S3EP10-From Corporate to Creative: Navigating Entrepreneurship as an Ex-Pat, Parenthood, and Virtual Connections with Naa Ardua Flohic

Do you struggle with balancing motherhood and starting and growing your business?  Do you dream of working abroad, but aren't sure where to start? Do you want to learn unique ways to use video in your business?

 In this episode, I chat with Naa Ardua Flohic, the creator behind Paper Flo Designs, who shares her journey as an ex-pat mompreneur running a successful digital art business while living abroad with her family. Learn how Naa Ardua grew her Etsy shop to over 10,000 sales using video connections, and get insights into managing time between work and family. Discover the joys and challenges of being an entrepreneur in a foreign country, and hear practical tips for anyone looking to test the waters in a new country or find work abroad. 

If you're a mompreneur looking for inspiration and advice on growing your business while balancing your family life, this episode is for you.

Topics Discussed:

{03:21} Journey as an mompreneur and what drove her to start a business
{05:07} Using video to grow her business, making time for creating videos
{11:15} Time management for children and business; typical week
{16:18} Biggest challenge of being a mompreneur in a foreign country
{18:23} Favorite thing about being a mompreneur in a foreign country
{19:21} First step for someone who wants to test out the waters in a new country and find work
{22:01} Advice for mompreneurs struggling with time management and/or wanting to move their family abroad

Resources Mentioned:

SO QUICK SVG COURSE" is free a step-by-step video course to create and design your first graphic to use in your crafts or even sell. Sign up to get the free course here

Connect with Naa Ardua:
Instagram - @paperflodesigns
Pinterest -@paperflodesigns
Facebook - @paperflodesigns

Ways to Work With Gianna:

Interested in learning more about the Energetically Aligned Content Co-Creation System? Head to https://www.giannadiggs.com/eacc for more information.

You can also watch a demo or book a FREE Voxer call here.

Connect With Gianna Online:

• Gianna's Website- https://www.giannadiggs.com
• Follow Gianna on Instagram- @giannadiggs_
• Follow the show's Instagram- @themompreneurmindsetpodcast
• Follow Gianna's Facebook Page: Gianna Diggs

Transcript

Gianna Diggs: 0:05

You are listening to the Mompreneur Mindset Podcast, a show that empowers you to create a business that's authentically yours. Say goodbye to stressful days, juggling multiple priorities, and feeling like you're never enough. I'm your host, Gianna Diggs, a certified Mindset coach and business guide for women and mom entrepreneurs. I'm here to empower, guide, and align you with the tools and the mindset needed to build a thriving business that's true to your purpose. In each episode, we'll explore strategies, tips, and success stories designed to help you rise above your obstacles and level up your entrepreneur game. So whether you're a first time entrepreneur or a seats and professional, grab a cup of tea. Some quiet time away from the kids, and let's dive into the mompreneur mindset together. Are you ready? Let's get into today's episode. Welcome back to the mompreneur mindset podcast. So on today's episode, I have another guest and we're going to be talking about a few different topics and it's because she has a lot of things that I thought was going to be interesting and we couldn't really make up our mind on which one we wanted to talk about. So we kind of made a combination. Of all three topics. And we're going to be talking about changing countries and being an international worker using video in your business to make connections. So something cool that she did to pitch me to be on my show was she sent me a video, which was very interesting. No one's ever done that before. And that's something that really got my attention. And it may be something that I did mention in the episode that I thought was really cool. And then she also talks about being a parent and deciding to go into entrepreneurship. And so these topics are really interesting. It's a very interesting interview. And so I'm going to tell you a little bit about my guest. Her name is Na Ardua Flohic. And so a little bit about her. She is the creative behind paper flow designs. She helps crafters is learn how to use digital art to make handmade craft projects for their family and friends. While living in France as an ex-pat mom, she started making digital illustrations, also known as SVG files as a way to use her artistic skills and be creative every day. She saw that she could reach people with her art and help fellow artists, crafters, and small businesses with their projects. And she started creating SVG designs and selling them online. She now has over 10,000 sales in her Etsy shop all of this while she's still working a nine to five job. And she runs her business as a full-time. Mompreneur doing school pickups and drop offs and running a household from abroad. So without further ado, let's get into the interview. Hi Na Ardua. Thank you for being on the show today.

Naa Ardua Flohic: 2:43

Hi, Gianna. Thanks for having me.

Gianna Diggs: 2:46

So today, we we're gonna cover a lot of different topics, because that's kinda what we came up with when we spoke and I am excited for the topics we're gonna cover. But I wanted to just mention when I was thinking of all the different things that were gonna talk about, how they were connected, I realized that all the topics really. It takes dedication, motivation, and creativity, especially with time management to be a mom, an entrepreneur, all while living in a foreign country. So, those are the key things we're gonna talk about today. And so I'm really excited to get started in our conversation. So the first question I have for you is tell us a little bit about your journey, as an entrepreneur. Like what drove you to start your own business?

Naa Ardua Flohic: 3:30

Okay. I'll say for me, It was like an outside force that drove me. Like I never thought that I would be an entrepreneur. I thought, okay, I'm gonna work with somebody else for my whole life. That's totally fine with me. I'm not built for that entrepreneurial life. That's for like, you know, strong people. That's for other people who have it all together. And little by little, I was having conversations with my cousin. Who is an entrepreneur and she was just like, you know, what are you doing with your art? You don't do anything anymore. And I'm like, I had the list of excuses. It was like, you know, roll it down. I can't because I have, you know, kids, my kids get home from school, I get home from work, I have to make dinner, keep on, on, on, on, on, on. And she's like, um, and, and so eventually I got tired of her nagging me and I started to learn how to make digital drawings and I put them on, Instagram and I started getting orders. And then I was like, oh man, I, this is like a thing. I'm gonna have to like, follow through and do this thing. And that's kind of like where, that led me to be a blogger and a digital illustrator that I am today.

Gianna Diggs: 4:30

I love that sometimes we have to have people in our lives that kind of put fire under our butts, to make things happen. And so it's good that you had a cousin who. Kind of recognized your talents and was able to get you moving. And I also love that she kind of moved you away from this idea of, your kids being the excuse. Because I think as moms, that is usually the number one excuse that I see as a coach. But also what I see around me and my family is like, oh, I wanna do this thing, but I have. Kids to take care of, oh, I wanna do this thing, but you know, I'm gonna wait for the kids to get older. So I'm, I'm really glad that you recognized that and you kind of moved forward with something that is making a difference in your life and your family's life. So you were able to grow to over 10,000 sales in your Etsy shot while working a nine to five, which I, I loved. I think that's so cool. And so one of the ways, that you were doing that, that you did that was by making connections via video and. I just wanna give a little pro tip, that Naa Ardua actually pitched me through a video, which I, I was so surprised by that. Like, I gotta chill just thinking about it. Cuz that was, no one's ever done that. And I think that is such a cool way to kind of put yourself out there. To me that feels like a strength of yours and using that. And so how has using video helped to grow your business? And most importantly, how do you even make time to create videos in the first place?

Naa Ardua Flohic: 5:50

Well, I'll start off by saying that I didn't think that I would ever be using video. This is like, it seems like everything that I'm saying is like, I always start saying like, you know, I never thought that would be me. Because I know a lot of people think like, oh, it's hard to use video. I don't wanna be on camera. I don't wanna have to like, get ready. First of all, I'll tell you, there's no get ready for me. I'm, I'm not the one with the, the beat face. It's not me. So I didn't have to worry about that, and I realized that, you know, I don't have to do all those things. It's not because, you know, a person A is doing that, that I have to do that I can just come on and B me. But even saying that the first time that I ever, you know, took the, the, the camera and you know, put myself, in front of it, I was nervous, like, you know, bubble guts in the stomach, hands shaking, voice shaking. But I just hit recording, said, you know what, okay, if it somebody laughs oh well then somebody laughs and you know what? Nobody laughs. So I kept on using video and lemme share. My three easy, I call them my lazy method, ways of using video, because I'm a girl who loves shortcuts. So one, one thing that helped me with my Etsy shop was that when customers would write to me and ask me questions instead of like taking the time to write out the whole answer. And even though Etsy does have like little, shortcut blurbs that you can say sometimes that wasn't enough, or sometimes I need to add something to it. So I would just like, you know, whip out my phone and just record the answer. That would take like, you know, 30, 30 seconds, 45 seconds, one minute max, and then just send that to them in an email. Also because in the beginning I used to do custom work and anybody who's done, like you work with, with clients, or you have to do a service, you know that there's gonna be some back and forth. They're gonna tell me questions, answers, they're gonna ask you to change things. If you have a package, you're like, no, but I see the package. Can you do this? You're like, oh, okay. So instead of me going and writing everything all over again, I'm just gonna answer you in a short, quick, little video, whether I record it on my phone, if I'm outside, I can do it, or I can record it right in front of my laptop. So Method one was, customer service videos. And I tell the people like that. So then I started using it for like client retention, I'll call it. So when people would just write, cause I have an email list, I'll write to people and send them, blog articles. They're showing them tips of how to use the drawings that they've bought or they're thinking about buying. And some people would write me back, you know, and say, oh, I'm thinking about. Starting a small business of my own or I don't know how to do this, and, they have questions again, or they just have something to say or they just introduce themselves. So I would do the same. I would introduce myself back. In a video. I'm like, okay, I don't have time because you know, I've got kids just like, you know, you guys do. I've got other things going on. How can I still give this person attention? Because I value them as a customer or as a future client. I can send them a short video. And people appreciate that cuz they can see you and they're like, wow. I haven't had people write me back and say, oh my God, nobody's ever like, you know, Replied to me and like, sent me a video and like actually like, you know, answered me like, you're a real person. I'm like, yes, yes, yes. I'm a real person. And the last method. So I don't wanna fix too long. I would say I use that for SOPs. SOPs are just standard operating procedures. All that just means is like how you run your business. Now I'm still small level, so people use that to give instructions to their team. While I don't have a teen, but I do have a teenage daughter who helps me out when she's like on vacation from school. So she does like admin stuff for me, social media stuff, and instead of me like sitting down and telling her every single time, okay, you know, this is how you edit the, the photos for the listings or whatever. I sit down, like while I'm actually doing it myself, I just do a screen record. So I do a screen record video and maybe I'll like, Talk through, the instructions as I'm doing it, and I can save that so she can go back and refer to that when she has time to do that work for me. And then bonus is that if eventually, you know, my team grows, I still have those instruction videos for other members to see and refer back to. So those are my three easy, lazy methods of, how you can use video. And it's helped me in my Etsy business because like Gianna said, it got me to over 10,000 sales. So once I saw that it was working, I thought, okay, keep going with the video.

Gianna Diggs: 10:10

Right. I love that. Cause I think we're. Very often resistant to video. I know that, I dabble back and forth, because of the whole, you said getting dolled up. Right. I'm not someone I don't, you know, beat my face. I don't get super, like, do a lot of makeup, but if like, my hair is not where I needed to, like, that'll stop me. Or if I'm like, oh, what am I gonna wear? Like, you know, Just little things like that. And so I'm glad that you kind of just took the imperfect action of just like, oh, this is easy. Okay, I'm gonna do it. And how it's helped to grow your business. So I think the lesson in that is just trying it, right? It's cuz we, we can't. Oh, I'm resistant to that. I don't like video, I don't like showing up on camera. Right. You said you just tried it and it helped you and so you kept moving with it. And so I love that you, you have like a, and you have lazy ways of doing it. Cuz I think that we are always on our phones, but we're resistant to, to being on camera. And so those two things don't really line up cuz it's like, if you're always on your phone, you can just whip out your phone and use it as opposed to like, you don't have to use the laptop to record a video. That's why we have smartphones. So I think there's definitely a lesson in. In that. So let's talk about time management for a second. So, you know, you have your Etsy business, you know you have children. How do you make time for both your kids and your business?

Naa Ardua Flohic: 11:27

I realized that I needed to start delegating more things because, I was just used to like, you know, just doing it myself. And I think we've all been there when we're like, oh, I can ask somebody else to do this or to help me, or, oh no, I'm not gonna do that. I'll just do it myself because it'll be done my way. But sometimes you don't have the time to do everything. We never have time to do everything. So I started getting my kids involved like they already had. Some chores, but I kind of like stepped it up a notch. I'm like, these kids are old enough where they can, you know, they can help out and cleaning around the house. You know, doing things like taking out the trash, doing the dishes, all things that, you know, it was just me doing before. And then I realized like, no, if I can have them do this, okay, that's five minutes for me, that's 10 minutes for me. That's. 15 minutes that I can like, you know, set up my social media schedule for my Pinterest pens. That's, you know, another, two minutes even to answer maybe two emails from customers. So definitely delegating things out to my kids because, you know, I'm not at that level yet where I have a housekeeper, let's put a pin in it because that's gonna happen, but I'm not there yet. So I'm like, these kids can step up and help out too. And it's given me back a lot of time.

Gianna Diggs: 12:39

right. So what, how would you say a typical week, like what does that look like for you?

Naa Ardua Flohic: 12:45

For me now that, I, I've just gone full-time as of the beginning of this year. So before I was juggling going to work in an office and, you know, coming home at night to, to work on my side hustle. It was my side hustle at the time. So I had to like, you know, be really be strict with my time. So when it was bedtime for my kids, it was bedtime. It's like, no, you can't have an extra 15, 20 minutes, because that was a time that, you know, I needed to work to make drawings, to put up those things and things. I would use things like, let's say a typical day I go to my nine to five job, or I drop off my son at school, go to my nine to five job, come home, make dinner, and then like nine o'clock. That was my time to work on my side hustle. So I had like, you know, timers that I use. So I know, okay, 25 minutes, I have this timer that's gonna go on. I'm gonna have like five minutes to make a new drawing that I'm gonna list. When that timer goes off, I'm gonna like, 25 minutes. Math, it's gonna be embarrassing, but be that time that I would reserve so that I could get some, you know, get things done and it would push my business forward. So I just really had to, to be clear on. How much time I was gonna spend on each, on each thing that I was gonna do nightly. So that was like Monday through Friday. That was like that. And then Saturday and Sunday, of course, you know, I spent time with the kids. I mean, for, for someone else out there, it might be they wake up earlier in the morning, but for me it was working at night after I put the kids to bed.

Gianna Diggs: 14:20

Right. I love that cuz it removes the excuses, right? Because oftentimes we create excuses as to why we can't do something. And so I love the intention that you set, right? That you were very intentional about the time you were spending of, you know, cuz when you said like, oh, extra five minutes, my daughter does that. All the time. She's like, mom, can I have five minutes? And like, I'll give her the five minutes and, and then she goes to bed. That's like her nightly thing. Can I get five minutes after she takes a shower? But I love that you just said, okay, I know that I want this to work here is, you know, you did the Pomodoro method you were referring to. Um, and so I'm gonna do, you know, three blocks or four blocks of, of 25 minutes and. Here it is. Right? It's done. I, I take that 90 minute to two hour block and that's done. And you're doing that and you're making that sacrifice. And you also mentioned about spending time with your kids because I think that's super important because I. It's very easy to be in front of your laptop. It's very easy to say, well, because I work at nine to five, my weekends is when I work on my business. Right. And so you found that balance of like, okay, I'm gonna sacrifice my evenings, but I'm not gonna sacrifice my weekends. And I think that is like the message, right? That's the key part of this in the time management. Because. That's where the struggle is, is saying, I'm gonna put this aside because I need to spend this time and enjoy this time with my kids, and I'm gonna sacrifice my evenings to make this happen. And look where you are. Now you have your 10,000 sales, your full-time, right? And so it's, it's really the intention setting that, that just got me, with what you just mentioned. So one thing that we talked about, that I mentioned in the intro and that I said earlier is that you are an international worker. you are American. Yes.

Naa Ardua Flohic: 16:05

Yes.

Gianna Diggs: 16:06

Okay, I didn't ask you that before. But you are an American, you're an American living in France. And so I wanna touch on this cuz I think you're the first person that I've interviewed, I could be wrong, that is an expat. So what has been the biggest challenge of being an entrepreneur in a foreign country?

Naa Ardua Flohic: 16:23

I'd say definitely learning the, the customs of that country because it's one thing to like read about things and, you know, hear about it, but when you're there on the ground, and, I'll give you an example in the states, like if you wanna go to the post office, the post office is open, like, you know, all day long. There's, they don't, they don't stop in the middle of the day to take a break.

Gianna Diggs: 16:42

Mm-hmm.

Naa Ardua Flohic: 16:43

And here the post office closes. Some of them stay open, but most of them, they close between 12 and two. So if you don't know that, and let's say you, have a business where you're sending out packages or something like that, and you wait till like maybe close to the last minute, and you go there and it's like 12 o'clock, the gates close. No boo boo. You won't be sending anything until after two o'clock. And so things like that, it's like learning new customs, and so me, the first time I went, I didn't have, you know, that situation of having to send packages, but I did have to like mail something and I went to the post office. I'm like, okay. They're just closing all the day. So learning those things, it's really important, like if you can find out as much as you can before, you going into a new place. It's really important.

Gianna Diggs: 17:23

Okay. so what is your favorite thing about, being an expat or entrepreneur in a foreign country?

Naa Ardua Flohic: 17:30

I'm gonna sound crazy, but that is also my favorite thing is like the new customs, because like I always have learning experiences with these things. Like things happen and then I'll remember, you know, something about that. Or it'll like, make me. Change like how I, I operate or I'll meet new people because like maybe the post officers closed and I end up standing out there and talking to someone and learning something about them that I can help them or they can help me. So like, even though it's on one hand it's an inconvenience, on the other hand, it's still fun and it's still an opportunity to learn because, it makes me like think on my feet to be quick, to pivot and to like, To adapt in a new situation. And I always like, I like change. I'm a person that likes change. So at the same time where I say like, it can be annoying because you know, you have an idea of what you want. You have like your schedule and you're like, okay, today I'm gonna do, you know, this, this, and that. And then something just lands in your lap that says, okay, no, no, you're not gonna do this because the post office is closed. Okay, well maybe I'll end up going, I don't know, at a cafe and meet somebody there and start talking to them and then find out that I can help them somehow, in their business or they can help me in my business. So, Different workshop.

Gianna Diggs: 18:39

I like that, that's a good way of looking at a inconvenience. I think a lot of times we don't look at inconveniences as a favorite thing. So I love how you kind of reframe that in your mind. That's a mindset term reframe. Right? I love how you reframe that is where it's like, you like it, that's a challenge, but it's something that you enjoy. So if someone decided that they wanted to test the waters out, right, because a lot of people now are digital. We call'em digital nomads, right? Because they work online, so they can kind of live anywhere. And maybe they, you know, with the world climate, maybe they wanna move from their home country, their native country. What is your biggest, I guess, tips or steps that you can give for someone who is thinking about, moving away from their home country?

Naa Ardua Flohic: 19:23

The first step I would say is to, well, to do your research first, but also before, you say, okay, I'm going to Costa Rica, or I'm like, going to Tanzania or something like that. Think of, you know, what skills you already have. So step one is use your existing skills. You don't necessarily, maybe you're not gonna be able to go to that country and get a job. Cuz in some places that's, you know, highly unlikely. Either you're not gonna have like a work permit, you're not gonna be able to, to work in that country like, you know, for another company or something like that. But you might be able to go there. Test it out if you're just going for maybe 30 days or something like that and still be able to use your existing skills. So what I mean by that, lemme give you an example. I'm assuming most of your listeners are probably in the state, so they speak English. You would be surprised the amount of opportunities you have just being an English speaker where you can, you know, teach, you can, tutor kids. In English, you can. Teach, English, you can like get that teaching job already in America and still be considered a US worker, but you know, doing that from somewhere else. So use those skills that you already have. It doesn't have to be about, oh, I have to go in this country and work for somewhere else, or I have to go in that country and start my business right away. Like, use what you have first as a stepping stone because later maybe you will be able to. Start a membership where you are helping other people move abroad and, use their English skills, as a way to do that. But it's like, start with, step one. If you are in healthcare, for example, you can be a traveling nurse, which I just recently found out about, but you don't have to say, I'm gonna go work. As a nurse in such and tells hospital, you can already, travel, be a nurse in different countries and, and work for an agency. If that works out for you. Once again, you wanna, be an entrepreneur, find out a way that maybe you can start a group you can mentor to other people that are in the healthcare business, and they wanna branch out on their own. It's like, okay, well now you've got that experience, you have those skills. You can start a membership. You can start a group, you can start teaching people, you can consult and teach them how to do that. But start with step one, with what you already know before you try to, you know, jump to the end.

Gianna Diggs: 21:37

Okay. I like that. I think that's like a solid plan, right? Cuz I did mention the digital nomad, but you don't necessarily have to be digital to decide to take that move. so I'm glad you mentioned just using the skills that you have prior to. You know, or when you decide to move or not using the, the different excuses that you don't have the work permit, you don't have these different things. So that's cool. I love that answer. So this is a question I always ask all my guests because I know there's somebody out there that, maybe they struggle with time management or, maybe they struggle with making videos, all the things we talked about today, or maybe, spending time with their kids. They struggle with that while trying to build the side hustle. Or even they wanna move abroad, but they don't know how. For any of those people, what one tip or however many tips you wanna give, what advice do you have for them?

Naa Ardua Flohic: 22:26

My best advice, I would say is to pick one thing first, because now I know even I'm guilty of it, I'll see, one idea and I'll think, okay, like that sounds great. Let me hop on that. And then like you go on YouTube, you go down the the rabbit hole and start watching videos and next thing you know, you're on a completely different topic. You like completely gone off course. So pick one thing first to test out. Give it some time. Maybe that might be a month, maybe that might be six months. But just like, don't give up. So quickly pick that one thing, give it some time to work. And if it doesn't, it's okay. You can test out something else. But start with that one thing.

Gianna Diggs: 23:05

Hmm. I love that. And if you haven't read the book, the one thing that's also helpful, if you like, well, I don't know what that one thing is, that book will definitely help you, to pick which one, which thing you wanna choose. So before we wrap up, can you let the audience know where they can find you, online? Or

Naa Ardua Flohic: 23:22

Sure. The best place to find me is in my inbox and email. I do have social media handles, so you can find me at Paper Flo Designs, which is P A P E R F L O, designs with an s.com. I have that, on Pinterest. I'm on Instagram, on Facebook, all at paper, but the best place is gotta be my email inbox. If you have questions, you wanna reach me, and say Hi, you can write to me at Naad thats N A A D at Paperflodesigns.com

Gianna Diggs: 23:51

all right, Naa Ardua, thank you so much for being here. I really enjoyed our conversation. Thank you for tuning into today's episode of the Mompreneur Mindset Podcast. I truly hope that our conversation has inspired and motivated you to take charge of your entrepreneurial journey. If you found today's episode valuable, please take a moment and, and subscribe and leave us a review on your preferred podcast platform. Your support means the world to me, and it's vital for helping me to reach more entrepreneurs like you and empower our growing community to thrive. Until next time. Keep pushing boundaries. Never settle. And remember, the world is waiting for your unique gifts that only you can offer. See you in the next episode.