Shine Without Burnout: How Sarah Ziesler Helps Women Build Aligned Businesses

In this episode of Raising Hustle, I’m joined by Sarah Ziesler, founder of Shine ShEO and a business coach based in Greenville, South Carolina who is redefining what it means to be a female CEO.

After leaving the corporate world in search of something more aligned, Sarah experienced the real highs and lows of entrepreneurship — investing in programs that didn’t always deliver and discovering the gaps many women face when building businesses. That journey ultimately led her to create Shine ShEO, a space where women can grow businesses rooted in purpose, authenticity, and feminine leadership.

In our conversation, we talk about how motherhood reshapes leadership, ambition, and success. Sarah shares how she structures her business around her family, navigates the emotional load of entrepreneurship, and helps women build businesses that prioritize alignment, impact, and sustainability over hustle culture.

This episode is an honest conversation about leadership, legacy, and what it means to build a business that reflects who you truly are — both as a CEO and as a mother.

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This episode is sponsored by FM Bookkeeping 💛

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Whether you’re behind, confused, or just tired of carrying the mental load of your numbers, FM Bookkeeping is here to help you feel grounded and in control again.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:03

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 hustlers and mamas, welcome back to Raising Hustle. I am so excited to introduce Sarah Zeisler, founder of Shine SheEO, a movement redefining what it means to be a female CEO. Sarah is a business coach based in Greenville, South Carolina, who created Shine Sheo to empower women to build businesses rooted in purpose, authenticity, and feminine leadership. After leaving the corporate world in pursuit of something more aligned, she experienced the real highs and lows of entrepreneurship, investing time, money, and energy into programs that didn't always deliver. That journey revealed the gaps in the coaching industry and inspired her to create a space that offers both inspiration and real actionable strategy. Through Shine SheEo, Sarah helps women step fully into their power, balancing intuition with bold decision making, building impact alongside income, and leading without burnout. She believes success doesn't have to look like hustle culture. It can be aligned, intentional, and uniquely yours. Sarah is on a mission to help women shine brightly in business and in life, building legacies that eliminate not just themselves, but their communities too. Hey Sarah, welcome to the podcast.

SPEAKER_00 1:39

Hey Muriel, thank you so much for having me. What an amazing introduction.

SPEAKER_01 1:45

You're so welcome. I am so excited to have you, just having you personally as a client, but also just a dear friend. I am just always inspired by you and everything that you're doing. I'd really love to begin talking about, of course, knowing you from knowing you for a while now. I'd love for you to talk about your business before a baby and also after a baby in terms of thought process, what your intentions were in terms of growth strategy and all the things. Because I think for so many women listening to this, they could be mamas that are thinking about kids and also expectant mamas and new mamas. And so I think you can give a really good perspective and idea in terms of where you were at in so many different phases of your business.

SPEAKER_00 2:31

Oh gosh, yes. I feel like business is just phase after phase, you go on a journey and you decide to go on, and you're like, what did I sign up to? Well, I'm I'm seven months postpartum now, so I feel like I'm still in the stages of trying to figure out what business now looks like with a baby and doing a lot of restructuring at this moment. But I feel like when you are an entrepreneur without a baby, it looks very, very different than with a baby. And you can probably confirm this. So important was to me that my business can continue running throughout postpartum, but also throughout pregnancy. And that requires a lot of systems and it requires strategy beforehand and a lot of planning. But then I feel like you also have to have the mindset of you're going to wing most of it because you have to, you have no other chance. You don't know what to expect when it happens. In my case, my birth didn't go the way it was planned. And so I had to pivot a lot. And I feel like having that entrepreneurial mindset of pivoting and being able to kind of figure it out as you go is very important. It sounds probably a little crazy coming from a business coach who's like all about strategy and planning and structure. But I think a lot of it is really just carrying it on as you go.

SPEAKER_01 4:02

I think so. I think so much of it is trial and error. I joke about this on the podcast about entrepreneurship and motherhood. It's like spaghetti on the wall, we're trying things, we're doing things, and we're just, we're making shit happen. So it's kind of crazy, but I feel like as mompreneurs per se, that's kind of how it is. One of the things I love that you're talking about on your Instagram, which by the way, everybody should follow, Shine Sheio. One of the things she's mentioning is she's talking about this idea of, of course, being soft and feminine, but it's also hustle. And I'd love for you to dive a little bit deeper into this because there's movements in both of like hustle, grind, work hard, but also this like soft feminine side. Why do we need both? And how can we do both? Is it even possible?

SPEAKER_00 4:52

Yes, I feel like that is something that I'm starting to talk more on as I'm coming out of postpartum, but also have this like new bold opinion after becoming a mother, the no, no, no BS type of thing. So I think both are important in balance. I don't think either of them intensively work. Hustle culture, you can only do for so long. I think becoming a mom or being a mom, you hustle all the time. The fact that your podcast is called Raising Hustle is amazing. So you work all the time, whether it is you doing things from the household, taking care of the children, running your business, grabbing these things. I think you're you're constantly hustling, but you can only do that for a period of time before you need rest. And so that's where then I believe people pivoted into the soft girl era of I'm going to include more fun in my business. I'm gonna relax more, I'm gonna have more work-life balance, whatever that is. And I don't know, for example, paint or do whatever it is that you do or that you enjoy that gets you the rest that you need. But I think a combination of both is really what we need to talk about more of and what that looks like, because I think it looks different to every single person as what you can take on is is a decision and a mindset, but then also physical and energy capacities. There are moms that have children asleep through the night, they are very lucky. One of them. And I think a lot of it comes from the energy and the time capacity that you have, but then also the decision that you make of what you do during that time. Because a lot of times that can be mindset as well. If you say, Oh, I'm tired, I can't do this today, you are more likely to do less that day just because of you already saying that this is how the day is gonna go. Whether that rather than like, I feel like my best weeks have been like, I don't have the nanny this week, I gotta figure this out, I got this challenge accepted, and all of a sudden I'm like super woman getting all of these different things done. So I think a lot of it is perception of is that the right word?

SPEAKER_01 7:20

I think so. I think it's perception, but it's really mindset. It's your mindset of you say you're gonna do something and you're gonna do it. And if you say you're not gonna do something, chances are you're not gonna do it. And it's incredible to me how your mind is just so powerful and so capable of all of this. And yes, I agree. I think sleep deprivation is terrible. I'm fortunate my son did sleep through the night at 11, 12 weeks. And that really helped my husband and I. I talk about this on the podcast, but we almost divorced because it was just a terrible time for us, like not sleeping, and you don't realize how crazy you get. And so, speaking about energy, what you just mentioned, talk to me of how you protect your energy. How do you protect like that power within you? Because especially as a mom and as a business owner and running a house and doing everything else, you feel like you're pouring out of an empty cup constantly. So, what are you doing to fill up your cup and to protect your energy?

SPEAKER_00 8:19

Yes, that's such a great question. And it's it's so important because for me, that looks like setting certain boundaries of what I don't do, but also asking for help. So those are two key things. And then taking the time to say, here's the baby, have fun, I'm gonna go get my nails done, or I'm gonna book myself a massage, or I need to, for example, I did that yesterday. I was like, I need an hour to sit here and think about the strategy of my business, not my clients, so that I have a clear head and I will not walk out of this office until I have that. And so that's a reset that might be not a physical rest that some might think, but to me, that's a mind reset. And I will work more productive if I take the time to do that and when I take the time to do that. But I think boundaries, asking for help and taking intentional time to fill up your cup are like the three things that are so important, especially postpartum.

SPEAKER_01 9:24

I agree. I do a lot of that myself, or even recently it was yesterday or the other day, I told my husband, I was like, listen, your turn to watch the baby. Like, I need to get my nails done. I just need an hour. You just have burnout and you're exhausted. And it's one of those things, it's just, it feels impossible and it feels so hard. But I think if you're able to identify like the root cause or the root problem, then you're able to express what you need, communicate that to a partner or a friend or family member, whoever is nearby or helping to help you level up and to help you do the things you want to do that fill up your cup. So I love that. I want to go into your business for a second because one of the things I loved about you, and I'm always gonna be vulnerable and honest and no bullshit on my podcast, but I remember I was six, seven months post-partum with my son and Sarah being my client, we had a review call. And I just had a breakdown day. Talk about terrible. I think I cried six, seven times. And she just happened to catch me on a really shitty day. And one of the things I loved working with her is she said, join my group coaching program, do it for three months, and I promise, like you'll get an ROI. And for me, an ROI wasn't necessarily money as a bookkeeper, but it was more mental. And so, Sarah, for you and your coaching programs and working one-on-one with you and the things that you offer, walk me through what somebody can look forward to working with you as a business coach. Now being a mother yourself and running a business, what kind of transformations are you looking for someone to achieve? I know for me, it was building out the systems in my business where I now can feel confident, pregnant with my second child currently in recording, to continue to sustain and grow and build the momentum. But I wouldn't have been able to feel successful without you. And I can always attest to it and say that through and through. And so I'd love to hear what kind of transformations you're looking to have your clients gain when working with somebody like you as a business coach.

SPEAKER_00 11:32

First of all, thank you so much. I appreciate it. And I loved working with you. You are so fun to work with because you just take it, you immediately implement, you execute. I mean, you're so type A. It's it's nuts. But um, whether you're, you know, you're pregnant, you have children, you don't have children, I work with all types of different women who run and own service-based businesses. And my sweet spot is really where you're you're two, three years in, you are extremely busy, but you are very reactive in your business strategy or the systems that are in place, or no systems that are in place. And you feel like you're you're busy, but you're not compounding. You're not, you're not making consistent revenue or growing consistently. And so that's where I really cut come in and cut through the noise. So that's where we analyze, that's where we clarify, that's where we strip down your business and then put systems in place, but really a strategy in place that feels right for the individual business owner. And that looks different from client to client because it's not a here's my six-figure strategy on how you're gonna get the six figures. It's more let's analyze, then simplify, then structure, and then scale and improve along the way. I love that.

SPEAKER_01 12:55

And I love that you help these women build foundation. And so I believe, like in money foundations, I believe in motherhood foundations. What are some foundations you believe in in both kind of motherhood and business that you think are similar and different that people should think about when you are building a foundation or you are building a business? Now, I'll probably skew more business for a sec here because building a business, there's so much to think about. But what are some helpful tips? What are some helpful advice to anybody wanting to build a solid foundation in their business for success? Because I'm sure you've seen businesses thrive, but also they're just trying to survive.

SPEAKER_00 13:34

Right. As we're building a new business right now, I feel like that's been such on the on the forefront of my mind, just thinking constantly, because building a new business from scratch, all of the old things come up again that you have already fixed in your own business. But the the common denominator, I mean, the common thing that I see with my clients is that they're just so busy doing all of the different things that they think are going to work without really looking at intentionally where their time is going and what is actually going to bring revenue in. A lot of women are scared of selling, they're scared of marketing in their in a way where they show up authentically. They some to an extent don't quite know how that looks like. And so the advice that I always give is be very intentional with your time and the time that you're investing into different things in your business. Because at the end of the day, that's like your core foundation. It is extremely hard to go from, let's say, corporate to starting a business because nobody's waiting for you at eight o'clock in the morning to start your day. But also, you now have to market and sell yourself, which is one of the hardest things, I believe, in the journey of an entrepreneur is to become really confident in that. And knowing the time aspect on that is super important so that you price correctly, that you structure things. So everything goes back to your time as it is the most valuable, more valuable than money. I think so.

SPEAKER_01 15:16

I think when you think of time, it's where do you allocate the time? And for me, hiring a babysitter once a week, twice a week gives me some time back. I love like deep-rooted days where I can really deep root in my business. Because I know with my child, I'm similar to you. If I don't have a babysitter and I have meetings, it's like, well, how am I going to tackle this? What am I going to do? And you're just kind of juggling a million things, which can feel extremely overwhelming and extremely daunting. And so going into structure, I know something that I've done is what you recommended is hiring a babysitter. And now bringing a second child into the world, it will be two days a week of babysitting minimally. So I can get work done, I can interview incredible guests like yourself and be able to do all the things in my business that I want to achieve. So when it comes to structure and your business and being a mom and doing all the things, I always say you're like dating the structure, you're dating it. It's not like you're married to it as an entrepreneur, our lives are constantly changing. So for your current situation today, what kind of structure do you have in your day-to-day? What are you doing, business and motherhood to balance, quote unquote, both of them? And I say that word loosely because balance is not really a thing. But in terms of structuring your weeks or your days, what does that look like for you? And how are you handling that?

SPEAKER_00 16:36

It goes back to what I said at the beginning, and I want to dive into that a little bit deeper is the boundaries that I've set. So I hire I for myself have hired a nanny three times a week, and she's there Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. And those are the days where I have meetings with my clients. Those are all the also the days where I am in my office working on my business, not in my business. Because I think a lot of times we we forget how important that is for the future growth. And so then there's other things that I've implemented into our lives. For example, we have a cleaning company. I I refuse to clean. Not because I can't, it's because it would take me way longer and I would be way more of a perfectionist to do it. So I'd rather hire someone, pay, not utilize that time, and spend that time with my son. So when the cleaning company comes, I spend time with my son and we go out and we go out for an adventure or we go do do something outside of the house. A lot of like with the new business also that we've just started, that is for Marco to handle. But important to me was also that that is during a time where he can still come home and put our son to sleep and be there long term in the evenings. And so I've set certain time boundaries where I'm willing to work and where I'm not willing to work. As an entrepreneur, I feel like that's extremely important because you sometimes feel like you have to answer the phone at all times. You have to respond right away. But setting the boundary of that keeps your peace and it makes you be more productive and also less reactive in your business. Does that answer your question? I feel like my head is all right. Yes, it does.

SPEAKER_01 18:33

No, no, no, it does because look, I think you have to be very clear about expectations and clear about what that looks like. And having the structure of three days a week of babysitting, hiring cleaners, I bring it up on the podcast constantly. I hate cleaning too. I'm not scrubbing a toilet, not scrubbing a tub, like I'm not deep cleaning a kitchen. I just don't like it. And I don't want to do it. And I feel the same as you. I want to spend time with my child, and that's precious time. So, what is like the time value money around that? So I I love that.

SPEAKER_00 19:02

Exactly. One more thing that I want to add this name goes for business. Like, you're obviously doing my bookkeeping. I have someone who focuses on tax strategy strategy. I have someone who supports me with the marketing. Like, I think it's extremely important to stay in your zone of genius and work on the things that you're good at and give the other things that need to be done in your business to somebody else or the things that need to happen in your household. Now, my priority is to take care of my clients and my business and be there for my son as much as possible. So as long as those two things happen, I'm I'm really happy.

SPEAKER_01 19:42

And it's delegating. I think women in general are really good at delegating because we know what we're good at. And I say zone of genius, just like you. I outsource my marketing, I outsource my branding, I outsource my website. It's just not worth my time, it's not worth my energy, it's not my zone of genius. I don't like it. It's just, I don't want to do it. So I feel very much the same as you. Something you touched upon it before, and I want you to differentiate the difference of this because I think a lot of people may not know or might be confused. You talk about being like in your business and working on your business. A lot of times we think those two are intermingled and they're really not. And so I'd love for you to break out the difference of what it means to work in your business versus working on your business.

SPEAKER_00 20:25

Yes. Best example I have is I did not have a nanny this past month. And so I was in survival mode when it comes to business. I was making sure my clients were taken care of, bills were paid, strategies were created. I showed up to coaching calls, I did all the things that are relevant in my business. So for you as a bookkeeper, and this obviously would be your clients' books are done. That is you working in your business. Working on the business now that I've had a wonderful nanny who has started this month. I'm working on the business. I'm planning the next launch. I'm planning to reposition. I'm looking at Shine Shiyo and looking at how it is going to grow this year. What are we changing? What do I want strategically to change on messaging or marketing? And then communicating that with the people that are working for me on the business. So that is me specifically working on the business, working on the strategy, working on the growth plan, and not taking care of clients. And so that is a huge difference. And if you don't do that, you are going to continue being reactive in your business. You're going to continue being all over the place trying to put out fires without really stepping back and looking at all of the different things that it takes to run a business successfully long term.

SPEAKER_01 21:50

Well said. And I I think that's really true. You've really just hit the nail on the head with everything. I want to go into obviously trends. You have a lot of variety of different clients, different Industries within the service-based world. And so what are some of the biggest trends or biggest issues or problems that people are currently facing right now? Because it feels really hard. And it feels like, again, we're scrambling, we're trying to figure it out. And it always feels like there's something. Some people want to blame the economy or some people want to blame their marketing. But what are trends that you're seeing with these business owners that you feel like, gosh, they really could do better in this or they can do better in that, etc.?

SPEAKER_00 22:32

That's such a good question. I work with so many different industries, but the common things that all of my clients really have is they're all trying to figure out how to get more leads in in all the various different ways. And what I see most is that people still and continue to heavily lean on social media, even though there's so many ways to grow your business. I mean, you and I both know this networking has been really good for both of our businesses. But I feel like a lot of times when new business owners start, they look at social media as being the only one avenue into growing their business, which I don't think is correct. It is one, but not necessarily always the one that you need to pick for your business. And what then happens, and I and I'm gonna stay with this because I see a theme there. Social media is uncomfortable to most people because they don't know how to show up on it authentically online. They're scared of being judged. And so what it then creates is that uncertainty in their business and them not confidently selling their services. And so they they stay busy trying to post and market their business and increase the visibility, but they forget the actual sales part of their business. They think, I, well, I've posted on social media, now I've I've basically sold my services, but nobody's buying, and a lot of people get stuck in that. So I feel like that's that's a big trend with like more the earlier business owners that come to me. And then after you kind of figure that out and you have some revenue coming in and you have some consistency, I feel like the next trend is really, okay, how do I grow? And most women want to just be in the driver's seat and wear all these different hats. And then you find yourself in a prison that you created, which is your business. And you work non-stop because you you're scared of giving the work to someone because they might be doing it differently, or there's there's distrust, or there's really just you're scared that it's not gonna go the way it's gonna go because hiring someone or delegating is is terrifying in your business. So I feel like those are two big trends that I see sales avoidance, social media marketing, but then also creating the systems and the structure to hire accordingly, because you probably tried it or you've been thinking about it, and it's just terrifying to do it.

SPEAKER_01 25:07

I think so. And I actually hired an SEO strategist for my business, and she's been wonderful. Um, her name's The Wonder Web. And one of the conversations we had is she feels very confident SEO will work for me. And she goes, Well, you're gonna get more leads, which means that you'll close the deals and make more money. But what does that look like on the system side and the operation side? And that means I probably would have to hire somebody else. And so a lot of times I think we think growing a business just means sales, which is great. But what does that look like with the systems and the back end and the operational stuff? I think people kind of forget that, which is why, again, with bookkeeping, nobody wants to deal with it until they have to. But I do think a lot of that in terms of what you're saying is so important, especially social media. I still don't really even do social media. I hire somebody else for that as well. Cause it's just not where my zone of genius is, but it's also just I don't feel my clients are there personally. But I understand some social media presence is important. So I kind of agree with everything you're saying because it it's just very interesting, the world we live in today. I'm sure even five, 10 years ago that wasn't the case. But nowadays it feels like social media is even more prevalent than it ever has been, and people just assume that's the one way to make money. But there's obviously you and I both know tons of other ways, which I'm sure we can go down deep rabbit holes, but we won't spend too much time on that. But talking about your role as a CEO within Shine Sheo, do you feel motherhood has strengthened that for you? Has it challenged you? How do you feel being a CEO in your business now since becoming a mother?

SPEAKER_00 26:44

It has challenged me a lot. I I don't think I was expecting it to change so much for me personally. I think I was a big people pleaser at the beginning, or before then, I would say, of really stepping into my true self through motherhood, but then also communicating what that means. I'm still digesting that, so I don't quite know how to answer that yet, because I just spent the past two days really looking at okay, who have I stepped into and how does Shanshio change with it? But from a CEO level, I feel like I've become more decisive and more direct, but also less bullshit because I'm just I don't have time for it. And so I expect that from my clients as well, which they're all fabulous. I cannot complain. I have absolutely incredible clients who are all goal-oriented and hardworking and intentional with their businesses and creating wonderful things. But I think I personally am still developing what that looks like and how Shine Xi'o is going to change over the next couple of months. But postpartum definitely probably hit me sideways a little bit, especially because of the backstory. But my birth did not go as planned. And so there was a lot of pivoting for me, but a lot of emotional growth and and humbling throughout this experience.

SPEAKER_01 28:14

I agree. I think it is motherhood is just humbling in general. And I think knowing your story of everything you went through with your birth, it just sounded like a lot. And it is so much to handle when you're dealing with, again, giving birth and having a baby and not things going as planned. And I think a lot of times for business owners, things don't go as planned. What kind of advice do you give to mothers and business owners where they had this whole idea, this whole strategy? And right, even for you, you do incredible actionable items, goals, KPIs, and all the things, and you have this plan and then it doesn't go to plan. What advice do you give to business owners and even mothers who like had this anticipation or had this idea of what their plan was, and then it doesn't go according to plan. What do you say to those people?

SPEAKER_00 29:03

I think it's important to have a plan and a direction that you're working towards because I personally think the goal in life is to become the best version of who you truly are. And so having a strategy, having a plan, whether that is in business and in motherhood, to me is very important. But what should not come with that is expectations. You shouldn't have expectations of the outcome of it. Because as soon as you have expectations, be ready to be disappointed. Things do not ever go according to plan. They just don't. And that doesn't mean that you shouldn't have a plan because you still want to have a direction of where you're headed, but you shouldn't have the expectations and then the emotional toll that takes on you with it either, especially when it comes to birth. Every birth story is unique and different and everybody has their own. And there is or is not a reason for it.

SPEAKER_01 30:01

I agree. I agree. I think it's a crapshoot, truthfully, but I do love what you said about the expectations because I think one of the things that drove me nuts with my OB was, what's your birth plan? What's your birth plan? And my husband and I laughed. We were like, the plan is to get the baby out, like out of my body. And I just didn't have the crazy expectations that maybe other people did, which I don't know if I was right or wrong in that, but I just kind of surrendered, to be honest. And I said, the baby's gonna come out of me, whether it's down my hoo-ha or through my stomach. I just, the baby has to be out. I need to be healthy, baby has to be healthy. And that's all I cared about. And talking about surrendering to certain things and just letting things happen. How do you feel about surrendering? And I think it could be hard when you're a type A, like myself and you. But what has it been like to kind of surrender to certain processes, whether it's in your business or in motherhood?

SPEAKER_00 31:01

Gosh, I feel like I have to surrender on a daily basis. It has probably been the most frustrating thing that I have to experience because as a type A person, you want to be in control all the time. And it's this fake control because we're we're never really in control. But surrendering really by had to just having a baby, you surrender. I think it's so funny. I I saw this at some point during birth where or during pregnancy, where people were like, people who have children are are really selfish because you're just creating your own little human being. And now that I'm a mom, I'm like selfish. I would disagree, highly disagree, because your life is just not about you anymore. And the one thing that I had to really surrender is the ideas that you have had for your life are forever changed. And you don't quite understand that until you become a mother. And I didn't never understood that until now, where your priorities are different, the things that you can and and cannot do have changed as well. And it's it's just true. Women that have that choose to have children, you no longer are capable to do everything that you want to do or set out to do, or there's a big cost with it. And I think we don't quite talk about that either. We're we're so focused on giving women the the freedom, the the empowerment to do whatever it is that they want to do. But I think it's not like that. It's extremely difficult to be to be a mother and also run a business and the guilt that comes with it and and all the different things that postpartum brings up. So surrendering in all of that has been a very humbling experience in the journey that I think I'm still on.

SPEAKER_01 33:01

And I think every woman is on. I think myself included, you are surrendering to this. And I do believe we are selfless, right? As women, you think about how much I don't want to say you give up. I hate that term, but you do give up certain freedoms, especially when we're in the littles of this. I think as kids get older, it of course is a little bit different. But especially if you're in the season of life with like little, little babies who can't wipe their butt, who can't verbalize their emotions, who can't tell you what's going on, it's a very deep different season of life than when kids are in elementary school, middle school, high school. So I do think it depends on your season of life with this. And I know we talked, you mentioned this when you were talking about surrender, but as much as women give up, I do believe women still have ambition and they still have dreams of desires and hopes. And so, what does that look like for you now with ambition? What does that word mean to you? And how do you express that for yourself or want that for yourself and even tell your clients that?

SPEAKER_00 34:04

Oh, 100%. And and don't get me wrong, I don't think that women can't do anything. I think quite the opposite. Women have proven time and time again that they are absolutely unstoppable in what you can create in a life, but there are seasons to it, like you said. So when it comes to ambition, ambition for me personally is to continue to grow Chanxiyo in in this new season of life. There's been been several times, and I'm not gonna lie about that, where I've I've questioned the business and if I want to continue doing it in the way that I have been doing it, or if it's still what I want, because birth and having a child changes you so much in your priorities, where I'm like, oh wow, I really could be a stay-at-home mom and just live with my son and and and make a life out of that, but then realize that no, I do actually have the ambition and I love business way too much to be able to do that. And the balance between having a business and having my son and future children has really become that part. So I think personally, for me, ambition is is that for other women, it might be different. I have friends who are stay-at-home moms who absolutely love and adore it, and their life looks differently than mine does. And there's nothing wrong with that. I think important is that you create a life around your ambitions and what you want to create.

SPEAKER_01 35:36

I agree. And I remember for me, and it was just a really, I don't want to say dark time, but when I was eight months pregnant, my husband left his corporate job and it was scary with insurance and mortgage and everything else. And I almost had to have the fire in the belly to say I have to keep going. And I think as women, we do maybe want to pivot or change or adjust or do something different, especially bringing a child into the world. It's arguably the biggest change, I think, in a woman's life that you'll ever have. I joke with marriage, you can get divorced. If you buy a house, you can sell it. Even starting a business, you can start a business and then do something else. But when you have a child, it is the biggest shift and the biggest change in your entire life that you can't ever go back. You can't ever go back to the life you previously had since having a child. And so I guess for you, what are some of the joys since having a child? And what are some of the things you get excited about since bringing your son into the world? Because I think for a lot of women, it can feel scary to have a child. I used to think for myself, oh, financially I couldn't do this. And I used to think, oh my gosh, I don't have maternal instincts. And now it's like I change a baby's diaper in two seconds and I just run with it and I go with it. And so for you, what are some of those joys? What are some of the things that you've experienced since having your son that you really enjoy in motherhood that you're excited about?

SPEAKER_00 37:04

I love that question so much. Because listening to this, you would think, gosh, this sounds so difficult. Do I really want this? It's probably, I mean, not probably. It is most definitely the best experience I've ever had in my entire life. Like for me, spending time with him is so, it's just beautiful. I I I love it so much. I sound ridiculous just saying it because it's so typical. I'm like, I love my child and I love spending time with him. But it really is. Like, there's there's things that you forget about your your your life before children, which is probably a good thing. And I don't quite know what I did with all the time I had, but I wouldn't change it. I would not change having him, spending all the time that I get to with him, and still run a business. And I think that balance is beautiful. But things I always look forward to is right now we're in the solids phase, so we're like trying out all of these different foods, and so spending that time with him exploring is been so much fun. But to me, honestly, and I didn't think that I would enjoy it so much because I never really liked children or babies, or like I always thought they were weird. I think the development is insane to watch. Like going from newborn to he's now seven months while we record this, and how much he has changed and developed and and has become his own little person and continues to do so. To me, that has been like my current biggest interest, honestly, because I think that is such a beautiful thing to witness.

SPEAKER_01 38:44

I feel the same way. I mean, my son at the time of recording is almost 17 months, and the transition of him being this like little itty bitty baby to walking, trying to babble and say words, it's crazy. And you know, I went through the solids phase and then going through food, and now we're in the tantrum phase, which is so much fun. But it is so many transitions, and so I find that even with business, you go through so many transitions of even growth and pivots and changes, like with your child, just as much as within your business. It is, and I I say this talking about both motherhood and entrepreneurship. They are both some of the hardest, hardest journeys you're ever gonna go on, but they are some of the most beautiful journeys you're ever gonna go on. And I always joke it's like choose your hard in this, like choose your heart and what that looks like for you. And everybody's is different. But I love everything you're saying, especially developmentally. I was the same as you. I was not like a kid person. I didn't work at daycares, I didn't do babysitting, I didn't do any of that stuff. I was like, I thought babies were like aliens. I thought they were strange and weird and I couldn't jive. And that's why I joked about like, do I even have a maternal instinct? I just didn't think it was possible. So I hear you there. It's definitely a strange thing to become a mother, and especially this baby season of life, it's just so physical. So I commend you for all of that. Kind of one or two more questions to wrap up. My first question is what does success look like for you now? I think a lot of times as an entrepreneur, we we, and especially you as a business coach, we let sucks, we look at success from like metrics, right? Of like, what's the ROI, what's the money we're making, and all of that. But I know as a mother, something I've realized with success is like lifestyle more than anything else. I just want a certain lifestyle for myself. And so for you, what does success look like in both business and motherhood?

SPEAKER_00 40:48

I think that is something that has an evolved throughout my entire entrepreneurship. At the beginning, it was really, you know, I want the million-dollar business. It's it was very money focused. Then it became, then I kind of jumped into that kind of soft girl era of like, I'm gonna try this out, see if this works. And I really wanted the lifestyle. And now really it's it's both. It's I definitely 100% want to make the money because that is why we're in business. But I want to do it in a way where I can still be present at home and where I can continue watching my son grow into a little boy and and and continue with more children that we have planned in the future. But that requires a different type of business. And so I feel like success now looks more like having a intentional, structured business that consistently grows, not crazy crows. Because growing heavily in a very short period of time is exhausting and it's not sustainable at the the season I'm currently in. But I also want to be able to have a balance there, whatever that looks like. And that is different every single week. But that's what I'm striving to do with Sean Shiyo.

SPEAKER_01 42:08

I love that. I think that is so important. And I think as a business owner and a mother, you're allowed to pivot, you're allowed to change. And this is like your permission slip to say you don't have to stay in one lane or focus on one thing. You can pivot, you can shift, and you can do things that feel aligned to you. And so I love that. And my last question for you is when it comes to your legacy as a human being, I'm gonna say, business, motherhood, and everything in between, what kind of legacy do you want to leave on this planet for your family, for your business, for kids and future kids? I'd love to hear some of your thoughts around that.

SPEAKER_00 42:47

I've been thinking about that a lot lately. I think what I want to leave behind is the permission slip for people to step into their true potential and stop playing small, because I feel like you can always step into more of your power, your authentic self. And I've touched on this earlier. I truly believe that we're here to become our best version, not by the opinions of others, but by the opinion of yourself. So, in regards to what success looks like to you, who you are at your core, why you're here, and who you're supposed to touch. I I personally want to make sure that through Shine Xiou, I give these women specifically the permission and the opportunity to truly step into their power and make something meaningful with their life and their families because you're leaving something behind for your families. That's a beautiful message.

SPEAKER_01 43:52

And I agree. I always joke my biggest competition is me, myself, and I. And I love that messaging and the legacy that you're trying to build. And I know you will build. So I love the beauty of it all. And so I never like to wrap these up. But Sarah, you have been an incredible guest. I love your journey in regards to entrepreneurship and then becoming a mom, expectations, vulnerability, talking about some strategies with business coaching, but also your life now combined being a mother, trying to do it all. And of course, it feels impossible. But the strategies that you've given and the messaging and talking about this and having the conversation is just step one in this entire process. And so I can't personally thank you enough for being on here and just sharing your story. But I'd love for you to share where people can find you, where people can work with you, and where people can connect with you.

SPEAKER_00 44:46

Thank you so much for having me on this, Mariel. I absolutely I'm a huge fan of your podcast. I listen to every episode. It is so needed for all the moms out there. And where you can find me online is at Shine Chiyo, everywhere on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, or go to shineShio.com. Amazing. Thank you so much for coming on.

SPEAKER_01 45:10

Thanks for having me. 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.