Welcome to Raising Hustle, the unfiltered podcast for the moms who are building empires with babies on their hips and grits in their hearts. I'm your host, Mariel Fry, bookkeeper by trade, hustler by nature, and mama by choice. Around here we're raising kids, raising hell, and raising the bar. If you're tired of choosing between nap time and next level dreams, this is your space. Let's redefine what it means to have it all on our own damn terms. Hey, Mamas and Hustlers, welcome back to Raising Hustle. I am so excited to have on Haley Cruuth, founder of MoxieMade. She is a creative branding studio that helps entrepreneurs, small businesses, and nonprofits turn their ideas into brands that truly stand out. Through thoughtful strategies, storytelling, and design, she helps founders bring their vision to life in a way that feels authentic and impactful. But beyond building brands, Haley is also navigating one of the biggest identity shifts of all becoming a mom. As a new mother to a daughter under one year old, she's learning firsthand what it looks like to balance creativity, entrepreneurship, and the beautiful chaos of early motherhood. Today we're talking about building a business, building a family, and what it really looks like when two worlds collide. And so, Haley, I am so excited you're here. Just so everybody knows listening to this, Raising Hustle would not be created, designed, being messaging, thoughtful, all the things if it wasn't for Haley. It's an idea that was a seed that was kind of in the back of my mind for so long. And working with Haley, she came up with the name, she helped with the messaging, the launch, the strategy, and now she is full-on marketing for Raising Hustle. Honored to have her here. It's been a journey so far to get the podcast up and running. But now that it's here, it's exciting. And so thank you, Haley, for all of your hard work and just really want to shout that out across the board first and foremost.
SPEAKER_01I am like head-to-toe body chills because, well, I've got them first when you said I'm like facing my like biggest thing, which is the identity shift of becoming a mom. And I was like, oh, cold chills because you're so right. And then secondly, obviously, you're so kind. Like this whole thing, yes, like I've been able to, I basically just followed your lead. I mean, let's be honest. Like, you are always like, you like you said, you I take take the ideas out of your head, but like you are so determined to do things and get them done and put it out. If you have the idea, you're an executor. So, like, you get it. That sounds like intense, but you know what I mean.
SPEAKER_00Well, I appreciate that. I do feel intense, but I'm honest. And a lot of things you've talked about is I'm rebellious, I'm direct, which is so many things that I am and I embody. And it's just been incredible to share this and have a different platform and to talk about being a mompreneur. I found that through my research of looking for other moms and being business owners, there's some stuff, but there wasn't really anything authentic, anything real, anything that felt like it could be mine. And I really just wanted to relate to somebody else. And so having all of these topics and conversations about being a mompreneur is so important. And to have somebody like you really help me from behind the scenes has been amazing. So I just, like I said, want to shout you to the rooftops. Anybody looking for branding, marketing, messaging, strategy, all of the things that I don't do that Haley does 10 for 10 recommend. And so, hey, Haley, excited to have you. It's definitely been quite a journey knowing you personally, knowing you professionally, working with you professionally, hiring you professionally. I feel I know a lot, but for many listeners, they might not. And so I want to talk about what your thought process was like before a baby to now having a baby. What was your thought process having your business before a child came into the world? And what is your thought process now, now having a child and running a business?
SPEAKER_01Oh my gosh. So, how timely is this conversation? Because right before I just jumped on, it's Moxie's fifth birthday today. So we've been around for five years. And I was literally watching a video that I posted on that day five years ago. And I'm gonna re-upload it to my Instagram today. And like hearing myself, seeing myself say certain things about what I wanted out of this business is like you kind of just like forget where you started sometimes. And it's like, wow, like it's still so true, it's still so accurate to this day. And so, like, before I even thought about because like at that five years ago, we weren't even thinking about having a family at that point. Like, I mean, I had kind of hinted towards like to Nick, I'm like, I'd like to have a baby, like at some point, but at that point, he was traveling for his job, and it was just like not a good time, I guess, to have a baby. So my business was my baby. And I thought I'm going to take this little side gig doing, I was like the self-declared yes girl doing all the marketing, all the things underneath the marketing umbrella and run with it. But really, when I launched this, relaunched my little side gig five years ago, I really just wanted to focus on helping people like me and like entrepreneurs and small business owners, like get their message out there with their businesses and like make it look good while they're doing it. And so I landed on branding. And I thought I definitely wanted to have a variety of different clients. I didn't even know like what industry I wanted to be in. I was just focused on like whoever, whoever had a cool idea, whoever was like crazy enough to start a business. Like, you're my people. And so I guess, yeah, like before even being in like the mom mindset, I just wanted to do something different on my own terms. I had worked for men in my career up until that point. And no, it nothing against them. I learned a lot from them. Like, oh my gosh, which I know you can relate. Like having that experience, learning, seeing those decisions being made and like big dollar decisions being made, and all of that is so invaluable that I take with me today. But I just remember being like, every time being like, oh my gosh, I could do this so much better. Like, I could do this so much differently. I would do this differently. And yeah, so we moved to Charleston in 2020. And by that point, I was like, Yeah, we're I'm not going back to work. I'm gonna just work for myself. And that's when I did it, jumped, jumped into it, and here we are.
SPEAKER_00And you have nothing to lose, right? I think for so many women, we're so nervous. We need like this perfect game plan and this perfect strategy. And sometimes I just believe like, just do it, try it. And then you get to a point as you grow, okay, then you hire certain people and you reinvest in your business. And there's nothing wrong with just going for it or even being at a job and being like that little whisper, I can do it better. And I think so many of us feel that way. And so many aspects of our life, we could think we can do it better, or we can have a better strategy, or we can hire somebody who knows more than us. And so listening to that little voice sometimes, I know I did. I've listened to this little voice about for both of us doing two cents of I just know that there's a better way, or even my bookkeeping business, I know there's a better way. And even doing this podcast, I know I can share my stories in a different way. So I love that you were able to do that as well. And so it's your intuition. Yeah, I think it's definitely intuition. And as women, we have we have strong intuition. We just have to listen to it. And a lot of women don't. And a lot of women suppress it, and a lot of women don't want to move forward. And so talking about your business, having it for a couple years, and now bringing your daughter into the world, what if in some of your biggest challenges with navigating motherhood and entrepreneurship? Because it is definitely hard and there is no right or wrong way to this, but it does cover some of your challenges and struggles and maybe how you've gone through them.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Okay. So as a first-time mom, I had nothing to they don't, you don't know what's like to come really. I mean, you can like do the research, but to actually experience it yourself. And so I'm really glad that what I did do and listen to other people is I took a maternity leave with my business. And so that was that was a huge thing. And I did step away for about June, July, August, September, like three months, I think. And then I stepped back in after that. And honestly, I will like the biggest thing right now that and like a good example I like in in real time that I'm trying to figure out is do I want to like how do I want to do this? Like, how do I want, do I want her in the house with me? Cause I work from home. I'm remote. I get to do my schedule is based off of me because we own our own businesses. And right now I'm just trying to navigate is I think I know well, we've spoken about this.
SPEAKER_00It's like, do you are you comfortable with her going out, right, for like a daycare or an at-home, or do you want her home? And I think this is a massive conversation people are having. And I think a lot of it has to do with cost. Of course, I think money is always the number one thing. Yeah. But then it comes down to like what you want, you know, and I think it's hard.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So is my business worth? This was the question that came to mind when I was with you, actually. And it's like, is my business worth me taking time away from my daughter, from being at home with my daughter? You know what I mean?
SPEAKER_00And that is a very hard question for anybody, because I think when you're a full-time stay-at-home mom, it's easy. You're a full-time stay-at-home mom. There is no other option, quote unquote. You're not working for anybody else. You are home with a baby all the time. But then when you're a full-time mom and you have to work a nine to five, the choice is made where it's daycare, nanny, or something else. But when you're in the middle, right, and you're kind of the in-between of you own a business, but you have a child, you need some kind of care. But what does that look like? It is very hard to navigate those waters. And I've definitely put out episodes around this because I think it is such a conversation. And I think it really depends. Just because, like I met somebody actually on a mom walk, she pays for five days a week of babysitting, but she actually only really needs four. So that extra day, you know what? Sometimes she puts him in daycare for running errands or cooking, or sometimes she just wants to spend time with him. There's no rule book to being an entrepreneur and a mother. If you want to spend for the five days because you're obligated to, but you only want her three, that's fine as well. As long as you're making the money and you're making your ROI worth it. I think as a mom, look, for me, as a like the and I've done a lot of research into this, the happiest mothers in the entire world are part-time moms. They're the moms that work to look, I like to get out. And I have no shame or mob guilt around this. Like, I want to go out, I want to meet other adults, I want to have adult conversation, I want to get dressed up, I want the cute earrings, I want the cute dress, like I want to feel like a person in society. At the same time, I'm not afraid to get down and dirty with my son and cook, make him food, walk around, go to a park. It's finding that balance that works for you and your family, and there is no right or wrong way. I joke in the bookkeeping world, like taxes are a diet. There's a general rule of thumb, but deep down, everybody has a unique situation to them. So I don't think there's anything wrong with that. And there's nothing wrong with putting yourself first. You can't pour out an empty cup. I say this constantly. An empty cup is like truly, like even like I have a cup and it's almost empty. How am I gonna pour into this? How am I gonna pour into myself so I can pour into others? And we need to start that conversation more than anything else. And it will always be a challenge for moms. And at the end of the day, it is such a short window when you look back, but it's finding what balance, quote unquote, works for you. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that's so true. And that's exactly what like my brain was trying to, I think, conceptualize. But I do like what you said about like the happiest women are the part or the happiest moms are the part-time moms. And that's something that I just need to, and I'll get there. I just need to wrap my head around in terms of like, what does that look like? Like in terms of the hours of the day, because there's not an endless amount of time. Circle back to your question. I definitely think it all comes back to time and how how I'm spending my time, but also like I need more time to jump back even more into my business. And if I want this to continue growing, like it's going, it requires me to be here right now. So yeah.
SPEAKER_00And you know what? I I tell a lot of women this too. Like you can scale back or scale forward. It really depends on what you want. And I think being a mompreneur, which is what I love, you can we can make all the decisions we want. We're the boss, we're el jefe, we're the ones that are making all the decisions. So if we want to work a little harder one day and work a little less the other, that's fine. We can we can balance that, we can structure that, we can figure that out. The biggest thing is cash flow and it's budgeting to a certain point and what that looks like for you and your family. And no two families are the same, no two families have the same budget, no two families have the same situation. It's really just figuring it out. And so I love that you were so honest and vulnerable about that because it is one of the hardest conversations of being a mompreneur. There is no right or wrong way. I know for me right now, bringing my second into the world, 100% two days a week of babysitting. But if I could put my child in a care, why wouldn't I? If I had something, I don't know if I'd want five days a week, I'd want maybe two to three. But again, that's really hard to find. And so where I am, it's like two years of weightless. I'm just not getting in anywhere. So the option isn't even available to me. So I know the options that I'm faced are really just babysitting, and that's what I have to work with. And so I think you have to really work within the parameters of what you're you have as an option for you. So it's it's a challenging time, but I know you will figure it out for sure.
SPEAKER_01Thank you. Yeah. I do have a dear friend, um, and she and I were having similar conversations. She has her son right now, he's two. And she was saying, and like, I have a strong relationship with my faith too. And she was leaning into her faith and like with God, and she was saying, like, we didn't her and her husband did not have the the money to have like a nanny, but they also didn't, and they don't, I don't know if they had the money to like have any type of childcare. They don't have family here. Um, and she was like just felt very defeated, and she was just kind of like praying about it and being like, What like what do I do? Because like she needed to go back to work too, and her husband had already gone back to work and like she's trying to figure it out with her job. And she kept praying about it, and we think like there's one way or another, like to do this. And so she kept looking for that way that she thought, like, have someone like a nanny who they can afford, I guess, or like have childcare that they can afford. What ended up happening was, and this is obviously not for everyone, but they actually have somebody who like through their church, they were mentoring, I guess, essentially these young girls like that are in college, College of Charleston. And now these girls are like entering into the like their careers and they needed somewhere affordable to stay. And so they're doing like a trade with like they're mentoring these girls, but also like they can stay at the house and watch her son while she works. And it's like she just told me she was like, although that I never would have even put two and two together for that to even like be an option, and again, it's not for everyone, but she was like, God was literally like, okay, well, I can give you some type of option. It might not be what you expected, but it's not always like this or that. It can be something that we just gotta kind of get creative sometimes and make it when you make it work, like you just figure it out and you make it work.
SPEAKER_00100%. And I do think there is a gray. We talk about black and white constantly. Look, I know in the bookkeeping space that is what I do on a day-to-day basis, but there is more gray than people can imagine. And I think if we think outside the box, if we think about other alternatives that could work for you and your family, I would say go for it. I one of the things I've talked about somewhere on the along the way in the podcast, if it hasn't come out already, is just thinking about what help looks like for you. And maybe it is a trade with another mom. Maybe it is something what you're talking about if someone living with you for free in exchange for help around the house. We don't need to be segued into just a few different options. We can think outside the box. And as entrepreneurs, we can be creative in that. So I love that your friend kind of figured out the problem solving, a little bit of prayer, a little bit of luck, but also just had the network and community to reach out and find the support. It's something I talk constantly on this podcast of community and support and like finding your people. Because if you don't find that, it feels really challenging and really hard. So I love that that was able to help your friend with that. Yeah. Yeah. It was good. I love that. So segueing a little bit into Moxie for a second, because I do want to talk about your business a little bit and then we'll kind of go back to motherhood. But with Moxie, talk to me about just some of the options and services that you have within your business and what differentiates Moxie from anybody else out there. There's a ton of digital marketing, branding, logos, kind of all these different from I'm not you we joke constantly. I tell you I'm not creative, but you always tell me I am. But in the creative world, it feels very overwhelming with what's out there in the market. And I think a lot of people are sold not lies, but could be lies. It can be way too expensive what the offer is, what they need. And so I'd love to know differentiators of Moxie made some of the offers that you have and how you're really able to help these beautiful female entrepreneurs.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So my background, I have degrees in public relations marketing and branding. And so when I started out working, I was like heavily doing like basically social media marketing for small businesses. But what I did was I ended up taking parts of all of that. So the strategy part comes from my PR and marketing background. And then the branding still obviously, like my degree in branding was heavily, it was based in strategy work and communications versus like design. I'm a self-taught graphic designer, is what I say. And I also call that like my second love. But I was seeing that these businesses were hiring somebody to create a brand, quote unquote, and getting a logo and nothing else. So they would establish the visual brand, is what they're doing, like the visual identity. But they were like leaving out, okay, well, you have this logo. Why is it that color? Or like what's the vibe we're giving off here as a business? And so I kind of like stumbled into discovering that side of branding. And for a long time, I was like, I don't know if like people are doing this. Like, I don't know even what to call this. And, you know, I've landed on that we are we're a boutique branding agency and we're now touching, promoting more publicly that we're helping with marketing support too. But really, it just comes back to helping support businesses create their brands that you can see, hear, and feel. So it's not only just the logo, it's also the messaging. It's also naming the business, like you just talked about. We helped you, I helped you name the podcast. And then we start with what I say the intangible. So all the things you cannot see, but the things that you will hear. And so things like your tagline, your mission and vision statements, your purpose statement, like your unique selling point, what I'm getting, what I'm touching on right now in real time, like what is your unique selling point, your claim to fame? And ours is that we are more than a design agency. We do more. You're gonna get more from us, and that is how we've designed our packages. So we're obviously not for everyone. If you're just looking for a logo, I tell you, I can give you a list of very fabulous, amazing graphic designers that you can go to to just get a logo. Um, but you will not be getting a look, just a logo from me from Moxie Maid ever. So strong statement. And it's because, again, I've seen that you miss out when you don't touch on the intangible before you get to the tangible, you probably are gonna come back one day and be like, something's not working. I'm not talking to the right people, I'm not getting the right attention, or it's just something's not. And so it's because there's some holes in your foundation. So with that, I offer a few, we we do a few different packages, but if you we work with people who already have an existing business, that's kind of our bread and butter. And we love to offer strategy help. So I do a VIP brand strategy day where you've got your business, it's up and running. And we did this for FM bookkeeping too. And you're like, I just want to reevaluate what it is I'm saying and how I'm saying things to my target audience and making sure that I'm staying quote unquote on brand. And what does that sound like? And what does that look like? So that's like kind of an entry-level offer. But then we also do our made in 72. So this is a 72-hour brand refresh. And I say this is for the people who have DIY's their brand and their logo. So this is, I mean, it's really for a refresh for anyone, but and you'll hear it here first. We're actually thinking about switching up this offer a little bit and not doing it in just 72 hours anymore because we found clients aren't as concerned with the 72 hour turnaround. time and we also appreciate having a little bit more time to get down into the nitty-gritty of the refresh. So more to come on that soon. But we still, I mean, we would still do it if somebody was interested. But we revamp your logo and we touch on the strategy portion too. So making sure your messaging is good and your target audience, like we're speaking to the right people and how do we do that? And then we have our full brand creation package. So this is for businesses who and could also be a rebrand as well. But people in businesses who are starting from scratch and wanting like the full shebang and the full brand package that comes with naming the business and starting from the the ground up with all of the messaging and the strategy and then we translate that all into your visual identity. And then we will do websites as well for clients that we build their brands for.
SPEAKER_00I love all of that. And one of the things I think that touches me a lot is like this intangible tangible aspect of your brand. A lot of people just slap a logo and look in the beginning you have to right I know I certainly did scrappy. But as you grow right you want to think about your branding and your marketing in a much different perspective and you want it to be sticky. Like we joke in pregnancy about wanting a sticky pregnancy but we actually want a sticky brand as well. We want something that people are going to relate to people are going to be excited about people want to be open to I even before this had a discovery call with a mompreneur starting a business and she's got two kids and I was telling her obviously look about my services but also telling her about the podcast. And she was like oh my gosh like I'm a big podcast person. I love to listen to podcasts. I'm so excited and a lot of people can relate to that as if you're in this world. And so I've niche down to a particular group of people who feel the same way I do. And I was able to do that through strategic branding and thinking about a name and like I said working with Haley going through this entire process because this what like I think doing it in 72 hours is really hard and to take the time to do it right. Like I always joke buy nice or buy twice. I'd rather buy nice the first time. Yep that's do it right do it well and then it's kind of like lock and loaded versus paying for something crappy and then having to redo it again anyway. And look it's mushflow, it's money. I get all of that too, but I'm in a place knock on wood where I can afford to do it a little bit better, to think a little bit clearer and to work with someone that can make my vision come to life. So I absolutely love that. Segwaying kind of into business and motherhood, talking about boundaries it's something I want to talk about in every interview with a mom because we're stretched so thin as it is I constantly joke that we have we're moms. We are dealing with babies and just making sure that they're alive. We're also dealing with the idea of running a house and so it's getting everything for a house it's cooking meals if you cook or it's just organizing stocking keeping a house just consistently running. But then we're also running businesses. And so between those three it can feel overwhelming it can feel challenging it can feel hard. And so for a lot of moms they're trying to put boundaries in place and it's very blurred as an entrepreneur because you're not clucking in or out of a job. You are kind of doing this in the midst of chaos.
SPEAKER_01So what boundaries quote unquote have you put in place what are you kind of sticking by to make sure that you feel good about yourself and just clarity and all of the things yeah so my best friend tells me that she was like the other day literally was like I mean this in the most loving way but you have boundaries like you're really good at setting up boundaries and so I'm going to need I'm going to need you to tell me when you need things because if not I'm not going to cross the lines. So I need boundaries and I don't know where this stems from but my brain needs it because if not I start to get very overwhelmed and like completely ungrounded like and then like nothing gets accomplished and it just becomes like pure like I'm operating out of just a by the seat of my pants stance. You know what I mean? And so with boundaries like now with having my daughter I have the like schedule that I have set up right now is I have childcare Tuesday through through Thursday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursdays not the full day either. It's like four hours a day anytime that I don't have dedicated childcare I don't put it on my asana to get done because I know that if I'm with her and I'm trying to do like A B C D F G for Moxie, it's going to be potentially it could work out like if she's napping maybe and if that's the case I'll work but I'm not going to like require myself to have a deadline on a day that I know I'm not going to have childcare because I can't stress myself out like that. But also like I don't that's to me is doing a disservice to her. Like I don't want to if I'm supposed to be taking care of her I'm going to be taking care of her. So that would I say I would say that's like my biggest boundary. And like with that comes clear communication. So making sure like hey I got your email I will respond to it as soon as I'm back to my desk tomorrow at 10 a.m or something like I've sent those emails out before too like to you because your client and I think like having boundaries is so important in business. I mean it avoids scope creep but it also like just sets up the experience to like just be a win-win for everyone involved. And I guess maybe it goes into the fact that like I'm I'm in the business of like communications too. And so I like to be very like transparent and upfront so that we're all on the same page. And I feel like boundaries help with that.
SPEAKER_00And it's time blocking like I you've been really good and I would say for a lot of entrepreneurs something I struggled with in the beginning and eventually kind of worked with a business coach, shout out Shine She EO and really figuring out my world around this it's time blocking like okay your hours on Tuesday are like 10 to four and that's like deep work hours. And it's something I've personally have done now and I love that because then I know my child's being taken care of. I can focus on my business and I'm not like trying to shift and run around because I feel that can be really hard to you can't have your brain in a million places. And look I'm similar to you if my son naps I'll work once in a blue look I throw on TV and I have to work a little bit and it is what it is. But you figure it out and you manage and you just work it out over time. So I love that you're doing that and going into like support and systems I know your big thing is Asana you love it. Everyone's got their thing whether it's Monday or Trello or whatever people love their systems. And so for you I know in business Asana is like your baby but I'm curious if one you use any other platforms in your business, but also what systems and support do you have at home that you can kind of implement because Ray, I think as an entrepreneur lines are blurred, but I'm curious what you're doing in kind of both of those aspects to keep yourself sane.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Okay. So the two that come to mind obviously Asana like shout out but then loom I know you're a big loom user too. So those are like my two things that operate me and my team right now like I would say and there's nothing like just creating a good loom video to get a message across and like trying to like instead of calling the person or emailing them or sending them a voice memo it's like here's a loom watch it when you can it's going to show you everything. So those are like the two that I would recommend I guess. And then in terms of at home in my household so I actually it kind of sparked from listening to I think it was like your first or second episode but I decided we were having my husband and I were like having some issues with meals and like cooking and dinners and grocery shopping and like the whole thing and trying to get to the grocery and we are a huge fan of online grocery shopping and then we just go pick it up thank goodness for that so he has taken on the that role for a while now to like load in the the Instacart and like we're gonna he's gonna go get it he's gonna plan out the meals for the week. Well what would happen was it would be Sunday and we're like going to church and he's like okay so what do you want for food this week or like what do I need to add to the car and we're like in the car and I'm like Nick I'm like I cannot you're I'm driving we just got her in the car like we're on our way I'm like not in the headspace to sit here and be like I don't even know what we have in the fridge to tell you like what I need you to get. So it was like this is not working but his brain doesn't work like my brain does so I was like okay what do what needs to change for this to like not stress me out. So now what I've started doing is I have on my Asana to load the Instacart on Monday and oh I forgot to mention chat GPT another thing I'm using for sure which TBD on if I guess I'm staying with them or if I'm going with Claude, I don't know. Like I have to like figure out who I'm who I'm gonna be using. There's so many. So I feel like you can date them all and you don't have to be married to any. Yeah true true. So anywho I have started implementing I guess kind of like I don't know like a workflow but I load everything in Instacart on a Monday but I also use chat to I say like give me recipes for the week it needs to be gluten free, dairy free, nut free, chocolate free and because our household is like insane and then it also needs to I said like we like crock pot meals things are like one sheet pan meals like easy to just like make and like also have leftovers. So I export from chat that and then I have it make me a grocery list and then I start loading everything into the Instacart on Monday and then we have the full week and I tell Nick I'm like okay load in things that you need because we have like a family account so he can add stuff on from his phone too. And so by time we get to and then I export that recipe meal plan weekly thing and I text it to him. And so now I don't have to be asked what do you want for meals this week and I don't have to be asked every day what's for dinner because those are like the two things that are like triggers for me. I don't know how you feel about that but I'm like don't ask me what's for dinner. I'm so triggered by that.
SPEAKER_00So that's a hard conversation. I don't know why a meal thing is such a thing but it is and it's frustrating. I feel like a lot of it is on me. And again sometimes it's hard because my husband and I like one of us will go to a dinner or one of us have an event. So it's like if the other one's not here how do we plan for the week when sometimes I just will eat chips at dinner if my husband's not home because I don't want to cook.
SPEAKER_01Yeah I know I'm like we don't want to make another decision. So like if it's edible I'm good.
SPEAKER_00The decision fatigue is very real and so you letting go of meal planning and giving ownership to your husband I think is huge. What other decisions have you had to figure out or decide like who takes ownership of what and how do you even have that conversation? Because I think for so many moms, look I get nervous about the conversation sometimes with my husband of like taking ownership. So how are you and your husband handling that conversation of not only decision making but taking ownership of responsibilities.
SPEAKER_01Yeah we've had this conversation and it it changes as you go through different phases of baby and all the things but our most recent one was probably about like a few months ago now about I don't want to have to ask you for for it for whatever it is. Like I just need you to do it. Like he knows things need to get done and I don't want to have to be the one to always ask and so like that was Nick and I have had fortunately like we've always been really good at communicating and we also go to therapy individually we go to therapy but we also go to therapy together. But even before we started doing that like we definitely have always talked to each other he's better at it than I am. I am I used to be a very much so like hold a grudge silent treatment type of person. And then he would be like no like we have to talk this out but he's always been the type to where if we have a conversation and I ask something of him he's always willing to try like he's always willing to give it a try and I've always admired that about him and like it makes a huge difference. So for us like having these conversations about like before our daughter was here I was like super hormonal and upset about our dog like who's gonna take care of my baby when I have another baby you know and so we made the agreement he saw I was very upset over it and he's like I will take care of Stevie and he's held that up like he will still take her for walks he'll feed her like without me having to ask so like he understands that like that was his his kind of like domain. But then also when we first brought Grace home my dear friend Erin she was like she was having conversation with both of us me and Nick and she was like Haley's job is to take care of the baby your job is to take care of her. And I thought that was like really valid and made sense. And then she goes but when you start having multiple kids then it gets a little crazy because then it's like nobody's here to take care of you and you you end up having to take care of the older kids and she's taking care of the baby and then like you figure things out as you go. But for now we have one baby so his job is to help take care of me and he took that to heart and so that was he's since the beginning he started cooking so much more and he feels like the way to take care of me is make sure I'm fed and that my water is always full and then I have my phone next to me.
SPEAKER_00So it's little things but they add up I think I love my husband to death but we're both entrepreneurs our lives are both very hectic and that's just not our world my husband could leave 730 in the morning he might not get home till 730 at night. Sometimes he comes home in the middle of the day for two hours. We live very chaotic lives and it's very hard for us to have certain conversations. And so I appreciate your husband being so open-minded and helping and pitching in I think hopefully a lot of men or women listening to this can have the conversation with their husband or their partner because it is a tough conversation.
SPEAKER_01Yeah and I think I need to I put myself in someone else's shoes for a minute and think about like if it was more tough because yeah like to your point it's not not everyone has like our situation, you know, and so and it is still tough sometimes but I know like I'm a big advocate again like you have to and you are too but you have nobody's gonna know like Brene Brown says we have the story that's in our head. So nobody's gonna know that unless you talk it out. So you can sit there and simmer all day long about oh like why isn't he doing this? But like if you're not going to just tell them or ask them then you can't expect for them to read your mind you know and that's something I've had to personally come to terms with and like calm down Haley like he's not doing anything to like go like be like against you. Like he just truly like doesn't know because he's not like men are not like women like let's just we know that two totally different things happening up in the brain like for men and women.
SPEAKER_00It's true. And I think the reality is is as an entrepreneur we're so good at communicating expectations timelines with our clients but why aren't we doing that at home? Like I really try to do that more in my home of setting expectations with my husband, being realistic about what I'm capable of and not capable of. And for me right now season of life I'm just hiring a lot more people out. Right now I'm hiring a service to just have somebody come twice a week to help me with laundry and dishes more often because I just can't keep up with my busy season. My husband can't be home the way I need him to I'm hiring just more babysitting help in general but that's how I'm getting through this. And so it is kind of recalibrating having the continual conversation and not being afraid to speak up. And I think for so many women we are afraid to speak up we're afraid to upset our partner. We're afraid to upset everyone we're people pleasers but at the end of the day just like in business like if you're not paying me like I'm not doing the work period we kind of need to be a little bit of the same in our house as well. And so one of the things I watched on LinkedIn some woman who didn't work for many years, she was a stay-at-home mom and she said she was like a chief mom officer or something CHO a chief house officer and literally listed her skills of all the things she did in her house to help it run to in hopes to get a job and it caused a lot of controversy but you really started to question what a mother's worth is when you start to hire out for certain help and set expectations and have the conversation to communicate. So it's very interesting when you go into different avenues and different paths on this. So it's it's definitely interesting. But I have a couple more questions. The first one is I want to talk about your creativity. I think a lot of times as an entrepreneur we naturally flow with certain creativity you just think outside the box you do things differently. But now becoming a mom, I'm sure it's unlocked a different side of your creativity. What has that experience been like for you? Because right we as women are dealing with hormones and body changes and so many other things physically but also mentally too if you go through baby blues, maybe a little bit of postpartum and anything in between how has that affected your creativity and your business and even just personally so I think you know eventually as she gets older it's really going to inspire me because when she starts to like talk and like point things out, I'm gonna get to see the world through her eyes.
SPEAKER_01You know what I mean? Right now I'm just like wondering I'm like what is she seeing or like how cool is this? I mean it really just how cool is this is like the line. Like I feel like it's inspired me to know that like it's just like her first time eating a strawberry or like her first time feeling the wind. I'm I will never forget that moment in that day like the first time experiencing grass and like it's just really like brought me I don't know like back to the basics almost. And I remember reading something like on Instagram probably and it was like if you have a clingy baby then that means you need to slow down or like if you if your baby is I don't know I take things as like if she needs me like that's a sign that I need to like take it down a notch and like be there for her. And it's like really helped me I think like ground myself which in turn has given me a lot more like clarity too with how I think through things and creativity but it's also like I think with the clarity too it's like cut through the bullshit like the creativity comes with like a side of like we are not here to mess around. I don't know. So we're gonna just like think outside the box and like it's going to work. Like we are here for it to look good and work. I don't if that makes sense.
SPEAKER_00So it's trial and error. I that's what my one girlfriend I when we both had our kids our kids are seven weeks apart and we just a lot of postpartum and a lot of just walks and conversations and one of it's like parenting is the biggest game of like chess and trial and error you can possibly imagine. You're just trying things and doing things and every baby is different every situation is different and you're trying to navigate these muddy waters on top of everything else. And so it can feel really challenging but I love what you've said just about the creativity side and you are going back. You're slowing down and that is something I've had to try to learn it's hard I think when you run a business full steam ahead but you're also trying to be a mom and slow down and like be in the moment.
SPEAKER_01And it's it feels hard to do both but I think when you time block and you take some time out for yourself but then of course time with the baby it helps you you know it's also about as you're saying that I'm realizing another conversation I've had in my head recently is you have so you have to be realistic and like you cannot be in I'm going to like supercharge and grow my business and like 10x my business right now and be completely present and and be there as a mom. Like for me, I'll speak for me personally like I feel like I could not do that. So for me I was like I have to be at peace with the fact that I'm in like a maintain phase right now with my business I'm I feel like as soon as I we're headed in the in the direction of okay I'm ready to like pick back up and and continue growing soon. But like right now for me I cannot be in both like let's go balls to the wall with the business and also like be how I want to be when I'm with her and for her. Does that make sense?
SPEAKER_00100% and I I love this conversation because as a mom peneur you have choices. You don't have to go balls to wall if you don't want to but if you want to scale back you can or if you want to just maintain you can as well there is no right or wrong way. There's no boss dictating your life your schedule or how you want to do things like you do them however you want to do them. And so thinking about success I look at success from a bookkeeping perspective of revenue and what you're spending and going to analytics but I also look at success as a lifestyle and what that means to your entire ecosystem of your business and your house and your family what does success look like for you currently what does success mean to you as a Mom Peneur?
SPEAKER_01Yeah. It used to be what the world tells you which is make money like it used to be like a monetary value for me. But now it's what I'm learning is it is about creating something that works with my life that I'm building and not against it. And so if I want to take off and be there for her, I can do that. And that to me is me is having a successful or having success from my business. And like success in life, like just having the freedom and having the systems in place in my business and maybe in the people in place that one day it doesn't have to operate. Like if I were to stop, it would keep going, kind of thing.
SPEAKER_00I love that. And I think success also is just like freedom. It sounds like you just really want freedom in your life to be able to do the things you want to do. Like I remember I followed somebody and her name's Holly Hayes, I think. And one of the things she talked about, her kids are a bit older now, but especially early when she was starting her business, she talked about the bus stop. She wanted this idea of a business that she could be at the bus stop every day to drop the kids off in the morning and then to pick the kids up in the afternoon. And that was her idea of freedom where she can work in between the hours of her kids in school, but then she could be at home with her kids. And everybody's success looks different. I think season of life is different. And it just depends on your situation. And it also depends on how old your kids are. I speak to a lot of moms on this podcast where they have really young kids and it's just a bit harder because it's so physical. But then you talk to parents who have a little bit of older kids and they do have a little bit more time to focus on themselves. So it just really depends where you're at. And so right now having just some freedom is amazing. And it's one of the best things that you can give yourself, your family, your daughter and your business. And so I love that. And Haley, I do not like to wrap these up, but you have been a wonderful guest. I really appreciate your vulnerability on just even problem solving on the podcast of what makes sense for you for daycare, some of the offerings you have for MoxieMate and how you've personally helped raising hustle to grow this to what it is today. And just sharing boundaries, priorities, success and what that means to you. I love that you have such an open mind and just open conversations with your partner. These are all things that are really hard to talk about. Being vulnerable is really challenging especially as a woman. And so I'd love for you to just plug and shamelessly talk about MoxieMade, how people can find you and work with you. And again just thank you for sharing your story and your vulnerability.
SPEAKER_01So thank you. And shameless plug yes so moxymade.co is my website and it's moxie made e dot co. And so is my Instagram moxymade.co and I'm like pretty much always on Instagram. I have started a TikTok and a substack but I I'm not very present on there yet. So I would say Instagram or my website and you can find my information on both of those but also just my email Haley H A Y L E Y at Moxymade.co. Wonderful thanks for coming on.
SPEAKER_00Yeah thank you. This is just the beginning. Subscribe now to Raising Hustle and get ready for raw stories, real talk and unapologetic ambition. We're showing up messy, loud and all in because success doesn't wait for quiet. Let's raise our voices, our businesses and our babies together