Episode 43: How to Create Intention and Flow in Your Business and At Home with Allison Hardy
Transcript Episode 43
Stephanie Skryzowski
Welcome to the 100 Degrees of Entrepreneurship Podcast, the show for purpose-driven entrepreneurs who want to get inspired to step outside of your comfort zone, expand it to your purpose and grow your business in a big way. I’m your host, Stephanie Skryzowski, a globe trotting CFO whose mission is to empower leaders to better understand their numbers to grow their impact and their income. Let’s dive in!
Hey, everybody, welcome back to 100 degrees of entrepreneurship podcast. I am super excited to be here with Allison Hardy today. Allison, welcome!
Allison Hardy
Oh, my gosh, thank you so much for having me.
Stephanie Skryzowski
So, we were just chatting. I was on your podcast like two years ago. I have been following you online, I think for even longer. It feels like I’ve known you for a while. So, I’m excited to kind of hear a little bit more about your story and chat with you today.
Allison Hardy
Yeah, let’s dig in.
Stephanie Skryzowski
Awesome. So why don’t you tell our listeners a little bit about who you are and what you do now?
Allison Hardy
Yeah, so I’m Allison Hardy. I help busy mompreneurs automate the leads in the sale systems of their businesses, so that they can take a day off or stay in their zone of genius. So that your business still operates in the background while you do other important things in your life. I live in Arlington, Virginia, I have an eight year old little guy and I have a three and a half year old, wild lady. My husband is a pastor. That’s what I do. That’s who I am!
Stephanie Skryzowski
Awesome. Thank you. I love seeing on your Instagram. Sometimes you’ll post screenshots of like, you sold this thing or you sold that thing. And you’re like, yep, these just popped up while I was on the playground with my kids. Like, that’s pretty cool. So it’s very inspiring.
Allison Hardy
Yeah, I have a philosophy that you should be your best client. So I try to show that journey and what that looks like.
Stephanie Skryzowski
Oh, I love that you should be your BEST client. Okay, noted as my bookkeeping is like three months behind.
Allison Hardy
I mean, we are our ideal clients aren’t we?
Stephanie Skryzowski
Exactly, exactly. So I imagine that your journey did not start here doing what you’re doing. So why don’t you take us back a little bit? What did you… I don’t know. Maybe after college or the beginning of your career, what did that start out like? And what has the path then since to lead you to where you are now?
Allison Hardy
Yeah, I didn’t start doing this. So I got the terminal degree. I got the highest education I can be in my field, I was teaching college level art. I got the job when I was 25, which was unheard of… had the office, all the right things. And then what I was about 28 and pregnant with Camden, who’s now eight, I called the HR and I was like, “What’s this all about? Why am I getting called an HR, this is odd.” And they informed me that I was getting laid off, and that he no longer had a job.
That was a big deal. It not only was a big deal, because I was the first person in my family to go to college, I had a lot of pride in that. I had a lot of pride in that I was teaching at the college level. And I was really young for that field. And so it was gone. That was a big identity crisis moment. But also financially, it was a really big problem for us. Believe it or not, pastors and College Art professors don’t exactly make a ton of money. And we didn’t have savings.
I was going to work up until the day I had Camden, I didn’t get a maternity leave, there’s no payment option there. So I was going to take off for five weeks, and then I was going to go back to work. And we’re just crossing our fingers and hoping that everything worked out and it didn’t. So when I was laid off, filling that income for three months, we didn’t have something for me to do.
It put us in a big financial crisis and praise the Lord, I had a super part time side hustle. I trained personally trained, like fitness training, my friends in our backyard on Saturday mornings. We would work out and then we’d have mimosas it was very fabulous. And I’m like, Okay, well, maybe it’s time to take this thing that I actually really do love that’s actually really fun. And make it into my business and make it like that. This is what I’m gonna do.
I hustled my brains out, I joined a network marketing company and was really successful there at first. And I was able to replace that income in three months before Camden was born. But I did it by working all the time, like not taking a break ever. I had a lot of health problems, the last three months of my pregnancy, surprise, surprise. And then when he was born, I had really bad postpartum depression.
When you work at that crazy pace, and then you have postpartum depression, things just don’t work anymore. So it’s quickly as it went up, it all came crashing down around me. I remember I was sitting at coffee one day with one of my friends I have a 10 day, yoga pants on my hair was like, up in a bind and like messy and I had no makeup on. And that’s not how I usually show up. She was like, I don’t know what you got to do. But you need to make a change because she like, this isn’t the Allison that I know.
I was like, I don’t know what I have to do, I don’t know what I have to do. She was like, you like business. She’s like your partnership, your network marketing. Like she said, that’s cool. But the thing that really lights you up is like your team members. Her husband was able to quit his terrible job and start his own business as a result of your mentorship. And she was like, that’s amazing.
And then this other women like, paid off for Student Loan Data in like a year. It was just like, they were doing these really big things! She said, that’s the stuff that Lacey the fitness is cool. It’s like the means to the end and you like it, but you love the business. Just like what you teach people how to do that. And I was like, Well, I’m not qualified. She’s like, No, you are, because you’ve done it. So, just do it.
So I sent an email out to my list. And I was like, does anybody want to be like, coached? And I was like, fully booked in the next six weeks? Although Okay, well, that was really easy. So, I shut down the personal training side of things, and I just went full on into business.
Stephanie Skryzowski
Oh, my gosh, I love that it went from like art, to fitness to the business coaching side of things. You had an email list at that point? Where did that come from?
Allison Hardy
I did. Yeah. So whenever someone bought anything from me from the network marketing partnership, I would just add them to my mailing list. That wasn’t like my only way of making money. The other thing I did was I had online fitness programs. So I would like to develop a curriculum, and I’d run people through it for like six weeks. So it’d be like an ab focused or arm focus. I always do like a tank top for the summer group, which now I’m like, Oh, that’s such terrible marketing. Oh, can we not talk about that? But like, yeah, that’s what we did.
So, yeah, so it was all from that. And so a lot of like, personal trainers would come on with me and enroll in my program. Some learn and probably steal some of my stuff, which is fine. But then, you know, all my team, my network marketing team, they’re on my mailing list. So as soon as I kind of was like, Hey, I’m willing to do this with everyone, not just people on my team. It opened up the door for more possibilities.
Stephanie Skryzowski
Oh, my gosh, I feel like that’s such a good tip. Because I’m sure, well, I don’t know, maybe you’re strategically thinking of building an email list, then. I know, like, in the beginning of my business, I was thinking about email list at all. And then like two years, and I’m like, Oh, crap, I probably should have been doing this a long time ago. So that’s a good tip to anybody.
Even if you’ve just got like a side hustle or a network marketing thing or whatever little thing you’re doing, oh my gosh, collect those email addresses? Because that seems like that was the key or the jumping off point to filling your initial coaching program.
Allison Hardy
Yeah, my upline was really good. She had a very successful business outside of the network marketing partnership we had. So she really helped and like instilled in our team that, yeah, while this is kind of a business in a box, you can’t rely just on this partnership. Because what if they decide one day they’re done, and then your income is done.
She was like, never put the way that you make money in someone else’s hands. That’s not why you started your own business. So she really helped us to set up an actual business with like, actual successful long term strategy. So she was really wonderful in helping with that, for sure.
Stephanie Skryzowski
Yeah. Oh, that’s great. So what are your programs look like today? Or how have they evolved over time? And like, what are your programs look like today?
Allison Hardy
Yeah. They’ve evolved a lot! I was just talking about this other day. You know, as like, your business changes and grows people are gonna come into your network, like onto your email list, for example, with this one thing. So I used to teach a lot about Facebook groups, and how to leverage a Facebook group for lead generation. And then I shut that program down to no longer lit me up. And Facebook just kept changing stuff, and I couldn’t keep up.
It’s interesting, because you’ll have these people come into your network and hang out with you for a while. But you don’t actually tell them why you’re changing. And you know what you’re doing, why you’re doing it, you just kind of like move forward. They’ve changed a lot over the years as like social media has changed, and strategy has changed. And automation has changed.
So at first it was the Facebook group course that was kind of like my bread and butter for a year or two. And then I went to like group coaching and having some group coaching options. And then I went to a mastermind model, and then 2020 happened and I said, OMG, I need a break from the mastermind model. I went to a membership site.
I think I’ve kind of dabbled in a lot of different things. But now really my main focus, and I think what my jam is going to be for a while, is automating leads and sales because I work with moms. And I think if we’ve taken anything away from 2020, and everything that happened over the past year, it’s been at life happens and we have to show up for it. There’s no choice in that. And I know for many of us, we don’t have the option or the ability to not generate income, like you have to still make income.
So what does that look like for you and helping women to really understand and figure out what that looks like for themselves.
Stephanie Skryzowski
Yeah, oh my gosh. That’s so true. And I feel like like you said, especially 2020, which just turned all of our worlds upside down, being able to have something at least sort of on autopilot. I feel like it’s so important. So, as a business owner, I will say, I feel like I need you. I don’t have anything really on autopilot like that, like you teach right now. So if somebody is really new, either new in their business or new to this world of automating leads automating sales, what exactly does that actually mean? Is that Facebook ads? What actually is that?
Allison Hardy
It can be, it can be a couple of different things. And I’m a fan of driving traffic to your email list. But having that traffic come from different sources. So like, for example, with the recent iOS 14 updates, it set the Facebook world into like a tizzy. So if you are just depending on Facebook ads to drive traffic, your business didn’t move for very long time. And so you got to have different lead generators in different places. It might be like, Pinterest, or YouTube, Facebook ads, Instagram reels and a podcast. So that’s like you’re five places.
All those things are pointing and driving traffic to your lead magnet, which is a free resource that delivers high value. And what someone does is they put their email address and their name into a form. In exchange for that they get the lead magnet. And what it does is developed in a like and trust factor, it gets them a quick win. When we get a stranger on the internet, a quick win, they’re going to be yours, they’re going to listen and they’re gonna pay attention.
From there, you send them through a funnel. So a series of automated emails that again, reiterates the amazing things that you do, tells them how you can help them. Share stories, shares tidbits to help them get a little more quick wins, and then sends them into a sales sequence for a program that you have. So, you’ve basically it’s like a launch system that is customized to this person based on when they opted in, and then the habits that they do. Like, what they click and what they consume inside of your funnel.
Stephanie Skryzowski
That’s so helpful. I feel like any time that I have to learn about like marketing things, my head just starts like going off into the distance, which I imagine is how a lot of people feel when I start talking about numbers. They’re like, Yeah, I’m gone.
Allison Hardy
That’s how I feel. Yeah.
Stephanie Skryzowski
I like how you broke that down, though. Okay, so if we’re like, at the very top, and we’re trying to think of, Okay, do we have to be on all the places?
I’m like the thought of having to add, Pinterest and YouTube and blah, blah, blah, all the things to what I’m already doing feels completely overwhelming. So how do we choose how many ever and is there like, a number like, do I need to have five? Or is it two?
Allison Hardy
I think it’s whatever you’re capable of doing. So I’m a fan of like listing out all your lead generators, where you hang out where you talk about your business. And then, picking one to improve for every quarter. So like, every 90 days, you sit down, you’re like, Okay, here’s the four places I hang out online, because of what I have going on.
In the next quarter, I’m going to really focus on my Facebook group and growing that, because I’m gonna be doing a couple of challenges in there. That makes sense, right? So everything you’re doing is driving traffic to the Facebook group. And because of the systems that you have set up and ready for Facebook, or the Facebook group drives to an event or an opt in, or whatever it is.
There’s no magic number. It’s just what works best for you. But I think it’s important that with all of the platforms, you’re intentional with how you’re showing up to them. So if the goal is for this quarter to drive traffic to the Facebook group, cool. That’s what Instagram does, that’s what Facebook does. That’s what your email, so that’s what your podcast does.
Your goal is to maintain everything else and grow the Facebook group. And then after those 90 days, you take a look and you’re like, Okay, I really liked that. I’m just gonna keep doing that, because that worked. Or, I didn’t like that. So let’s change the plan, you pick something else to grow.
So you have like, a lead generation lasagna, for lack of a better word. And then there might come a time where you’re like, Okay, there’s this new thing, I’m really interested in learning, maybe it’s Instagram ads.
Let’s say your podcast just hasn’t been working for you, you’re like, it’s kind of dead in the water. Maybe it’s time to take a break. So that you can focus your time on getting that portion of your business up and running. Because theoretically like Instagram and Facebook ads in a normal environment, not with the iOS updates, they kind of stay the same you can kind of figure out and kind of predict like, what they’re doing, how they’re working for you. So you can like make intelligent guesses based on past data like what’s gonna happen there.
Then when that’s up and running, like maybe it’s time to add the podcast back in so it’s kind of like a continual like okay, this layer of the lead generation lasagna is pause for the moment because the add this other layer on or every layer here is going to drag to this other layer. I think it’s a matter of just being intentional. What you’re doing and why you’re doing it and knowing why you’re doing it.
Stephanie Skryzowski
That’s so helpful, because it’s like, we see, all right, you have to post a reel on Instagram every single day. And oh, by the way, like, you have to pin 20 times a day on Pinterest and make sure you have at least two videos a week on YouTube.
It’s like, I literally can barely keep up with my email, let alone all these other things. So I love that you’re like, Okay, let’s choose one focus. Like 90 days, that’s like a decent amount of time. And so I feel like really allows you to kind of go all in on that. And it gives you enough time to figure out if it’s working or not.
Do you like sit down every three months or so? And kind of take a look back and say, Okay, what’s working? What’s not? And then look ahead as well.
Allison Hardy
Yeah, of course, I look at the numbers, because that’s what should drive most of our decisions, but also look back at like, what was super stressful? And what like, Was it what was more fun? So like, for me, I will have a reel. I’m all about the reels. And while they may not be like the main lead generator I have for me, they’re fun. So I keep them, right? And like my people like them.
It’s how a lot of my audience shows up because it’s short, consumable, and it just kind of works for them. It’s easy for them to consume. So I think part of it is like, yes, what is working? What’s the data telling us? And then other part is like, what was really fun? What was really exciting? And what made me smile and be happy that day?
Stephanie Skryzowski
Yeah, because what’s the point of doing all this work for just like slogging through it? And if you hate Instagram maybe you shouldn’t be spending all your day on Instagram. If it’s like a miserable place for you.
Allison Hardy
Yeah, agreed.
Stephanie Skryzowski
I like that you’ve balanced that a little bit. So do you have like a tiny offer, like a inexpensive thing to get somebody to buy? And then you lead them into like, a bigger thing that you have?
Allison Hardy
Yeah. So it’s called a slow funnel, self liquidating offer funnel? Yes, I have one.
Stephanie Skryzowski
Gotcha. I’m like, Okay, I want to set one of these up. What do I need to do? You don’t have to tell me, like, oh, like big picture. If somebody wanted to set one of these things up, and to maybe tell us what it is and what it means? And like, what are the big picture things that you need to like, make that happen?
Allison Hardy
Yeah. So they’re a bit of a beast to figure out. So I will say that, what the deal is, is if you guys have ever seen Instagram or Facebook ads for like a $27 product, that’s like super high value. Odds are, that’s a slow funnel. So the goal with the slow funnel is to build your email list with people who have bought from you. So that’s the number one goal.
The other goal, the number two goal is to have them pay for themselves. So inside of the slow funnel, what you have is that primary offer minus a 60 day soon to be 90 days, reels, content calendar. So over real. From there, once you are checking out you have the option for it’s called a bump offer. And a bump offer is another thing that comes alongside of the original offer to give more value.
Mine is an implementation video and like a masterclass that explains more about why rules are so important and how to actually make them. Because that makes sense, right for the content calendar. And let’s actually do this successfully. Let’s make these successfully.
So the first offers 27 Second offers 37. The final offer is called a one time offer. And so you can add these things on to your cart. Right? So the final offer is a higher priced offer. So mine is $57. And it’s an Instagram Stories, content malt, because the thing with reels is that they help you get it super visible. And then what do you do with those people and you talk to them in stories, and that’s where you can actually convert them from strangers on the internet to buying people.
So like the suite test to bring you along in a journey, the goal is to increase the cart value so that you’re bringing in more than you’re spending on ads. Does that make sense?
Stephanie Skryzowski
Yeah, totally makes sense. And I like how they’re like three different things. But they’re all related. So I would imagine that the customer is going to get the most value the most results when they purchase all three, honestly.
Allison Hardy
Yeah, for sure. And then you know, from there, you can send them through a funnel development or like and trust factor because odds are, they probably don’t know yet. They’re probably familiar with you and each of them. And then from there, you can do a couple of things. But the goal is to then roll them over into your bigger offer that you have the end of the funnel.
So ideally, your list is growing, it’s paying for itself is paying with a different quality of subscriber.
Stephanie Skryzowski
Yeah, because they’re already down with what you offer. So they’re like, if you are offering something more, they can say, well, I’ve already paid for this thing and I got results and it was awesome for 27 bucks or 37 bucks. So yeah, the $497 thing or the $997 thing like that’s a no brainer because they already know you and they’ve already bought from you.
Allison Hardy
Right? And usually these offers are implementation based They’re not necessarily like mini courses. They are like less cut down on the time it takes to implement these things so that they can see results fast.
Stephanie Skryzowski
Mm hmm. Yeah. That’s so good. So are you running paid traffic paid ads to your slow funnel? Yes. Oh my gosh, that’s awesome. Do you do your own Facebook ads? Or do you have somebody help you with it?
Allison Hardy
I used to have someone help. And then I had to take a break from them just because it was like, it was just too much at the time. So I’m running them myself. Right now. I recently invested in a, I guess it’s like a group program. I don’t really know what to call it course group program to help me with that to learn a little bit more. Because when the iOS updates came, I was like, I need somebody to tell me what to do.
So I enrolled in a group program to to have that support. And then I do plan on outsourcing it. Here in the future, I just got to get a couple of things. I just want to have it performing a little bit better before I outsource it.
Stephanie Skryzowski
Yeah. Oh, my gosh. That is another thing that even thought of it or just like looking at Facebook Ads Manager just makes me want to, like melt into the ground and run away forever. Like, I can’t.
Allison Hardy
Yeah. No, it’s a lot! It’s a lot. And if you’re in the place to outsource it, I always think it’s a great option. I do you think that when you outsource Facebook ads, you should know a little bit about them so that you can understand what the person is telling you? And what that means. Yeah, I think it’s always good to be a little educated in the things you outsource.
Stephanie Skryzowski
Oh my gosh, I totally agree with you. And I always say this about bookkeeping as well. Like, I strongly encourage business owners to like, do your own books for a little while, just so you know, like, what things should look like and what your expenses are, and whatever is so that when you do bring a bookkeeper on, you know what they should be doing, you know what your numbers should look like? I’m totally with you. It’s super important.
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Stephanie Skryzowski
So I feel like you’re like the queen of flow between like balancing your six figure business, your two little kids and helping other business owners automate and make the back end of their business flow. Like you have a very streamlined brand, which I love.
What does your balance look like? Or I don’t know if some people are like, I don’t believe in the word balance. So whatever that word kind of means to you in terms of really juggling your kids. You’re like a very involved mom of little kids and managing a successful business. What does that look like?
Allison Hardy
Yeah, I think it’s a matter of just being intentional, really. I don’t really believe in the whole balancing, like you said. It’s a matter of being clear with what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. So I’m working right now I’m sitting here chatting with you on your podcast. And my kids know that. And they know, Mom’s doing a podcast interview, I’m not act like a wild animal right above her office, because my office is right above my daughter’s room. Like she’s taking a nap. I know she’s gonna wake up here pretty soon. They’re not to be running around. And they know that.
It’s because I’ve told them, and I’m on a podcast, so that we can help more people so that we can increase revenue, so that we can do things in our life. And like, everyone knows that everyone’s on board, everyone gets it. So when mom’s working, she’s doing this for a certain reason. I also think a lot of times when we maybe are working, we’re not being totally clear with ourselves and with our families as to why and what the support is that we need in order to make that happen.
I really think we need to kind of like over communicate with our kids, especially if they’re little with what we’re doing. And so that they understand what you’re doing. It’s not that like mom doesn’t want to hang out with you. It’s that she’s working so that we can do these certain things. But also it goes the other way, too. So I’m not working right now. So that we can hang out, have some fun so that I can unload the dishwasher so that we can make dinner together. Because we’re making pizza tonight. I know you really like it.
I think for a lot of us, it’s clearly communicating with the people who live in our house, what we’re doing and why we’re doing it. And also not allowing ourselves to get distracted. While we’re doing those things like I’m working when I’m working. I’m hanging out with my family when I’m hanging out with my family. And while I am not perfect at either one of those things. It is like my goal every day to have focused time in whatever it is that I’m doing.
So, for some days, it’s mostly mom life, and that’s okay. Some days it’s mostly business life and that’s okay. I know right now for me. It’s like a lot of business stuff because We’re home for a little bit. So like babysitters here, I’m working, and that’s what we’re doing. But in like two weeks, I’m gonna take two weeks off, because babysitter is gone. She’s on her own family vacation. So I’m like, You know what, maybe it’s opportunity for me to just chill out and hang out and be a mom for a little bit. I think it’s that presence and intention with both areas of your life and any other area of your life for that matter. That helps us to feel balanced.
Stephanie Skryzowski
I completely agree with that. It’s kind of like not a wake up call. But I just as you were talking, I was thinking that times I feel the most stressed are when I am trying to do both, when I am hanging out with my kids are like responsible for my children. And I’m also trying to do work or answer emails, or talk to my assistant on the phone or something like that. Those are the times I feel the most stress because my head is not really in either place with like little bits, and here and there. And so I think that tip is huge.
No matter how much time you’re spending in your business, or with your family, with your kids with whatever else in your personal life you have going on, it’s almost like the amount of time doesn’t matter, its the intention and presence in each place that matters even more. And I love that. You’re like, Okay, I’m all in on the business, because I have a babysitter right now. But in two weeks, I’m not gonna be and I’m just gonna be with a family. And like, that’s okay. That sounds like a good version of balance, like you are, where where you are.
Allison Hardy
Yeah, when I was growing up, my parents owned their own company, it was a brick and mortar. And they were doing the best they can. So I can’t fault them at this. But like they were very not present when they were home. And I remember like, there’s this one time, I was sitting at the kitchen table, and had a really bad day, I ran track. Like, I just didn’t feel great. I had like a really crappy practice, and had a ton of homework. and I were sitting at the table.
I was just like telling my mom about stuff. And I could tell she just like wasn’t listening. This was like before cellphones. So it’s not like she was distracted by your phone. She just like wasn’t there. And I remember, I was just talking and talking, talking. And then I stopped talking to see if she would like, look up or like acknowledge that I stopped talking and she didn’t. She didn’t hear anything that I was saying. And I remember being like, this sucks. Like, this is the pits. She’s not even listening to me.
And so that was has always been something that I kind of like brought along with me. When my kids come into the room and not to say like, when I’m working, I’m only working like my kids need me, that’s fine. But if they like come into the room, when I’m working, even though I’m like maybe typing on the computer, or whatever I’m doing, I make a point to like, turn my body and like look at them and look at them in the eyes and like acknowledge, because like they’re more important than my business.
So I do think there’s that too. There’s like a give and take that has to happen with all of it. But I read a study one time and it said, I forget what it was it was a poll of like 20 Somethings. And they said, Do you prefer presence or time with your parents? And like, hands down? Everyone was like presence.
Because like time, if it’s not good time, like what’s the point of it? So I think about that a lot, too. I’m like, okay, like maybe today, I didn’t spend as much time with my kids because I was in like full on workload. But when I did, we did some really cool stuff together. So I also think there’s that too, when it comes to like, the balance and the guilt that we can feel sometimes when we’re spending more time doing other things. Hmm,
Stephanie Skryzowski
I love that so much the presence versus time, because you’re right, if I’m working all day long, and I stop at five and they go to bed at seven, it almost doesn’t matter that I only have two hours if my phone is put away. And all I’m doing is like making dinner together, we’re hanging out, we’re going for a walk, it doesn’t matter. The quality of time matters much more than the length of time.
Allison Hardy
Yeah, and they’re gonna remember that. They’re gonna be like, I remember there’s one day that I’m worked a lot with a babysitter. That was cool. And then she came on we do this stuff, it was so fun. And then I went to bed so happy, right? They’re gonna remember that other than I spent eight hours with her and she yelled at me five times.
Stephanie Skryzowski
Exactly. That’s what happens when I’m trying to balance both of them.
Allison Hardy
Yeah, I mean, it’s the most stressful thing ever, when you’re trying to serve these two things at the same time. And you can’t really serve them well. So like, you snap at one of them. Usually it’s the kid in front of you. It’s not worth it. Right. It’s like not worth the emotions that go into that it’s not worth it.
Stephanie Skryzowski
Yeah, right? Because the emotions that come out of you most likely, yeah, onto your kids, but also the emotions inside of you. Because then you go to bed that night and you’re laying in bed being like, wow, I was a really crappy mom today. Like I yelled at my kids all day long. And without thinking of like, oh, the root cause of that is because I was trying to do too many things at once instead of just focusing on the one or the other.
So I feel like that’s a lesson that I’m going to just continue learning because just as soon as I feel like, Alright, we’re good. We’re good. Like something comes up and work gets really busy. And then I’m doing the same thing again and we’re back to the old. So it’s a constant lesson.
Allison Hardy
Yeah, and it’s a constant like pruning, too, I think because like we move into different seasons. Like moving from school into the summer, and like things are like kind of opening back up again. And then like the possibility of school happening in the fall like what that looks like. It’s a constant ebb and flow.
I feel like it’s a constant reevaluation of, okay, how am I spending my time? What’s the best use of my time? Does my business fit into my life right now? Or are we doing vice versa? So like, what is that for us? It’s always changing. It’s always changing. But I think what makes us successful is that we know that we acknowledge it, and we’re constantly working to move forward.
Stephanie Skryzowski
Yeah, I love that. I think you’re right, and 2020. And I mean, even going into 2021 was a lesson in that for sure. And just having to be flexible and go with the flow. Oh, my goodness, we talked a lot about that intention, and making sure that you’re really focused on whatever you’re doing, whether it’s the mom stuff, the business owner stuff.
Are there any other tips or any other like lessons that you’ve learned the easy way, or the hard way that you would share with somebody who’s in the same position?
Allison hardy
Yeah, I think mental health is really important. Having dealt with postpartum depression and anxiety. Now, still, I think that your mental health as the owner of your business, and as the mom to your children, and this spouse to your partner, is really important. I think that a lot of us push it to the side, and we say, you know, it’s just temporary. I can deal with it. It’s cool, I’m fine. Like I could do all the things like, I think that mental health is really important.
Having those sorts of check ins with yourself, or even like habits within your day, to keep that at the forefront, I think is really really important. What that looks like, though, for everybody is a little little different. So maybe it’s like everyday after work, you shut your laptop and you go workout, you ride your peloton. Or after lunch, when the baby goes down for a nap, you take five minutes, and you do a quick meditation.
You know, whatever it is that allows you to kind of like check back in, reset, take a deep breath, to make sure that your your mental health is good that day. And if it’s not to have some strategies that you can put into place to help you cope and deal and move through. I think that’s really important too.
Just from like a business standpoint, if you’re not doing so hot, your business isn’t gonna do so hot. So I know for most of us, we have big, awesome goals. And those goals aren’t going to happen if you’re not the best you can be. So you owe it to yourself to your relationships to your business, to really focus on that and make that a priority, especially after 2020, my goodness.
Stephanie Skryzowski
Yeah, I agree with you. And I think that it’s important to note that like, this looks different for everyone, like you said, but I realized for myself that I had gotten to this terrible habit of like starting and ending my days with work related things. So like I was working out in the morning with a business podcast, and then working all day and then reading a business book before bed.
And I was like, I am literally like, every moment of the day, I’m thinking about work like this has to stop. So now it’s like starting the day with a workout with some music. Ending the day with a meditation and like that has significantly reduced my anxiety.
I’m like, wow, that was an easy fix. Like, let me just not be listening to business podcast at 6am. Like, just not necessary. So yeah, I love that. And I think it’s just so easy, especially for type a people that are very, like, I’m just a very driven person, period. And like, if I could hustle 24/7 I would like that’s just my nature. I like it. But it’s a good reminder that that’s just not sustainable. That’s not healthy. We need to slow down and be a little more present.
Allison Hardy
Yeah, and knowing that about yourself is really key. Are you a fan of the Enneagram? Yes. Um, what are you? Are you a three?
Stephanie Skryzowski
Yes, I’m a three.
Allison Hardy
Yeah. So I’m a nine, which is like the opposite of you. As you said, I’m a really driven person. I was like, because she’s a three.
Yeah, so like, part of it also is like, knowing your personality and knowing like, these are the things that that I while are my superpowers can also be used to my extreme detriment. So like, knowing that about yourself, too, is really, really helpful.
Stephanie Skryzowski
Yeah, that’s so true. I think the Enneagram is a powerful tool. If anybody listening has not taken that. I love it because I have found it very true to myself. I feel like in a sense, it kind of paints you into a box. So, not everything will resonate, but it’s like a really good start and it’s very easy to take the assessment and and see what you are. So I love that you’re right.
It’s important to be able to even recognize that about yourself before you can really like bring that balance into your life. So awesome. We’re gonna wrap up shortly I’ve just a couple more questions for you. But I asked this question because I am obviously obsessed with finances and numbers and money. And so I like to ask how you manage your numbers in your business?
Like, what does that look like for you in terms of maybe how you set goals or how you, you know, you don’t have to give me any details, but like how you track your money? Because I think it’s really interesting to hear what different people do.
Allison Hardy
Well, so mostly, I have someone do it for me, because I’m terrible. Like, so bad. It’s like kind of embarrassing. You know, I have a podcast called The six figure mompreneurs, do you think I would know strongly my financials? I don’t.
What I do at the beginning two years, I sit down with my bookkeeper, and I set a goal. And I say, this is how much sales I want to bring in this year. And so she says, okay, cool. So this is what this looks like right now. And because she knows me, she’s like, you’re probably going to invest just based on past years, this amount of money into your business, but we’re going to increase it because of the different revenue goal or a different sales call.
She kind of like maps it out for me. And then I have like, the blocks to work in that I can like, move things around and finagle it. So every month, we have just a sit down meeting, and she’ll say, okay, so this month sales were down, and then your purchases are up. So you’re gonna need to, like adjust that for this next month. I’m like, Cool, I can do that.
So she just kind of helps me like stay on track. And she’s learned, as I have learned about myself that if you tell me precise numbers, I’m going to like revolt against you and do the complete opposite. So I have an eight wing for the Enneagram. So I’m the challenger. I don’t like to be told what to do. I like to make rules. So yeah, we’ve discovered that about myself. That’s a fun conversation to have.
But it just helps me to, like, make decisions with in I’ve like a threshold. Right? So let’s say it’s like $5,000 a month for personal development. So that could be course, whatever, $5,000 a month for contractors who’s in there, what does that look like? And then we just kind of go month to month, and she gives me like that box to look in. And then we see what happens that month.
Stephanie Skryzowski
I love it. I love that there’s like there’s some structure to it. But it’s still like wildly flexible to do what you want to do when it comes to different revenue streams and what you want to do when it comes to how you want to spend your money. I think that’s super helpful.
You’re not like a lot of people who are like, Oh, my God, I don’t want to stick to like a specific budget like not gonna do that. I just want to do what I want to do. But I like that you’ve got some parameters around that, because I think that helps you actually, like, achieve those goals you’re at? And if you’ve got some sort of parameters, so I like that you fit your Enneagram eight wing into a little bit of structure and your numbers.
Allison Hardy
Yeah, yeah, we have to have it like that’s it. It’s not something we can’t not have. So what does that look like? And I always think of anything in business. It’s figuring out what does that look like for me? How does that work for me? And how I like to do things. So that’s what we’ve landed on right now. It will probably change over the next year. Who knows?
Stephanie Skryzowski
Yeah, I love it. I think that’s awesome. I have just two quick questions left. So my next question is, what is a favorite nonfiction book that you’ve read?
Allison Hardy
What is favorite non fiction book that I have read? I love Life of Pi. Oh, I don’t know who it’s by. But pi is pi. Yeah, it’s a great book. It was made into a really bad movie A couple years ago. I don’t know if you remember that.
But it’s about this guy, kid who gets stranded on a boat. And there’s a tiger on it. And it’s less like big analogy for oil. The question is, is it an analogy? So is it actually a true story? Or is it him like coping and commenting on life? So it’s a great book is going to be very literal with it. You can if you want to be very figurative with it, you can do it has lots of different like ways of thinking about it, which I love.
Stephanie Skryzowski
Oh, fun! Love it. Thank you. I feel like I use this question to build my own reading list. I’ll read this though. My last question is imagine that you have a weekday like completely free from work from obligations from an ailing must do is what do you do?
Allison Hardy
Oh, yes, we just played this this morning. It’s so funny. You asked me this. This is what we would do. We’re gonna go hiking along the Potomac River. So we live outside in DC in Arlington. And there’s this really beautiful trail that’s very rare in the DC area that’s completely wooded, and it’s right along the Potomac and know that Potomac is not the most beautiful river in the world. But it’s a river and it’s near my house. So we go there a lot.
There’s like a paved section so my kids can bring their bikes and they can ride their bikes and we can bring their bikes and ride our bikes. But there’s also kind of this mountainy ish, I mean, wooded rocky area also, and we go there and pretend to be like Forest monsters and walk through the forest. And that’s just fun.
Stephanie Skryzowski
That sounds perfect. I love it. Most people answer this question. I feel like I get two answers. Either one is like a spa day like somebody. Or something outdoors. So, yeah, known to the outdoors category.
Allison Hardy
Yeah, yeah. But usually like after we do something like that, we go to a brewery and we just enjoy being outside. And that’s like when I miss everything’s in the world to do.
Stephanie Skryzowski
Oh, I love it, and the perfect time of year. Or, Allison, thank you so much for sharing with us today. I feel like this was super useful, especially on the automating lead side of things. But also, I just really enjoy talking about the balancing mom and mom and business life because I feel like it’s something that so many people are dealing with and need better ways to manage.
I feel like you gave us so much to go with and improve our own balance our own work and family and home life. So thank you.
Oh, actually, wait, before we go, Ellison, where can people find you? I always forget this question. Yes. Okay. Where can we find you? Where can we learn more about you? Tell us tell us all the things.
Allison Hardy
Yeah. So I would love for you to listen to my podcast. It’s called the six figure mompreneur podcast, you can find it on all the places. And then since we talked about reels come hang out with me on Instagram. My handle is @Allison_Hardy_.
Stephanie Skryzowski
Awesome. Yes. Thank you. I follow Allison. I was also on her podcast. And honestly, yours is one of the first podcasts I started listening to when I knew what podcasts were when I learned what they were. So I’ve been listening to yours for very long time. And it’s really good. So Well, thank you again for sharing with us. And yeah, I’ll talk to you soon.
Allison Hardy
Sounds good. Thank you, Stephanie.
Stephanie Skryzowski
Thanks for listening to the 100 degrees of entrepreneurship podcast. To access our show notes and bonus content, visit 100degreesconsulting.com/podcast. Make sure to snap a screenshot on your phone of this episode and tag me on instagram @stephanie.skry and I’ll be sure to share. Thanks for being here friends, and I’ll see you next time!
Transcript for Episode 43
