There She Goes From Laid Off to Building Her Empire – with Mikki McCleery

What happens when the career you thought would last forever suddenly ends?

In this episode, I sit down with Mikki McCleery, founder of Passion Threads Co and Solutions by Mikki, to talk about navigating layoffs, burnout, entrepreneurship, confidence, and the power of community.

After spending over 10 years working as a paralegal, Mikki unexpectedly got laid off — a moment that initially felt shocking and painful, but ultimately became the catalyst for stepping fully into entrepreneurship and building a more aligned life.

This conversation explores the emotional reality behind career transitions, the importance of supportive relationships, and how women can begin trusting themselves enough to pursue what’s truly on their hearts.

🎧 In this episode, we talk about:

• Mikki’s transition from paralegal to entrepreneur
• How a layoff became a blessing in disguise
• Corporate burnout and feeling underappreciated
• Building confidence through action and resourcefulness
• The importance of community and support systems
• Passion Threads and the meaning behind empowering apparel
• Learning to say “Nope. Period.”
• Delegation, backend business support, and Solutions by Mikki
• Balancing motherhood, health, and entrepreneurship
• Why trying matters more than perfection

💌 Wear the Inspiration

If this episode spoke to you…wait until you see the shirts 💖

Passion Threads Co isn’t just apparel. It’s wearable reminders of confidence, courage, boundaries, and becoming the woman you’re meant to be ✨

Whether you need a little “Nope. Period.” energy or a reminder to “Be Afraid. Do It Anyways.”, Mikki’s collections are such a beautiful extension of this conversation.

Use code TSG10 for 10% off your first order 💌 Shop the collection here. 

🔗 Connect with Mikki

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Website

Subscribe to her newsletter

📖 Featured Resource

Mikki and I are two of the co-authors of the book This Time It’s Personal: Building a Life, a Business, and a Self That Actually Fits. If either of our stories inspire you and you want to learn more, you can purchase the book on Amazon.

⏱️ Timestamps

3:14 Mikki’s background as a paralegal

6:04 The layoff moment + emotional reaction
8:07 “Everything is figureoutable” mindset
9:05 Learning to be scrappy and resourceful

10:05 The importance of community and support systems
12:28 Navigating fear and financial uncertainty after layoffs
14:00 The power of having a supportive partner

15:24 Corporate burnout + feeling underappreciated
16:58 Why the layoff became a blessing in disguise
17:49 The story behind Passion Threads

19:00 “Nope. Period.” and learning to say no

22:12 Burnout, overcommitment, and self-betrayal
23:58 Mikki’s non-negotiables + health routines
25:34 Embodying confidence through clothing and mindset

27:34 The story behind Solutions by Mikki
30:20 Delegation as an investment, not a cost

33:25 Becoming happier after the layoff

36:08 Teaching her son there are more options in life
37:11 Why support systems matter so much

38:27 “If something’s at your heart… go for it.”
39:49 How to connect with Mikki

Follow @thereshegoesclub for updates and community events.

Join the There She Goes Club to activate joy, fun, and wonder back into your life.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Welcome to the There She Goes podcast. I'm your host, Grecia Ruiz, and I can't wait to dive into everyday stories where we find the magic and the mundane. This podcast is inspired by real stories, tiny steps, and brave women. For so long, I was looking for permission in songs, stories, and other people to trust myself, follow my dreams, and take the lead. If this podcast can be that tiny spark of permission for you, then here we go. Yay! Welcome Mickey to the There She Goes podcast.

unknown 0:36

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 0:39

I'm so excited to welcome you all to my dear friend Mickey. So before we jump into her story, I'll do a quick introduction and bio. Uh, talk a little bit about how we met, and we're gonna dive right in. So, Mickey, for those of you who don't know, is the founder of Passion Threads Co., an apparel brand created to remind women of their power and worth. And yes, I am sporting a Passion Threads shirt right now, and so is Mickey. So check out the YouTube video if you want to see uh her clothing line in person live. So, besides Passion Threads, she's a busy woman. She's also the founder of Solutions by Mickey, a virtual assistant partnership that supports female business owners in getting out of the weeds so they can focus on their true genius. And Mickey, don't forget, you're also a co-author of the book This Time It's Personal, where we both got to write chapters in that book. So obviously make sure to check out the show notes. I'll be linking all the resources in there. Um, so founder, double founder, and co-author. Welcome, Mickey.

SPEAKER_02 1:58

Thank you. I'm so excited.

SPEAKER_00 2:01

I'm super excited too. It's just like this is a really fun full circle moment. So for those of you who don't know, I did already actually feature Mickey. She wasn't on the show as a guest, but I talked about Mickey in the episode There She Goes, Learning to Delegate. I was sporting one of her uh collaborative clothing lines with Liz, my other friend, who did the line Mujer Sinculpa. So I was wearing that shirt. Make sure to check out that video as well. Uh, but now I actually get to have Mickey live with us, so I'm really excited. And just a quick little plug about this uh specific shirt, Unstoppable Together. I just really love this shirt because it really speaks to the power of community. And that's exactly what brings me to how Mickey and I met. Mickey, I just can't believe that we met uh February 2025 in a Galantine's event. And like you stood out to me. Like we we chatted, like you were one of those people that I've chatted a little bit more with, but never could I have imagined that we would like have gone through everything we've gone through to this day. And you know, through that event, I think you were there to, of course, as a vendor, but you were also supporting Caitlin, uh, who was a speaker at that event. And then when I was thinking about joining Ascend, which was is now called Embodied Earner, uh, for Caitlin's group program, I reached out to you. I'm like, Mickey, like, how do you like working with Caitlin? And you were like glowing raving reviews, and then the rest is history. I joined the group uh membership, and here we are, and I think both of us have a lot to share about the complete 180 that we've experienced over the past year.

SPEAKER_01 3:41

Oh, yes, no, for sure, for sure.

SPEAKER_00 3:44

Awesome. All right, well, then let's get started. So I think we talked a little bit about your credentials now as a founder, double founder, and co-author. But what people might not know is your previous background as a paralegal. So could you walk us through like what okay, let's go college to you know, you got your first job. Like, what made you go into that field and what was it like working as a paralegal?

SPEAKER_02 4:13

So I think I ended up going into paralegal, like just that whole background because everybody was like, You'd be such a good lawyer. I didn't want to go the whole lawyer route. So I was like, I can do a paralegal. Um and through that process, I learned a lot because I also I learned to take my skills that I have. I'm really good at like taking that pressure on and like working really efficiently, things like that. And you have to be had those skill sets in order to be a paralegal, and of course, like detail orientated things like that. Um I did I've been doing I had done that for a little over 10 years now. So um, you know, and plot twist was let go of my job. So I'm like, well, we're gonna go a hundred percent, you know, with the founder of the Solutions by Mickey and move forward with that. But um I enjoy doing it. I enjoy working with multiple people to be truthful with you. Like it's fun because it's something different every single day. I'm not just doing like one thing only every single day. So there's always um those like little challenges or the little fires to burn. I was like the go-to person when it came to that. They're like, Mickey, how do we do this? How do we resolve this? And that's like finding the solution even for those, like as a paralegal and like helping people and like I don't want to say coaching, but like mentoring, you know, paralegals that are like newer, like legal assistants, things like that.

SPEAKER_00 5:43

Yeah, so clearly your paralegal experience led you to recognize that you have the the skill set that lends itself perfectly for virtual assistant for these high achieving, fast-paced business owners, right?

SPEAKER_02 5:59

Yeah, yeah, no, for sure. And I think that's why I decided to go that route in general, because I was doing it slowly while I was still working. And then, of course, once I got the news of I'm not gonna be working there anymore, I'm like full blown. Let's let's move CEO life and do the solutions by Mickey and the skill sets, to be truthful with you, it blends in so seamlessly as a paralegal. Like for somebody who, if you don't know how to do something, I will research and figure it out. I'm really good at researching for being a paralegal, so that like brings it over really good too.

SPEAKER_00 6:34

Ooh, I really love that. The you know, just this confidence about being able to figure it out because you just mentioned like you like we kind of blew past it. I know, punch line, plot twist. You got laid off after a 10-year career. So, like, it's like let's go back to that and like really highlight this moment. You this was like what how many months ago?

SPEAKER_02 6:54

Um, two months. Two months, February, February 19th or whatever it was, somewhere in February.

SPEAKER_00 7:00

There you go. Okay, we're in April recording this episode. So a little, you know, just a little bit over two months ago, like that's a big deal for a lot of people, and I'm sure it was a big deal for you. So, can you walk through like what that moment actually felt like, you know, in the moment, because of course it's it might not be the same as what you're feeling now, but then how did you recognize this confidence and your ability to be like, okay, I got laid off, but I can figure things out.

SPEAKER_02 7:30

So, in the moment, of course, it was like a shocker because of course I've never had one write-up, nothing like that. So I was more in a shock, like, and I think the way it was being done, right? Like there was nothing being foreseen of it. And once, of course, the little trickle things happen in the morning, and I was like, this is for sure, that's what's happening. Um, I was more in shock. And I think the biggest thing is from having uh working for a company for at least four years. And when you ask, well, why am I being let go, right? Like what happened? And no response, it's the firm's not gonna disclose. That's like, I don't know if we can curse in here, but you know what I'm saying? Like, I'm like, um, it's the whole part of like, what the hell just happened? Of more of the shocker and just you almost feel like, what did I do wrong? That was the initial feeling, of course, that came up, but realistically, I had to shift my mindset and be like, you know what? It's their loss, it's not my loss at the end of the day. I have something else that I've already started to create and I'm gonna move forward with that. I am gonna be my own CEO and I'm not dealing with this ever again. Kind of that's where my mind shifted. And I also knew if I don't know, like, let's just say a specific program that I might be doing for as a VA for somebody. I have so much confidence in myself to be able to figure it out because I did that also as a paralegal. They threw new programs at us. I was in multiple departments and things like that. So I pick up on things very, very fast. And that's where I was like, you know what? No, you've got this no matter what, because everything is figure outable, and that's just what it is.

SPEAKER_00 9:16

I love that. But I think, do you feel that you were always you always had this confidence that you would be able to figure things out? Or did you feel like is there a moment that you were like, is there something that led you to recognize this ability in yourself? Or you've just always been that kind of like scrappy, you know, person, let's get things done, we'll figure it out.

SPEAKER_02 9:36

I think I've always actually been that scrappy person. And I think that comes also from being a single mom in the beginning, right? Too with my son. So it's like figuring it out like, okay, well, how do I make this work, or how do I, you know, get a babysitter for him in the way, like a daycare kind of thing in the research of like where's a good place? It's like, you know, figuring out all those things, I think, help me realize. And I also had a mom who was like very scrappy too, like everything we could figure out. Like it's just there's nothing that can stop us. It's just you figure it out, you ask for the help, you can ask somebody else that might know it before us. It's like, hey, how'd you do that? Like there's not what's the worst? I'm not gonna give you the advice.

SPEAKER_01 10:22

You know, like what's the worst?

SPEAKER_00 10:23

Just ask. Yeah, just ask. I'll figure it out. Unstoppable together. Yeah. I think, well, you know, speaking to that point though, like you said, like, yes, so you're a single mom, but you have your mom or you have other people, right, to reach out to that can help you along the way, whether it's from advice or like literally from a practical standpoint, like holding your hand, right, and going with you. Um, so what how how has community impact impacted your journey? Um, and then just like maybe speak to some of the communities. Because you and I, I forgot to mention, not only did we do the group coaching program with Caitlin, we're also part of the She Is Worthy community, which happened later down the line. So it's been really fun getting to collaborate with you and just like get to know you throughout all these different community spaces.

SPEAKER_02 11:11

Yeah, I I truly do believe in community and I think that community is key literally in everything. It takes a village in general with whatever you're doing, whether that's motherhood, being an adult as a whole, a business owner, all of it. Um I love the community aspect of it too, where you can just meet other people that are very similar situations that we are. And sometimes you don't even know that, right? You'll like get like this like little conversation starting. You're like, oh, they've gone through something very similar to what I've gone through. Maybe not the exact same thing, but so similar where you're like, oh, okay. You can connect in that aspect and like grow a relationship and a friendship, things like that. Um I find it actually easier to get more of the friendships as an adult, being able to go to these community things and connecting with other women that have similar passions, right? A lot of the the groups that we happen to be into, they're business owners in some aspects. So there's like a good connection point right there in itself. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:14

Yeah, it's like a great way to find like-minded women. Um, and I think just when you get to see what's possible in real life, you're right, out there, I think it at least for me that was very motivating to be like, like you said, if it even if I didn't believe in myself enough to say everything is figure outable, seeing other women believe that things are figure outable made me actually start believing it too. So um, I think another thing, speaking of just this confidence that I that I'm seeing in you and that I'm hearing about your ability to figure things out, how did you feel about this confidence too, though, that okay, you got laid off. That's a big financial hit. So, how did you, besides okay, confidence that everything is figure outable, the confidence that everything is gonna be all right in the end?

SPEAKER_02 13:01

So that took me a minute because I am very when it comes to money, I'm like kind of a feeling. Um, and I've been working with um Leslie as well for my like my nervous system kind of aspect of it. Love as like a whole. Um, and that has helped me tremendously because it's going to be okay, right? It's just a moment in time, right? Like we all can figure out how to get more money in some form, if that's part-time target, whatever it is, right? Or like luckily, God bless, I do have my husband who's working and he has like a really good job that's you know, pretty stable in that way. Um, but it helps to, to be honest with you, he's not freaking out. So I have somebody also in my corner who's not freaking out. Cause I think if he was freaking out, I'd be like, oh my God, okay, like just I'll go find any kind of job, kind of a thing, too. So it's like he also has my back of like, hey, you want to do this, go for it. Like, you don't need to go back to the corporate world. Like, and like that's like the biggest support. And I have other friends and family, right? Like, I know like you believe in me too. You're like, hey, Mickey, you've got this. Like, we've got like Caitlin, like, there's different people I've gotten in my corner too that they have so much confidence in me that like it helps me either. It's like I'm like rubbing off of everyone else's confidence in me. I'm like, okay, yeah, you guys are right. I got this. Like, you know, that really does help to have that community aspect too as a whole, because you may not believe in yourself in the moment of because something might be hard, but because somebody else has that faith in you, you could feed off of it.

SPEAKER_01 14:39

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 14:41

Again, the power of community and like support systems, right? But but also deeper for you, I love that your partner in this case, your life partner, your husband, is so supportive. I think that's not that hopefully like more and more women are waking up to that. The importance of having that your life partner really be someone who supports your dreams, right? Um, not everyone is fortunate enough to have that. So I love that you have been very intentional with who you've chosen and that he is so supportive of you because that is awesome. It's just like one less thing to have to worry about. And um and you're feeding off that energy too, like you said, vice versa. You could have fed off of the fear instead, you're feeding off this confidence. And I love that. I think that it's important too to mention that I mean it's very likely because and I know you, and because we went to the retreat together, and I did get to hear a little bit about how you were feeling in your paralegal uh career. So maybe talk a little bit about why you think that whether it's you or your husband are saying don't go back, like move forward, don't go back. So why, why were you what were you feeling in your career and what made you want to make this switch?

SPEAKER_02 15:55

So, in my career as a whole, I was being burnt out and not being appreciated for the stuff that I was doing. Um so for sure it's the burnt out feeling. I know my husband would see it like it was like a I don't want to call it complaining moments after work or when you're clocked out kind of thing, but it kind of ended up becoming that way. And he can see the dreanness in me, all that stuff. And I was towards like the last maybe seven months, like miserable working, you know, you're like, I guess it's just you know, it pays the bills, it just gotta do what I gotta do, kind of thing. Um so, and then the vice versa, right? When I come like from an event, right, I go to for passion threads and I go do stuff for that. I'm like coming home and like energy galore and all this stuff, and you think like, okay, she's gonna be exhausted, she's been doing that for four or five hours. No, because that lights me up, right? So it's like him also seeing that, and he's like, Yeah, you're not going back to corporate, like corporate Lily is joining you. Like, this is not for you. It's that burnt-out feeling, and like my energy level was just not there, and I wasn't being appreciated for the actual work that I was doing, and I hated that.

SPEAKER_00 17:07

I love this is so validating. Uh I'm so glad that you I don't know, in a way, isn't this like a blessing in disguise that you were already feeling that this wasn't where you wanted to be? You were already feeling underappreciated, burnt out, and this is not aligned. So, in a way, like I'm curious, even though this layoff was obviously a shock, in a way, was it also like, oh, I'm so glad they made the decision for me? Or when do you think you would have made the decision to leave if it hadn't been kind of forced upon you?

SPEAKER_02 17:41

So I don't think I would have ever left on my own, to be honest with you. I would just stretch myself thin, do a full-time job, do the VA stuff, do passion threads. So it was literally the blessing and disguise that I needed. And it was more like a thanks for letting me go, because now I can move forward with my business full-time.

SPEAKER_00 17:59

Yeah, yeah, yeah. You're like, you're like, just watch me. Just watch me. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 18:04

Yes. And I do have that mindset too because I've had people growing up, right? Oh, you can't do that. Oh, you won't be able to do that. I'm like, watch me. Watch me. No, I can't watch me.

SPEAKER_00 18:13

Uh, Mickey, I think you just came up with your next shirt if you don't have that already. Watch me. There you go. Watch me. Um, let's actually talk about that a little bit more too, because like we've just been glossing over a little bit. What is fashion threads, right? Like, let's go backwards. What like when did you start that? What made you start that? And talk to us a little bit about the saying, specifically right now, you're wearing a shirt that says nope, with a period. So talk to us about passion threads. What inspired you to start it? What like tell us a little bit more about passion threads, and then and then maybe uh the meaning behind the shirt you're wearing.

SPEAKER_02 18:47

Okay, so for passion threads, I started that about like three, three and a half years ago. Honestly, I can't remember the date, but it feels like three years is probably more than three years. Um, and that one started because I personally was feeling down upon myself or not like worthy. There's no self-worth with that. I put dove myself so much into my son that I forgot who I was as an individual woman, right? Um, so of course, while I was doing like workouts, things like that in my gym, I have a me a mirror and I would write motivational sayings in there or on my mirror and repeat them to myself. And I was like, you know what? These things are really strong. They're helping me. They should be on something for other people, right? And it's like a conversation starter. People see it, they'd be like, what's that about? Right. So, like, for example, like nope, period, right? It's like we all as women in general, I think we tend to say yes to so much stuff. And it's like yes to things that we don't want to be doing most of the time. Instead of saying nope or no, right? Period, it doesn't matter, right? I just do nope. But like we need to be able to truly select the things that we really want to do that really brings us joy in life. Because if not, we say yes to all these things, we're half-assed going to these things, we're half-assed there mentally. Which is like we're not fully there because we don't really want to be there. So that's the whole nope part of it. Because I think we always say yes to everything. And I feel like 50% of our yeses, we don't even want to go to those places, or whatever we said yes to, we're like, oh damn it, why do we say that? That's just that's really how I feel with that kind of part, you know? Um, so there's fun sayings, sorry, not sorry. That's like a little fun one that we have, the unstoppable together. Uh, one that Grestia, you were kind of wanting is do it afraid, right? Anyways. So there's such fun sayings, and I'm also like really open now to also um start collaborating with collaborating with other women, like I how I did with like Liz with her collab. Because I think what it is too is people have this idea of what they want, but maybe they don't want to like do the whole backend stuff of it, right? And like learn a whole website thing, or how do you get this to work? That's me. I'm your girl right there because I love the collaboration portion of it. It's fun and it gets your unique idea out there as well.

SPEAKER_00 21:18

So yeah, yeah, I love that. There's there's a lot there. So I think one of the things is you it ties into your solutions by Mickey because you just mentioned, like, hey, whether it's fashion threads or solutions by Mickey, you thrive in the back end. You really, really do. And by the way, this is anywhere from like setting up an event, because I've seen you, to like, yeah, like event logistics and event setup to and coordination and planning to um like you know, like I don't know, the back end like client journey and like customer onboarding and things like that, anywhere to passion threads like okay, you have you, you business owner, you have this beautiful vision of the same. You want out there, you want to promote uh with merchandise with physical, you know, clothes, but you don't want to deal with where do I source the clothing, how do I put my saying on it, you know, let's get an e-commerce website set up. Like, that's where making you come in. So I actually think it was this beautiful tie-in that is more recent, where you're finding the skill set is like applicable across different areas.

SPEAKER_01 22:23

Oh yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:25

And to the note speed piece of it, I just think it's very important. You mentioned how like it's uh I'll get vulnerable for a second too, and just tell you like real life right now, what I'm feeling today. I am finding myself starting to burn out because I'm finding myself stretching myself too thin back into a situation where I'm not feeling aligned because just like you what you said, you were going with your corporate career and trying to build two, not even just one, two businesses on the side, right? Uh, passion threads and then solutions by Mickey. Right now, as it stands today, as the recording, I'm feeling myself stretched thin by doing corporate uh this podcast, there she goes, and Italy Brides My Wedding Planning Community. And I just think it was very telling to me that you said I probably would have kept going and I would have kept stretching myself too thin until like I who knows, until indefinitely, right? So I just think that was a beautiful reminder to me and to you and to other women out there. There is a time where you have to listen to yourself and just say nope. Like that's enough. And we can't just keep saying yes to everything, or else it becomes self-betrayal.

SPEAKER_01 23:36

Yeah, I agree.

SPEAKER_02 23:37

And it's it's no longer a line, right? You're not taking care of yourself anymore. It's all that kind of stuff. And then and then I truly believe that we're not there fully for anything anymore, right? Your corporate business, your regular stuff that you want to actually do, right? Like Italy Brides, you're not even, it's like then you're halfway there for each of these things because you're stretched so thin, you're like, well, where do I put my energy? I'm like 50% right now. So yeah.

SPEAKER_00 24:01

Yeah. Oh my gosh, this is so good. And I think speaking of stretching your energy and like balancing a bunch of demands, going a little bit back to where you mentioned that you, you know, you were a single mom when your son was growing up, but yet you still found a way to balance. I know workouts are very important to you. And so you balanced like workouts. Uh, talk to us a little bit about how you did that, what that looks like for you, um, the that non-negotiable. And and then talk to me a little bit about something fun about your crown wearing cold plunges.

SPEAKER_02 24:37

Um, okay, so my non-negotiable for myself is like moving my body and taking care of myself in that way. And I truly enjoy lifting weights. So for me to balance that, I was actually waking up early in the mornings. I would do like 5 a.m. workouts. Um then that way I could actually be with my son. But now also as he's gotten older, it's been like a little easier. Plus, working with um working on my nervous system, things like that, of like he's fine by himself for like a little bit. So I don't wake up at five in the morning anymore. It's like a 5 45, which is like freaking amazing because I've been doing 5 a.m. or 4 30 for so long that my body is like done with it. Um, but it's still like my non-negotiable. So if I don't like do that first thing in the morning, I notice a difference. So I try to really do it first thing. And then yeah, like a fun fact. I literally have a cold plunge in my gym that I have. And yes, I do sit there with a crown and I will put it on to go in the cold plunge. Um, it's like a fun little like confidence booster, especially if you haven't done it in a while. Cause like I've actually taken a break for the last three weeks. It's just been, it's just been something. So when I have to hop back in there, I have to, I'm gonna have to put that crown on to get myself a little boost to be able to get in that 55 degree water, you know?

SPEAKER_00 25:58

Oh my gosh, I love that. Yeah. I think it speaks to, and this is something I wanted to mention too, but not just like so the clothing and the clothing line that you have with these inspirational sayings, but with this the crown that you put on when you're doing a cold plunge, it all speaks to embodying the kind of person and the kind of woman that you are becoming and the kind of woman that you are or want to be. Um, but I think the best way to do that is to physically embody it, right? And one of the best ways to do that is wearing a shirt, wearing a crown, just this actual clothing or or something that you can tangibly feel that's a way of embodying her, right?

SPEAKER_02 26:45

Yeah, no, I really love that. That's actually a really good way of saying it. Um and it's not like when you get there, it's do it now, right? We might have this thought of like, but we want to be there, like or I wanna do it now. Just do it now.

SPEAKER_00 27:01

Well, I love this. So at least from the passion thread side, I think we'll move on and start talking a little bit about solutions by Mickey. But just so y'all know, if you want one of these collections, Mickey has graciously offered, uh, there she goes, listeners, 10% off your first order in and in the collection. And my personal favorite, like you said, is the be afraid, do it anyways. Uh, because that's the saying that really that's for me. Like, I need that, and I did buy it. Not only that, I actually bought a sweater for my best friend and I sent it to her as a surprise. She loves it, and I promise you, she said, besides the fact that it's like super like snug, like and like something to cuddle with, she I sent it to her when she was going through um like interviews that she was really nervous about. But and so I literally sent it to her to give her that energy of like be afraid, do it anyway, like shoot your shot. And just know, like honestly, just the majority of the women in my family and friend groups at this point are wearing one of your collections. So I love it, I love it. Well, so talk to us then a little bit about what it's like for you. Like, what sparked the idea for Solutions by Mickey? We talked a little bit about how your paralegal background lends itself to um, you know, solutions by Mickey. Same with recognizing your skill set and passion threads in the back end of things. But like what sparked this idea and how is it going for you?

SPEAKER_02 28:30

So actually, it was when we were at Joshua Tree as like a retreat, and I was like explaining to people what it's like how I was feeling with the paralegal stuff. Um, and a couple of the girls over there were like, hey, well, why don't you do this instead? Like maybe you could do like a virtual assistant or you can put your background into this area. Um, it was nice to hear because sometimes I think as individuals, whatever we are currently, like the title we have on us, we think we have to continue with that path. And that's not the reality. Um it was nice to be in a room full of women saying, Hey, maybe go on this venture, right? And I like I'm going with it. Um I love also helping women in general. Like I'm very fast-paced myself, kind of a thing. Um, and I feel like I see problems before people could even see it. It's what like I'm already like seeing a solution to something somebody can't even see the problem to. So that like naturally I'm like, oh, I should still do like VA stuff, helping people on the back end of their business. Um, like that's like my zone of genius, right? Like organizing stuff, like figuring out like a filing system or whatever. Like I can probably help people with onboarding in the way of like more efficient than what they're currently doing, and or even save them money. People don't realize how many programs that they have that are actually overlapping and you're paying for multiple things. Anyways, that's like my thing of visually being able to see stuff because I think I'm on the outside of a business for that individual. Um, and yeah, I think it's it's it's it's fun to be able to be like a partner to somebody else's business and help them grow and be just as invested as that individual is as I am invested in my own business. I'm I'm not the type to just be like, I'm like a little task here. Like, no, I'm like, okay, well, what else can I help you with? Like, you know, or I can like I could probably do this too, like, you know, like get this off your plate, and then you can have more capacity to do really what's your true zone of genius, right? People, it's not for everybody to do the admin portion of it or that organizational skill portion of it when you can go and get another client or do like another one-on-one with somebody, right? Because we all have the same 24 hours. How do we use that?

SPEAKER_00 30:52

I think that speaks to the episode that I mentioned, which actually happens to be where I mentioned you and Liz. It's the episode there she goes learning to delegate. This is something I personally struggle with as a woman, as a business owner, as you know, in general. So learning to delegate and the importance, I think that's one of the biggest things that I really learned last year too. And it's something I continuously learn. Um, but I just want to mention how it's when you do learn to delegate, it's just this huge weight off your shoulders. And it's not even, it's not a cost, it's an investment because now you've freed up your time to do the things that are gonna give you that are gonna make those sales, that are gonna, you know, market the product or offer you have, etc. So I'm all for it, but it is something new for myself too, to learn how to delay.

SPEAKER_01 31:44

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 31:45

Yep. Oh, and I also love that you called it like you don't just say Mickey, virtual assistant, you named it solutions by Mickey, because you just mentioned that that's what you do. You find solutions to things.

SPEAKER_02 31:59

Yes, yeah. I think the name tied in perfectly, and it's for the fact of like I tend to just find solutions for any little problem. It's like even in my own house, right? I'm like, oh, that's not working. Okay, hold on, like, let's figure out how to troubleshoot this really quick. You know, it's like um I had that like troubleshooting mindset, I guess, for sure.

SPEAKER_00 32:16

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_02 32:17

Back to the everything is figure outable, literally.

SPEAKER_00 32:20

Exactly. Uh, you're just validating that women, like, ooh, and then and especially mothers, I think, but women were such like we're so powerful. Like we we're just like uh kind of a little bit of everywhere. Um, we can do a little bit of everything, and then as a mom, ooh, you know, I feel like tenfold.

SPEAKER_02 32:40

Yeah, yeah. I think just I think just being a woman in general, and then of course, like you said, being a mom is like a whole nother level. But I think just as a woman as a whole, we do a lot of things and without even realizing how much we do, truthfully.

SPEAKER_00 32:56

Yeah. So Mickey, I'm really curious, what are you most grateful for that has helped you during this like forced season of transition and change?

SPEAKER_01 33:09

I am truly grateful for um the support that I have with my husband, number one, truthfully. Um, and I I I'll be a little vulnerable.

SPEAKER_02 33:25

Like with my son right now, he's very like kind of like, mom, are you not gonna go back to work kind of thing? Like, because he's so used to like, you know, and I'm like, no, it's gonna be it's like okay, mom, and he's actually interested in like what I'm doing. So it's fun to watch my son being interested in the things I'm doing. He's realizing, oh, mom's happier, like this is better for her. And like it literally, like I don't want to cry, but like, you know, I want to cry. It's it's it's fun to see because I I really never thought I would get to this point. I am probably at one of the happiest points of my life by this forced transition in a way. But the support that I have from family and friends, especially those that know, right? They're actually interested, like, oh, how's the business going? Did you get any more clients? Like, or how is the work? Like all of it because they want me to be happy, you know, and they're seeing that like going into this route, I'm being in more that aspect of it, like really embodying the person I want to be at the end of the day. And yeah, I mean, the community aspect of all of it, my my my my immediate family, you know, my mom, my aunt, my husband, and my my son. I mean, it's just crazy to see my son. That's like a huge reflection for me. So yeah.

SPEAKER_00 34:48

Thank you. Thank you for sharing that. Um, I really I got tears in my eyes, and you don't even know, like, wow, like you don't you do these like for me, it's like I'm hosting this podcast. I don't always get to hear what people are thinking, right? And I don't know if it's gonna make a change in someone's life, but you are already making a change in my life, and you know what? Um, I think everybody would probably love to hear what's gonna go on in the green room after this because I'm like, oh, I'm gonna have a conversation with you. I might be having to make some decisions of my own related to my career. But I think this was very, very healing for me to hear, very validating. Because notice, like, okay, when we first talked about the layoff, it's like, yes. Freak the first freak out is like, financially, what am I gonna do? Right? It's like, oh my god, of course. Um, and then and then, of course, wrestling with the worthiness feelings of like, wait, why did this happen? Like, did did I do something to deserve this? And that was not the case at all. But then it went to, well, now I'm confident that money will come one way or another. I will figure this this out. But most importantly, is where you just are now. You are happier. And the happier you're also probably healthier from a nervous system regulation standpoint, you are now happier and healthier, which are way more valuable than being stressed out but making ends meet, kind of thing, you know? So I just think you really validated that, but also the beauty of your son not only getting to witness you be happier and healthier and your family, but your son also now recognizing that there's more out there than maybe just the nine to five that I've always known, right? So, like this is and your son's 14, or do we have to do that?

SPEAKER_02 36:33

Yeah, he's 14.

SPEAKER_00 36:33

Yeah, he's 14. So he's 14, right? He's still early on in the high school career, but you are teaching him earlier on that when he does get to that senior year, when he does get to the age where you have to start figuring out am I going to college, am I going to do a job? Am I like where am I going? You are showing him that there's more than one option. And uh, like as a mom, what could be more um, you know, powerful than being like, son, you've got options and you know, figure out what actually makes you happy and show him that you are not just walk talking the talk, you walk the walk.

SPEAKER_01 37:06

Yeah. Yeah. I love that.

SPEAKER_00 37:09

And speaking of just your support system, you know, sometimes we do hear from some business owners where, and and I'm sure that'll come your way, but thankfully it sounds like most of your family and like friendships are not this way, but you'll hear things like, you know, how's the little business going? Or like, oh, like you're not gonna go find a job, or just these little maybe passive aggressive comments or criticisms that are really coming from their own projected fears. Um I love to hear that they're not saying they're genuinely curious, like, how are you doing? How is it going? Like, and how can I help?

SPEAKER_02 37:39

Yeah, and I love that because it gives me one more ounce of like the boost of confidence, right? I'm not hearing the how's that little thing that you started? You know what I'm saying? Like it's literally like all my family and friends, it's like, how's passion threads going? How's solution? Like, it's like, well, how's the business going? Right? It's not this like, how's this like little side hustle that you've been doing? Like, no. It may have started off in that in that way in the very beginning, working a corporate job on top of it, but it's no longer that way, you know? So I love that. And even like you reminding me, I don't hear those things, which is truly a blessing because I know that probably other people out there in general hear that, and it's not easy to hear because what we're doing is first of all, not easy to start anything from ground zero and up on your own, all that stuff. It takes guts to do whatever you're really passionate about or have even an ounce of like, you know, it's like an ounce of passion. Like, if your thought is like or something's really at your heart that you want to do, I I truly believe go for it. Because if not, I feel like you're gonna regret it in life if you didn't even try. You can always stop, you can always pivot, you can say, you know what, that didn't work. I'm not doing that again. I know I don't like it.

SPEAKER_01 38:55

But just try.

SPEAKER_00 38:58

I love that. Um, you mentioned an ounce of passion. I'm gonna call it a thread of passion.

SPEAKER_01 39:04

Oh, I love that.

SPEAKER_00 39:09

I love that. So, Mickey, this has been an amazing episode. Seriously, I'm already loving your episode. I'm so excited to put this out into the world. Like you already touched me. Like you, it happened to be something that I really needed to hear. And so I'm sure somebody out there also needs to hear this. So, um, before we wrap up, what would you love for listeners to take away from this conversation?

SPEAKER_02 39:32

Okay, truthfully, kind of what I was just saying a second ago. If something's at your heart, go for it. Um, there's never a right time to start something. Now is the right time. Life's too short, go for it. If you're unsure about how to do something, reach out to somebody. I can almost guarantee there's gonna be somebody out there that's willing to help you. And they're not doing it like I need the money. Like there's genuine people out there like I got your back, like I will help you start this, or I will give you the guidance, or whatever. It's people do exchanges for services, all that kind of stuff. I mean, there's always a possibility, right? So don't let like money hold you back, don't let anything hold you back.

SPEAKER_01 40:10

There's always a way to do it if you really want it. Thank you so much, Mickey. How can people connect with you?

SPEAKER_02 40:20

Um, on Instagram, that's kind of the only place I'm at, uh, Mickey.mcleary. And um, I have my website, passionthreadsco.com, and I love for any but listeners to sign up to my newsletter. I always have like fun, different like motivational things in there too, and that would be another way of connecting um as well. So yeah.

SPEAKER_00 40:40

I uh by the way, can vouch for that. I'm on her newsletter, and I genuinely love it. Like you give us like little sneak peeks into your life, and I love that you tie it into a life lesson that you've learned um anywhere from like starting to cook or uh you know the most recent events uh with your son or the layoff. Like we really find out about Mickey. So I really recommend it. It's it's really powerful. So um and yeah, you put some effort into that. It's not just like an email, like a regular email newsletter. Like it really is like your own um, I guess similar to a Substack or your own like uh content creation that we get to see behind the scenes of your life. So I really enjoy it.

SPEAKER_02 41:24

Yeah, it's for sure the the more that more than the Instagram portion of it. You get to know me a little bit more through my emails than Instagram.

SPEAKER_00 41:31

Yep, exactly. Awesome. Well, thank you so so much, Mickey, for joining the show. And I encourage everybody go check out Mickey's Passion Threads line. Take advantage of your 10% off your first order. Make sure you, if you need uh VA services, check out Solutions by Mickey. Um, and then like she said, go follow on Instagram and subscribe to her newsletter. Thank you so much, Mickey. I'm so excited for everybody to hear this message.

SPEAKER_01 41:56

Oh, thank you for having me. Yay!

SPEAKER_00 41:59

Bye-bye till next time. Thank you for listening to this week's episode of the There She Goes podcast. If this episode resonated with you, here's how you can be part of it. Subscribe, share it with a friend, or leave a review. Your reviews don't just mean a lot, they help the community grow and reach other women who could be served by these conversations. I created this podcast to connect with women on this journey. So please reach out. I'm a real person. DM me on Instagram at There SheGoesClub or reply to my emails. I can't wait to celebrate your own There She Goes moments. Until next Thursday, let's see where she goes next.