Live Coaching with Morgan: Should Simbi Buy a Business? ft. Rewrite Your Rules Framework

Summary

Podcast Title: The Journey with Morgan DeBaun
Episode: Live Coaching with Morgan: Should Simbi Buy a Business? ft. Rewrite Your Rules Framework
Release Date: April 1, 2025

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Introduction

In this insightful episode of The Journey with Morgan DeBaun, host Morgan DeBaun engages in a live coaching session with Simbi, a multifaceted individual balancing motherhood and entrepreneurship. The conversation centers around Simbi's dilemma: whether to acquire a digital marketing agency to enhance her income and freedom or to focus on expanding her existing ventures. Utilizing frameworks from Morgan's new book, "Rewrite Your Rules," the episode delves deep into decision-making processes tailored to personal aspirations and life circumstances.

Guest Background: Meet Simbi

Simbi is a wife, mother to a 13-month-old son, and an entrepreneur with a diverse professional background in marketing and corporate sectors. Having recently left her tech job to pursue entrepreneurship full-time, Simbi manages multiple income streams:

• Real Estate Investment Business: Owning two rental properties that provide cash flow.
• Film Business: Offering videography services on a retainer basis for her church.
• Personal Brand: Building her Instagram presence, though currently yielding limited partnerships.

Simbi is contemplating acquiring a digital marketing agency to stabilize and grow her income, seeking a balance between professional growth and personal freedom.

Main Discussion: To Acquire or to Grow

Morgan and Simbi explore the pros and cons of acquiring an existing digital marketing agency versus expanding Simbi's current businesses. The core focus is on maximizing time freedom, ensuring manageable workloads, and aligning business decisions with personal values and life goals.

Evaluating Current Businesses

• Real Estate: Self-managed properties, providing pure profit without intermediaries.
• Film Business: Transitioned from event videography to managing the church's social media presence, allowing Simbi to focus more on online tasks.
• Personal Brand: Limited monetization with potential plans to pause and reassess.

Considering Acquisition

Simbi identified digital marketing agencies as potential acquisition targets, attracted by their low overhead and high margins. However, Morgan challenges this approach by highlighting the inherent risks and questioning the need to purchase what Simbi already effectively manages through her current film business.

Key Insights and Strategies

1. Focus on Existing Strengths:

   • Quote: (03:37) Morgan asks, “How are you currently making decisions? Like, how are you and your husband really making decisions about what is the most important thing in the next three to five years?”
   • Insight: Instead of purchasing a new business, Simbi should concentrate on scaling her existing ventures, particularly her film business, which already aligns with her skills and market.

2. Redefine Business as Main Hustle:

   • Quote: (43:09) Simbi acknowledges, “That's my main. I mean, it's been my main hustle.”
   • Insight: By recognizing her film business as her primary focus, Simbi can invest more resources into growing it organically, ensuring sustainability without the complexities of acquisitions.

3. Delegation and Trust:

   • Quote: (16:55) Simbi asks about training and trust, “Maybe trust first.”
   • Insight: Morgan emphasizes the importance of distinguishing between CEO tasks and operating tasks. Delegating non-core activities, such as laundry or shopping, frees up time for Simbi to focus on strategic business growth and personal well-being.

4. Creating Time Freedom:

   • Quote: (14:04) Morgan advises, “It's okay not to work all the time.”
   • Insight: Simbi is encouraged to restructure her schedule to incorporate time for self-care and personal activities, which in turn enhances productivity and overall life satisfaction.

5. Actionable Steps for Growth:

   • Quote: (36:20) Morgan suggests, “So you can get home if you need to.”
   • Insight: Breaking down large goals into manageable steps, such as utilizing her mother for childcare during specific hours, allows Simbi to gradually implement changes without feeling overwhelmed.

6. Leveraging Existing Relationships:

   • Quote: (42:23) Morgan states, “Find other Christian organizations that you want to support and want to help and have them as recurring clients as well.”
   • Insight: Building upon her current client base within the church and expanding to similar organizations can create a stable and aligned clientele, reducing the risks associated with acquiring a new business.

Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Morgan on Rule-Breaking:
  “So much of our lives have been designed by other people, by other people's expectations, by society's expectations... those rules, we need to throw them completely out the window and really get clear about what we want to do.”
  (00:00)

• Simbi on Entrepreneurial Calling:
  “I just knew I couldn't go back into an office and live that type of life anymore. I knew that there was more for me.”
  (02:05)

• Morgan on Time Freedom:
  “It's okay not to work all the time.”
  (14:04)

• Simbi on Embracing Main Hustle:
  “That's my main. I mean, it's been my main hustle.”
  (43:09)

Conclusion and Next Steps

The episode concludes with Simbi gaining clarity on her business direction. Morgan encourages her to focus on expanding her existing film business, leveraging her relationships within the church community, and delegating non-essential tasks to regain time freedom. Simbi sets actionable goals for the upcoming months, including a couples trip and doubling her income by concentrating on her primary business endeavors.

Final Quote:
“That's my main hustle.”
(43:09) – Simbi encapsulates her resolved focus on growing her current business, acknowledging it as the cornerstone of her entrepreneurial journey.

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This episode serves as a compelling guide for entrepreneurs navigating the complexities of balancing personal life and business growth. Through practical advice and empathetic coaching, Morgan DeBaun empowers listeners to rewrite their rules and make decisions that truly align with their desired lifestyles.

Transcript

[A]

Hey, everybody. Welcome back to the Journey podcast. Today I have something very special for you. We are talking to Simbi. Cimbie is a mom, an entrepreneur, a wife, and an incredible woman who is thinking about how does she grow more income so that she has more time and more freedom to be the mom and the wife that she wants to be. But also how should she think about doing things like acquiring businesses or growing the business that she already has so that she has more stability into her life. In this episode, we are really focused on helping people rewrite their rules, using the frameworks from my new book to help people figure out whatever crossroads they're in, making sure that they know how to make decisions that are best for them. So much of our lives have been designed by other people, by other people's expectations, by society's expectations, by the rules of the game that we thought we were playing. But actually those rules, we need to throw them completely out the window and really get clear about what we want to do, how we want to live our lives, so that we have more time for joy and more time for freedom. And that is what this book is all about. So I really hope that you guys pre order it now. It's available anywhere that you buy your books. Hey, everyone. I'm Morgan debon, a passionate entrepreneur and life advisor. With the Journey podcast, you'll discover that success isn't about the destination, it's about the journey. I'm sharing stories of amazing people who've taken control of their lives. Join me on my own journey to discover the secret sauce behind reaching success. With permission from no one else. Hi.

[B]

Hello.

[A]

So tell me a little bit about yourself and tell me a little bit about what made you decide to come on the show today.

[B]

Yeah. Well, thank you for having me, Morgan. I love what you're doing here. As you know, I'm Simbi. I am a wife, a mother and an entrepreneur. What made me come on the show today was I'm in a transitionary phase in my life where I have a 13 month old son and I've done a lot of different things in marketing, corporate specifically. And I actually left my job in tech after I had my son because I knew that there has always been a call in my life to be an entrepreneur. I've done business on the side as like a side thing for a long time. And I feel like people tend to say that when they have children, something pushes them and I didn't want to be that person, but I became that person. I just knew I couldn't go back into an office and live that type of life anymore. I knew that there was more for me. Right. So I have to make some decisions. Do I focus on motherhood primarily? I already feel like that's not what I want to do. And if I don't, how do I manage motherhood in my way while building our businesses? And I'm actually looking to acquire an agency, so there's a lot going on. You let me know where you want to take this.

[A]

That's so good. I mean, I think the transition into motherhood is obviously huge. We have sons.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Practically the same age. So I get it. It is a huge transition. And I think that a lot of times it does give you a season of slowness to really be able to center on, like, what's most important. You know, you get so much clarity when you have kids because your time becomes way more valuable. So I think it's good that you're taking time to, like, really think through your next steps. My question for you is, how are you currently making decisions? Like, how are you and your husband really making decisions about what is the most important thing in the next three to five years?

[B]

Yeah, that's a. That's a really good question. So initially I was trying to achieve goals in one year. So I like that you said three to five years, because now I've said, okay, I'll give myself three years.

[A]

Yes, that's right.

[B]

Yeah. How we're thinking right now is one, what activities should we be doing that can give us, like, a high return for our time?

[A]

Right.

[B]

Because time is limited for us a lot more now. So we really, really need to be mindful of investing in the right business or businesses that can give us a good return. That's one, two. We don't want anything that will. So my husband used to work as a CPA at a big four firm. And that, I mean, like, I don't know, 70 hour weeks, intense, intense job. Yeah. So we don't want something too intense.

[A]

So basically what I'm hearing you say is you guys value freedom.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Time freedom, flexibility, but you want to also build your assets.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

So cash flow and assets.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Is what I hear, like your priorities.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And my question for you is basically like, as you're thinking about that, what are the current businesses that you have? Like, walk me through today. I know you have your Instagram, but are we making any money there? So let's talk about the things that make money first, not just what you want to be a business.

[B]

Yeah. Currently we have our real Estate investment business. So we acquired two units right before I left my job. So that cash flows.

[A]

Are they houses?

[B]

Yes. Okay, two houses. Yes, yes. Houses that are occupied by tenants paying rent.

[A]

Great.

[B]

All that. We also have our film business, so we do film videography work with our church. That's also like on a month to month retainer at our church. So those are the two. Oh, yeah. So I'm building out SIM inspired, my Instagram personal brand. But I got like one brand partnership last year, which was good. But I'm thinking of pausing that. And then the next big thing that I think might be our thing is acquiring a digital marketing agency.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

I recently found out that that was like a thing that there are small businesses that you can acquire.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

So that's where we're trying to put our time and energy, trying to find the right agency to acquire. Because based on the research I've done and the experience I have in the field, things like overhead are very low and the margins are higher and I can do it from anywhere.

[A]

That's true.

[B]

Is that true? Tell me more.

[A]

No, no, no. Let's not total it. The margins are not so high. But let's talk about it.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Okay. So if we're going through basically thinking about how you want to spend your time and where you want to invest your time and also cash, real estate being one of your main incomes and the fact that you guys already have a core competency there, Cause you already have two houses. Are you all managing the maintenance of that or do you have a third party doing the.

[B]

We are self managing.

[A]

Okay, great. And then so that's all profit. Right? You don't have a middleman. And then when it comes to the production business. Walk me through that a little bit more.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So you're doing the monthly videos. Are you guys like editing the videos that go up on the church's YouTube and things like that? Walk me through that.

[B]

Okay, so our core business in film and videography actually was events.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

So after I got pregnant, I scaled back there. I didn't want to be holding a camera at an event for hours and hours on my feet. So then we now handle our church's Instagram and Facebook page. So it's like a social media contract. Right. So we edit the clips that end up on those platforms, we create all the posts, and then at church as well, we film things at church. So church events. But primarily my husband handles the videography side now since I'm home a lot and I take care of the online things.

[A]

That's Great. And tell me more about in your mind. I noticed that you said that you want to acquire a digital media agency, but you already have a digital media agency. So tell me what's going on there.

[B]

Okay. You know, as I was looking into these businesses, I was like, wait, this is like, this has been the goal for a while and I forgot that that was the goal. So I'm thinking that in acquiring an agency that has more clientele and like more of a structured business, I can hop into their workflow and scale faster. Plus I could hop into cash flow and then there are loans available to even allow me to acquire the business versus trying to continue to build on my own. As I mentioned, that cash flow and the timeline is, is important to us.

[A]

Right.

[B]

But I'm not fully sure what the risks of acquiring a business might be or like, things I'm not considering, you know, like, is that really a good, good idea? Is it too good to be true?

[A]

You know, I think the thing when acquiring a business is you kind of have to evaluate a few things. You have to evaluate what is my actual end goal. And what I hear you saying is your end goal is actually you want to grow your income. Like you want to have your business support your life and you want your business to make more money, you want more revenue for your business. And you already have a digital media agency. You already, you do. By the definition of it. You guys are making content, you're doing content strategy, you're doing digital strategy, scheduling posts, you all are managing an account that's not yours, that is an agency. Right. So you already have it. So what I'm trying to figure out is basically how or why you think you need to go buy someone else's business that you already have. And what I think you're trying to say is you don't know how to grow your business. So you think buying a book of business is going to result in you being able to acquire their customers and then therefore you'll be able to keep them.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

The challenge there is those customers are most likely tied to their owner. So a lot of agencies are owner operated just like yours. Right. Would your church, if you all sold it and sold it to someone else and there was a new face coming in every day and there's a new person coming in and doing the social media, would they just find another person or would they keep that company if it wasn't you and your husband? What do you think?

[B]

They trust us specifically and we were hired for specific reasons. So yeah, that's Certainly not something we can hand off to someone.

[A]

Right. And at most agencies, their customers are small business owners. Right. They're middle sized businesses, small businesses. So it's very much about the owner relationship. And the owner relationship is the thing that is the rainmaker. It's the founder. The owner is the one who's closing the deals and building that relationship with the clients. So the real question is, how can you grow your business and do it in a way that feels easier?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Right. How do you take the portfolio of work that you all already have and say, this is our portfolio, this is our framework, this is what we specialize in and then go, how do you go find more customers?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Tell me why that wasn't what you thought.

[B]

I mean, it's been three weeks or maybe two weeks. Like this idea literally just came to my mind.

[A]

Well, you've been doing this business for more than three weeks.

[B]

Yes, but I didn't see it, like, I didn't see it that way.

[A]

Oh, tell me more.

[B]

I just saw it as they're paying you, right? They are. I just, I think it's probably the fact that it comes so naturally to me. It's, it's, it's easy, it feels easy. It feels very easy to do. So it's like, oh yeah, like I'm helping my church out, you know, and yes, we are being paid, but it's a church, it isn't a lot, you know, like we aren't being paid a lot. So I just saw it as this is our way to serve in the church. And I just kind of do that on the side.

[A]

Right. Well, here's the thing, and this is my recommendation for anyone when they're thinking about how do I grow my entrepreneurial portfolio. Right. Most of us are serial entrepreneurs, whether we want to call ourselves that or not. We are have our personal brands, we do speaking engagements, we've got whatever product we're selling, whatever service we're selling. So we're serial entrepreneurs. But part of what you have to focus on is what's making me the most money today. Even if it feels easy, it's okay. It's okay not to work all the time. Right. So even if it's like, yeah, we're gonna actually get some more cashflow and we're gonna go buy two more houses, two more doors, or we're gonna buy a multi family property and that's gonna give us an extra thousand dollars, two thousand dollars a month, and then we're going to take the work that we do with this church. And we're gonna add another church because that's what our portfolio is today. And even though it feels easy and we can just hire a videographer to go to the other church, so your husband's not running around as much right then. Now we're at another thousand dollars a month. So you kind of have to build it from the ground up with where you are today versus thinking about this imaginary thing that you wanna acquire or build or buy over here when you have something good. Right now we just need to focus on growing it.

[B]

I love that. Wow.

[A]

So tell me, I guess, like, what's going through your mind right now?

[B]

Yeah. Well, thank you. I'm trying to take all of that in because I never thought of growing. And I also think because we focused so heavily on videography at first.

[A]

Right.

[B]

So it was like, okay, this is a video production company and I have to be on the ground and I can't do that right now.

[A]

Right. Personally, I personally can't do that.

[B]

Exactly.

[A]

Right.

[B]

So I would have to hire or train and I don't know, I didn't think about that.

[A]

You're so capable. You can do that. You worked at Google.

[B]

I know you're very smart.

[A]

So I believe that's probably the right next step for you, is for you and your husband to really sit down and think about, okay, how do we go get another client? And you just build it one client at a time.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Right. And what you can start to do is this tool that I do all the time. It's called your CEO task versus your operating task. So your CEO tasks for you are gonna be things that only you can do and things that you want to do. So for you, being a mom and being the primary caregiver is one of the things you want to do. Some people, they go to send their kids to daycare, they have a nanny. You want to do that? Great. You let yourself do that. You don't add any shame or second guessing or like, I don't think I should do this. I don't. You know, everybody seems to be able to give their baby to da da. And I feel like I should, but I don't want to. Then don't do it. Okay.

[B]

Thank you for saying that.

[A]

Don't do it. You know, why are you saying thank you?

[B]

Because I've had those thoughts and feelings at times of like, even me bringing him here today, you know, it's always, oh, like, what things can I still. I'm getting emotional. What things can I still do? Like, what places am I still allowed into, you know, so it's okay.

[A]

Take a second. It's such a hard transition. You know, I think when it comes to being a mom, there's so many things society says, you should be done with this by now. You should be done with breastfeeding after a year. You should be done. It should be okay, you can leave him. Go. Go live your life. And it's like, he is my life. What do you mean?

[B]

Like, am I crazy for enjoying him as part of my life?

[A]

No, you're not crazy at all. I think that being a mom, you worked really hard to become a mom and to be a wife and to be a homemaker and to be someone who creates a beautiful life for your family. You should enjoy this season because he's not going to be little forever. We get little kids for three to five years or zero to five years, really, and then it changes. So you should enjoy this season. And I think it's right to figure out how you make your work life integrate into your personal life. You know, and that's the thing that I think too many of us have been trained to think that everything has to revolve around work. You know, we go through middle school, high school, college, and it's, what do you want to be when you grow up? What are you going to do when you graduate? What job are you going to get? How much are you making? Are you getting a promotion? When was the last time you got a raise? And it's this constant pressure from everyone and then ourselves to say, well, this must be what I'm supposed to be doing forever, right? And then we get stuck and we're not happy, you know, and you got off the hamster wheel.

[B]

I did. And I thank God you did. I feel free. I do, I do. I do. So I actually have a question for you. Of course, something I've struggled with in the growth phase of business is training and trust. Maybe trust first.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

So I believe you've optimized how you live in a way that prioritizes the most important things for you. And I'm sure you've had to train a team and trust people. So I don't know if you want to give some words of wisdom. Sure about that.

[A]

So it actually goes back to the CEO task and operating task that I was talking about. So CEO tasks for me are things that I want to do, and operating tasks are things that I don't want to do, but there's nobody else to do them. So, like, that for me is laundry. I don't Particularly enjoy laundry. I don't really wanna fold things. I don't really wanna put them away.

[B]

Me neither.

[A]

Like, I'm here in Atlanta, we're shooting this. I'm gonna go home, my suitcase is probably gonna sit there all weekend. Like, I'm not gonna do that. I don't particularly enjoy driving. I drive because I have to. But that would be an operating task for me. There's people who love to drive.

[B]

You know, I'm not one of those.

[A]

Me neither. Grocery shopping Shopp. Everything I'm wearing right now I did not purchase for myself because I don't enjoy it. So basically, I have allowed myself to be really clear and honest without the shame, without the guilt about what is what I want to do and then what are the things that I'm doing right now because it's a season in life or because I can't afford to delegate it to somebody else. But I'm always watching this list and trying to figure out other ways, what tools I can use, what apps I can use, what people I have in my life, in my community. My mother, my friends, my neighbors. Anybody can get it. Anybody can get the task on this to do list over here. Okay. And I think the first start for me was really allowing myself to have that sense of freedom to say, I am the person living this life. I'm the one who has to wake up every single day. Not my mom, not my dad, not my partner, not my baby. I have to wake up every day and I have to feel good about it. And I want to wake up with a sense of joy and I wanna wake up with a sense of like, I am so lucky to live the life I live on a daily basis. Not on some imaginary thing, but every single day I wanna wake up and say, I love what I'm choosing to do today. You know, even when it's. Even when it's not always great. What's beautiful about my life that I've designed for myself is I'm doing what I wanna do. I love feeding my son his dinner, like, and breakfast. Like, if I can like make his breakfast, I will make his breakfast. I will make his dinner. Because I just love little baby eating. It's just so cute. Chopping up all their little food. I'm like, you're never gonna let me chop up your food for you? You know, like feeding him his little pre spooned food, you know, it's so cute. It's so sweet. It makes me so happy. It's what I call a tiny joy. It's Just that little moment of like, this is so cute, you know, my little dopamine right there. Or I love when we're singing all his songs and he starts dancing and we have a little dance party. Yeah, I tried to do it to your son. Your son was like, ma'am, I don't know that song. So we're in Nigeria. We don't sing that.

[B]

We don't.

[A]

I said, okay, fine, I'll teach it to you. You know, so I enjoy what I enjoy, and I allow myself to do that, and then everything else I don't want to do. I work so hard to figure out, how can I get this off my plate, or how can I make enough money or save enough money, cut other places to be able to afford to delegate so I have more time for things. I love, love that, you know? So when it comes to trust, one of the things that motivates me the most, to get past that fear of somebody being in my business or doing things that are kind of sensitive or being in my home, is that the exchange of time and freedom that I have because I've been able to delegate those things is put back into the things that I love so much. So it makes it worth it.

[B]

I love that.

[A]

I think for a lot of people, when they're considering delegating or hiring people, they're not reusing their time for things that make them happy or bring them joy or make them money. And so then it becomes, why am I even wasting this money on this person? Or why should I trust them? My life hasn't really gotten that much better. I'm just working really hard to be able to pay for that person or pay for that tool or pay for that service. So my question for you is, when you're thinking about your CEO task, what are the things you want to keep? And if you had all the money in the world, what are the things that you'd say, never again. I'm never doing this again.

[B]

Plus one to outsourcing laundry for sure.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

So I think we had touched on this. I enjoy childcare in this season. I don't know how long that'll be for, but I love doing that, so I would want to keep that.

[A]

And which part of childcare. Let's get specific.

[B]

Okay. What part of childcare do I like seeing my son's face?

[A]

You wanna see him throughout the day?

[B]

I do wanna see. Okay. Yes, I do wanna see him throughout the day. I don't like being away from him for too long. I love doing bath time.

[A]

Yep. Nighttime Routines.

[B]

Yeah. I love being his teacher, like a core influence in his life. And I think that comes from my mother. Cause she was and is has always been very active. So I think I inherited that from her. And I've reaped from her investment in us. So I want to pass that along to my son.

[A]

That's amazing. And what are the things that you don't wanna do, even as a care provider? Like, somebody else could do this.

[B]

I don't like finding clothes. Everything you were saying, I was like, I'm so similar. I don't like shopping for clothes. I don't wanna figure out what he needs to wear. I don't wanna arrange his clothes.

[A]

Yes. The ro of the clothes. Nobody talks about that mental load.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Like, you can't fit this, can't do this.

[B]

Oh, my God. Yeah. I don't want to think about things like ordering. Ordering things for all the things that don't have to do with staring at him.

[A]

Yeah. Yes, that's right.

[B]

Yeah. So those are the things.

[A]

I'm the same way. When like I gave birth, I had a nanny for him and she'd be like, do you want me to get the baby? I'm like, no, I want you to clean the bottles. I want you to take the diaper trash out. I want you to do his laundry. I want you to all. But I want to have that baby, you know, and that's fine. Right. Like, she works for me, so why do I feel guilty? Right? Or even if she was at home and I was like, oh, I want to put him to sleep for his nap. I would just do it. Even if she's sitting in the living room still making her money hourly doing nothing. I don't care. Because. But when he sleep, momma's out. Okay? I don't need to sit and watch this nanny. Yeah, right. But somebody needs to be in the house. Yeah, yeah, right. Like he can't be alone. So there's things you can do that give you more freedom that where you're not the only person that can do things. Like literally, my husband and I, or my fiance and I talk about, we need a nanit watcher. I'm gonna put him to sleep. You just come in the house and don't even go.

[B]

He don't even who Gig or.

[A]

He doesn't even know you exist. He doesn't even know you exist because he sleep.

[B]

But if he moves, you call me.

[A]

If he moves, I'm watching. Oh, okay.

[B]

Cause you can see it on the.

[A]

I'm at the gym or I'm at Soho's or I'm at, you know, we're at date night. I can see. Right. But I just need a nanit watcher so that I have some more freedom in my life to be able to go to the gym with my fiance and work out. We enjoy that. Or be able to go have date night. We'll be right back. But if I don't have that tribe of people that I trust to even just watch the nanit.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Then we have a problem.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So my invitation to you would be to really be get clear about how you are, like where your boundaries are and maybe give yourself a little bit more freedom, but only in a way that you're not doing the things you don't want to do. So you can hire a personal assistant or a taskrabbit that comes once a month and they do the rotations of the clothes and they go to the Target. You can use Insta.

[B]

Use Instacart Sprouts specifically. But it's your Instacart. Yeah.

[A]

Yes. Both Sprouts has their in store prices on Instacart. So shout out to Sprouts. That's what I use too. But Sprouts. Or you could do delivery pickups or Target pickups. Right. Like you can automate more things since you have more time and using things like TaskRabbit or Care.com is another great website that I use to find people who can do just simple things. Right. Not doing too much. Just simple things. They come once a month and they can rotate his clothes and you just start to chip away at that list and then you use that time not to just stare at him and play.

[B]

It's gonna be to watch them.

[A]

Yeah. Probably not for that. Because you still need to figure out how you're gonna offset that cost.

[B]

Right. I was just about to say it sounds like I need to make more money.

[A]

Yes. So we need to talk about how your schedule works today. Could you walk me through what a normal workday looks like for you?

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Especially balancing being the primary caregiver.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah. So that's early mornings and late nights. So I would wake up. I mean, I've been trying to wake up at 5am but I think that has worked like once or twice. But more realistically, I'd wake up at 6, pray for about like half an hour or so. Then my husband starts with. Thankfully he works from home, so he starts working at nine. We've had some like. Can you go nine, 15.

[A]

Yeah. Some negotiation there.

[B]

So when he starts working. I take over caring for our child up until 5:36. Some negotiation there as well. And then. Yes, 6:00pm and then the evenings, we've tried the evenings are so tricky.

[A]

They're rough.

[B]

They're so tricky. So that six to eight before our son goes to bed. I had tried to use that as work time, but that's like dinner time, bath time, all that. So I've finally accepted that that is not work time. Then if I'm not too tired after I put him to bed, then I could stay up till midnight. So from 8pm till midnight or it depends on what I'm working on and if it motivates me to stay up, of course. So.

[A]

And what are you doing during his naps? Is he on one nap or two naps?

[B]

He's on a single nap.

[A]

So two and a half hours.

[B]

Two hours.

[A]

Rough.

[B]

Yeah. Sometimes one and a half.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But two hours is like a sweet spot. It's like.

[A]

Yeah, yeah.

[B]

I think it's been like one hour, 48 minutes.

[A]

But listen, every, every minute counts.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. So if I've had a long night, I would also nap when he naps.

[A]

Great.

[B]

But if I slept earlier that day than I have energy during nap time to do work.

[A]

That's a tight schedule.

[B]

It is.

[A]

It's not a lot of flexible time. I'm glad that you're negotiating with your husband. I think that's really smart. He's here listening in. Shout out to him for holding it down. But you need to find a little bit more time for yourself because when are you exercising? When are you resting? When are you getting your hair done? When are you doing self care? When are you finding times for those things?

[B]

If we talk about my attendance at the gym, so I just started home workouts.

[A]

Great.

[B]

Maybe I've done three in the past three weeks, so.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Yeah, that's being real. Yeah. Hair appointments are stressful.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Because the whole crew comes. It's like a four hour situation.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

It's a stressful day.

[A]

You're doing it at home.

[B]

I'm not doing it at home.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

I'm going to the salon. My husband is amazing. Like, let me just say that it.

[A]

Sounds like you have a great partner.

[B]

He, he, like, he is a blessing for sure. They come with me, they'll hang out in the car. He'll take him for a drive. I still breastfeed our son. So we just don't know. And I'm like, we just don't know when he might want me.

[A]

Yeah. So you're effectively working from, you know, you wake up at six, you've got three hours to take a shower, get ready for the day, pray and nourish yourself, get your mind right. Rarely he wakes up at 8:30. So your husband's got him for, you know, 30, 45 minutes, getting him dressed, changing the diaper, all the things. Right. And then mom.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

Right. Then you've got from 9 to 5:30, mom time, wife.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Taking care of the house, doing all the things. Right. Then it doesn't actually shut off at 5:30.

[B]

It doesn't.

[A]

Cause you gotta eat.

[B]

We all have to eat.

[A]

Everybody has to eat. And you know, you all are family. So I'm imagining you're sitting down, you're doing the. Oh yeah, you know, you're doing family dinner. It's not like, hey, I'll be back, like, Right. So that could be something you could consider is one or two nights a week, meal is ready, you make the meal, you prep, you meal prep or you just crock pot, et cetera. And then you say, okay, at 5:30 I am gonna go to the gym and you take a class. Have you done any workout classes or done anything that's more consistent?

[B]

I haven't done anything consistent since having our son.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Nothing at all. I used to, I used to do Orange Theory a lot.

[A]

Ooh. Oh, intense.

[B]

Yeah. Like, I really enjoy lifting weights.

[A]

That's great.

[B]

A thing that has changed though is my mom recently moved to Atlanta.

[A]

Amazing news.

[B]

Shout out to mom two weeks ago.

[A]

Amen. That is a huge blessing.

[B]

So that's another transition that I'm planning to lean into. My son loves her so much, so that gives me a lot of peace.

[A]

That's great.

[B]

But she also has her goals and dreams.

[A]

She has her life.

[B]

She's still grinding.

[A]

Yeah. She did not say I'm a primary grandma. She's absolutely not primary caregiver as a grandma.

[B]

I get that.

[A]

But I think that's awesome. So what's gonna be your ask with your mom?

[B]

So maybe I'm still trying to figure that out. I'm thinking maybe the morning window so that I get more. So the four hours between nine and nap time, maybe that's when she's with my son. And then I can use that to work more. That's all I have so far.

[A]

I think that's great. And also potentially her coming to your home just since that's where he's used and all his stuff is there. And then you have that stability for yourself mentally of like, okay, he's fine. You know, he's in his area, in his space. And then I would think for you actually, you might need to leave the house. I know that's going to be hard, but it's your mom.

[B]

Yeah. I think at 13 months, that's more of a possible reality.

[A]

We're only a couple weeks away.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You're like living month by month. Yes, but that's something that I think, you know, when. When we're pregnant, we are living month by month. Right. You're like nine months, week by week. Really? Truly, towards the end, you're like day by day. Yeah. Okay. And then when the baby's here, you know, there's all these appointments that we have to do and all these milestones we have to hit. And there's a lot of pressure on the mom, especially as a breastfeeding mom, to make sure his weight is okay and your milk supply is okay. There's all these things. But you're gonna be out of that season, like very soon. TikTok he will self wean when he's ready, you know, you all will get there. But there is an end in sight. And I think that you've probably spent so much time and energy really being in survival mode of like, really trying to make sure he has everything that he needs and your family has everything that they need. But you're almost through this and I want you to have a good vision for yourself for when you are through with it. And when he is transitioning, he may want to go to a stay and play for three hours a day, you know, two days a week, because he might want to hang out with other kids because it's fun. You know, he might be like, what's up, guys?

[B]

You know, bye, mom.

[A]

Yeah, like, please, like, let me just play a little with somebody else. Or, you know, you might find a tribe of women that also have kids his age and you guys go over and have like play dates and things. You know, your life is going to continue to evolve because he's going to continue to evolve. And it's perfectly okay for your son to be the center of all the decisions that you're making. Like, that's fine. You still have to consider yourself and your plans for how you're gonna create more space for you to grow the business, for the family and for yourself as a person who had dreams and thoughts and hobbies and a lot of goals. All the goals, those don't just go away. So my question for you really is over these next couple of months, let's just take it through summer.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Okay. So he'll be 15, 16 months old. What are the things that you want to do this summer?

[B]

Well, a big goal of ours this year is for my husband and I to take a solo. A couples trip without our son. Yes.

[A]

Come on, Tripp. Vacation.

[B]

Yeah, that's. That's like a huge milestone because we have not left our son for a night, you know? Yeah, yeah, there's that. I have real financial aims to hit, and I want to see that happen. I want. We need our income to 2x this year. That's our goal for this year. Thankfully, we're still at the earlier part of the year, so I believe there's hope with that. So I'm hoping for more stability, more trust of people, of, like my mom, my husband, you know, so that I. I'm feeling ready to get back in. I don't want to say to a grind, because I.

[A]

No, we're not back to a grind.

[B]

Yeah. I don't want to go.

[A]

This is anti grind.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[A]

Like, work smarter.

[B]

Basically, I'm feeling ready to work smarter.

[A]

That's right.

[B]

There we go.

[A]

Well, so let's talk about the goal that. To have your son stay with your mom.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So some things that you should start working towards is you're going to need to be able to leave your son with your mom and you leave the house.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Right. Just go to coffee shop. Just go to a hotel lobby and work from there. Literally five minutes away. Ten minutes away. Not too far. Okay. So you can get home if you need to. Okay.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And something that I had to do was put cameras in my house because it helped me. Right. I get that you can do that. Right. Even though it's your mom. Even just so that you can sit there. There are times when I travel and I just listen to. I have the nanit open when I'm not with him because I'm just, like, watching him sleep because it makes me feel better. Right. He don't know that I'm watching him sleep. He doesn't care. He sleep. Right. My partner's like, girl, I'm like, but this is what I want to do. And so that's what I'm going to do. It makes me feel better.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So I want you to let yourself do whatever's gonna make you feel safe.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

You know that it's not about him. It's actually about you. Yeah, he's fine.

[B]

It is. Yeah.

[A]

So you have to do what you need to do for you to feel at peace. Having some time out of the house for yourself. Coffee shop, hotel lobby. Super simple, right? Not a wework where you gotta talk to all these people or the gathering spot. I love shout out to Ryan, but just do it too much. Just simple. You can get work done. You got the camera right there. Everything is good. Okay. Just a couple hours go. While he sleep, what time does he.

[B]

Eat lunch after nap? Sometimes like 1:30.

[A]

Perfect. So you can say as soon as he goes down, you put him down for his nap. He doesn't even know you're gone. You get out the house, you've pre made his lunch. Boom. So by the time he gets back, you get back, he's napped, he's ate lunch, and it's ready for second wake window playtime. Yeah, but you've had four hours.

[B]

That sounds like a good challenge. And I love a good challenge.

[A]

So I think your mom's got it.

[B]

Thanks for helping me break this down in like actionable ways.

[A]

But we're not there yet.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Because in order to be able to leave the city and leave your baby a flight away, that's a big jump.

[B]

That is.

[A]

So there's a step in between that you're gonna have to do, which is a staycation and a hotel.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Down the street here in Atlanta. Grandma's got him for the night. You put him to sleep.

[B]

Oof.

[A]

She stays at your house. She stays at your house. So he's in his element. You put him to sleep. So he's not like, what is going on? Who is doing my bath routine?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know, grandma can be with you doing the bath routine. Just. Cause he's gonna have to get used to someone else.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And then you're out. He's asleep. You're out.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

8:30. Did a reservation. We out. Hotel. Cool. Sleep at the hotel back home by 9:30 in the morning. Not too crazy.

[B]

That's not too crazy.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

That's not too crazy.

[A]

The point is, sometimes when we have these big goals, we delay them and we delay them and we delay them. But we gotta break it down a little bit into more manageable things because it's really about emotion. That goal is you have to feel okay to book the trip and get on a flight and leave the city. That's gonna be a big step. So don't make it so big. Do baby steps.

[B]

Work my way there.

[A]

Work your way there. That's gonna be. Make it more realistic that it'll actually happen for you. And you need that time.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And make baby number two.

[B]

You sound like my mother.

[A]

I'm like, well, you know. Yeah, no, no, no. I'm like, we don't do that yet. Give yourself a couple months.

[B]

Listen, I'm open.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Open to the Lord's will.

[A]

That's right. That's right. Okay. So I feel like we have a good plan on personal life. Yes. I want to get back to business just to make sure you feel like you. Because part of it is you have a bit of a time constraint. So initially, those four hours, those three hours that you're going to get back with your mom or you should potentially try to find a babysitter or someone else that you can learn to trust. They can even babysit with you in the house. That would be my other option for you. I've done that before where I'm like, I don't know you for real, but just watch him and play with him right here. And I'm on my laptop. I'm just right here. I'm in the other room. The doors are open, I can hear everything. But you still get a little bit of time back so that you can work on the business.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Okay. And when it's working on the business, the first thing you need to think about is how are you going to take the work that your husband and yourself already do and, and then go find customers that are gonna be willing to buy that product and service.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And the easiest way to do it is typically to work in the same industry that you're already working in.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And it brings you joy. So it's already fulfilling. So it's a good. It's a win, win. So if you were to grow the business, the agency that you have, you have an agency, whether you wanna call it an agency or not, acquiring a business is just really risky. Cause it could not work out in most.

[B]

I wanted to ask about that.

[A]

Yeah, go ahead.

[B]

Yeah. So I know you've added businesses to your portfolio of businesses.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Would you categorize that as an acquisition? And what part of that do people not think about?

[A]

Yeah. So I've acquired three businesses. Two of them were core to the business we already had, which means they were basically just add on brands to the same with the exact same offerings. So they were targeting the same advertisers, same customers, everything. And it was just another vertical, effectively travel and entertainment.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

And then the other business that we recently acquired was another a new product which is parties and events. That was R and B House party. And we wanted to quickly grow our events business. Now Labity of course has a huge events business with Afro Tech. Right. We're big, but we didn't have, like, a party entertainment version of that. And so R B House Party was a great brand and they had an awesome founder, Charles. And so we wanted to figure out how we could move faster with Blabbity brand having that offering to our existing clients. The key thing that I've said in all this is it's the same clients.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Right. Like, I'm going to the same brands. McDonald's, GM, P&G, Clorox. And I'm saying you were buying advertising for us from us here. Now I'm just adding this other thing, but it's still advertising.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So that would be my suggestion for you is okay. If you were going to acquire, which I don't recommend, but if you were going to, then it would be finding other agency that does work with churches and work with Christian organizations. And they're an agency. They do landing pages, websites. They might offer more products or services, but for the same clientele.

[B]

Makes sense.

[A]

And stay in that lane. You know, the church world is. There's a lot of mixed emotions about having a business for religious things. Like, it's hard. It's like, I charge them. You're not paying me enough. Everyone at a discount. Like, it's really hard, you know, so you have to decide if this is something you really want to do. But I think, actually, given everything that you've told me, I think it probably is the right fit for you all. And even looking at your content online, you know, you all are a Christian couple. Like, I just think that it is. It is core to your principles and your values, so you can make it work. But to do that, you need to grow and find other Christian organizations that you want to support and want to help and have them as recurring clients as well. And I love that they're on a retainer. I think that's so smart.

[B]

Okay. That makes a lot of sense.

[A]

All right, Well, I feel like you have a really good path forward. I look forward to hearing from you in 30 days.

[B]

Ooh, wow.

[A]

Yes. 30 days.

[B]

30 days.

[A]

In 30 days. In the next 30 days, I want you to have at least once or twice had someone come over and either you're still in the house, but you've had some time back for yourself, or you're able to leave the house and go do some co working very close by.

[B]

Yeah, sounds good. And I want to thank you for helping me see what I already have, because I've done a lot of the stuff, like the website building, like, all of the marketing stuff, and sometimes when things come so easy, it's like, oh, that's just a side thing. But that's probably what I'm meant to be doing.

[A]

It's your main hustle.

[B]

That's my main.

[A]

It's not your side hustle. That's your main hustle.

[B]

That's my main. I mean, it's been my main hustle.

[A]

That's right. And then as your cash flow grows, you know, you can continue with the. With the real estate, but that's a. That's a tough business without the cash.

[B]

Exactly.

[A]

So we got to do this one first.

[B]

That's where we are right now.

[A]

Thank you so much for coming on the show.

[B]

Thank you for having me. This is fun.

[A]

Bye, everybody. Thanks for listening to the Journey podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, make sure you leave a review and head to our Instagram and YouTube to leave a comment. I look forward to hearing how this podcast has made an impact on your own Journey.