The 20-Hour Workweek for Moms: Building a Business Without Burnout with Jenny Suneson

Today’s conversation is for the mom who wants more for herself, but feels like there is never enough time to actually build it.

In this episode, MaKenzie sits down with Jenny Suneson, a business strategist who helps mom entrepreneurs build sustainable businesses in 20 hours or less using podcasting and simple systems.

Jenny shares how she stopped trying to do it all and instead built a business that actually fits her life as a mom. She walks through the identity shifts, systems, and decisions that allowed her to create consistent income without burnout, constant posting, or sacrificing time with her kids.

This episode will help you rethink what is actually necessary to grow and show you how to build something meaningful with the time you already have.

What We Talk About

• The identity shift from being busy to being effective
•  Why motherhood changes your capacity but not your ambition
•  How to build a 20-hour workweek that actually works
•  Creating a weekly rhythm that supports both business and home life
•  Why most moms feel like they have no time (and what is actually happening)
•  The power of theming your days to reduce decision fatigue
•  Letting go of tasks that are not moving your business forward
•  Balancing motherhood and business without constantly feeling split
•  Simple systems that create consistency without burnout
•  Why doing less, but with intention, leads to more growth

Resources and Links

Connect with Jenny:
 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jenny.suneson/

Website: https://www.momsmakemoneycollective.com

Podcast: https://podlink.com/1700310195

Free Resource:
 20 Hour Workweek Blueprint
 https://sweetforkindergarten.myflodesk.com/findmoretime

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure you’re following The Clean Mom Edit Podcast so you never miss a new one.

If this conversation spoke to you, I would be so grateful if you left a review. It helps this podcast reach more moms who need this kind of support.

You can connect with me on Instagram at @thecleanmomedit, where I share more on motherhood, Human Design, and nervous system support.

And if this episode resonated, send me a DM. I love hearing what landed for you.

Thank you for being here and for listening.

Connect with MaKenzie

Instagram: @thecleanmomedit

Free Training — The Reason You Mom The Way You Do A free audio training that walks you through all five human design types through the lens of motherhood. 

Work With MaKenzie Aligned Strategy Session — a 60-minute deep dive for clear direction and sustainable habits. Restore 1:1 Transformation — a complete lifestyle change, application required. 

Join Aligned — $33/month A simple, supportive space for moms ready to slow down, regulate their nervous systems, and break cycles in community. Monthly teachings, tools, and the women walking this path right alongside you. 

💛 If this episode resonated with you, subscribe so you never miss an episode and leave a review — it means the world and helps other moms find this community.

Thank you for being here and for listening.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome back to the Clean Mom Edit podcast. Uh, today's conversation is for the mom who wants to build something meaningful, create income, and still have a life that actually feels present and sustainable. Because I think so many, so many women assume that if they want growth, they have to constantly be working, constantly be online, or constantly be sacrificing time that matters most. So I'm joined by Ginny, who helps mom entrepreneurs boot build sustainable businesses in 20 hours or less, using podcasting as their main visibility strategy. She teaches women how to grow without burnout, without social media dependency, and without needing a big team behind them. So Ginny has been in business for 10 years. And for over half of that time, she has also been navigating motherhood, building systems in both business and home that allow her to work just 20 hours a week while still making a full-time income. And I think this conversation is one of so many women need because it gives permission to build things differently these days. So, Jenny, I'm so glad you're here. Yeah, thanks so much for having me.

SPEAKER_00 1:15

I'm really excited about this conversation.

SPEAKER_01 1:17

Of course. Well, welcome, welcome. So, to dive in, my first question that I want to know about is you help moms build sustainable businesses in 20 hours or less. So, before the strategy of this, like what identity shift has to happen for a woman to actually or a mom to believe she does not need to be constantly working to be successful?

SPEAKER_00 1:43

Yeah, yeah. This is a really great question. And I really think the biggest shift is that you need to realize that being busy is not going to be the same thing as being successful. So many people like put their worth in like being busy and constantly like hustling and all that.

SPEAKER_01 1:57

Totally.

SPEAKER_00 1:57

But at the end of the day, when they look at like what they actually accomplished, it was just that. It was busy work. It wasn't things that actually move the needle forward. So I feel like we're really conditioned to believe that the more that we're doing or working or whatever, the more worthy we are. And that is just not true. So I think we need to move from like, I have to prove myself through how much I'm doing to I trust that what I'm doing is enough and finding the things that actually move the needle towards your goals, right? Instead of just doing things just to do things. Really, the reality is that when you become a mom, your pe your capacity is going to change. But if you're an entrepreneur, your ambition is not going to go away. It's not just going to disappear overnight because you became a mom. And I, like you mentioned in the intro, I started my business before I had kids. So it was definitely interesting kind of grappling with running a business after having kids because I know a lot of people start when they have kids and their capacity has already shifted. So it's different. For me, it was getting used to, oh, I used to have all the time in the world and now I don't. And that was really, really hard to come to terms with. It took me a while, actually. Like I was trying to run my business how I did pre-kids. And that obviously just did not work for me. So instead of fighting that, I learned how to build build a business that was gonna support the season that I was in. And every six months to a year, my season changes really. Like now I have someone my son's in kinder. So we're dealing with all these random breaks and stuff. Before he was in daycare, my daughter's in daycare, so she has a more consistent schedule. She kind of only has off like holidays. Whereas my son, I swear they have a random Monday and Friday off at least once a month. It's bananas. I'm like, how like you guys are never in school? What is this?

SPEAKER_01 3:40

Supporting working parents. I feel like to work, you know, your typical nine to five. I'm like, how did we get it?

SPEAKER_00 3:46

I tell my husband that every day. I'm like, I don't think we would be able to manage if I didn't have my own business. Like, I don't know how people do it because it's it's bananas. Like there's there's no time, and um, you know, you have to hire external help. And even like here, like, I mean, last week was spring break. So my son was home, but you know, he would get so bored if he was just sitting at home for the whole week. Thankfully, our spring break aligned with another school district's spring break nearby. So they had like little camps and stuff open. But I was taking a look at next year to see like when our breaks were. And of course, spring break does not align with the other district and they follow the other district. So I'm like, oh no, what am I gonna do with you for a week next year? Like, it's not gonna align. So just like, I mean, even me, I guess I can keep him home, but he would be so bored. So just thinking about the people who are in that situation where it's not, I can't keep them home because they're bored. It's I don't want to take off a full week of work because they're out of school. Right.

SPEAKER_01 4:43

But yeah, I didn't have enough vacation days. I remember whenever I was, you know, working in corporate. I mean, I barely had enough to even take off, you know, for sick days for some of these, you know, kids. So like, yeah, the freedom of that has been, I feel like, life-changing. Totally, 100%. So tell me a little bit about like um how you started identifying, you know, the these systems, you know, to, you know, build out a successful business, you know, that you're, you know, contributing 20 hours a week to.

SPEAKER_00 5:13

Yeah. So like I said, I really struggled at first um to kind of figure out how to run my business after having kids. And, you know, I did have, you know, my son was home with me for a whole year after he was born. It was he was born during the pandemic, super fun times. Um, so he was home with me for an entire year. He probably would have gone to daycare a little bit sooner. Um, but he was home with me that whole year. Um, and I had to figure out how to work around that. I had a little bit of help. My mom would watch him like twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays. And then Monday, Wednesday, Friday, he was with me 24-7. And obviously, we know nap time is never consistent. Like it could be an hour, could be two, could be 10 minutes. So I started building in the margins of nap time nights and not early mornings because I'm not a morning person. So I did not try to set myself up for failure by planning for that. Um, once he went to daycare, that's when I really established this 20-hour work week because before that I was just kind of in survival mode because I don't most week I wasn't even able to get 20 hours between, you know, nights and my mom watching him twice a week. Um, so once he went to daycare, I established that routine. Cause even though he was in full-time daycare, I wasn't keeping him there from 6 30 to 6 30. Like I would never do that as an entrepreneur because it's like, well, that's why I started my business so that I wouldn't have to do that, right? Um, so I really built this 20-hour week. And like that includes, you know, a little bit of time where I'm doing things like appointments or target pickups or things like that that are, you know, they're not work tasks, but they're things that need to get done as the um, you know, the primary parent of the household, right? Yeah. Yeah, exactly. All the all the house stuff that falls on my plate. So, um, but I really try to commit to 20 of those hours being work. And then any other time is I'm probably in the school pickup line or I'm running errand. So the 20 hours of work is across the regular school day, plus, you know, like if I need a little bit of time on a night during the night, I don't work weekends for the most part. Um, just because I set that boundary when I had my son, I'm like, I'm not like, you know, once he was in full-time care, I was like, I'm not gonna work weekends. I need a break. Um, like regular corporate people don't work weekends for the most part. So I'm not gonna do that. Um, and I really just try to like find what worked the best. And one of the things that I found was kind of theming my days. So like, and it changed, it depends on the the season, right? So, you know, sometimes Monday will be a CEO day.

unknown 7:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:53

Sometimes it'll be a content day. It really just depends on the week. Depends on, oh, do they have off a random holiday or Monday? Okay, then obviously that's not a you know work day. Um, and just kind of like filling that in. I try to only work like typically four days a week. It usually ends up working out that way because, like I said, all the random holidays and whatnot. Um, and I try to keep like Friday as like a, you know, self-care, or if I need extra time to do something like someone was sick earlier in the week, then I use Friday as like that backup um work day. So I try to, you know, keep my schedule pretty consistent in that way. Obviously, every week's gonna be different. I do have um clients, so I have a service-based business, so I work with clients one-to-one. Um I manage podcasts. That's my, you know, my bread and butter. So that is going to take some time to be editing podcasts and writing show notes and publishing and whatnot. Um, so I always have like a client-focused day or two. I typically have about two client days. I do client work. So then I have like a CEO day, which includes like admin and just like planning for the future. And then I um have a content day like once every other week. So that on that day I'm, you know, recording new podcast episodes for my own shows. Um I'm writing social content, things like that, emails and all that. Um, so that's every other week, not every single week. Because I don't need to be doing that every week. So I just it really depends on the week what I'm doing, but I just like to have these like kind of time blocks. And it doesn't need to be like, oh, from 10 to you know, one, I'm doing this. But just during that day, I'm like, okay, I know today I have my CEO block wherever I can fit that in, or my content block wherever I can fit that in. So that's kind of what I came to. And you know, most weeks I do not exceed 20 hours. If I'm in a launch season, I might get up to maybe 25 hours a week for two weeks or so, but then it evens back out. And then my summers are way lighter as well, like usually more like 15 hours or less in the summer, just because we're going on vacation. My kids are in less care during the summers and things like that. Um, so that yeah, that's kind of what that looks like.

SPEAKER_01 10:06

Do you I do the same thing? So that's so funny that like you title your days. My mentor told me that hack, and it's been a complete life-changing for me because I actually just parted ways with my corporate job in December. So like full thank you, full force into like entrepreneurship completely. Um, and I think that's such like a um a nervous system like kind of like realization going from like such a structured to like unstructured and trying to figure that out. That that's been like a major hack for me is like designating. So much, right?

SPEAKER_00 10:40

And then you're not like flant like flopping around, like, what am I gonna do today? Like every day you're waking up, I don't know what to do today. I don't know what to do today. But when you have like something that you're gonna fit into this bucket of time, it doesn't need to be like exactly mapped out, but at least you know, like, okay, this is the type of work I'm planning to fit into this time. And you know, like sometimes that changes too. Like if I don't really feel inspired to do a certain thing during that moment and I can move it to like tomorrow or something, then I will do that as well. Cause I don't want to like try and record content when I'm feeling like down and like I'm not gonna be my best self. Um, but yeah, I I typically stick to it, but it is flexible to where I can move around if needed. Or, you know, if someone gets sick or something unexpected happens and I need to move around, I try to make sure that I can do that. So it's not like super rigid.

SPEAKER_01 11:28

I think like what I've I've loved about that process as well is that like, you know, for me like personally, like I always said like I would never be a stay-at-home mom. Like I do love to, I do love to work, like I do, like I know that I have, you know, good talents. Like I, you know, and um not saying anything, you know, wrong is being a stay-at-home mom of like just doing laundry and dishes, but like that just doesn't like fuel my fire to just be completely honest with you. Um I like to work towards like, you know, have something that's like my own. Um, and usually I feel like moms nowadays like have in combination of like an MLM or like network marketing or you know, something nowadays where it's starting to become more normalized, like um that they have they have both, but that I never aspired, you know, to be a stay-at-home mom, honestly. Um, I was given a um a uh hand of cards that like made me become a stay-at-home mom because of my son and like his health issues and just like trust issues with daycare. Um, so with that, I feel like I was like really struggling like finding my like purpose in life, even though my kid was sitting in front of me. It still just like was never it, it just wasn't enough for me. Um, and so once I started like implementing that, it got me like more excited though, because I'm like, oh, okay, today I'm a stay-at-home mom, but tomorrow I get to be the CEO. Like I look forward to it. Um, and I like changed my like person, like a little bit of my personality too. Like more of my, you know, I call my badass mom days. Um, like I'm more like flowy, more in my rhythm, like, you know, less structure. And then like, you know, my more like CEO days, it's like, okay, this is what I have to do. Um, and so I hate that we are like having to like I felt like I had to choose like one or the other. Yeah. Um and it is so nice to hear that like you don't like make it, you know, what works for for you and what, you know, it fuels your fire.

SPEAKER_00 13:20

Yeah, yeah. And I and I feel like a lot of moms are in that same boat. Like they don't just want to be a stay-at-home mom. And it's like they want to feel fulfilled too. And I feel like that's why I mean I love the online space because we are able to do that and we don't have to go out and go to a regular corporate job. We can build our own business from the comfort of our own home. A lot of people are home with their children, um, you know, and they don't go to get day care, and that is completely fine. Like, and you can still make it work around that time too. I mean, um, it's just all about finding what works for you, what is going to move the needle in your business, what tasks are most important for you to be doing each and every day. I mean, I know for me, like so many things once I had kids got eliminated from my plate because I was like, I just I don't need to be doing that anymore. It doesn't make sense. I was doing it because I told I was told I needed to do it. But if it's not bringing me joy, if it's not bringing me more income, and if it's not like overall adding to my business, there's no point in doing it. And it's only just gonna make me feel worse. So I just need to get it off my plate. And so many tasks fell into that, like definitely fell into that um area that is like, okay, I just I don't need to be doing this anymore. It's not, it's not helping me. So if it doesn't feel right, like move on from it, I feel like totally.

SPEAKER_01 14:31

Um, a lot of moms, you know, feel guilt, whether they are like working or like fully present at home. How did you personally stop living in that split and create like peace with both roles?

SPEAKER_00 14:46

Yeah, I think for me, I just stopped chasing like the perfect balance. I feel like like we're always chasing this balance, like the work-life balance. And it's like that doesn't really truly exist at the end of the day. So, what actually helped me was just getting clear on when I'm working, when I'm not. So when I'm working, I'm like putting my full force into my work and working with intention. And when my kids are home and when they're with me, I'm not like half working on my phone or mentally running through my to-do list. I am present with them and, you know, meeting their needs. And really being able to do that has created so much peace because I feel like I can turn my brain off for business and focus on my family. And then the family stuff, I can, you know, you can never fully turn off the family stuff. Like, let's be honest. Like, you know, I always have my phone on just in case the daycare calls me or his my son's school calls me or whatever. So I'm never fully turned off of mom mode because that's just not realistic. But I can turn off the business. And I didn't used to feel like I could do that. I felt like I was like half on my phone, half here. And even just like the first six months of my son being in daycare, I feel like he was sick every 10 seconds. So I felt like I was constantly on my phone trying to like make up for lost time because I didn't have that time. Once, you know, that evened out and he stopped getting sick as frequently. Um, it made it so much easier because I was like, I know I'm gonna have this time. Of course, he gets sick every so often, or they both get sick every so often, but it was it's not as constant as it was that first six months. So I was able to really just like focus on them when they're with me. And I kind of also had to look at like what being a good mom and a successful business owner really looks like for me personally, because I was comparing what that looked like for other people to what it would look like for me. Or so like I would see Instagram people saying, Oh, this is what a successful business owner looks like, this is what a successful mom looks like, et cetera, et cetera. But once you like define it for yourself, you really stop feeling guilty because everyone's version of success is different. Like my version of success is gonna be different than yours. Um, you know, Lisa down the street's version of success is gonna be different than both of ours. Everyone has different versions of success. Like some person might be just made in needing to make an extra a thousand dollars to help her family out. But Susie over here might be needing to be the breadwinner. So it really depends on you and what you need in both like to be the the family person and also within your business. So um, we just need to figure out what makes the most sense for us, what being successful really means to us as a whole, not what so-and-so on Instagram feels like success means.

SPEAKER_01 17:29

Yeah. I have just like so social media has been like such a big thing for me. Like, yeah, you know, I I was trying to like copy and paste like people's other people's strategy. And like my mentor was like, you are your strategy, like you are your own strategy. Like just do what your intuition, you know, like what's gonna make you happiest and what feels right when you post. Because like, you know, truly like people can feel your you know energy even through like what you share on, you know, social media and how you show up. Like they truly can can feel that. And I just feel like I love that you had mentioned that like you, you know, the comparant and itis, like we all kind of like go through that. Um, and just like realizing like I'm gonna save, you know, so many moms, you know, who are listening to this and you know, so much time is like, you know, just do like your own strategy. Like, yes, you can, you know, look at what other people are doing, but don't copy and paste, like really truly, you know, go into it as like this is, you know, my family, my home. I'm gonna set my own boundaries. And I think that you'll find success way faster. Do you feel like that?

SPEAKER_00 18:45

Yeah, a hundred percent. And like you don't know what resources they have. Totally. Right. Like you don't know if they have a full-time nanny behind them. You don't know if they have, I don't know, they have like a full staff, you know, you don't know what they have. And um so we just need to like stay in our own lane, put our blinders on, and you know, like you said, you can look and see what other people are doing, but don't let it like be all consuming. Because when you let it be all consuming, then you that's when you lose yourself.

SPEAKER_01 19:13

Yeah. And I feel like frustration, like, why isn't this working for me?

SPEAKER_00 19:17

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 19:17

And then they give up completely. And it's like, no, no, no, don't do that. Like, just pivot, you know, after that. For sure. Um, you've been in business for 10 years and a mom for, you know, over five. What system or systems have changed everything for you first whenever motherhood entered the picture?

SPEAKER_00 19:40

Yeah, I think for me, building a weekly rhythm has really been the best thing for me. We kind of talked about that a little bit, but before kids, I could kind of just work whenever I wanted and figure it out as I went, I could like sit down at the computer and waffle. Hmm, what am I gonna do today? After being a mom, that just did not work anymore. So just giving my week structure, knowing what days I'm focusing on clients, content, and what days are gonna be more like lighter and planning around that has been really beneficial for me. Obviously, not every week is gonna be perfect, some things are gonna come up, but having that weekly rhythm means that I can just like constantly have a starting point and I'm not starting from scratch every single week. And it just gave me that baseline to come back to so that, you know, even during chaotic seasons, I knew what I was gonna be doing and I wasn't just like sitting at my computer every day, like, I don't know what to do today. Um, and then wasting an hour not knowing what to do. And, you know, when we only have 20 hours or less a week, wasting an hour is a big deal.

SPEAKER_01 20:42

Totally intentionality, I feel like. So where do you like what's your process to like planning your your weekly rhythm? Like what tools do you use? Kind of walk us through how you how you plan that.

SPEAKER_00 20:54

Yeah, good question. So I like to use Google Calendar, that is my big thing. Um, you know, whenever I get my kids like schedules for the year, I put all the dates on there, like time off, anything like that, it gets put on my calendar first. So I already know like when they're gonna be out of school. So I'm not like planning anything around that. Then from there, I kind of like plan out launches and things like that around the time off schedule. And then from there I plan out like my content blocks and client blocks on a week. I don't really put like, this is when I'm doing my CEO days on my calendar and things like that, because that kind of feels like permanent, even though you can move it around, it feels a little too permanent for me. So I kind of just keep that part in my brain. But like I know I can look at like two weeks from now and be like, okay, cool, I'm launching something in two weeks. So that means this week I really need to focus on nurturing people and getting them ready for this thing that I'm launching or whatever. So then I might have a little bit more content heavy of a week, like doing more content box or something like that. Um, but you know, or maybe I look at my calendar, I'm like, oh. Crap, it's spring break next week. I need to get all my clients' episodes edited for the week of spring break plus the week after. So I'm not like rushing to do that when I'm trying to enjoy spring break with my kids. Um, I also use um I used to use clickup a ton. I'm starting to get yeah, it's like a project management tool. I am starting to get back into it, but honestly, after I had my second child two and almost two and a half years ago, my ADHD just really came out full force. I was like, oh my God, I didn't realize I even had this, but I really masked it really well with my first, I could keep it together. But once I had my second, my daughter, I felt like my life imploded and like I was super scatter brained. So, like, although although I do love clickup and project management tools, I started just being really simple and using my notes app on my phone and just writing to-do lists there, which is so bizarre because I would never have thought that that would be my life. But when I got like more home task and things like that that I needed to do, um like call the doctor and get an appointment or call the dentist and get an appointment or order, you know, new clothes for the kids for spring. Like that was easy to do when I only had one kid. But now that I have multiple, I don't know. It just was not competing with my brain. So I use a little to-do list in my notes app. I am starting slowly to remember to get back on clickup, but you know, it's it's been one of those things.

SPEAKER_01 23:28

I realize the more kids, the more simpler I want my life. You know what I mean? Like, uh, you know, I try to like, for instance, like um, we're kind of, you know, with me full-fledged into entrepreneurship, like, you know, finances, accounting, like, you know, bookkeeping is very important. Right. Um, so I try to do like um QuickBooks, and like I'm just like, this tool is not working for me. It's oh it's overcomplicated. Like I just couldn't wrap my mind around it. And so um I went a like a long time ago when my husband and I first started um like saving for our first home, we used every dollar, which is like a Dave Ramsey tool. Um and I'm like, you know what? That worked for us then. Like it surely should work for us now and like for my, you know, keeping track of the business and stuff like that. And I'm like, I'm just going, like, I hate that we're always trying to like, yes, I love technology and then like embracing it, like it's amazing. But like I do feel like we're getting pulled in like so many different directions that especially like for moms, like simplifying everything first, seeing what sticks and like build your foundation and then start, you know, kind of trialing, you know, additional, you know, things on top of that.

SPEAKER_00 24:43

Right, right. Yeah. And if if it's something that you find hard to use or like overly complicated, you're just not gonna use it, right? Like, just like I stopped using clickup because I was just like struggling to open it every day. But I use my notes app every single day. I check things off every single day. And you know, I cross-ref cross-reference it. If it's like a big project that has like a million moving pieces, I'll cross-reference and click up and be like, okay, cool. I didn't forget this task. So I have templates in there built out for like repeatable projects and stuff. But just like, I didn't really want to put like all my personal stuff in there. It was like, oh, this is too much. So um, yeah, just figuring out what works for you is really gonna be key. I mean, I I use a bunch of different tools. I use um like Airtable to keep track of my content and stats and all that stuff. And um, I used to be like a big anti-AI person. I was like, oh, it's coming to take my job, but now I really use it a lot. It's you know, especially for mom things like meal planning and life stuff, like and our and also too, I'll another hack is I'll use it like I'll be like, here's all the things on my plate this week, and here's how much time I have. Can you help me figure out like how and when I should be doing each of these things and like what makes the most sense in the process to do when? And I'll just like voice note to it, and then it'll help me come up with like a nice schedule. I don't do that every single week, but like when I'm feeling really stretched, then like I have a big launch coming up in the next week or two that I'm trying to do like a million things for, and then I will kind of use that to kind of help me plan better. Um yeah, so it's just you know, I think just find what works for you. You don't need to use a million tools, but honestly, like any tool that saves me time is a big deal because like I said, I just don't have tons of extra time and I don't want to spend my time when you know doing something manually when I can use tools that help me do it quicker.

SPEAKER_01 26:41

So I agree completely. And I I've loved AI since it came out, so I've always like really embraced it. Um, but I feel like a lot of like there's been a lot of like hate around it lately.

SPEAKER_00 26:55

And I think like I've been seeing more lately. Like I embraced it before the hate started up, and now I'm like, oh now everyone's like a hater. Great. Um, I was a hater at first because like, oh, I feel like people are just gonna use it in their podcast and not outsource their podcast anymore. And I feel like people did for a minute, but then they realized, like, oh, it's not as great as a human in that way yet. It might be in the future. You never replace humans, I feel like Yeah, I feel like I feel like that was a big fear though for me at first. So I was like very like resistant, and then I started using it like more for life stuff, and then I slowly started doing it with business stuff. I was like, okay, like this isn't bad. Why was I why wasn't I saving myself time like six months ago? Like, what was I doing here?

SPEAKER_01 27:39

Yes, I think the key to it is like being a good prompter, though. Like it's gonna sound generic if you give it a generic prompt. You know what I mean? Like, yes, that's why I'm always like, you know, for my clients, like you have to take the time and be intentional about like what you said about like how you gave it the voice known about your your week. And like I leverage it, I mean, I leverage it every day. And um I think for moms too, like decision fatigue is like such a thing. Like that has helped me tremendously just like put things out and like talk through it. Like for some reason, like, you know, especially in motherhood, like it is lonely. Like I feel like sometimes like we're ashamed to talk through things or like, you know, just uh we're not we don't have community, we don't have our village like we used to. And so I feel like, you know, that uh, you know, for me, like I have leaned on it, you know, to just like give me a different, you know, perspective or things or just like to move things out.

SPEAKER_00 28:33

I've talked to it too in that way as well. Just like because yeah, like you said, it's lonely. And sometimes you don't want to like burden your friends because they have their own things going on, they have their own family, they have their own kids. So like being able to get a different perspective and you know, like I know a lot of people who say their AI just always gasses them up. And mine actually. Um I mean, but mine actually challenges me sometimes. Really? Yeah. Um, so I think I mean, I think that's good too, because it's not constantly saying, Oh, your idea is beautiful, Jenny, because I feel like we don't need that all the time either. Cause then we're gonna create a million and ten things, right? Because as entrepreneurs, we are very multipassion. I know for myself I have, you know, I have two essentially two different businesses. They serve similar audiences, but they're different in a way. So, like, yeah, I can't be creating like 7,000 new products, even though my entrepreneurial brain wants to. So sometimes it's like, okay, you don't really have time for that. Maybe you can fit that in in like September or something. It's not trying to make me like do everything in like a you know, 30, 60 day period. So I'm like, I appreciate that. It's not, it's like that's a good idea, but like let's let's stop. So I've prompted it enough to like tell me to when I need to stop instead of it constantly like being a yes man all the time. That's awesome. But you've taken the time to like train it too. Like I exactly that's important. A lot of people if you don't, then it can go off the rails for sure.

SPEAKER_01 29:56

Yeah. And it's like it is just another generic tool. Like if you're like I said, like if you're gonna prompt it, if you're gonna talk to it generically, then it's gonna be a generic Yeah, it's not gonna help you tool. So um for the moms listening, like who are feeling, you know, scattered or you know, overstimulated, you know, pulled in in multiple directions, you know, there there is so much um talk about like getting into the digital space. And like there is so much, you know, fake stuff out there and real stuff though, that like, yes, it proves that like you can make a lot of money, you know, being in the online space. But I I sometimes am a little bit, you know, uh, you know, just realizing what the internet is, though, too. Um, just a lot of content out there for for moms. Um, where should she begin if she wants more income, you know, without building her life around hustle? What would be your first direction?

SPEAKER_00 30:57

Yeah. And this might sound counterintuitive, but I want to challenge you to do less, but do it on purpose. So I feel like most moms are not struggling because they're not doing enough. I mean, they think they're not doing enough, but that you you're doing more than you believe you are. But really, they're struggling because they're doing too much. And the too much that they're doing, half of it doesn't even matter, maybe even more than half. So I want you to look at three things. So you want to look at what's actually bringing income in your business, what is draining your time and energy, and what can you simplify or eliminate? So think about like what's bringing you the most money, keep doing that, right? What's taking the most time and energy and isn't bringing in that money? Maybe you're just spending way too much time consuming on social media or doom scrolling or whatever you're doing. Like, yeah, that's wasting your time and energy. It's not bringing you fulfillment. You might get that dopamine hit in the beginning, but like, is it really making you feel fulfilled at the end of the day? Like when you go to bed, you're like, oh man, I'm so happy I just spent two hours doom scrolling on social media. Probably not. And then yeah, what can you simplify or eliminate? Like, what can you get off your plate? Is it that doom scrolling? Is it like simplifying a system? Like a system that's pretty complicated. And maybe you're, you know, as someone who does podcast, I'm gonna compare it to a podcast. What if your podcast process is taking you like four hours a week? Maybe you make it cut that in half. Make it make two hours, take two hours a week. That cuts time off your plate. Or something you can completely eliminate. Or do you feel like you're constantly having to like go and engage on Instagram and then that's not bringing you joy? It's not bringing you leads, or you feel like you're constantly having to post on Instagram and it's not really doing much for you. What can you get off your plate that you feel like you need to be doing, but it's not actually serving you? Um, you don't need more offers, you don't need more content, you don't need more platforms to engage on. You just really need to figure out like what works and give yourself permission to focus on what actually works instead of trying to do everything because it's not bringing you what you need, what you need to be brought.

SPEAKER_01 32:54

So good. I wish that like, yeah, somebody told me that like right whenever I began my career. I feel like you probably feel the same.

SPEAKER_00 33:03

Yeah. I mean, yeah, I mean, 10 years ago I probably wouldn't have received that that advice. Because I was like, whatever I have time, I have 60 hours. I mean, my my husband was in grad school as well at the time. So like I probably spent more than 40 hours working on my business because I had that time. Right. Whereas, like, you know, once I had kids, I was like, no, I don't have that time. And, you know, I wish I would have gotten that advice for sure. Cause I mean, maybe not 10 years ago, but once I had kids, I wish I would have like the not the day my son was born, but you know, like when I came back from maturity leave and was ready to get back into it, I wish someone would have given me that advice. Cause it took me about a year, year and a half to really rein it in and figure out like, okay, here's my new normal as a mom, as an entrepreneur, and a person who's just trying to figure out how to survive post baby. Cause having your first kid is a huge shock to your system. I mean, I was not prepared for that. I was like, I thought I was prepared because I was prepared for like, you know, having a baby and all that, but I think I prepared too much for the birth, not necessarily the after. And the birth, it only lasts like if you're lucky a couple hours, if you're not lucky a day, you know, nothing, it's not your the rest of your 18 years, you know? So we spend so much time preparing for the birth, but we don't think about like the after. And that is where you need the most support. And you're you completely change as a human when you have a kid.

SPEAKER_01 34:26

So what do you feel? And I'm just like starting, I've heard this the other day, and um, it just kind of made me do an audit on my life, and I'm still in the midst of it. But like, as I mentioned, like, yeah, we don't have the village like we used to. Yeah. Um, unfortunately. And um so we're kind of having to get creative and finding that. And I do feel like somebody told me um that like if you're doing a task and it's not worth like, you know, what you feel like you're worth is in an hourly like wage matter, then outsource it. What do you think of that?

SPEAKER_00 35:07

Oh, I mean, honestly, like that, I was just thinking about that before you even said what you were gonna say. I was like thinking about like, I feel like that's where she's going with this. And I love that. I mean, honestly, even just a couple months ago, we hired a college girl to help a couple of times a week with house tasks, because I was I'm primarily primarily the house person and so much laundry, like so much laundry. Oh much. Um, and I would never fold it. I would, I mean, I would put my husband's stuff away and put it away properly because he actually has to go in an office. My stuff, my kids' stuff, it looked like a hot mess. Like we looked like hot messes. So I would never fold it because I just didn't want to take the time and energy to do that. So I I hired someone to help me a couple times a week. Um, just doing laundry, maybe tidying up the playroom once a week because it after the weekend it gets kind of crazy. Um, little things like that, and it has made such a difference because I just don't have to worry about that anymore. And it's not something I did until like, you know, my son will be six in like three months. So it's not like I've had that all this time, but um, it was just something that I was like, this is so beneficial. And like it took a while for my husband to see the value in it because you know, he's not the one who was having to do that every day. So he was just like, Oh, well, you know, that's great. But like, is that really gonna benefit us? And then, like, after like a month of her helping out a couple days a week, he was like, Oh, wow, this is awesome. Like, she helped me. And a lot of the time I'm doing it with her too. So it's like I'm taking the time out and like helping her with stuff too. Like, we we cleaned out my entire under the stairs closet together, you know? Like I wouldn't had her do that by herself.

SPEAKER_01 36:46

Like to help promote like her, not promote her business, but like you're helping her in, you know, her business. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 36:51

Well, while she's while she's going to college and making income, you know, she doesn't have to work at Starbucks or something like that. It's more flexible for her too. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 37:01

So I love that. But even in your business, I've starting to to realize like, is this a task that I don't like? Well, then I'm gonna give it to somebody who's more passionate about it, you know. And exactly, like, yeah, I'm, you know, you might not have like a ton of means, especially like being new parents and like, but you know, maybe not eating out as much and you know, you know, cooking home cooked meals, maybe you do hire like a delivery service, or maybe you do hire, you know, a you know, somebody just like drive up, right?

SPEAKER_00 37:30

Like, I mean, my grocery store doesn't charge for drive up. You just get your car or your stuff put in your car. So, like, even that is like a way to outsource the grocery shopping. Cause yes, you're physically ordering everything online, but you don't actually have to go in the store and like look where everything and that saves you time and energy too, or you could have it delivered to your house if you want to pay a little bit extra. But honestly, that is even just starting there is a big thing. Like, I don't know. For me, I like to outsource my life systems first because that's what I don't like doing. I mean, I like my business stuff. I'm so like I like doing that. I mean, I've I of course I've outsourced business stuff too. Um, currently, I'm not really outsourcing anything business wise because I do have such great systems in my business. I feel like it's harder to get a wrap on your house systems because no one that there's not a machine that can fold my laundry for me. There is a machine that can send invoices, contracts, proposals, all those things automated, right? So, and yeah, there's like there's not as many like things that I can automate in my house.

SPEAKER_01 38:39

Totally.

SPEAKER_00 38:40

It's more of an outsource problem.

SPEAKER_01 38:42

So yeah. I I just like somebody, like I said, I heard that the other day and I was like, oh gosh, like that really puts, you know, me in perspective. Um, and I also heard like the more kids you have, the the the prices raise. And I was like, that is pretty powerful too. Right.

SPEAKER_00 39:00

Because then you have way more stuff too. You're like the laundry, like comp like I thought the laundry wasn't gonna get that much worse than I had my daughter, but it like it doubled. And every kid, it you know, each kid has more and more stuff. And when you start, when they start doing like sports and things like that, then you have the sports clothes too. And I swear, like when they do a refresh or like anything like that, or just like oh my god, I feel like I'm constantly doing laundry. It's just a hot mess. So um, yeah, it's just been a lifesaver to have that kind of help. And I mean, I know I know that's not something everyone can do, but you know, like someone in you know, a college student or even like a high school student that has like a bit more flexible schedule that can come help out like a couple times a week is super helpful, or even if like if you don't have childcare, you could do that as well. That's gonna be cheaper than like a full-time full nanny or actual daycare or whatever, if they just come like once or twice a week and for a couple hours or so you can actually work on your business. Because I think that's a lot of people saying they want to be home with their kids, but then they realize like, oh, one hour or two hours a day is not enough to make this work. You need at least like three or four, you know. Um, so yeah.

SPEAKER_01 40:17

I agree completely. And yeah, I just think like giving an audit to your life of what you can and can't do. And I just feel like I started, you know, kind of like evaluating myself in an hourly like wage manner. And I'm like, okay, like what is worth my time and what is, you know, what is not.

SPEAKER_00 40:35

So once once a quarter, I like to do like a time audit too and see like where I'm spending the time. Like, if is it really heavily in the admin side of my business, or is it really heavy in like my life systems? Like what where am I spending the most time? And that helps you kind of decide to where to hire, whether it's life or business, um, and you know, or where to outsource, things like that. Um, because it's hard to know how much time you're actually spending doing things if you're not tracking it. And even like on a regular basis, I like always track my time with my clients because they I'm not paid hourly, but I'd like to know how much time I'm spending per client. So I can see, oh, I should probably reuse my prices because literally I'm spending so much time on this client and they're only paying me X amount of dollars or whatever. Um and yeah, and then it also helps me see like, am I living this 20-hour work week that I'm talking about? And I am. So it's nice to see that in the flesh. Like I record meetings. Like I'm after we get off this, I'm gonna be like, oh, I spent an hour on this call or whatever. Um, so that'll be recorded. So I'm I'm not just like recording like physical stuff that I'm doing, but like actual meetings and interviews and things like that all go into my my time as well.

SPEAKER_01 41:43

And I think that was that's a big missing piece of the puzzle to a lot of women and moms is just the reflection part. Like actually just I remember like honestly, um, you know, three years ago before I really started like in ingraining on this journey of, you know, entrepreneurship and you know, owning my own business, like I feel like I was just going through the motions. Like, you know, I wasn't reflecting on you know what worked, what didn't work, and evaluating and making changes.

SPEAKER_00 42:12

I was just a robot, like going through the You're just doing everything every day and hoping for the best. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 42:19

I hope it works this time. Like, you know, I I don't know. I think that's a big uh like like I said, like piece to the puzzle. So totally well, Jenny, I could definitely talk your hair off. Um, I love what you're building. I love that you're, you know, meshing your your you know, motherhood hood world to, you know, your you know professional aspirations and continuing to, you know, reach for your dreams, you know, doing it alongside your your kids and bringing them with you. So um I I just adore it. So thank you for your time today. And where can my audience find you? Um, and any resources that you like to shout out?

SPEAKER_00 42:57

Yeah, so the place to find me that I hang out the most is probably gonna be Threads. Funny enough. Um, that I'd like that's the only social platform I go on these days, not gonna lie. Um, and my handle is just my name, so Jenny and then dot Sennison. So that is my handle over there. And then my website, just podcastingformoms.co. Um, and then from there you could also go to my other website, which is moms make money collective. So like I said, I have two businesses, they kind of serve the same audience, but um yeah, that's that's where you can find me. Um, I do have a 20-hour work week blueprint, but I believe the euro for that is just momsmakemoney collective.com slash blueprint. Um, so you can go ahead and grab that and kind of see how I created my 20 hour work week and how you can kind of audit your business and life and figure out how to do that for yourself. Um, but yeah, thank you so much for having me. My pleasure.

SPEAKER_01 43:57

And I'll put all this in the the show notes all of her um links so that you guys can easily find her. But such a pleasure, Ginny, and we'll talk soon.

unknown 44:05

Awesome.