Reclaiming Your Hue: A Podcast for Women Rediscovering Themselves in Motherhood & Entrepreneurship

Ep. 92 w/ Sutton McGraw | Founder & Owner, Sutton's Advanced Cleaning Services

• Kelly Kirk • Season 1 • Episode 92

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TIME FREEDOM FOR MOMPRENEURS

Some people become a parent slowly. Others become a bonus mom overnight and still have to run a company the next morning. That’s why my conversation with Sutton hits so hard, because she brings the real story, not the polished version.

Sutton is the owner of Sutton’s Advanced Cleaning, a commercial cleaning company she started in 2012. We get into what it actually looks like to move from corporate America into entrepreneurship, including the scary parts: going down to one income at first, paying yourself in small steps, and learning the mindset shift from employee to employer. Sutton also shares why she chooses W-2 employees instead of 1099 contractors, and how that decision creates loyalty, consistency, and a stronger team culture in a competitive service business.

Then we go deeper into motherhood and blended family life. Sutton talks about becoming “Mama Sutton,” honoring the kids’ relationship with their mom, and how co-parenting works best when everyone remembers the same bottom line: we’re all worried about the kids because we care. We also unpack the tug between business demands and family time, the pressure of comparison in affluent communities, and the tools that help when life feels like a lot, from therapy support to simple breathing and kid-friendly meditation routines.

If you’re a woman entrepreneur, a mompreneur, a stepmom, or you’re building a business and trying to define success on your own terms, this one will land. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs the reminder, and leave a quick review so more women can find these conversations.

Connect with Sutton:

Contact the Host, Kelly Kirk:

  • Email: info.ryh7@gmail.com

Get Connected/Follow:

Credits:

  • Editor: Joseph Kirk
  • Music: Kristofer Tanke 


Thanks for listening & cheers to Reclaiming Your Hue! 

Welcome And Podcast Mission

Kelly

Welcome everybody to Reclaiming Your Hue, where we are dedicated to empowering women to embrace and amplify their inherent brilliance. Our mission is to inspire mothers and entrepreneurs to unlock their full potential and radiate their true selves. I'm your host, Kelly Kirk, and each week my goal is to bring to you glorious guests as well as solo episodes. So let's dive in. Good morning, Sutton. Good morning, Kelly. I'm so happy you're here.

SPEAKER_02

I'm happy here that I'm here too.

Kelly

How's your day so far? Dare I ask.

SPEAKER_02

Well, with a snowstorm, uh, it's just been it was a long morning already. And we're what?

How Kelly And Sutton Met

Kelly

It's just 10. So it was so funny because um, and the listeners will come to understand what we're speaking to here in just a moment. But this morning, Joe was like, I'm really surprised that you haven't gotten like a message from one of your gals saying that they're not going to be able to make it. And I go, Well, the first interview is with Sutton. He goes, Oh, I said she's not, I don't think she's gonna cancel. I don't think she'll, or reschedule, I should say. He was like, Yeah, no, no. So with that being said, I think let's share with the listeners how it is that you and I got connected.

SPEAKER_02

Okay. Well, I'm fortunate enough to be an E-Dina Noon Rotarian, and uh Kelly and her husband Joe are E. Dinah Morning Rotarians. And I met them through a podcast they were doing for our district. Um, and it was after I'd gotten back from I think it was three years ago now, maybe four.

Kelly

I think I don't know. It is it was more than three years ago because Maddie's turning three in March, and she and this would have been when I was pregnant. Right, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Okay.

Kelly

So it would have been almost four years ago.

SPEAKER_02

And um I had just gotten back from Guatemala, and that's how we met.

Kelly

Yeah, so just to cue the listeners in, um, if you had listened to the episode a couple of weeks ago with Jess Laguerre, who interviewed me, I alluded to the fact that this podcast, Reclaiming Your Hue, is not the first podcast that I've ever done. I have prior experience, and I had done this Rotary. Um, it was for our district, but we really represented sort of Rotary International as a whole. Correct. And then here I meet Sutton and I was like, oh my gosh, I love her. And I think I sent you a message afterwards and was like, can we grab coffee?

SPEAKER_02

Yes.

Kelly

And we did, and we just hit it off. We did, and we've been friends ever since.

SPEAKER_02

Joe and I were trying to figure out how we even knew each other before that. I don't know if we I think we must have ran into each other, but not working in a meeting before that. But yeah, it's just it's been a nice journey. Um and I feel like Rotary, although that is not the most important thing for me, it's an important part of my life. And the fact that you and Joe are Rotarians and parents, I think that that just to me I tend to get along with people who are other Rotarians.

Kelly

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Just for a reference point, it's nice.

From Corporate To Small Business

Kelly

I I've had a few other guests on who have either been um or know of Rotary or have been in involved in Rotary, and it's nothing but speaking high volumes of either the people that they have known from a club or else within their own club too. And so if you haven't had an opportunity to check out rotary listeners, I would highly recommend that. But we're not gonna talk about rotary anymore. No, we're gonna talk about Sutton and um her life, um, motherhood and entrepreneurship. Well, what came first for you, Sutton?

SPEAKER_02

I definitely was an entrepreneur first. Um, and it was a journey that I was not planning on taking. Um, I really wanted to be a child psychologist and um I wanted to work downtown like my dad, and uh uh n none of that happened. Well, actually, some of it happened. I my started my career outside of um college. I went to the College of St. Catherine and I started working for Wells Fargo, and I was there for six and a half years, and I started transitioning out of more corporate America to smaller businesses and working for them because I felt like I could have a bigger impact. Wells Fargo is actually so the wonderful thing about any big company is that it probably has what 150 to 200 lines of business, yeah, and you have a lot of there's so much growth potential and there's so many fun things that you can learn. But the downside is is a lot of things are already in place, you know, there's systems, there's procedures, there's and there's a lot of management. So I just wanted to do something different, and after working with smaller businesses, I ended up starting my own business.

Kelly

Okay. Two things to follow up with that. St. Cate's. Yes. Fascinating. I didn't know that you went to St. Kate's because I went to St. Mary's University. Oh, and on like the athletic collegiate level, they're all in the same um Mayak division, is what it's called. And so we were frequently traveling up here from Winona to play against St. Cate's for basketball. Oh, okay, and for track too. But yeah, that's so cool. I didn't know that about you. Also, when I was in mortgage, started my mortgage career with Wells Fargo. Now, interestingly enough, that was 2017 and it was shortly after a lot of the negative stuff that was coming out about um the tellers and creating false accounts and just to meet quota. And so it was probably, I think I was only with them four months before I decided to branch away from kind of like the big box bank and go into correspondent lending, which is we don't have to go down that road. But I just realized Wells Fargo wonderful to kind of like set uh set a nice foundation for you depending on which you know um line of business that you're in. But for me, I was like, I think I'm gonna, I think I'm gonna move a different direction. And I was very grateful that I did. But I always had wonderful things to say about Wallace Fargo, their training program, fantastic, fantastic, yeah, agreed. So agreed. Anywho, something else that I want to point out too is when I met you, um you had such a nurturing spirit about you. And Maddie arrived, and you had an opportunity to actually hold her when she was very teeny tiny little infant, and now she's almost three years old, which I'm like mind-blown over. And I just remember thinking, my gosh, she's just so incredible at this. So incredible at like that nurturing spirit, and then you shared with me that you had nanny'd for quite some time. So let's talk a little bit about that. Okay. I wanna I want to fold that in.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, okay. So I chose so during high school, I did um some sort of program where you could, because I had had all my credits basically that I could work the last part of my high school year.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Um, so like I go to like a class and then I go would go to work. And I always chose being a nanny because you would work Monday through Friday, and then you would have your weekends. And so, but I also, because I was also always interested in child psychology, and then when I went to the College of St. Catherine, um, I double majors in sociology and psychology, but I was teaching early childhood family education, okay, which uh ECFE for those if you've been on your parenthood journey, it's a wonderful classes and it's it's really a wonderful program. And um then I also uh was nanning, and so that's how I paid for my college. And I just really loved being a nanny. I thought it was so much fun, and I'm still actually good friends with two of the families that I have nanny for. Like I'm still I know their growing up children, and I've been to their weddings, and now I know their children.

Kelly

Isn't that wild?

SPEAKER_02

Yes, that's wild, and then that starts to make me feel like I'm because I feel really young most of the time, and then I'm like, oh, I guess I am really old.

Kelly

Well, you're uh you're such a vibe, seriously, and I mean that in the most positive way possible. Like when you had shared with me your age, which I won't disclose, I'll let you decide if you want to disclose that or not. But I was like, you might have heard me say this, um, um, whether it was on other episodes or in person, but like the math isn't mathing.

unknown

Funny.

Starting A Cleaning Company Small

Kelly

She's humble. She's blushing a little bit. She's humble. So, um, anywho, let's share with the listeners what it what it is that you do for business. How long, how long have you been in business? How did that even come to fruition given some of the information that you just shared with us about this is the path I thought I was gonna go? And, you know, God and the universe had different plans. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02

That yeah, 100% correct. So um I own a commercial cleaning company, and I started it in September of 2012, and it really was um the encouragement of um my actually my ex-husband, and uh we grew up together, so he's still a friend, but was my best friend at the time, and he just every day was like, Sudden, you're not gonna be happy until you're doing your own thing. And every day he asked me, Did you call the accountant for six months? And I was I didn't think he I mean, I knew he was serious about it, but I don't I wanted to remind him the reason I was nervous was because we're gonna go down to one income. Right. And when, you know, I was like, Josh, this is a big like this could be this could change our life. Right. And it did, and thank goodness, you know, here I am 13 years later, and it's it's going well. But when I when I say it changed our life, like income-wise, you guys, I was paying myself like I was in high school. I started paying myself$400 every other week, then I did$600, then I did$800. So those like a little small increments, I mean, that's what I was making at the hardware store when I was in high school.

Kelly

So I I wanna I wanna stay here.

SPEAKER_02

Okay.

Kelly

This is really cool for you to share that one, um, part of the reason you were able to do that is because there was another income, right? So it wasn't like you were doing this and there was no other supportive income and support, correct, you know, both emotionally and spiritually and what have you, but financially as well.

SPEAKER_02

Correct.

Kelly

And that you don't have to like start off big. No, you have to understand, and I'm sure that the accountant helped facilitate in sort of talking through this or or no. Yeah. Talk talk us and the listeners through that.

SPEAKER_02

So at the time, um Josh was working for a company in Maple Grove, and ironically, he now owns that company.

Kelly

But uh our the He took he took the advice of his own self.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

And so he but our the accountant Gary, I he had known Josh, and I sat down with him, and he, you know, got an EIN number and filed the paperwork with uh the state of Minnesota uh and the federal government. And he just said realistically start, you know, get your account and start, and then the biggest thing is obviously payroll and taxes. Yeah. And then you're just gonna be taking very little out of there, but you pay yourself like you would pay an employee and just start small. And I'm still not uh I mean, I'm it's not like I'm making so I I feel like for those women out there, Kelly's right that it really was it's so important to feel like you have someone who believes you can do something and uh taking that risk. And so then that's the other thing for those of us who make the transition from being an employee to an employer is a very big mindset jump, and you have to try to put yourself in a position where you're like, okay, I'm a risk taker. And so I knew that I could take that risk, but like it is a scary, it's a scary risk. And for those people, especially, you know, like I have some friends who've worked at the bank for 30 years, they're not risk takers, right? You know, so and it's okay, it's not a right or a wrong. It just know kind of know yourself in that area because owning a business is a whole bunch of little risks and big risks put together, you know. And I was I was lucky that I had that help and support and someone who was a CPA to advise me on you know how to take baby steps and doing what I was doing. Yeah, I started out with one account and two employees, and those employees, those women, still work for me today, 13 years later.

Kelly

That's so cool.

SPEAKER_02

It is cool.

Kelly

Why a cleaning company?

SPEAKER_02

Talk us through that. So the last position I held, I was the director of marketing and sales for a different commercial cleaning company in Minnetonka, and they really wanted me to actually like have a franchise of their business, and I just was not interested in that. And I would tell you the biggest reason why was that I just didn't like how they treated the cleaners. Okay, and so I just was like, I'm that's why. So they they're actually you know nice people, but just I didn't like kind of I don't know, I just didn't like, I didn't care for that.

Kelly

Yeah. I'm sure that there are a lot of how do I want to put this? You have to navigate if you're if you have people on payroll, right? There's a lot of navigating that you have to do when it comes to how you're gonna pay them out, right? Right? Making sure that it's fair and equitable, right? True per state law, this is you know, minimum, but I'm sure that there you're you've set a standard of how you want your employees treated as well. And do they get benefits? Yeah, so okay, this is a really interesting um the reason I want to talk about this is because um I have had other guests on that have employees, but we haven't delved into the nuances of what it really means to have that, and like what sort of mindset do you need to be in, and all of the different um components that you have to factor in when you have employees.

Why She Chooses W-2 Employees

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, I mean, so especially in my industry, a lot of people who own commercial cleaning companies, they have 1099 employees. So I mean, I think we all know the difference between a 1099 and a W-2. I choose to have W-2 employees. Okay, and I do that because, for example, as much as I like Joe, Kelly's husband, if Joe owned a commercial cleaning company and he I wanted to use his employees, that might be nice, but then they don't really know me, and there's no buy-in or loyalty to me and the clients and the buildings that we're taking care of. I really know every single one of my employees really well. And we're all human and they've gotten to know me through the years. I've gotten to know them, I know their children, I know their spouses, and that's important. And I just think that there's a little bit more buy-in and loyalty when you have a W-2 employee because they're really working for me. And we're working together to make this person's workspace better, nicer, cleaner, and more enjoyable for their employees and management there. And we're doing that as a team. So that's really important to me. And I just want to feel like I feel like then, and then also with W-2 employees, you know, I'm really am the one finding the business and then I'm directing their work. Sure. So it's not the same, like someone who someone could potentially be a 1099 for me, but then that would be someone who has their own cleaning company and just wants a few more hours. Yeah. And that would mean that they have their own insurance and all that, which you know, as W-2 employees, I carry all that for them.

Networking That Fuels Referral Growth

Kelly

Yeah, that was helpful. Yeah, yeah, that was super helpful. Um, I a thought that just came to mind because there's so many different ways that I want to go this, but I I want to bring rotary back in. Okay, yeah. And here's why, because this may help listeners understand why you decided that you wanted to join a rotary, the location, why you decided the specific location, and what that means for your business as well.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, thanks for asking that. Actually, it is a really huge part of so when I started my business, I joined four associations. I joined Rotary, Chamber of Commerce, Minnesota Multi-Housing Association, and BI. So those B and I. Yeah, so I got, but I literally joined those, and that's all I did, and that's how I have all my business today is 100% referral from those associations that I've participated in. Um I am B and I kind of phased out, and that phased out mostly because of COVID.

Kelly

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Um, there in our particular group, there was a big challenge of like, should we meet in person or should we go online? And a lot of people just dissipated because at the time people just really enjoyed meeting in person, and there were a lot a lot fewer members who wanted to meet online, and I frankly wasn't very interested in that. Um Rotary, though, so the chamber I'm involved in, um, I live in the Long Lake Orno community, uh, which is in the Twin Cities here, and then I I joined the Adina Rotary, and I joined that purposely because I wanted it to be a different area of town than I than my chamber. Sure. And so all the different places I decided to join. The associations were all in different places, and I was meeting different types of people.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

So then my business was being exposed to different types of people and different businesses. So that's that was the strategy there. And um I get quite a lot of business from Rotary, but I would tell you that isn't that why I joined. I really joined Rotary because Rotary is a service organization, and I feel like there's a lot of organizations to join right now to talk about yourself and your business, but I wanted to be with people who are a little bit more like-minded about service.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Now, 13 years later that I've been a Rotarian, people have gotten to know me. They know that I have a cleaning company, and so people reach out privately if they need help.

Kelly

I remember when I met Joe and we started dating, and then things got more serious, and I we got engaged, right? And so I'm making my way over here because we're deciding that we're gonna plant the flag somewhere in E Dinah.

unknown

Okay.

Kelly

And he had continued to share with me about rotary, the rotary experience that he was having, and it got me thinking, like, oh, you know, maybe I should join the new. Rotary Club, right? I was like, we can sort of divide and conquer.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

Kelly

Right. And um, and he kept saying, like, just remember, like, Rotary is it's community focused. It isn't going to be like BI because both of us had come from having experience with BI. We also phased out of that too. Um, I do think just to hang here for a moment with BI, it is certainly a great organization and a great way to get your feet wet into what networking means and spreading the word about your business and having 12 to like 50 plus other individuals boots to the ground for your business as well. And vice versa, right? Because you're learning and you're getting elevator pitches, 30, 30 second to minute elevator pitches every single week from other local business owners. And it allows you to be able to spread the word about them too. But it's just it was a really great like way to sort of integrate yourself, grow as an individual too, because you know, not only are you figuring out how do I socialize with these people and interact with them, and get up for 10 to 15 minutes, you know, every couple of months or so to speak about my business too. Yeah. To them.

SPEAKER_02

Yes, I correct. I think that's all correct. And I think that it just it helps you become a better professional and you're meeting other professionals and genuinely caring about your group and their business and wanting to see them success succeed, and they want to see you succeed too. So that is all of all of that is wonderful.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Um, but the one nice thing, and I know now we're really kind of tying this in, but there's a four-way test in Rotary, and it it's is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Does it build goodwill, better friendships, and is it beneficial to all concerned? Um, and I through the years have really, I really personally try to live by those, and then it really does when I'm frustrated, not only with myself or my employees or a client, I ask myself, first of all, I've learned to take a breath over the last 13 years instead of responding when you're upset. Um, but it I try to incorporate those things when I'm responding and why taking a breath or a pause before I deal with the situation. And I have to tell you, personally and professionally, if you can live by those four things, whether you're Rotarian or not, I think it's good advice.

Kelly

That just to kind of roll back around that community piece is if you're if you're able to join a rotary and you're making it, you're making the effort to be there on a weekly basis, because it does meet on a weekly basis, that is gonna allow you the opportunity to grow with the people around you.

SPEAKER_02

Absolutely. And I our group, I just know people who I would not know otherwise. And it is it's an incredible experience.

Kelly

I mean, for for listeners outside of Minnesota Twin Cities, is it's not like it's like little big town. You know what I mean? Like once you really get integrated, you start to bump into people periodically. And there's still like it also is little big town. Yeah. So you could live here for years and years and never meet somebody who's over on the other side of the country, as I like to say, or the other side of the river.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, right. Like so, yeah, where like you could go your entire existence and not know people who have great businesses in St. Paul. Yes. But Rotary, because it's in every single city, then you're connecting with other people.

Kelly

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But I one of the things that I just want to bring up from that conversation that I was having with Joe prior to joining Rotary, he was like, it's a long game. Like you have to understand that you're building that trust factor with these people. And it's service above self first. Absolutely. Service above self. So how are we pouring into the community? And these people are gonna see how you're pouring into the community, right?

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, and you just get that's how you get to know each other because you're serving together on things that you like. I mean, and and that that's it's a wonderful thing.

Kelly

Well, and this is, I mean, how you and I met obviously was through that other podcast that Rotary, the Rotary District was putting on. But you had been able to serve in Guatemala because of Rotary.

SPEAKER_02

Right.

Becoming A Bonus Mom Overnight

Kelly

That was because of Rotary. Right. And that was, you know, obviously Rotary is international. And so a lot when you're a part of a club, you're doing service around that particular community that the club is in. And there's so many other opportunities to be able to serve both nationally and then outside of the country as well, which is just to me fantastic. Like you can come to Rotary and have a specific passion about something, start a 501c3 through Rotary and be able to pour into that in the way that you want to. I mean, the the opportunities are endless. So 100%. Anyways, yeah. Okay, so back to you, your business. You hire employees, you have been in business for 13 years now. That's no small feat. Let's talk about motherhood. Okay. And we're gonna talk more about your business. Um, but I I want to help the listeners understand like the context of when you became a mother and how that intersection of motherhood and entrepreneurship is now. Let's go. Okay.

SPEAKER_02

Um, so this is a really funny, this is really interesting. So I so Josh and I parted ways and we have stayed friends, and then I really was just running my business and doing rotary and being with family and friends. And three years ago, I think it was, um, I had my current husband reach out to me on LinkedIn, and we ironically had met at BI like nine years ago. Um, we were having a visitor day, and he was in a different BI and came to my BI. And so he reached out via LinkedIn and said, Hey, I noticed that we comment on some of the same articles, and you seem to come up every you know, quarter or half a year on my LinkedIn. And I've been thinking about you, and I think we should connect. And I thought, okay. And so we did. And when I we left, when I left the meeting, he was just like, you know, I always was kind of interested in you. And I was like, What? So I was a little blindsided by that. Um, but here we are, fast forward. Um, we got married, and he has two children. We have uh a young girl named Logan, and she's six, and we have a son, Lincoln, who's nine. And when I met them, Logan was four. She'd so she was just maybe four, a little under four and a half. So um I will tell you right now that the reason I started my business and the reason I was encouraged by Josh to start my own business is because I knew it it was not necessarily about money for me, it was about like freedom of time management and just having that space to like if you're next to a business and you're next to the grocery store, that you can go to the grocery store and get your groceries and not feel bad you're on someone else's time. And so that was why I started my business was just the the flexibility freedom, and it's just ironic that I ended up with someone who really does need my flexibility and our family needs that. I take our children to school and I often pick them up because by the time Jeff's done with work, then we're all meet home together as a family. And it I mean, my world has definitely flipped upside down in some ways, um, just because I became more of an instant um mother and b or bonus mother for those of us who aren't comfortable with just mother. And our family, we have two moms. We have Mama Sutton and we have Mama Michelle. So we don't really say, Oh, you're our stepmom or whatever. But whatever I would, if you're a bonus mom or you're a stepparent, and whatever your family and your children and you and your husband are comfortable with, that's what you should go with.

Kelly

Totally.

SPEAKER_02

Whatever, just embrace it, whatever the name is.

Kelly

Totally.

SPEAKER_02

I, you know, Logan's smaller, so a lot of times she just calls me mom. Lincoln chooses to call me Mama Sutton or just Sutton, but he's a little older, so you know that's whatever it's you gotta just go with the flow with what your kids want to do.

Kelly

I love it. Well, and we really bonded over this too. Yeah, I mean, because this is I became a bonus mom first. That was my first introduction to a family unit was becoming a bonus mom. And I mean, it it did flip my world upside down too. It did like I I got a can of you know whoop ass, I'll say it. Um, and and it was just in this sense of like, hey, it's not about you anymore, the purpose is greater, it's different, it really is. It's a different kind of purpose. And you while it was a fantastic ride being Miss Independent, Kelly, then tanky, I wouldn't change it for the world. I really wouldn't, because there's nothing more humbling than like I mean, frankly, like talk about having your world upside down. It sometimes it's like having a mirror put up to your face. Yeah. That's how I personally feel when it comes to either the bonus mom side of things, but then now biologically having my daughter and seeing things that she does, and then going, oh yeah, that's learned behavior, or that's you know, um, something DNA-wise that's just sticking in her genetically.

SPEAKER_02

Well, it so that is really interesting, you just brought that up. Um, so our six-year-old, she I've noticed that she really wants to like I finally got new slippers for Christmas. Um because my other slippers are like, I love a good slippery slipper. I was gonna say I just slipped so I was, and I'm not so it was just time for me to get new slippers, and then she wanted the same one. She wanted matching ones. I've noticed that she's wanted a lot of the similar things that I have. Um she wants another purse for her seventh birthday. She already has like a many, she doesn't even use. And then I said, Well, honey, you know, you have a lot, you're not even using, and she said, Well, you have a lot of purses, and I'm like, Yeah, I'm 45 and you're six. Um, so it is a very interesting and there are a lot of learned things that I see too, just from Jeff and I.

Kelly

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

And you know, and then Mama Michelle too. You know, we have it's a there's a lot of learned things, and then of course, there's you know, biological things I see with Mama Michelle and Jeff too.

Kelly

So well, and just the navigation and and how do we tread here lightly, right? Because we do want to honor and respect the other side of that coin, uh, that being the mom, right?

SPEAKER_02

And it's um it just can be really difficult.

Kelly

It can just it can be because you want to honor and respect the relationship that your bonus children have with their mom. Or if if someone's listening right now and you're you're you know, a man and you want to respect the relationship that your bonus children have with that dad, their dad, it's it's really interesting and it's it's a different kind of navigation.

SPEAKER_02

It is. I I would say we're lucky. I mean, Jeff and Michelle really do have a very good relationship, which I'm grateful for. Michelle and I I think we continue to work on our relationship. Um it I think because I'm a business owner, and when you're doing when you're a part of networking groups, or I'm also part of a CEO group where we get together and they're kind of, you know, they uh help me advise and we bring problems to the table and we all help each other navigate our businesses. I've had to do a lot of personality stuff too. Uh-huh. And I'm just a very driven person, and when I see something, I'm like, okay, let's just fix it and get it done. And that's not everybody. And so not everyone's moving at my speed, and that can be very frustrating. But for both sides, it's not just frustrating for me, it's frustrating for her too.

Kelly

Sure.

SPEAKER_02

Um, so I mean, just in all fairness to anybody who is navigating, right? We all have different personalities. I think the biggest thing, if you can all just remember, and Jeff is the best person to help Michelle and I both uh remember, and then I'm we and then I think we help him too, is that the bottom line is that we're all here just trying to help the kids. Totally. It's all so when I'm getting frustrated, I'm frustrated because I'm worried about the kids. When Michelle's getting frustrated, she's just frustrated because she's worried about the kids. When Jeff's frustrated, he's just frustrated because he's worried about the kids. It's just because we care. Yeah. And that's the most important thing to remember, right? Is that it's all about our kids, and that's what you know, we do care about that. But it doesn't mean that you you don't you still have a right to feel sad or like um hurt feelings or upsetness, or you know, I didn't I don't like how she handled that, or she doesn't like how I handled something. Yeah, those are just normal. I mean, yeah, even if you were married and you didn't have bonus children, you'd still be dealing with that. It just would be with each other. So I think it's just important to remember the human element that yeah. And I think because sometimes I'm fast moving, I can come off as maybe not nice or you know, just flippant, but that's not what I'm trying to do. I'm just trying to take care of an issue.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

And but it's because I'm so used to taking care of problems and issues in the business.

Kelly

Well, and I want to just I want to hang there for a moment because this is something that I have referenced as of recent quite more frequently. And it's um something that I've recognized in high-performing women who have been guests on this podcast and why they succeed the way that they do is because they can come up to a problem and they can they've just they've innately, either it's innately they're just able to make the quick decision and move forward, whether they know if they're gonna fail, fail or not. They don't care because they understand like failure is the best teacher. Okay. And the only I just want to bring this up because like that, that is um it's okay to be that way, especially as a business owner, because that is how the business is gonna continue to move and thrive and grow the way that it needs to and respectively needs to. And so there's nothing wrong with that up being applied to how we navigate the household as well.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, I am definitely just someone who yeah, I'm like, okay, we just gotta make a decision and let's just keep going. And meanwhile, sometimes I think there's confusion of why sometimes I've even made that decision. So and I'm like not even thinking about it anymore, you know, because I'm I'm on to the next thing.

Kelly

So yeah, I just, you know, so that is true. It's funny. Joe is he can make decisions so quickly. He's he's really great at pattern recognition, and he like he is already like 15 strokes ahead where I'm sometimes I'm back here and my feelings might be hurt about something, you know what I mean? And so I'm like, he's like, I'm not even thinking about that. And let me just say, I'm sorry you felt that way. Yes, you know, it's all like I think you and Joe can relate in in some ways of that game.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, for sure.

Kelly

I do want to just say how I want to take this moment to have a bit of gratitude because for both you and I, respectfully as bonus moms, it certainly is nice to have partners where, you know, like respective exes, the co-parenting situation is good because that's not always the case. No, it's not always the case. And so I am constantly expressing gratitude. And when, you know, the opportunity arises um in conversations with other people, I'm singing high praises of the boy's mom because she does a ton of the scheduling, she is um, you know, really the kind of the person behind that. And I'm really grateful for that. I'm really grateful that they have a mom and that they are able to lean into that part of the parenting and how I shitty it is that they had to go through this divorce aspect, but now they also have individuals like us, and not to like toot our own horns, but because we love hard it's that's only gonna be a benefit to the kids. I think so.

SPEAKER_02

I mean I Michelle is so I think maybe one of my biggest um things about anybody is this person intelligent? Is this person anybody? I don't care man, woman, anyone in my friends or colleagues, um, you know, sh she has a very very good position where she works. She's a very hard worker, she has a very good work ethic, and I know she cares about our kids. We really go about it showing we we kind of show it differently, but I really appreciate that. Yeah, and she really wants her kids to be uh have a strong foundation in themselves and make decisions that they want to make. And you know, that's that's an empower she wants her kids to feel empowered, and I think that's a good thing. And again, we go about that differently, but I just really I'm I'm grateful too that we have that they have that and they they know they're very loved by their mother, and her parents are really involved too, their grandparents, and then they know that dad and Mama Sutton really love them, and then you know Jess's parents are also they just love being around their grandkids, so yeah, and they're in town, and we're lucky that both sets of grandparents are in town, and then that is wonderful. My parents live in Florida, but we actually went last summer and we visited them. So, like it is really good, you know, that they know they have all these people around them, and that I think for moms and dads listening to this today, and I think you know, just Kelly and I would agree, just reiterating what you just said, the more people who are involved in our kids' lives who really care about us, like who care about you and Joe and their mom's happiness and the kids' happiness, yeah, the better. Yes, right? Yep. So anyone who's supporting Jeff and I and Michelle and care about the kids, everyone's winning.

Kelly

That village of support is is truly remarkable if you have it, right? If it's kind of the key word. And in this circumstance, let's just this is for this conversation. It seems like that is definitely the case for you guys. So let's talk through how support has been for the two of you with the children, and then how has that pieced in with your with your business too? Because I wanna I really love talking about that intersection of motherhood and entrepreneurship and How we navigate through it.

SPEAKER_02

I would tell you I understand more about how women feel about feeling pulled. So before having Lincoln and Logan in my life, I of course intellectually knew that. And I of course intellectually could empathize or sympathize with any of my um friends or family as women who are going through this and have talked to me about it. But I didn't personally experience that because I had not had to experience it. And there are times where, like, I mean, I own a commercial cleaning company, so I have to leave at night sometimes. Yeah. And they're like, Where are you going? And I said, Well, honey, I I have to go to work. Like, I have some things I gotta go check up on, and we're starting a new account and this or that, and I'm gonna work with our employees, and you know, and they don't quite understand. And then they're just like, Well, why can't you just go to work like everyone else? And I was like, Well, I I do work then too, but just you know, it is different, and so you know, and it does, it kind of pulls on your because in the one time Logan said, I really wish you had a different job. And it was like, Oh, honey, I was like, I that might feel that way, but you really don't wish I had a different job because then you'd probably never see me. So yeah, you know, and of course, I mean, she's six, so her perspective is gonna be very different. Um, but it does, I understand that, and you know, the truth is, is even right now in my 13th year of business, um I feel like I've only been at my strongest the last three years in terms of running the business, in terms of me like really understanding the business and what I need to make sure that I'm financially successful, and so is Steven, my right hand person, and that I'm not you know, that that every single account we have is profitable because that was not always true in the past. Sure. And I really my goal is and this sounds so little, I think, because I'm a service business, I really would like to gross a million dollars. I have not hit that number yet. And people who have other businesses are probably like, oh my gosh, what is she doing? Because if you're selling a software or you're selling technology or you're consulting and you can charge$300 an hour for that kind of fee, yeah, you're of course gonna hit a million dollars a year, and that's gonna be easy. But uh, or I wouldn't say easy, but it it would be an easier target to hit.

SPEAKER_00

Yes.

SPEAKER_02

Um, as a service organization, it's just different. You can't uh commercial clean is very, very, very competitive. And then I think about my family, and I think about how many more accounts that is, and I think about how many more employees that is, and I think, yeah, do I really want to do that? Or is that just something I made up in my mind that I really should hit a million dollars gross as a business owner and as a woman business owner? Well, so there is there, there's for me that is like, okay, what is the most important thing, sudden? You know, and the truth is, is my kids are obviously more important that we have family time and I have that, but at the same time, I still have my own personal goals, and I have I love be working. It's I really enjoy working, and I enjoy being around other adults and other, especially other women and men who own their own businesses. I mean, it's just a whole other world, and I'm always inspired by people around me daily, and so I love that, but I also want to make sure that I still have that time for us to, and that is a huge pull. And you are judged for it, and you are uh, I think we're probably our most harsh critics, like um, you know, we're probably more down on ourselves than others, but there is for sure just a you know I I I have I have judged probably others for it in the past when I wasn't like like that's interesting. That's not something I would have done, but yeah, then you realize well, but you aren't in their shoes. Totally. So who are you to say?

Kelly

Oh this is this is definitely something that I resonate with in the respect of like you you feel the tug and pull. Oh my gosh, yeah for sure. And I I can't even count the number of times that the tug has been like I am doing something on my phone as it pertains to the real estate business or for the podcast. And Maddie is like, mom, mom, and I and then I have to be like, oh, I'm a mom. Yeah, like I hi. That is actually fundamentally for me what is the most important. Set the phone down because that is not emergency, it isn't life or death. And I think that that's something that has always not always, but it it is something that I've had to kind of grasp onto and go, remember this is actually something you want to continue to pour into because when I am literally on my deathbed or ready to go to the Pearl League, I'm not gonna remember setting an appointment for the podcast. No, or scheduling a guest, or scheduling that buyer or that new listing meeting. I am not gonna care about that. I'm gonna care about the people who were around me the most and poured into me the most. Yeah, and that's that's that's right.

Money Pressure And Housing Choices

SPEAKER_02

And I think on that, I know it's tough though. We're we're on that same page and yet switching gears just a little bit. Um because I came into motherhood really late in my life, um I'm also feeling very pulled and trying to make the best decision for Jeff and I for our kids in our next housing situation. Um, I've owned my townhome for 13 years now, and I love it. I know. And it is a hundred percent who I am. And we're half the year, so we our our our parenting schedules, we have them a week on and then a week off. And my townhome was plenty big for me, just for one person, and it's certainly big enough for two people and for four people, it is a little tight every other week, and so then I'm I think that part of this too. So owning a business, working, raising your family, and then I just want to touch on this for a second about like societal pressure, totally. Let's do it. And um, just about especially in the twin cities. Um we're really fortunate. Like we are we're living in a healthy area, and we have we our children have access to clean water and we have good schools and perspective. Yeah, we all have maybe more shoes than we need and clothes and all that kind of stuff, right? We can afford our groceries, yeah. And then especially around Kelly and I, and it just happens to be the two suburbs we live in. Yeah. Um it's affluent, it it's very affluent, and it's easy to lose perspective. So I have a wonderful townhome, and we're actually now gonna look at hiring um an architect to see if we can have it completely resigned redesigned. Cool. And if we can't, then plan B is probably to get a different home.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

But I just want to point that out for people listening because try to like drown out the noise. We're all in this like rat race, but like around Kelly and I, the next house maybe that's good for a family of five or four, you're looking at probably a million dollars or eight hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Guess what? I mean, when did that happen? Because when I grew up, you could have a home for$300,000 to$500,000, and people had a$500,000 home 40 years ago, they were very wealthy. Yes, and it was like so that house that I grew up in today is not something I can afford. It's probably$1.2 to$2 million now. Okay, so just in that 40 years, that's how most life has changed.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

And I'm only bringing it up because I think there's a lot of pressure about homes and cars and vacations and all this, but really at the end of the day, I just would encourage to try to shut it out. We're we're only because we're faced, these are things that we're thinking about right now. And my interest rate is at 2.9%. So I'm just trying to realistically think what can Jeff and I do to maybe stay in our townhome? Would we like a little more room? Yeah, but then we're a real we're a family that really likes experiences. So then we can take our kids on more vacations and they can do more extracurriculars, and we're not having to worry about where that money is going to come from or say first and then do it. We can just can say, okay, we have that.

Kelly

Knowing your bottom line and knowing your knowing ultimately what your budget is and sticking within the budget, having discipline, which it sounds like you, the two of you have talked probably at Ignasium.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, but still, it's hard to have the discipline.

Kelly

It it really is. And trust me, when I say I get caught up in that rat race that you're talking about, and it's you see the the fancy cars and the big houses, or hear about people who are moving from this house to that house, and it's it's certainly an upgrade, right? Um, lifestyles of the rich and famous. And you're going, what about me? And then again, perspective is actually when you are a part of, say, like Rotary and you are able to go outside of the limits of where your township is or your city or you know, wherever it is that you're respectively living, and go and experience something over in a third world country, which I haven't been able to do, but I've been able to live the experience through what you spoke to in Guatemala, right?

SPEAKER_00

Oh my gosh.

Kelly

You hear about these countries that don't have access to clean water, living in huts, living in cardboard boxes, walking around without any shoes. And man, it kind of puts things into perspective at the like the abundance that we live and have here in the United States. It's it's wild. It is wild.

SPEAKER_02

It's wild. It really is. And so I just, I don't know, it just is something I just thought I would mention it because if I'm experiencing this with my husband and my husband has a really good position, and I feel like I'm, you know, I feel like I'm a successful business owner, but I mean, I'm not making millions of dollars every year either with my business, is just other people might be struggling or thinking into the same things.

Patience Problems And Getting Help

Kelly

Yeah, for sure. I thought that was really good, actually. Thank you for piecing that in. That's it's actually a topic, an area that I I don't feel like this podcast is actually explored too much. And so I'm making a mental note that that is certainly something to um reflect on in future episodes with people, like the mindset of getting caught up in you know, the maybe a rags to riches type of experience that people have had and how to um close the gap between the two and actually have like discernment about what that can like what it actually should look like. Yeah. Yeah. All right, Sutton. Let's navigate into some some murky waters. Okay. Because you had mentioned when we started to talk about how this transition into motherhood as a bonus mom as mama satin. Ugh, I just love it by the way. Mama satin. That it flipped your world upside down.

SPEAKER_02

It did.

Kelly

How so?

SPEAKER_02

Um, well, so in my first marriage, we both were uh two professionals working without children. And then I transitioned out of that, and then I was just a single woman working without children. And again, I've had my I've owned my town home by myself, and then you're just used to you're used to your space, you're used to your things being in the place in which they should be. If I clean my home and I'm a single person, it stays clean for months. I mean, yes, it gets dusty and I need to dust, and you still clean your bathrooms and do laundry, of course, but then you have yeah, and then you have children, and like I our daughter has dug a fork into our um kitchen table and decided to like run it down the side that she sits on. So um we're having our table refinished. She also chose to color on my black uh coffee table that I had had for like 15 years, and so I could see black pen on it. I tried many things to clean it, it did not come off, so I had that refinished. There are things that just happen. Um, my son thought it was a really good idea to fill up a cup of water and throw it up on the ceiling where he was showering because he wanted to feel like you're telling it was raining. Yeah. And he was only like, he was only he had just turned eight, or maybe he was still seven. So I mean, yeah, again, so when I asked him, what were you thinking? He said, Well, I just really like the feeling of the rain and it it felt good. Well, I mean, he's seven, right? So it's like you're like, okay, well, I mean, it's a really honest seven-year-old answer.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

In the meantime, I'm wondering if my ceiling is gonna dry. Yeah. You know, so these are things that like I just have not had to deal with before, or just the constants of, have you put your shoes on yet? You know, like when you ask ten times nicely, you're like, what are you doing? Yeah. So that to me, just it it's that type of patience level. And the truth is, is I'm not very patient, and I'm far more patient today. And that's saying a lot, and I'm still not very patient. So these are the things that I personally am working on, and I actually am very aware that um I have work to do on that. So I got myself uh a therapist to help me with um who specializes in like uh blended families and parented and stuff, so I can get help. Yeah, I want to have more resources, so that is the one nice thing I think of not being. So because I came in later as a business owner and someone who is just an older professional, to me, it's all about resources. It's okay to admit, I don't know. Let's get a resource, let's get someone else in here to help us or help me. Yeah, help my issue or help help me do this better for next time or work on or have eyes suddenly you need a strategy. You didn't handle that very well.

Kelly

Well, what this is going back to that respective village, right? And for some people, they might automatically think village means family, right? But that village actually extends out to friends, that extends out to the community that you've built within Rotary, the uh the therapists that you've hired. Like that that whole thing is a part of us developing as humans, fundamentally as humans, right?

SPEAKER_02

And I think it's okay to admit I just want more tools in my toolbox.

Kelly

Totally.

SPEAKER_02

Because I don't know all the answers, totally, I just don't, and it's just a totally different area. And I majored in sociology and psychology, and I taught ECFE, and I was a nanny for 15 years. I love kids and I have a good foundation, but it doesn't mean you have all the answers, and that's even my background, right? I mean, no, I mean I don't have a PhD in psychology or anything like that. So I mean, that is with a caveat there.

Kelly

But you still you have learned at a different level than most other people have with whatever their respective uh majors are if they went to college or just what they, you know, fundamentally have studied and have decided to go into business for, right? Here's something um I'm gonna I'm gonna parallel with you because I this will like I'm gonna come right alongside of you and give you a story.

SPEAKER_00

Okay.

Kelly

Um, and I actually lost that other thought. So the story. When I when I met the boy, started hanging out with him more often, I was working with um she she was my like coach. Yeah. Like she was my health coach. Okay, health and wellness coach. Yeah, right. And um shout out to Cece Clark with um, oh my gosh, now I'm totally drawing a blank on her business, but I'll I'll make sure to put it in the show notes for everybody. But I worked with her for years and even through being pregnant with Maddie and after having Maddie, I mean, she was worth her weight in gold just for that.

SPEAKER_01

Yes.

Stress Signals And Family Reset Tools

Kelly

But I'll never forget having a conversation with her. Um, I had come back from spending time with Joe and the boys, and was back at my townhouse. I had a townhouse too, over in Woodbury. I remember going, it was on a Sunday. I had spent the day with them on Sunday, had made my way back, and probably had like very little in my fridge. And so I needed to stop and get like a couple of things for dinner. And I like got a ton of ton more stuff than I even needed to. And I remember talking to Cece and going, I just like pigged out. And I I talk, I usually had my conversations with her on Monday, and I was talking her through this, and she goes, Kelly, it's you're stressed. And I'm like, Well, I don't like feel stressed. And she's like, Stress manifests in very different ways. And this, I believe, is probably the moment in time where she talked to me about like the wellness wheel and how like we want to have each one of these respective like eight elements of our life as as balanced as possible. Now, between you and I, I don't always love using the balance word, especially as it pertains to motherhood and business. And there are people who are listening right now who like I had somebody on who's literally has balance in their business name. And that's okay. It's okay. But like for me personally, I like to use harmonization. And she was just talking about like spiritually and occupationally, and you know, health and wellness and and so on, so forth. Like you want those buckets. And for me, there was just this one area where I wasn't it wasn't being fulfilled, right? Or because I am not used to the stimulation, my body was trying to regulate itself.

unknown

Yeah.

Kelly

And so I think that our bodies, like for you and I, when becoming bonus moms, for me, a bonus mom first, for you, this is your role. Because I don't know if you and Jeff are thinking about having kids. But anyways, I'm way too old. And we, yeah, no, this I'm busy enough. So I literally just remember thinking, oh my gosh, like I didn't feel stressed, but my body was saying, you're stressed, let's eat, let's consume to try to regulate everything out. And she's like, there's so many different ways for you to like work through that, whether it means that you go and you take the dogs for a walk and you allow your body to just come back down to like this level, or you exercise, or like whatever it needs to look like. Like get an adult coloring book. I think she like threw out all of these other ideas, and I was like, oh, that's really interesting. And I'll never forget that. But I think now my body has been able to like figure out how to quickly regulate itself with the amount of stimulation that happens on a on a minute by minute basis sometimes.

SPEAKER_02

I think you do you do get used to it. But like for me, even if I can sneak in a nap, that you know, I do that for 30 minutes because that's my body telling me you've you've had enough today. Yeah. Like just take a take 30 minutes right now. And there's but there's a lot of things, you know, that you're right. And um when it was no, we just had some really weird weather here in the Twin Cities, so it was like 55, and I was I had got out three days in a row and I'd walked my 10,000 steps, and I was feeling really good, and I thought, oh, this is great. And then we now have a lot of snow on the ground. So that it's not that's not happening. It's just bipolar Minnesota. So um, but I yes, yeah, that is 100% correct. And stress does show up in funny ways, and also um, something that we're doing at our house that helps with all of us is that when we're getting a little out of control, well, Jeff, or I will say, I think it's we all need to take a breath. So we all go this. And the kids, Jeff found this, so kudos to him. He's really good at stuff like this. He found like um a kid's meditation, like story time thing. So we do that every night before bed, and they last anywhere for from like three minutes, so if like you've stayed up a little too late, um, to like 15 minutes. So they're they're appropriate for our kids' age, and they love it. And we love it too, because we're all laying down and we're listening to this person telling us to breathe. And it's really good for kids because they'll be they'll say, No, you can wiggle your toes, and and then now, and then you're like, and then you're like, No, just let your body be. And it kind of guides us, and it's uh it's great, and so there's a whole bunch of ways, right? Yeah, for sure. It is funny how stress does come out in funny ways.

Kelly

Well, but to your point, Satan, I mean you shared that you you weren't embarrassed to share, like I I knew I needed help, I need I needed professional help and to get an unbiased perspective.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

Kelly

Because while our husbands or our our spouses are wonderful to, they should be best friends, you should be able to have conversations with them. And sometimes you need a different perspective.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, for me, I just I have found it so helpful. Um, because I don't have all their, I mean, granted, Jeff and I'll be together, and then by that time, you know, when they're grown up, I mean, I would have only missed very little bit of their life. Yep. But still, I don't have that. I right now they're so little, and I didn't I don't have those three years from Logan, and I don't have there's just things, and you just have to just be like, okay, I don't have that perspective, so let's get a better handle on how to do this better. You know?

Kelly

Yeah, I love it, I love it, it's so wonderful. Um, I I think is there anything else that you would like to add as it pertains to how you have been harmonizing where you're at in your business, the amount of time that you've been inventing in business, and then folding in motherhood too. Is there anything that you feel like the listeners should certainly hear or understand about your story and advice?

SPEAKER_02

My medical doctor told me recently that it was okay to embrace the suck. Love that, and I think about it a lot, and it's okay that we have really imperfect days, and there's gonna be times where we do not do well, and when I say not do well, it can be our kids, it can be my husband and I. Well, we're not handling it well, and it can be that we all suck at the same time, and she just said it's okay, you can embrace the suck. It is okay, and I think it's okay, especially to remind ourselves that because we're living in a world that is so digitized with social media, Facebook, Instagram, about how perfect everyone is, and that their kids are dressed perfect and everyone looks great and everyone's happy, and it's okay that we're not all the time, and it's okay we don't have the answers, and it's okay to just say I don't have the answers, and today really wasn't the best, but we get to start over tomorrow.

Advice, Favorites, And How To Connect

Kelly

That was so good. Okay, I think we're ready to start landing the plane. Okay. Um, a few more questions. This has been so fun, and you have offered up some really great gold nuggets of information for the listeners to be able to take away. Um okay. As you know, Joe and I are in real estate. I am curious, a couple of questions. So, is there a book TV show or a podcast that you're currently obsessed with and why? And the real estate part will come in shortly after this as sort of like uh to round it all out.

SPEAKER_02

I have read some really good books lately. Um but no, I I am a creature of habit. I listen to my news podcast, and then I listen to Dateline. Um and then I listen to a lot of books um just because I drive a lot a lot around the Twin Cities. Yeah, but not nothing particularly right now.

Kelly

Okay, so since coming into business with Joe and having these like getting together with sellers, being in their space, we're always talking about the favorite places to congregate. And so I'm curious for you and the family, or just you, Sutton, for some of these things that you're listening to. You do a lot of driving, right? So I'm sure, yes, like the car is probably not the favorite place, but where is that favorite place in your house?

SPEAKER_02

Mine is my bedroom. Okay, place of sanctuary. I love my bedroom. It is a very, very, very like calming, relaxing, wonderful space. If I had to be outside of my home, I do love listening to books and podcasts while I'm walking. Okay. Those two places.

Kelly

Same. Love it. Um what's a piece of advice you would give a younger version of yourself knowing all that you know today?

SPEAKER_02

Just like slow down a little bit, maybe. And I would have loved to learn to take a breath earlier. To just I'm a little bit more reactionary just because I'm trying to get things done. Sure. And just to slow down, take a breath. Don't respond when you're angry. Try to rein that in and just just try to be a little calmer. Just trying to get help or uh maybe outside resources just to for that.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

But you know when you're driven and you're trying to get through all these things, it's hard to stop.

Kelly

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Because you're just trying to get through. But you have to slow down.

Kelly

And enjoy the flowers around you. Yeah, you gotta step off the step off the train. Step off the train and look around. Oh, that's good. What's a piece of advice? I'm I'm a woman who's listening right now, and I'm I'm considering starting a business. I've got maybe one or two kiddos at home. Or actually, let's let's take it from this perspective. I am a bonus mom. I'm nibbling on the edges of entrepreneurship. What's a piece of advice you give me as I'm listening right now?

SPEAKER_02

Like, don't if if it's in you and it you've been listening to that, like if there's a piece of you that keeps telling you to that, uh listen to it. Listen to that. Because I will n I personally would never be this satisfied had it had I stayed in corporate America. There's too many nuances for me. That's just a me thing. But if you're have something in your heart telling you go for it, do it, get someone who you really trust and talk to them about it. It doesn't need to be your spouse. If it I mean it ideally, if it can be, that's great. But it doesn't need to be. It can be a mentor that you've looked up to. Totally. Articulate that. I s don't explore it and don't just shove it down because it's and don't let your fear or don't let your anxiety just because you might have to take a little bit of a pay cut.

Kelly

Or risk.

SPEAKER_02

Or a risk. Don't let that be the reason to push it down and and close that door. Don't do that. Because then you know what? It's still gonna come back up. It might be six months, it might be two years, it might be five years, and then you're gonna wonder why you didn't listen to it. Don't do that to yourself. You owe yourself more to just explore it further. Play it out, write it out, chart it out.

Kelly

How can our lovely listeners get connected to you?

SPEAKER_02

Oh, um, so I have a website, Sutton's advanced cleaning.com, and um I'm on LinkedIn. Okay. And um yeah, find me through one of those places, and um I'm also on Facebook. Um but you can find me there, and I'd love to anybody wants to grab coffee or take a walk and just chat or just have a conversation. I'm I'm definitely open for it.

Kelly

So beautiful, Sutton, and I just value our friendship so much and so grateful that we're here and having this conversation and talking about what it has meant to have be a have and be a part of a blended family together as as friends. And your story is incredible. I learned so much.

SPEAKER_02

Thank you.

Kelly

Oh my goodness. I truly did. And so thank you for carving out time. And I appreciate you, and I hope you have a great rest of the day.

SPEAKER_02

You too, Kelly. Thank you.

Kelly

Thanks for listening. And if you enjoyed this episode and know of any inspiring mamas who are powerhouse entrepreneurs, please help connect them with myself and the show. It would mean so much if you would help spread this message, mission, and vision for other mompreneurs. It takes 30 seconds to rate and review, then share this episode with your friends. Until the next episode. Cheers to reclaiming your cue.

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Kelly Kirk

Host