THE INTERVIEW with Stephanie Dryer
(View here on Instagram)
Stephanie:
Hello hello everyone! I’m super excited to talk with you today about Me Time with our special guest Megan Moran. She is an expert at helping mompreneurs get more Me time. So if you are a Mama or working Mama out there you’re going to want to listen for the next 10 to 15 minutes.
I’m going to talk to her about some specific ways we cannot only carve out me time but figure out what we want to do during that me time to just have more time for ourselves. Give me a thumbs up if any of you can relate to that- I know I can so I’m super excited to have her join us today! Again busy moms and mompreneur this is especially for you. We’re talking about:
- How to add more hours back to your day
- Then when you have that time, how do you figure out what to do with it to nourish yourself and fill your bucket back up.
- What’s holding you back from Time Freedom
- How to reclaim more time for yourself
- and get some tips on saving time
I’m super passionate about this topic as you can imagine since I’m a mompreneur and someone who needs more time. And here she is! Hi Megan!
Megan:
Hey! How are you? Can you hear me ok?
Stephanie:
I can! Yay! I’m SO excited to talk about Me time.
Megan:
Yayyy! Me too! I just had some the other day and I can’t wait to share all the amazingness about it.
Stephanie:
To everyone that’s joining this is Megan Moran. She is a mom and mompreneur and she’s the owner of The Mompreneur Guide. A company that helps mom entrepreneurs navigate Mompreneurship (hello- thank you SO much) with focus, support and ease at her luxury in-person retreat and in her Mastermind community. So she has some amazing resources and we’re definitely going to get to those but first we’re going to talk about some tips and strategies to help us save time. So without further adieu Megan, go ahead and tell us a little about yourself and what you’re doing because I know you were a Mompreneur before you were doing what you’re doing now.
Megan:
Yeah! Thanks so much for having me! Like you said I am the owner of The Mompreneur Guide but I had a different business before this and we’ll get to that. My story is that that I grew up in a family of entrepreneurs but not only that I was raised my a Mompreneur so my story is from both sides. I was raised in this free, open childhood where my mom and parents were around, they could pick me up from school, get in and out of the office as they wanted to- they really had FREEDOM over their TIME.
So growing up, once I got older I realized that this was an option, this is super cool and I knew that’s what I wanted to do too. I was encouraged by my family to “do what you love and the money will come” and to go after your passion. And at the time I was constantly told: “You’re so good at Fashion!” I always got asked: “What should I wear?” all those kind of things. So in high school actually I started my first business as a personal stylist. It started off as a blog and then eventually turned into services and I did that for 10 years. I did that because I wanted to set up the space of freedom for my family. I wanted to, when my kids came, obviously down the road from when I started my business- I wanted to be able to pick them up from school and manage my time just as my parents had.
But then the reality of actually having kids came. And I realized what I was doing for styling and how I was managing my time- I was doing more in person services until COVID- and it just all wasn’t jiiving. I was having my last child, Sophia, she was just born in November, and it was like: “okay, after I have her this is going to be it. What do I want to do essentially for forever with my business and time?”
And I realized this unique life that I grew up with this unique lifestyle of mompreneurs ship from both sides. And so that’s when I really came to To realize, like, I have lived time freedom, and I have implemented it in my life, because it was ingrained in me. And that’s when I want to help other mompreneurs do not only get their time in order, but then also feel supported. Because that’s what I grew up with. I was able to bounce ideas off of my family because they got it. They didn’t fully get it. But they got it for the most part, and not all of us. mompreneurs have that. So that’s kind of the two major things in conjunction with getting some self care. That all came through my business journey so far.
Stephanie:
That is so amazing. And isn’t it funny how life brings us full circle? I’m so inspired!
I’m 45 and my kids are 17, 15, and 12- you’ve got a little one so we’re in slightly different stages in our life. But when my kids were young, I became a consultant. I grew up thinking I have to work for the big company to have that stability and that support. And then I became a mom and was living the dream job running an ad agency with the freedom to bring my daughter to work. I could even nurse her from my office! However, I still was struggling to juggle it all and felt like this isn’t what I want. That I wanted more freedom, time freedom. (I love that word that you that expression you’ve coined there. )
And I think as I’ve become a Mompreneur (I’m the owner of Batch Cooking Club– a vegan meal prep membership) I’m really struggling with having that freedom I left corporate for. I’m feeling kind of chained to this job, this business. And I’m spending more time working than I want to instead of being with my family. And I’m guessing is that am I not alone in that?
Megan:
No. Not at all. Comment if you agree- I want to hear how many Mompreneurs are doing this. You go into this because of the freedom and to be around for your family but then they two don’t match up.
It’s because you have to be really intentional about it. You have to make sure you have strategies and accountability and support in place. And all of that has to be wrapped into something super easy for you to implement. You need those boundaries so you have work time, mom time and you have to make sure you have me time too- so you’re filling up your cup to do the other two things.
Stephanie:
So tell me, what are your top three tips for doing that? For finding that time? That Me time? I love it.
Megan:
The first step that I walk people through with my Time Freedom Formula, is: clarity.
Now when it comes to getting clarity, oftentimes this is a point of contention when you first think about it, because it’s like I have no time. So how can I take time to sit down and journal and think about the things that I want to do? I need help. Now.
However, you need to get clear, because when you know your list of priorities, and what you absolutely want to say yes to then saying no to things becomes really easy.
So in my past life, I was a personal stylist, like I said, and I would go through women’s closets, clean them out, tell them what to keep and get rid of based on their style. It was super, super easy to clean out their closets because I knew their style. So I knew what was working and what didn’t. It’s exactly the same process with your time.
You have to go through and say, these are the things that are important to me. And then look at all these other things you’re doing and see what matches and what’s extra.
For example, you might want to ask yourself: “Am I keeping up with the Joneses with my marketing and trying to do all of the platforms or try clubhouse because it’s new, but maybe you don’t actually care about how that platform works. You’re really good on Instagram.”
Or you might think: “Are you running the kids to 20 activities that they don’t care about? And instead they really care about a couple and you as a family care about a couple and so could you cut back things there?”
You’ve got to clear the clutter to unlock your work and mom time. You’ve got to set boundaries for when you’re going to work, be in your office get focused, what are those handful of things you need to do to be profitable, successful and meet your goals? Same thing with your house? What are the few things that you need to do with your house, your kids, the house chores that you want to get done? What can you delete, delegate, and automate?
You have to put it all out there and get it in order to whittle it down to what’s important. You’ll then unlock so much time which means you can have me time.
Stephanie:
This sounds amazing. So this idea of clarity, and I consider myself such an organized type-a person, but I’ve never thought about it like this. And obviously, it seems so simple. Prioritize. Yeah. But what you’re saying is very specific in a way that I don’t think many of us as mompreneurs do. So I just want to encourage everybody, like, let’s do this. Let’s sit down and journal this weekend.
When you take people through this process, do you have journal prompts that help them get to these answers, because this sounds really life changing?
Megan:
Yes! I totally do!
The three steps are: clarity, then alignment and then recalibration.
The clarity portion of this Time Freedom Formula takes up the most of our work. But I have worksheets and tools to help you quickly get to the bottom of it to get your answers. Like figuring out money mapping, what your goals are, how much money do you actually need to be making, how much time you actually need to spend in the office? Family goals through a Living Family Goals document that you’ll sit down with your family and say, Okay, what do we want to do, like, get your kids involved, get your husband involved, because when everybody’s on the same page, it makes your days a lot easier, with a lot less friction.
I have 9+ templates in total including the journaling piece! I have journaling prompts that have transformed my life. I personally used these when I was pregnant with my daughter trying to figure out what I wanted to do next? I felt called to do something different. But what was that going to be? These prompts, like I said, transformed my life and gave me so much peace and clarity. I journal every day now, getting my thoughts out and just processing it. And that’s how I figured out what I wanted to spend my days doing.
So that’s the big chunk of the first thing that we do with the time freedom formula. And I have a workbook to walk you step by step through it all, because it can be overwhelming. But when you do it and flush it all out- it’s gold.
Stephanie:
This sounds amazing. So is this a program? Is this something that you do? I’m like, sign me up? Tell us about that. Is there a way that we can do this process with you?
Megan:
Yes, for sure. So I’m considering launching (and if people are interested comment and let me know) a workshop version of this Time Freedom Formula. You could join and learn how to prioritize (I mean really prioritize) your goals, why and how you want your days to feel and align that with your time so you’re living your life on purpose- exactly how you want. It will also open up an invitation to my Mompreneur Membership where I can support you and help you commit and live your time-free life. So if people are interested in that as well. Yeah,
Stephanie:
Yeah, let me say I think you should do it, Megan. Like I would sign up for that now! Seriously, I feel like as a mompreneur, right now I am so much struggling with feeling like nothing’s fun. Everything feels so hard. And it’s like wait, this is the exact opposite of why I’m doing what I’m doing. Then those moments that I’m actually in it I’m like: “Oh, yeah, this is why I’m doing what I do. Then I think, how do I bottle this? How did I do this? I want to make sure I’m doing this all the time.”
Megan:
Well, and that’s the beauty of my Time Freedom Formula, it’s a repeatable process. Life is going to inevitably ebb and flow. Your kids are going to grow and need you differently. Your business is going to change. And so that’s where the recalibration portion and the membership comes in. It’s that accountability to making sure every quarter you’re going back to those journal prompts to confirm: is this what I want to be doing with my time and have I reached those goals? It’s a never ending process and things are gonna change and that’s why the “work life balance” I always like to put in quotes isn’t quite real because life’s going to ebb and flow. Once you’ve learned this process then it’s a strategy you’ve got in your tool belt that you can refer to again and again.
Stephanie:
So I see her Ruthie says she would sign up to I love and adore Ruthie, she is a fellow mompreneur with an amazing meal prep membership- The Elevated Plant Plate. It’s amazing and I encourage everyone to check it out.
She and I are alike, and are like yes, sign us up! We’re both trying to do all the things and be the Mama’s. And maybe because of COVID, it’s pressurized everything with the kids and wanting to be present and show up in ways that we didn’t before. And there’s a lot of things we’ve had to let go of over this past year and a half which is really starting to make me wonder, do I want to put them back now that things are opening up again? Like, do I really want to run around every weekend? Does the family want to run around to every single activity? What do I want my weeknights, to feel like?
I’ve been having a lot of conversations with, especially my son, because he’s involved in a lot of sports. And now that those things are opening, it’s like, do you want to do all of these sports? Because it means you’re not going to have as much time during your weekend and how is that going to affect your mental health, your anxiety? It’s a good question for me to turn onto myself too. You know, I’m so worried about him but it’s like, well, I should be asking myself the same questions about my activities too, right?
So I think this is so so so amazing. I also know you have a Time Freedom Quiz that I’m excited to take. But tell us how we can learn more about what you do. And yes, please put that workshop together. I’m begging you. I will join. Because I know I can make a workshop happen- especially if it’s virtually. So tell us how we find out more!
Megan:
One quick thing I want to mention before I go into that is, the reminder that oftentimes we forget as mompreneurs that we’re in control. I have to remind myself that all the time. Sometimes I’ll see somebody else’s process and feel like I have to do it exactly that way. So I oftentimes have to stop myself and be like, wait, I get to make the rules. Yes, your kids dictate some things. Yes, your clients are going to dictate some things. But at the end of the day, you get to make your schedule however you want. If you want to work in the mornings or at night, if you want to work at naptime if you want to work on the weekend. You get to choose whatever it is that you want to do. I just wanted to mention that because I have to remind myself all the time. So hopefully it helps somebody else. Remember, do what works best for you. That’s the whole point of my formula.
Stephanie:
I love that my sales coach says: You’re the CEO of your business. And I’m like, Yeah, that’s right. I get to make the calls.
Megan:
Yes! You forget sometimes. You get into it, or you feel like oh, well, this process is supposed to work. And since I’m a total type-a person I see that and am like well, it works, so I have to follow it exactly. But then sometimes I’ll feel friction because I can’t get it to work right for me. Then I have to say to myself: I can do whatever feels easiest to me, because that’s right for me.
Anyways, so my Time Freedom Formula Workshop can be found here and the Quiz can be found here. The quiz will tell you the one thing that’s holding you back from time freedom. So that’s a great place to get started.
There’s many different things that can be affecting you and your time freedom and knowing how to start letting go of things to make more space for yourself and your schedule is the first place to start.
I also do Facebook Lives once a week. So I recently talked about pandemic brain, which we were talking about a little bit here today, it’ll tell you how to cope with the craziness that’s going on, because scientifically, we are losing our minds, according to the research. So we’re not going crazy about our schedules, but there’s a way to cope with it. So if you follow me there, you can learn more about that process more about what I’m doing.
You’ll also be able to see there when I launch this workshop, if anybody else is interested, or has thoughts on it, comment and let me know, I’m gathering my information now. So I could get that launched. And then I’ve got the Mompreneur Membership launching down the road so you can get the accountability, the support, and can continue to get more time saving strategies.
Stephanie:
I love it. I love it. Megan, I’m so grateful to have you here. And I’m so excited to work with you. Like Megan mentioned, I’m going to be sharing some of my meal planning strategies for that third phase she was talking about in her formula- within the Mompreneur Membership. But I actually personally want to be a client because I am so in need of this. And I just think it’s a great service to be offering to mompreneurs as we’re trying to figure it all out, you know?
Megan:
Thanks so much Stephanie! I so appreciate you letting me hop on, share my story, what I can do for Mompreneurs and I just can’t wait to help people. You know, I just transitioned into this venture- it’s been a couple months now. And the feedback has been great. And I just more and more have realized like, how lit up I get from supporting other women, having coffee chats, and things like that with other mompreneurs. So if you’re a mompreneur and you feel like you need some business besties that’s what I’m all about. Like, let me know if we can get a coffee chat together. That’s part of what the Mompreneur Membership is going to offer- support, strategy and then thrown in some self care too.
Stephanie:
I love it. I want to be your business bestie!
Megan:
Oh- we’re already in that club! We have our coffee chat date- it’s become official.
Stephanie:
Megan, thank you so much for being here. I’m gonna put all your links in the in the description when I post this and thank you to everyone who’s who’s watching either live or in replay. I so appreciate you being here and I hope this was a great resource for you. I try to not only be a resource for you when it comes to meal prep and feeding your family, but also just being a busy mama. When I hear about resources and tools that might help you that sounds amazing- I want to share it with you. So I hope this was a value. And I thank you for watching.
