podcast, you can listen to it everywhere you listen to podcast. Love. And I will be linking everything in the show notes. Even you kind of mentioned it briefly, you had a private podcast. So I'm going to grab that link from you and share that as well. So make sure you go connect with her everywhere. Felicia really be talking to everybody. Like she, we haven't all kind of come. I mean, I know we've been, we were having conversations on my other page. And then I moved over to the momcy was like, we've been talking that long. Like some people don't even realize like I wasn't even running the business through the business page for the longest time. And then I switched back over just a couple of years ago. So like we've been, like I said, we go way back. That's been so fun. So I will be linking all those things below. But Felicia, thank you so much for your time. This was so good. I'm so glad we had this conversation. And yeah, thank you. Thank you. And on that note, I will talk to you later, darling. Thank you so much for tuning into this episode. I know you loved it. So go ahead and leave a five star review. Make sure to share this episode and tag me at moms do business different and at Mrs. K Hillman. So a young thought knows is real. May you walk in your purpose and call in every single day to steward the life and business that God has caught you to. Until next time, let's get this money. [BLANK_AUDIO]
