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Let me introduce you to two types of women, mama.

Now, neither of these women is real, but they could be. Meaning, I’m not thinking of any one person in particular, but these are things I see every single day in our community.

First, we have Jane. 

Jane is serious about starting her business. She’s working hard on her website. In fact, she gets up about two hours before her kids do every morning so that she can work on her website, and she’s been doing that for the past three months.

She has a list of 15 potential business names that she’s considering. 

Jane also has a brand board that she created in Canva — it took her about two weeks to get it just right, and she even decided to go for Canva Pro so that she wouldn’t have to compromise on fonts.

She’s getting ready to start putting herself out there. When everything is done, then she’ll feel like she can go out and start connecting with people.

Next up is Susan.

Susan bought a domain name so that she’d have a professional email, but she didn’t bother with a web site. She put up a single page with a short list of services she offers, a calendar link to book a call, and a quick bio. 

After the page had been up for two weeks, she realized that there was a pretty glaring typo, so she fixed it.

Susan spends about an hour each day reaching out to potential clients. She emails and messages. Sometimes she records voice notes and videos. It always makes her want to throw up, but she pushes through and doesn’t stop until she’s sent out at least 10 messages each morning.

Both Jane and Susan feel fear. Neither one has this business thing figured out. They’re equally smart and talented women. 

But between these two types of women, if I were going to bet on which one would be successful, my money would be on Susan.

Because Susan feels the fear and pushes through. 

She releases imperfect things out into the world, and fixes them later. 

She focuses on the things that matter — as in, income-producing activities.

Let’s be clear: Susan makes mistakes. But she accepts the fact that she’s learning, and that she can’t be perfect, and that if she waits for everything to be perfect, she’ll never start.

When Jane looks at Susan, she thinks Susan must have it all figured out, but that’s wrong. 

Really, Susan has simply decided that she has to make this work.

She needs the money so that she can leave her husband, or so that her daughter can take ballet lessons, or so that she can go to Thailand.

She has to be able to leave her job for her physical health, or for her mental health, or because she needs to be home to care for her elderly mother. 

Making her business work is a non-negotiable for Susan. She doesn’t have a choice. 

And she cares more about what she thinks of herself than what other people think about her.

If you see more of Jane than Susan in yourself, here’s what I want you to do.

Head over to the YouTubes and watch my video on the 3N3C framework.

In a nutshell, you have a choice. 

You can decide to stay stuck in your overwhelm and hide behind the need for perfection. Jane lives in that spot, where the possibilities are endless, but nothing changes. 

Or, you can decide to move forward and embrace imperfection. You can channel your inner Susan and choose to make mistakes as you move forward.

There are two types of women. Which one will you be today?

P.S. If you haven’t watched my video on the 3N3C Framework, go check it out — and leave me a comment to let me know what you think!

P.P.S. Do you actually need that website to start your own business? Click here to learn what really matters when you launch!

It’s not you, mama.

It’s 100% them. 

I’m talking about those dirty, no-good, rotten scoundrel clients who have a habit of showing up just when you’re starting to hit your stride in your freelancing business. They can sneak up on you if you’re not careful and all of a sudden you’ll be wondering how to maintain professional boundaries!

You have to be careful out there, Mama. 

Which is why today on FreeMamaTV, you’ll discover the five client types that can completely derail your freelancing business. You’ll learn how to spot them — and what to do if you’re suddenly confronted with one of them in the wild.

Don’t worry — you’ll get all the information you need to successfully step away and reclaim your business boundaries — as long as you follow the steps I’ve detailed for you. 

Tune into this week’s episode of FreeMamaTV, and get ready to learn how to maintain professional boundaries and wave goodbye to bad clients — for good. 

P.S. Want to dip your toes into the freelancing world but you’re worried about discovery calls and….what if…YOU GET GHOSTED?! Don’t worry, mama, I have you covered in last week’s episode of Free Mama TV!

And don’t forget to subscribe to Free Mama TV so you’re alerted each and every time a new episode drops!

Do you pick a word for the year, mama?

I used to think it was a silly idea. In fact, last year, I told the story of how the first time I picked a word of the year, I did it because “everyone else was,” and I felt like I had to. 

And now, I do it because I want to.  

Because that word becomes a filter for me, a way to help make choices as I move through the year. 

I use my word as a way to remind myself of what I’m trying to do, to achieve, to feel, to teach. 

This year, the word I’m leaning towards is…

Surrender. 

I’m a highly logical person. I like math and data. I like Asana more than Trello. 

It’s hard for me to get in touch with the more feminine side of my personality — it’s something I’ve long suppressed because society told me those things wouldn’t serve me. 

I believed I had to be strong and tough to accomplish things. 

Back at the end of October, I hosted a two-week event. Maybe you heard about it? 😉

One of the most exciting parts of Free Mama Live was hearing from our many different panelists. These were people who challenged me and offered a completely different perspective to those I often hear — which is a very good thing.

If you surround yourself with people who are all exactly like you, how will you grow? How will you learn?

One panelist asked:

Do you want to be effective? Or do you want to be right?

And, well, I felt that. Because if you know me, mama, you know that I LOVE to be right.

So I’m learning to surrender. 

During the two weeks of Free Mama Live:

• My mom was living with us
• We packed up our house
• The furniture was dwindling as we sold off things
• The wifi got disconnected

Basically, all the things I worried about happening during those two weeks? Happened. 

And then, my amazing husband thought that it would be nice to go on a quick vacation to Galveston just before we left Texas.

It was wonderful. And also extremely stressful. 

Until I realized that I could choose to surrender. 

I could choose to watch my kids play in the ocean, to let go of the stress, to just be. 

For me, surrender means knowing when to lean in, and when to lean out and pause — when to take my foot off the gas.

For you, it might mean knowing when you need support, acknowledging that you want your kids in daycare, or eating food you enjoy without thinking about calories.

Surrender doesn’t have to mean that you change who you are. 

I can be a hard worker, disciplined, and driven. None of those things are bad. But I don’t have to be that way all the time. 

Sometimes, I can surrender and be still.

Do you pick a word for the year? I’d love to hear YOUR word. Join us in the Facebook group, and share your thoughts!

P.S. Next week is the two year anniversary of my book! Have you read it yet?

P.P.S. Ready to stop consuming and START DOING? I break down how to not get overwhelmed with all of the content available on the internet over on the Free Mama podcast!

Let me practice my mind-reading skills on you, mama.

I’m too new at this.

I don’t have any skills.

Why would anyone pay me to _________? 

How’m I doing?

That’s because I’ve met just a few Free Mamas who said EXACTLY the same thing. They were wrong — and you are, too. 

But, fear not! Because in this week’s episode of FreeMamaTV, you’ll learn how many skills you really DO have, and how to turn those skills into cash dollars paid to you by clients who really, truly do need your help. In other words, I’m teaching you the best virtual assistant services for beginners you can offer.

Yes, they want you to charge them money to do things you know how to do. For real. And it doesn’t have to be complicated or difficult. Promise.

Check out this week’s episode of FreeMamaTV to learn the best virtual assistant services for beginners!

P.S. Want to dip your toes into the freelancing world but you’re worried about discovery calls and….what if…YOU GET GHOSTED?! Don’t worry, mama, I have you covered in last week’s episode of Free Mama TV!

And don’t forget to subscribe to Free Mama TV so you’re alerted each and every time a new episode drops!

Imagine for a moment, mama,  that you’re driving a U-Haul with all your world belongings across several states as you prepare to move into your new home.

As the miles stretch out before you, you think to yourself about what you’ll do when you reach your destination. You have a plan. 

You’ll unpack your office first and get that set up. No matter what time you arrive, you know that those are the boxes you have to get to first. It’s critical. 

And then, you pull into the driveway of your new home, and you realize that your entire plan was predicated on furniture deliveries that did not happen.

There are two twin beds that have been delivered, which you and your husband plan to claim (hey, you’re grownups, and back pain is real) — the kids can crash in sleeping bags for a night. They’re young. They have strong bones and healthy muscles and things. They’ll manage. 

Except that the kids reject this plan outright, and instead you and your daughters somehow cram into these beds, and no one sleeps at all. 

By the next morning, you realize that The Great Plan is not going to happen, but it’s all going to be okay. So what happens when when your plan falls apart?

Your office will be the last space to be unpacked and set up properly, but the beds are arriving, and everyone will sleep in their own rooms. 

The den is set up — it even has a rug. 

So, yeah, things aren’t happening the way you thought they would, or the way you planned, but they’re happening. 

It still feels hard, but there’s excitement and motivation driving you. 

Imagine for a moment, mama, that you’re building a business.

As the possibilities stretch out before you, you think to yourself about what you’ll do each day when you sit down to work. You have a plan. 

You’ll get your website up and running. That’s what you have to do first. It’s critical. 

And then, you start digging into this whole “start a business” thing, and you realize that your entire plan was predicated on “if you build it, they will come,” which is NOT going to work.

You regroup. You focus on building connections. On income-producing activities. You take your steps, one at a time, even when you are not sure there even IS a path to follow. 

Each day, you do one small thing — or more — to move your business forward. 

So, yeah, things aren’t happening the way you thought they would, or the way you planned, but they’re happening.  That’s what you do when your plan falls apart – you keep going!

It still feels hard, but there’s excitement and motivation driving you. 

It’s going to be a wild ride, mama, and I’m SO EXCITED to be on it with you.

P.S. Are we connected on Instagram yet? If you want ALL the behind-the-scenes dish on my family, my kids, my dog, and more, check out my stories!

P.P.S. Have you heard about The Inner Circle? If you are ready to scale your business to $10k+ months, click here to learn more!

WHY WON’T SHE CALL?

It’s SO frustrating when you just KNOW that you and that client could make beautiful magic together. I mean, the discovery call was AMAZING. The proposal you sent was a work of art. 

But all you’re hearing is a whole lot of silence. 

Well, mama, you’re not the first freelancer to be ghosted — and you probably won’t be the last. BUT, this could be the last time YOU get ghosted, if you listen closely to what I have to tell you about proposal follow up in today’s episode of FreeMamaTV.

You’re going to LOVE the trick I have for you. It’s a super-smart, super easy tweak you can make to your proposal follow up process that will help you avoid the whole “WHY WON’T SHE CALL ME?” mystery. 

Head on over to the YouTubes, and check out this week’s episode of FreeMamaTV for a foolproof proposal follow up you can start using today. 

P.S. Are you stuck on naming your business? Well, mama, you’re in luck because I went into the juicy scoop about your naming your business on last week’s episode — and you can tune in right here

And don’t forget to subscribe to Free Mama TV so you’re alerted each and every time a new episode drops!