Unlocking Success – 5 Inspiring Mompreneurs Proving You Can *Really* Have It All

Can you really have it all? I’m talking about a thriving (ahem, profitable) business, core memories with your kids, part-time hours on a full-time paycheck, and stress levels so low even your Apple Watch takes notice?

While your picture-perfect life is well, perfect and in some ways unattainable… There’s something to be said for stewarding your home and business life well. Honoring the time you’ve been given in the day to chip away at your calling, build a business, and still show up as the wife and mom you’ve always dreamed of being.

Today on the blog I’m over-the-moon to highlight a handful of mompreneurs I’ve had the privilege of working with through my business course The Blueprint Model who are finding harmony in motherhood and business. Their stories are ones of triumph, pivoting, planning, and persistence. 

Read their stories below ⬇️

Caroline Eidson: Project Management Strategist

After delivering 4 babies (in 5 years!), Caroline Eidson was ready to combine her former experience as photographer and expertise in Asana to help fellow mompreneurs organize their life and projects. As she prepared to re-launch her business last year, she knew she needed to build on a solid financial foundation. That’s when she reached out to me!

“Where you spend your time matters financially. When Shanna took a look at my offers, she helped me understand which offers I should be focusing on and it changed the game for me. I was able to pivot and make more of an impact in the time spent in my business and in turn I was able to be more available for my family – which is the biggest blessing!”

After taking The Blueprint Model, Caroline found clarity in her business and confidence in how to effectively spend her time to be the wife, mom, and business owner she wants to be.

“I now have a money plan and vision for my business and home finances. I know how and when I need to press the gas and when I can ease up. Knowing the “enough” number is really powerful. Before taking Shanna’s courses, forecasting numbers felt really ambiguous.”

As Caroline puts it, “The Blueprint Model and Blueprint at Home have taken the “Sunday Scaries” out of being self employed.”

To read Caroline’s full student spotlight, click here.

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Case Study #1

🤔Problem: Starting from scratch & needing a way to plan for financial needs and goals.

💡Solution: A financial plan & knowing what “enough” is for her family.

📝Shanna Coaching Moment: Are you spinning your wheels unable to rest because you’re playing Whac-a-mole guessing what is “enough”? Imagine instead knowing exactly how many projects to take on, how much to spend on marketing, and where your time is best spent so you can hit your business goals and then rest. How would living like this change the trajectory of not just your business but also your life?

Need a financial plan for your business and a step-by-step hand-holding approach to making your business’s goals? Meet The Blueprint Model 🤝

Katherine Bignon: Stylist

With a growing family at home, Katherine had limited time and designing high-end custom wedding gowns didn’t feel sustainable. She took on other projects on the side, but the bridal part of her business wasn’t profitable and she knew something had to change.

Since crayon-covered toddlers didn’t mix well with pristine white fabric, Katherine found herself sacrificing time with her kids in order to pursue her dream. While she was doing the work she’d always dreamed of, it hadn’t turned out the way she’d envisioned.

“I was trying to learn how to grow a business while growing babies, and also still growing up myself.”

Working through The Blueprint Model helped Katherine identify the two driving forces behind her business: time with her family and impact.

Instead of trying to fit her life into her business, she redesigned her business to fit her life.

It was January 2020 when Katherine worked with her first styling client, who was so thrilled with her custom Style Guide that she shared it on Instagram, inspiring more women to reach out. It snowballed from there.

Not only did Katherine’s new line of work give her more time with her family, but it also created the sense of impact she’d been craving. Many of her clients were fellow mompreneurs who struggled with their sense of style after having children.

“To be able to step into their lives and hand them back their confidence, that was really life-giving to me.”

With five kids and a busy styling business, I couldn’t resist asking Katherine about work-life harmony. As any mompreneur knows, it’s not about achieving balance between the different aspects of your life, but in finding a way to bring them all together.

“In music, sometimes the best harmonies come when there’s a dissonant note that’s played and then it’s resolved. It’s not a perfect, beautiful sound all the time – it ebbs and flows.”

To listen to Katherine’s full story, click here.

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Case Study #2

🤔Problem: Time intensive offer (custom wedding dresses) no longer aligned with her season of life.

💡Solution: A business pivot. (Yep, we’re picturing Ross with the couch too 🛋️)

📝Shanna Coaching Moment: For Katherine, it was important to align her offers with her season of life. How could you structure your offers to support this season of your life without sacrificing profits? ie. Could you photograph families from your home or a nearby park instead of traveling to meet them? Could you offer VIP days or “done in a week” projects that can be taken in short spurts, instead of taking on long extended projects that can go on for months? 

Grace Paul: Photographer

Grace Paul is an incredible photographer building a successful photography business while being a mama of five boys. Yup, FIVE! So, when she told me she was at the point of quitting her business before taking my signature business course, The Blueprint Model… I knew I had to have her share her story!

“I had just decided to close my business when I saw Nancy Ray mention The Blueprint Model. Seeing [Nancy] handle running a business and also spending quality time with her kids gave me the boost to give it one more shot.”

The turning point?

“Through The Blueprint Model, I learned that the work I *thought* was profitable was in fact only making $2 an hour.”

Seeing on paper the offers that were actually profitable paired with permission to stop trying to do #allthethings gave Grace a lot of freedom.

“I stepped off the hamster wheel and now can confidently create offers that I know will serve my family and business model well without worrying about all the industry should do’s.”

Her biggest success since taking the course? “More productive working hours and no more working after I put my kids to bed! Hallelujah.” 

To read Grace’s full story, click here.

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Case Study #3

🤔Problem: Not making enough money to sustainably continue her business. 

💡Solution: Creating profitable offers that fit her family life and business.

📝Shanna Coaching Moment: How much are you making per hour? Pull out your calculators and start logging with a time tracker. You might be pleasantly (or unpleasantly) surprised by how much you’re actually paying yourself per hour. If you could be making more working at a drive through, then you owe it to yourself to revisit those offers 😉— and consider joining The Blueprint Model if you need a guide along the way!

Kathy Young: Copywriter

Kathy Young owns a copywriting business and hit the coveted six-figures of income her very first year in business. But instead of feeling elated by such an incredible accomplishment, in year one no less, she was completely exhausted. 

“I was taking on projects out of fear that I’d leave money on the table. I didn’t take any time off, and even though I had made my first six-figure year ($135K) I was burnt out and wondered what it looked like to have a good profit *and* have more margin in my days.”

It was about that same time she was introduced to my business and finance program for small business owners, The Blueprint Model. Serendipitous timing.

Inside the program she learned how she could cut her workload in half without losing any revenue. With some simple tweaks to pricing and how she worked with clients, within one year she reached her income goals without feeling exhausted or burned out. 

One of the reasons Kathy felt determined to defeat burnout and build a more sustainable business is because her & her husband were planning to grow their family. 

“And surprise! I’m 11 weeks pregnant! I looked at my offers again with The Blueprint Model to confirm how much I need to make to keep the lights on and realized I could be working a lot less as I ease into a maternity leave in December. So I decided to focus on one project at a time, shifted around my working schedule, and found a way to make about the same amount per month while creating a whole bunch of breathing room in my schedule.”

To watch Kathy’s case study, click here.

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Case Study #4

🤔Problem: Making the coveted six-figures but completely burnt out. 

💡Solution: Adjusted her pricing in order to cut her workload in half. In turn, creating more freedom and breathing room in her schedule to begin showing up as the mom she hopes to be. 

📝Shanna Coaching Moment: Pulse check. Have you walked through a season of burnout in the last year? Grab a piece of paper and map out some of the causes that might’ve led to this burnout. Burning the midnight oil? Working on vacation? Accepting less than ideal clients out of fear of leaving money on the table? 

We can tackle this & more inside my signature course The Blueprint Model. Let’s reach your income goals without stretching yourself thin. 👌

Ashlyn Carter: Copywriter

Ashlyn Carter left the corporate world to build a successful copywriting business for creative entrepreneurs. For two years, she worked hard to build a business that helps people make more money with their words.

“But for as much as I knew about words and marketing, I knew very little about finances and money. I had no knowledge of the numbers I needed to know to grow my business the right way. And as a result, I was burning out as fast as I was building up.”

Ashlyn started working with me to create a financial plan for her business. Together, we defined her enough number, set up goals for her business, and developed a plan to reach them. “And for me, one of those goals was to get my business to a place where I could feel confident enough to step away when it was time to start a family.”

Surprise! Six months into working toward the goal in her new financial plan she found out she was pregnant!

“You guys, I was scared. Not only of what it would be to actually become a parent, but of what would happen in my business. What I realized pretty quickly was that the financial plan I created with Shanna was going to be key to making motherhood work for both me and my business. We set up a plan for my business, and that plan could still work. It just had to change a little to include a new thing: maternity leave.”

Ashlyn welcomed her first son to the world in 2018 and was able to take a maternity leave the first few months of his life to soak up this new season. She’s since welcomed two more babies to her family & followed suit. 

“Knowing the numbers in my business and creating a plan to keep them growing and going while I was out gave me the freedom to do that. And for me, that isn’t something I’d never trade!”

To read Ashlyn’s student spotlight, click here.

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Case Study #5

🤔Problem: A business that couldn’t run without her (& as a result was burning her up as fast as it was building up). 

💡Solution: A financial plan that keeps the business growing and going in the right direction (even when she’s in mom mode)!

📝Shanna Coaching Moment: Can your business run without you? Do you know how you could afford to hire help in the future? Are there systems, procedures, and plans in place that would allow you to step away if something came up? Those are big (maybe scary) questions to think about, but I promise once you have answers your peace of mind and bottom line will thank you. Who’s ready to make a financial plan 🙋‍♀️

Let’s find the sweet-spot between business & motherhood.

Money is likely not the reason you started your business, but just like the women featured in this post, there is freedom in the numbers.

Grab my step-by-step system for managing your business finances and building a business built for life inside my signature program, The Blueprint Model.

Let’s make a life, not just a living.

Love a good makeover story? You can find more Blueprint Model Success Stories here! Business makeovers so impressive even Mia Thermapolis is getting a run for her money.

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