The Crush It, Mama! Podcast: Recent Episodes

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Hey guys! Nancy has been working from home since before she had kids, starting off as a teacher before moving into a startup that specializes in educational technology, where she got to work from home. For her, career and passion are closely tied together, and she LOVES what she does for work. In the last four years, she’s had three kids, and now she’s making an incredible move away from her tech start up into another whole new and exciting adventure as a birth doula! This opportunity also allows her to work from home and make her own hours, but presents its own unique challenges and rewards. This interview largely segued away from working from home to what exactly it means to be a doula, and it was EXTRAORDINARILY informative. Check it out!

Here’s a quick recap of the things we talked about…

• The business side of being a doula, and how to turn something very emotionally sensitive into a profitable business.
• Trauma in labor - and how it’s more common than you may realize.
• How having a tangible village has increased her capacity to parent as a work from home mom.
• How Nancy’s passions revolve around helping and empowering people to thrive in difficult situations - which worked both for her tech startup and her doula work.
• Isolation as a mother - both early post partum and as a work from home mom.
• Demystifying what exactly a doula is and the role they play in pregnancy, delivery, and the postpartum period.

This interview was done before Nancy made the shift, but as of January, she’s transitioned into being a doula! You can find her on Facebook or at her website here.

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Hey guys! In this episode, I chat with Sarah, a former Work-From-Home nurse (I know - that makes TWO nurses who’ve worked from home in our first six episodes alone - I’m as shocked as you are). Sarah worked from home for almost three years while she was finishing up school to become a Nurse Practitioner. Sarah has some great perspectives both from adjusting from an office to working at the house, to going BACK to an office setting after she’d been working from home for a few years. If you’re looking for a great view on what it looks like to go back and forth, check this out!

Here’s a quick recap of the things we talked about…

• What it looks like to be a work from home nurse.
• The difference between your postpartum period when you work from home vs at an office.
• Choosing to return back to the “real world” after working from home.
• How the flexibility of working from home made it possible for her to become a Nurse Practitioner
• How our husbands are pretty awesome.
• Working together with your partner to keep the household running and the kids alive.
• Working out the kinks to make working from home work for you.
• Combatting the isolation of working from home and to feel less alone.
• How people don’t understand why you would work from home and NOT have your kids at home.
• Setting boundaries with people who don’t understand that when you work from home you can’t do a ton of favors for them.
• Adjusting your day to get stuff done when your kids are home sick.

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In this episode of the Crush It, Mama! Podcast, Huntley and I had a blast, and deviated quite a bit from the topic of working from home into feminism - which is absolutely okay, because feminism is awesome and important. Despite my having a cold and sounding like I’ve got crayons stuck up my nose, this conversation has a lot of awesome insight on raising strong girls, having an amazing tribe, and what it means to be a “good mom.” Huntley has a four year old and is currently on maternity leave with her brand new daughter, and has a lot of experience in working at home before and after having children.

Here’s a quick recap of the things we talked about…

• What maternity leave looks like when you work from home.
• Making childcare work for you with family, friends, and professional providers.
• Not subscribing to societal mom guilt and how it makes you a better, healthier mother.
• Assuming the best in one another to keep your friendships healthy.
• How Huntley’s parents are pretty much #ParentingGoals
• What to do to raise your strong willed little girl into a badass grown woman.
• Nature vs. Nurture in toddler gender identity.
• The luxuries provided by being a work from home parent with a supportive tribe.
• Keeping boundaries in your marriage to keep the romance alive.
• One of the best pieces of advice for work from home moms: brand yourself in your company to make yourself unforgettable.

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In today’s episode, I chat with Ashley, who is a work from home nurse (I KNOW, I didn’t think that was a thing, either!), who is at home three days a week at at the office two days a week. Ashley keeps her daughter with her at home when she’s working, so she’s learned a lot of ways to keep her kid entertained while she get shit done! Ashley mixes up working from home, working from her gym, and cramming at the office, and has managed to avoid paying for daycare! Ashley and I had a lot of fun, and I think you’ll love the interview!

Here’s a quick recap of the things we talked about...

• What being a work from home nurse actually means.
• Switching mental gears between working from home vs at the office every week.
• Finding ways to maximize productivity while working at home with the kids.
• Having bag of tricks to keep your kid entertained so you can get work done.
• The family friendly nature of having a work from home position.
• How the flexibility of working from home is so invaluable as a parent as a person.
• Building a routine to make working AND raising kids a lot easier.
• How to realign with unexpected interruptions to your routine.
• Managing with the mom guilt and other people’s opinions on you as a parent.

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For this episode, I interview a woman I’ve known for years - before either of us had kids - and it was a total blast! Even though I’ve known Ali for a long time, this interview taught me things about her I hadn’t known before! Ali is more than a work from home mom - she’s an entrepreneur who has built THREE businesses for herself, and now, part of what she does is help others build up their own businesses, too, through design, marketing, branding, and business development. Ali also has a unique perspective where she works while her husband is a stay at home dad, taking care of their son so she can keep on crushing it. I think you’ll get a lot of value out of this episode, so listen in!

Here’s a quick recap of the things we talked about...

• How your priorities shift in how you want to spend your time upon having children.
• Adjusting to being a work from home mom with a stay at home partner.
• The accessibility of working from home in our Internet world.
• Going from the director of an agency to a work from home entrepreneur.
• Tactics Ali’s learned over the years to boost her productivity.
• Devoting time to take care of yourself.
• Teaching your kids how to be passionate and pursue their dreams through example.
• Setting boundaries - with your kids and other people you love!
• Being intentional about communication.
• Why it’s important to get out of the GD house!

In this podcast, Ali and I talked a lot about the importance of self care. Ali has a good friend she spoke briefly about, Pamela Zimmer, who teaches moms how to take care of themselves. You can check out her website here!

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Welcome back to the Crush It, Mama! Podcast! In today’s episode, I talk with Karla, who on top of being a Work From Home Mom is an entrepreneur, foodie, and co-lead singer in a local band! Karla and I connected through my blog, and she was an absolute BLAST to talk to. Karla offers a lot of awesome perspectives on transitioning from working from home without kids to working from home with a newborn baby as well as how to become an effective communicator to get your needs met, but the BIGGEST takeaway from this interview has to be how dedicated Karla is to maintaining her personal identity aside from and within motherhood. Since SO many of us struggle with our changing identities after we have children, I think Karla’s take on this is INCREDIBLY valuable.

To learn more about what Karla does as a Social Media Consultant at her website here!

Here’s a quick recap of the things we talked about...

• Fulfilling your social needs when working from home
• Babywearing to make work meetings manageable
• Not sticking to the 9-5 and working around the baby
• Maintaining your own identity to avoid becoming “Just A Mom”
• Patriarchal society’s impact on competition between women
• Struggling with asking for help, and being wise enough to accept it.
• Alleviating your mental load with effective communication.
• Making time to take care of yourself in your crazy schedule.
• Why Target is the shit - totally irrelevant, but we’ve got a lot of love for Target

Also, featured in this episode, is Karla’s daughter adorably cooing!

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In this FIRST episode of the Crush It, Mama! Podcast, I talk with one of my business partners and fellow Work From Home Mom, Angel! I’ve known Angel for over seven years, and I’ve been in business with her for the last three. Angel started off as an optical engineer, and now she’s the systems manager and one of the partners at my company. Angel is an inspiration as a mother and a partner, and I think you’ll love hearing her unique point of view!

Here’s a quick recap of the things we talked about...

• Transitioning To Working From Home
• Managing Working From Home, At The Office, And Travelling
• Blocking Out Time To Manage Family And Work
• How To Avoid Getting Overwhelmed By Your To-Do List
• Adapting To Working From Home As Your Child Grows Up
• Dealing With The Mom Guilt While Setting Boundaries
• Taking Care Of Yourself, and Angel’s Routine For Doing It
• Talking Nicely To Yourself and Eliminating Your Inner Asshole
• Working From Home With Her Work From Home Husband

This episode also features, some awesome, ambient sounds of my 15 month old daughter screaming at her daddy in the background!