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If I ask you who you are, what’s your answer?

Some people are super clear on how they think of themselves. I’m Lauren, and I help moms build amazing virtual businesses from the ground up, so they don’t have to choose between family and finances. 

Some people struggle a little more than others. I’m not sure who I serve. I’m not sure how I help people. I don’t know how to show up online. 

Well, we’re going to dig in on who you are — like, defining your personal brand as a freelancer, not, like, WHO YOU ARE as a human being. I’m just coming off an AMAZING few days with my Inner Circle Mamas, and I have LOADS to share, so let’s dig in.

APPETIZERS

Start with something new and exciting!

Whoa, I had a LOT to say yesterday when I was live in the Facebook group. Did you catch it? I shared some takeaways from my Intensive this past weekend in Ft Lauderdale with my Inner Circle students. You can watch the replay right here.

Fan Favorites

Oh, WOW, this video brought back MEMORIES! Audrey was SO SMALL! And also, I answered a WHOLE BUNCH of questions about freelancing. 

MAIN DISHES

Chef’s special

Defining your personal brand as a freelancer does not have to be overwhelming — AND it doesn’t have to involve choosing colors and fonts. This week, on FreeMamaTV we’re diving into how you show up as the BEST version of yourself online — what that looks like, how to figure it all out, and of course, my favorite shortcut for getting there faster.

If you struggle with showing up authentically, you’ll LOVE this episode!

Dish of the day

Listen. We’re two weeks into the second quarter of the year, and you have #GOALS that you want to hit. I get it, because I’m right there with you. In this week’s episode of FreeMama Radio, we’re going to take a step back (in order to move forward) and show you what you need to do BEFORE you go all in on those big goals you’ve got.

DESSERT

Something sweet

We LOVE a good #FreeMamaWin!

Something savory

Imagine heading off to ARUBA on vacation while your business runs in the background!

Post YOUR win in the Facebook group so that we can celebrate with you, too!

I hope this fills you up with all kinds of Free Mama goodness.

What if I told you that you can start and build a business as an introvert?

Would you believe me?

I don’t know if you know this about me, but I’m kind of an extrovert who thrives on being around other people. 

Okay, yes, EVERYBODY knows that about me. Because it’s totally true!

I’m SO in my element right now, because I’m in Fort Lauderdale with my Inner Circle peeps.

I’m around real humans. In real life. I can see their WHOLE BODIES, not just a head and shoulders Zoom shot. (And some of these people are even wearing real pants with BUTTONS. But I’m not judging.)

Community is at the heart of the Free Mama, AND it’s at the heart of building a successful business.

I talk to a lot of women who tell me, “This is EASY for you, Lauren, because you’re an extrovert. I’m the opposite. I’m a total introvert. Can I still build a business?”

My honest answer is that you can ABSOLUTELY build a business as an introvert, AND you can build a business that allows you to HONOR your introvert tendencies.

Because building a business is NOT about being the center of attention. Rather, it’s about HELPING people. Which does, almost always, involve communication, but it doesn’t have to involve going to huge events and spending hours in large groups of people every day.

You can build a wildly successful business by having one-on-one conversations with people. You can listen more than you talk and hear what people need, and then help them with that thing, and you will never have a shortage of clients.

You can build a community of clients who adore you, and you don’t have to hang out with all of them at once.

How does that sound to you?

On the flip side, being here has reminded me how badly I needed this connection, so I’m feeling all kinds of gratitude for the scientists who have been working on vaccines and all the things…

… and I’m thinking about how much I want to hang out with YOU.

We’re planning an ONLINE event for this fall AND ALSO…

a real, live, in-person Free Mama LIVE event for early 2022.

Here’s the deal.

Our online event is currently planned for October. And I haven’t even THOUGHT about a specific date for the in-person event yet.  

What does this mean for you?

If you want to LOCK IN your early bird spot at our Virtual Event AND the LIVE event (which means you’ll get your tickets at the BEST possible price,) go pre-register now. You have 72 hours.

No, we don’t have all the details worked out yet. But we’ve pulled this thing off twice before, and we’ll do it again. We’ll exceed your expectations, as always. And you’re definitely going to be feeling the FOMO if you miss out.

P.S. Seriously, you don’t want to miss this. Get your FML tickets NOW to guarantee your spot and lock in the BEST possible price.

What do you do when you feel overwhelmed?

Well, I know what happens to me. I shut down. I literally CAN’T take action. And that’s no good at all.

Obviously, I don’t want that to happen to you, Mama, so I’ve put together a checklist for freelancers starting an online business. A little something that will help you SKIP the overwhelm completely. But before we get to the main course, we have to start with…

APPETIZERS

Start with something new and exciting!

Like yesterday, we talked about how to choose your mentor. If you missed it, now’s your chance to catch up!

Fan Favorites

Listen, I know that fear is a thing that holds us back a lot, but sometimes it’s worth asking yourself, WHAT are you so afraid of? What’s the WORST that could really happen, for real, in real life?

Check out this throw back!

MAIN DISHES

Chef’s special

Once you’ve decided that you do NOT have to give into your fear, you might still be facing down that overwhelm. Which is why you’re going to LOVE this week’s episode of FreeMamaTV. We have literally built you a CHECKLIST for starting an online business as a freelancer for exactly what you need to do, IN ORDER to get your online business up and running. 

Get at it, girl!

As a matter of fact, starting an online business is achievable with this checklist for freelancers!

Dish of the day

It’s true — I’m rarely mistaken for a shy person. But just because I’m an extrovert who THRIVES on attention doesn’t mean that YOU have to be. And if you are shy by nature, you DO NOT want to miss this episode of Free Mama Radio with Cassandra Jones, who will talk you through overcoming shyness in your business. This episode is just what you need to hear.

DESSERT

Something sweet

Compelling evidence of Free Mamas helping Free Mamas — we LOVE seeing this!

Something savory

In addition to that, check out this! An $18k month? YES PLEASE.

Got something to share with us? Post it in the Facebook group! We LOVE celebrating you!

I hope today fills you up with all kinds of Free Mama goodness

It was a Friday afternoon, mama. I was approximately 934 months pregnant (but somehow with another TEN DAYS to go before my due date), and I was DONE. I was absolutely ready to have a baby, and so I gathered up all of my things from my desk at work, and I told the entire office:

I’m not coming back to work on Monday.

The overwhelming response in the office was complete disinterest, followed by a “Really?”

Me: This baby’s coming this weekend. I shan’t be returning here. 

Them: 

Me: I mean, I’m not having contractions or anything. I’m just done. I am emotionally done. This baby is getting evicted from my uterus. 

Them: TMI, Lauren.

I went home, convinced that I would have the baby over the weekend, and on Sunday, April 1, I went into labor. 

I remained in labor for 23 horrible hours, including two and a half hours of pushing. 

The baby STILL did not appear.

I hadn’t slept or eaten in over 30 hours, and I was completely exhausted. And I couldn’t understand WHY nothing was going according to my plan. I WAS READY, so WHY was this baby not being born?

And then it happened. 

Somewhere, my tired mind heard the doctor and the nurse conferring, and mentioning that it was probably time to get the forceps out. 

In other words, there was a very clear picture of where we were going if things didn’t get moving now — and THAT was the motivation I needed. Because there was NO WAY that anyone was sticking a FORCEPS up my hoo-ha (remember, my dad reads these blogs. HI, DAD!), and so I somehow, SOMEHOW got myself to the place where I was ACTUALLY ready to get the baby out, and Welcome to the world, Daphne.

On April 2.

Because I may have THOUGHT I was ready on the Friday before, and all day on Sunday, but DAPHNE (and this is just SO TYPICAL of her) was like, “Girlfriend, YOU ARE NOT READY. I WILL TELL YOU WHEN YOU ARE READY.”

It’s kind of like (and you KNEW we were going here) when you decide to start a business. Sometimes, you think you’re ready. You have all the signs that you’re ready. You enrolled in the Free Mama Movement 2.0. You’re in the Squad. You totally want to start a business — but you’re not ready. 

You’re not ready because you’re not you’re not doing the thing you need to be doing.

It’s not that you’re not trying, but the business is not progressing. And maybe what you need, is to really and fully understand the consequence of not doing the thing that you have to do, because it is hard. And you’re feeling stuck as a stay at home mom. It’s hard.

It’s LABOR hard. 

But WANTING something and BEING READY are not the same thing.

And until you confront the reality of the forceps, maybe you won’t find the motivation to TRULY be ready.

Also, please, let’s take a moment to appreciate that I can make ANY story, including my BIRTH STORY into a lesson about business.

P.S. If you’ve been feeling stuck as a stay at home mom in WANTING, but you haven’t DONE THE THING yet, maybe it’s because you haven’t found THE RIGHT THING. The wonderful Kathryn Jones will be LIVE in the Facebook group TODAY. Maybe building funnels is your thing? 

P.S. Feeling some imposter syndrome when you realize other moms are doing the same thing as you? No worries, mama, we have you covered in this episode of Free Mama TV on how you can turn your competition into collaboration!

So. Quarantine. Lockdown. Social distancing. 

Not my favorite buzzwords.  

On a serious note, it’s been awful to watch unemployment rates soar. It’s been terrible to hear about people losing jobs. It’s been frightening to see so many women struggling. 

And it makes me so glad that I went all in on freelancing back in 2015. 

Over the past year, I’ve seen hundreds of women start and grow their businesses. Yes, even in the middle of a pandemic. It’s totally possible. 

Dig in to this week’s Free Mama Menu to learn more. 

APPETIZERS

Fan Favorites

Want proof that you can be successful in lockdown? Check out these wins, from the middle of the pandemic.

MAIN DISHES

Chef’s special

On FreeMamaTV, we’re breaking down the FREEDOM Framework — it’s all you need to build a successful stay at home mom business during quarantine!

Dish of the day

Speaking stay at home mom business during quarantine, this week, on FreeMama Radio, if you are starting your business, that means it’s also time to STOP doing what other people tell you to do.  This episode is just what you need to hear.

DESSERT

Something sweet

It’s not a race, Mama. 

Something savory

Check out this amazing Free Mama win! Having moments like this.

Got something to share with us? Post it in the Facebook group! We LOVE celebrating you!

I hope today’s blog fills you up with all kinds of Free Mama goodness

Hey there, mama !

You might have noticed that your Tuesday email/blog looks a little different lately.

The thing is, I realized I wasn’t taking my own advice. I was working harder not smarter, in direct violation of everything that I tell you to do.

I wasn’t paying attention to what I enjoy. I LOVE connecting with you on video, and I wasn’t doing enough of that. So now everything is different and it feels really good.

I always say, you’re only as good as the results you get your clients. But NEVER strive for these results at the expense of your own happiness. So if you’re doing something in your business and it’s not working, or it’s making you unhappy, you need to tweak it until you get it right. 

I don’t get it right every time. FAR FROM IT. And I commit to being transparent and telling you when I go wrong. 

In return, I expect you to be committed to your results. Have the self-discipline to grow your business with integrity, do work that fulfills you, and put a bow on it for your clients. 

You’re living the Free Mama life! Use the content! Take action, and don’t be afraid to make mistakes!

And sometimes you have to launch before you’re ready and then change course when you’re on the road. If I’d waited until I was ready to launch Free MamaTV or FreeMama Radio, or the new course, or these emails even, we never would have done it. Because you don’t know if something will work until you try. 

And you can’t get it right until you get going. 

Are you stuck right now, Mama? Are you desperate to make a change but scared you might be making mistakes along the way? DO IT ANYWAY! No one gets it right the first time. But once you take action you’ll know what you don’t know and you’ll finally be able to do something about it!

P.S. Let us know if you think the new Tuesday emails are totally delish! We’ve got a thread for you right in the Facebook group!

Hypothetical situation: you’re thinking about starting a virtual assistant business.

Wouldn’t it be AMAZING if you could talk to a whole bunch of people who had already done that, and find out exactly what they wish they’d known when they were just starting out, like you are now? Well, you’re in luck because we asked Free Mamas what they would answer if they could say “What I wish I knew before I started my virtual assistant business”

We’ve got you covered, Mama. But before we get to that, I have a few other goodies for you.

APPETIZERS

Start with Something New and Exciting!

Yesterday, the amazing Amy McCready from Positive Parenting Solutions shared her amazing wisdom and insights with us. I’m playing this on a loop, personally.

Watch now!

Fan Favorites

Do you ever feel like giving up? Well, then you’ll love this talk about perseverance.

MAIN DISHES

Chef’s special

We asked established Free Mamas what they wished they knew when they were just starting out — and they delivered. Check it out on FreeMamaTV.

What I wish I knew before I started my virtual assistant business…

Dish of the day

On Free Mama Radio, we hung out with the incredible Laura Couvillon and learned all about integrators and how to go ALL in.

DESSERT

Something sweet

We love Free Mama wins!

Something savory

Check out this smart Free Mama advice on boundaries!

Got something to share with us? Post it in the Facebook group! We LOVE celebrating you!
I hope today’s blog fills you up with all kinds of Free Mama goodness!

P.S. Don’t miss last week’s YouTube episode all about collaboration over competition!