The Moment Everything Changed — From Missing Socks to Massive Impact

Get ready for a wild ride as we dive into the story behind the story. In this kickoff episode of The Laundry Room Diaries, I’m sharing the raw truth about what pushed me to chase big dreams and become a self-made CEO.

When someone recently asked what propelled me forward, I said, "A safe story doesn’t make a great story. I wanted something extraordinary."

This episode takes you back to the moment it all began. Picture a cold winter day, me sitting on the floor surrounded by laundry, ugly crying over a basket of missing socks. That breakdown became the breakthrough that changed the entire trajectory of my life and business.

If you're a mom, an entrepreneur, or a woman in midlife standing at a crossroads, this episode is for you. It's honest, faith-filled, and packed with inspiration to help you trust your own pivot.

Let’s begin the journey from overwhelmed to unstoppable—right here in the laundry room.

#CEOConfessions #LaundryRoomRevelations #MomBossLife #FaithDrivenBusiness #MidlifeEntrepreneur #PodcastForMoms #WomenInBusiness #BrandingWithHeart

Transcript

Angela K. McKay: 0:00

I was recently asked in an interview, what made me just go for it and take a chance and get our of my comfort zone,<laugh>? And I said, no. Safe story is a great story. Think about it. Nothing great ever told was because someone decided to play it safe. And so I decided to take a chance on myself because I knew if I didn't, no one would. And that's calculated risk as an entrepreneur. And that's what this episode is all about today, how I started my journey as an entrepreneur. You're listening to the Laundry R oom Diaries. I'm your host, Angela McKay. I'm a busy mom of seven and a self-made c eo, but friend, that's not how my story started. In fact, 14 years ago, I found myself ugly, crying over a basket of missing socks, wondering what was missing in my life. Maybe you can relate the mom guilt, wanting to be a mom, but yet needing something for yourself. This podcast is designed for you. Learn how to crush the mom, guilt, dance through life, messes, kick perfection out the door and live unapologetically. I'm going to teach you exactly what I did and how I c hanged my life s o that I c an have the best of both worlds. And I'm going to show you how right now. Hey guys, welcome to the Laundry Room Diaries. It's Angela McKay and it's official. We're here finally, episode one of my new podcast. And let me just say right now, pinch me. I'm jumping up and down because this has been such a passion project and now it's finally taking off. And so today I'm so excited to just kind of dive into this authentically, um, without all of the frills that you can get with editing. And I'm just gonna give it to you real, because that's what I think everyone really wants to have, right? Like we live in a world that's so curated and so edited. And friend, I'm gonna tell you right now, that's not my goal here. It is really to be as transparent as I can be and just share the journey of motherhood and as a self-made ceo. And so I thought, what is the topic for the first episode? And it was just so obvious. It was like God gave it to me in a neon sign, let's talk about the laundry room diaries and the story behind the brand. Often when they hear my brand they immediately ask me is it about laundry and I always say, it's defiantly not even though I am a laundry aficionado and I s pend a lot of time in my laundry room as a ma ma s even. It's about life as a mother, it is about life as an entrepreneur, it is about the struggles that I've had to go through to get to where I'm at today and where I want to be in the future.. Let's face it, the joy is in the journey. It's not about a destination. Whether you're raising kids or you're building a business, you can't have destination syndrome. And I will talk and unpack that in a future episode. But today I really wanna stay focused and in the lane of having it all as a mom and as a boss. And I know the mom boss thing is kind of one of those overuse hashtags, you know, everyone says it. But I really wanna talk about those two roles and how that really became my struggle in my own self for so long. And so as we kick this off, I always like to ask a question because I feel like when we're training and we're talking, or if I was working on with you one-on-one, I would want to have a focus. And so each episode, I'm gonna tee up a question and I'm just gonna profoundly ask you, what would your life be like if you could have it all as a mom and as a boss? what would that be like? And the reason why I ask that is after working and coaching with thousands of women who have that role of mom or boss, most of them had the same struggle of feeling like they had to stay in one lane. They had to decide to either be the stay-at-home mom, or to be the outside working mom, right? And both of those roles has challenges because they're missing out on something. And that just really tees up my story and where I was one January day in the winter in Indiana where I live standing in my laundry room looking at a basket of missing socks and literally ugly crying. Now I know missing socks are everyone's nuisance. But friend that day, it was not about where is the blue sock that needs to go with this other sock? It was a self-reflection moment of what was missing in my life as a woman. You know, I had a lot of toddlers at that time. We were in a busy stage of diapers, potty training, cooking meals, snacks, spilled Cheerios and lots of laundry. But at that very moment, guys, it was more about what was missing inside of me. You see, as I stood there with this messy bun, I'm certain I had some stain on my t-shirt just wanting a hot shower and a hot cup of coffee. I'm probably didn't get neither<laugh>. I also felt this extreme mom guilt. I don't know if you can relate to that mom guilt, but I'm guessing if you're a mom, you've been there and you've done that. And what I felt that day was I felt like something was missing inside of me. Like something inside of myself outside of motherhood wasn't in my life. And it really had me feeling down. I was ugly crying, I was questioning everything, and I was feeling so guilty because I wanted to be the stay-at-home mom. I didn't wanna miss out on those mom moments. I didn't want someone re you know, reporting to me on my kids' first steps or all those little monumental moments in motherhood. I wanted to be present as a mother. And so I felt confused, like, what is my problem? I needed to kind of get over it and I needed to silence that i nner mean g irl that was being really loud and hard on myself, saying things like,"you have what most want as a mom, what's the problem?" But the problem was outside of being a mom, I didn't feel like I had an identity. I was a mom and that's great, but when it came to me and my dreams and asked what I wanted as a individual all my answers wrapped around motherhood and I knew that there was something that I needed to do for myself. This is the moment in in my laundry room that everything changed inside me. I started to see that it was important as a woman to have goals and dreams and that didn't make me less of a good mother. I wasn't going to allow the society norms of picking a lane hold me back any longer. I kept thinking, why can't we just have a la ne t hat meshes both th en? And you can be a mom and you can be a boss? Well, you see that day in the laundry room, I had this thought, but I didn't have the solution. I had the frustration and the drive to figure it out. And that's what I started to do. And so I had an opportunity to start a business, a brick mo rtar b usiness, a boutique, and I thought, this is amazing. I'm gonna be ab le t o b e my own boss. I can turn on my open sign, I'll have flexibility<laugh>, which is a myth if you run a retail store. Um, and we had a playroom in our back, so I was like, this is it, you know, I'm gonna be the mom boss. And although it started out that way, we quickly landed our business in a recession where we had to make cuts back, which mean I was like wearing almost all the hats of the store. And although I was turning on that open sign, having that moment of I'm a business owner, I'm living the dream in America, I was missing out on my kids and I found myself one day standing in this beautiful boutique, which what I thought was gonna be that fulfilling part, and I could have it all. And I started to cry again. And I thought, what is my problem? Why can't I figure this out? Like this is what I wanted. If I were to go home and tell my husband like I feel the way I did in the laundry room that started this, he was probably gonna start to wonder if I was even sane. But the reality was, I just went to the opposite side of the coin. And now I was the working outside of the home mom that had the kids in the playroom once in a while at the store. But I was missing out on those mom moments. I was missing out on the things that mattered most and the things that I couldn't get back as a mom. And so I found myself standing in the very same situation, emotionally wondering how could I have it all? And so this was not, again, a space where I had a solution to slap in motion and get going. But I did have a lot of exhaustion. I did have a lot of frustration, and I did have a loving sister who saw me frustrated and exhausted and said, Hey, I have found something that has helped me kind of get through my<laugh> mom life. Try this because you are, you have a healthy diet soda habit and you are burning out friend. And, and that was the reality. That's where I was. I was burning it at both ends and I was burning out. And so by, by respect of my sister's recommendation, I took this little magic juice<laugh>, and all of a sudden it helped me with my adult a d d I was focused, I was feeling better, and at least I was able to get through my busy mom life as a business owner day. Well, fast forward friend. What happened was, is that little product was attached to an industry that I had a lot of issues with. See, I was an entrepreneur. I owned a brick and mortar store. I was not going to do any of those funny businesses out there. You know, the ones where they sell things. And so I was kind enough to my sister to say, I will buy the product, but I will not sell the product<laugh>. And I was very adamant about that. And although I stood in a store full of beautiful things that literally no one was coming through the doors to purchase because of a recession, we found ourselves living transaction to transaction. Now that is a very challenging moment with a family of nine to try to make enough money to keep the doors open and to put the food on the table. And I remember the stress level was over the top, and I knew that this something had to change. And I started to really just think and pray like, what is it that's gonna happen in our life because this is not working anymore. And then I went to my mailbox and I got a paper check. Now,<laugh>, I date myself a little bit because that was over 14 years ago, but this paper check for$17, I didn't know how I earned it. I remember getting this, and then I saw where it came from and it was from that little magic juice company. And I thought, wait a minute, I haven't sold anything. I'm just using the products and I love the products, but I wasn't trying to make an income with it. And in fact, I told them I did not want to make an income with it. So I started to get a little upset looking at the$17 check. I was upset because I said, I don't want to sell your thing. Remember, I'm a business owner. I don't do those funny businesses. And so I remember talking to my husband in the kitchen and, and then saying like, how did I even earn this? I didn't even try. And what was so ironic was we needed that$17 bad. We were really at a point where we were struggling to, to, to keep all things moving in one space. And so as I kind of looked at this check and I thought I didn't do anything, I started to get very curious about how I generated some income by recommending a product because I remembered, oh wait, I remember I was standing at the football game and I had my mama juice as I called it, in my water bottle. And I was shaking it and I was happy. And people probably noticed the fact that I didn't look as tired or worn out. And when one of my mom friends asked, Hey, what's in there? I simply said, oh, it's like my ne my favorite thing. I've kind of kicked my diet soda habit and it's helping me get through my crazy days. I don't feel as tired, and in fact I feel really good. I gave a recommendation and she said, Hey, I wanna feel that way. And I said, well, this is where I got it. I'm sure you can order it too. It's really amazing. And that's where I left it. Unbeknownst to me, she actually went and ordered it. And because she ordered off of my recommendation, I got paid. And all of a sudden I started to think, what if there is something to this? Because I didn't have to buy the product to sell it to her. God knows I had a lot of those products sitting in my boutique that I couldn't sell. And in fact, I didn't even really remember selling it to her. I just rem reminded, remembered, giving a recommendation and saying, Hey, I love it. You should try it too. You have the same problem as I do. And you know what she did, and I didn't have to go ship it to the the person or hand it to her at the football game. In fact, it came to her door. And I didn't even know this transaction had happened. But because of a recommendation and the power of the internet, all of a sudden I had a$17 check in my hand that I didn't understand fully how I earned. But all of a sudden I saw the solution I had been praying for. Now, friend, I'm here to tell you right now, I don't make any claims about anything in this industry other than the fact that if you want to change your life and you wanna put the work in, I believe you can do that with any opportunity out there in this world. And I was in a stage of my life where I was hungry for change. I was tired of the mom guilt, I was tired of the burnout. And more importantly, I was tired of missing out on those mom moments. I knew if I didn't find a solution, I wasn't gonna be able to be there for all those milestones that I didn't wanna miss. But I also knew<laugh> seven kids equals a lot of diapers, a pretty big grocery bill. And I knew we, our budget could use a little extra padding. And so I thought, what if I actually tried to do this just to make the groceries work just to maybe make the car payment, right? What if I could just see if there's something to this little, little opportunity that my sister had dabbled in front of me based on some amazing products? Well, fast Forward Friend 14 years ago, I was the skeptic that I now love to talk and help with. I believe that there is such an amazing opportunity to hire yourself in a space that you have flexibility, and you also have the ability to impact your income without missing out on the mom moments. That is exactly what I've been doing over the last 14 years, and I've been learning it the hard way, the ups the downs, you know, the non curated awesomeness, but like, oh my gosh, it's super hard sometimes. But more importantly, I have a passion for training. I love helping other people see the potential in starting their own business, whether that is in a direct selling opportunity like me or an Etsy mom or a passion project, learning how to monetize their mom skills. It's about taking something that you love and putting a brand and business into action, and literally starting to create an income so that you can have that flexibility that you desire as a mom and a boss. And what I love is now today, I don't have to pick Elaine. I have created the path to my success and it has given me everything that I want as a mom and a boss. I no longer go to my laundry room looking at the messing box, missing socks that still sit there friends. And I look at that now as a reminder of a space where I struggled and I took that as an opportunity to change myself. Instead of going back into that laundry room every day, questioning myself or having that mom guilt, I decided to take action in my life. And that's what this podcast is created for. This podcast is created for you, for the mom that might be standing in her life looking at something and having it reflect a change that she wants to make. Giving you the options to look at your life and your passions and gifts that God is blessed and and looking at it away through maybe you generating some income or creating that business that might be on your heart. But more importantly, friend, what I love, it's a place of empowerment. I feel like community is key. And I just wanna take what I have learned over the last 14 years in an industry and over 20 years as a business owner, raising seven kids, and talk to you as a mom and as a boss about the cycles of motherhood, the cycles of business, and really how to get the cycles of success that you want in your life. And so welcome to the Laundry Room Diaries. I am excited for what this is going to become. I know right now I'm going to be bringing you some of the topics that maybe you've been talking to yourself inside your head about, talking about mom guilt or perfectionism, talking about the struggles of time management and productivity, talking about systems that work as a mom and as a boss, or as both. And more importantly, I'm gonna be talking to you about yourself as a woman and how you can fill yourself up. And there's no shame in wanting more in your life. So if this speaks to you, you found this for a reason, and I just can't wait for you to join me again and again each and every week for an episode that's gonna get your cup filled and help you get through your week. And my hope to you friend is that you can learn to kind of dance through the messes of life, not look for the perfectionism that doesn't exist, and in fact, just embrace the joy of the journey. So welcome to the Laundry Room Diaries. I can't wait to see you on the next episode. And until then, dance through the mess. And remember, you can be a mom. That means a business and have it all too

Speaker 2: 20:12

Close. My eyes don't even care anyone sees me like and don't brand new.