259: Balancing Business Growth and Family Life With Sally Galloway

Sally, welcome to her Empire Builder Show.

Thanks for having me, Tina.

Oh, I love these stories. Member stories are my favorite interviews to do because I learn things as well in terms of like just looking at your sheet and everything that you've achieved. I'm going to gosh, you're so quiet about all of it. You, some people would do, you know, run a webinar and they're like, oh.

My God, I did it.

Like we did this. And this is how I went. You, you very just quietly under the radar, kicking ass.

Thank you. I guess you're just so busy in the thick of it that you don't. You have to stay, take the time to stop and reflect and realize how far you've actually come.

So we're going to take that time now. So you launched last year for the first time. What was the first online program that you launched?

So I've. So the first program I launched was Regulation Rituals, which is an online short course for early education professionals to support their knowledge of implementing social emotional practices for children in early education and care environments. So it was really specific market and clients that I'm working with and I guess the whole point of launching that particular course was to take the work I was doing in center. So I was working in early childhood services and I was away from home quite considerably and I was also noticing so many themes across the nation of services I was working with that I thought from a cost effective perspective for the early childhood services and from a time perspective for me, I could bundle this up into an online course. So then when I was able to be face to face, I could be in there coaching and mentoring and actually, you know, doing the work because the educators had had the opportunity to do the learning prior me getting there.

And so you, how long have you been running traditional business for before you did the switch over?

Well, I started traditional business I think 2011, but then in 2016, so I had a private practice, so I'm an occupational therapist, was working in a really traditional manner in private practice and so had a private practice in that time, had team, had two sites when I had that private practice, one in Brisbane, one in Sunshine coast. And then in 2016 I started working for a national organization that provided early education and care.

And it was my same time as running two sites.

Yeah. So I had that but then I was offered this position. So I was doing some contracting work with the organization and had some really big ideas with their team team and you know, was looking at ways to contract or like how we could work together and then the opportunity came, came up to become like a national lead in the national manager of occupational therapy for the organization. And that was like my dream role. Right. That was sort of my whole purpose to my private practice and what I was doing anyway. So, yeah, so I took that role. So I had a break from private practice and having a business for seven years. And in that time I had my daughter as well and had my son and. Yeah, and then I moved back into business just a couple of years ago. Yeah.

And so the main motivation for you going into online, I know, you know, had a lot to do with family. How has it worked and how do you work time wise now? Because we have so many people that have traditional businesses and then go into online, but then also so many people that have young families and go, you know, I'm so limited with time and there's so much to do. How do you manage that load?

Yeah, absolutely. And it's something you've got to reassess daily, weekly with the changes. But that was like, for me, I always knew I wanted to make a big impact in this space. And I'm really, really passionate about bringing like these practices, implementing like occupational therapy practices in early childhood environments to make the greatest difference. And I found that even when I had a full time role managing a national role and children and you know, relationships and a home, like it was, it was just so much. And I was always thinking like, there has to be a better way. And I was reflecting on, you know, my, my previous experience in business and having staff and having multiple sites and things and I was like, well, that's definitely not the better way because I was more of a slave to my.

Amen to that. Yeah.

Than I ever was before. Right. And my happiness levels skyrocketed actually when I started working for someone else again in that role. But it kind of came to a point in my life where I was like, that's, you know, that's not something I can maintain and provide the level of support I know I want to provide to my family. And so that's then when I was like, well, how can we make it work? And to be honest, I actually started really following you in this space at that time and really opening my eyes to, hey, actually how can I package up what I'm already doing in a way that's going to still have this impact and make a difference? And so I guess I just got really clear on the times I have available. So I tend to have about 20 hours a week that I can spend on this work at the moment I am still in the phase of I provide face to face services like I was just speaking about and I provide courses online and, and, and it's just a constant sort of balance of, of making sure I'm just moving the biggest rocks as you would say. Like the, the biggest, the things that are going to make the biggest difference to my business and, and yeah, moving them first.

Yeah, I do think it makes. I was having this conversation with my sons actually who are, who are of kind, kind of man children now. But I was saying like I wish I still kept the productivity that I kept when they were little people because there was so much like I would never work. Like I pretty much worked when they slept, when they did daytime sleeps and then when they went to school. Like I work from 9:30 till 3. So I was always there and it limited so much that there was no faffing about on anything. There was no doing any low level tasks. It was like there's no procrastination. You've got to get in, you've got to do your thing because you've got other stuff that you've got to get to afterwards. And sometimes now I can find myself just taking it so easy knowing there's no hurry, like there's no deadline. But there is advantages in there as well.

Yeah, no there absolutely is. And when you know that, how critical. Like the one really important thing to me is living in integrity. So like I teach these practices about you know, showing up for children and being socially emotionally available for children and like I couldn't teach those practices and it's what I used to find really, really hard trying to teach those practices when I actually wasn't doing that myself because I just didn't have the bandwidth or the availability. So like for me 100% that's what getting into this space has, has been about. It's been about how can I actually show up for the moments that really matter for my children and not have to sacrifice that by teaching others how to show up for theirs. You know, like how to live in integrity. I have a four year old and a seven year old.

Yeah. Okay. I will ask you this question because it's a question that a lot of moms ask me. And, and a little bit I feel, I feel like I'm a little bit too far removed now that I, I sometimes forget what it was actually like to be in there. And I do remember this was quite a thing when I had small children ingoing and it's your kind of Specialty in there as well in how do you stay present so that when you're working, you can be all in on work and not feeling guilty that you're not with your kids and not doing different things and then vice versa when you're with your kids. But you know, you're running through your list of I want to work on this. Like, I've got this idea and I want to do that. But you want to stay fully present with them. How. What advice do you have for, for other moms with little people?

One piece of advice is that that is really hard that, that easy thing to do. And the moment you think you know you've got that down, you, you know that all of the to do list like creeps back in. But I, I think my mantra this year has had to be like, relentlessly saying no like to, to everything, you know, everything. And, and to be able to actually shut down all the noise. We need to get really, really clear on our, our values and why, why doing so like, for me at this moment and this season in life, it's absolutely, yes, to make an impact through my courses and to implement, like have educators be implementing these practices. But on a personal level, it's so I can fully show up for my children. And that means being, yeah. Being relentless in my pursuit of. Of no. And, and being clear on that. So if, if I am with my children there, there are things that I need to do. As an example, I need to make sure my device is nowhere near me. Like when I am with my children, I am with, with my children to the best of, you know, my ability. And then when I'm not with them, it's being very clear as well to them and explaining to them from a very young age, like, why I do what I do and where I'm going and why that's, you know, and why it's important for our family as well to try and help them also understand that I'm not choosing to be away from them, like, because this is more important than them. This is actually, you know, for us as a family. This is for our family and this, and I hope for one day they will feel that same way about something as well.

You know, and the, the, the assurance I can give to mums that are listening to this at the moment is so my kids are 15 and 16 now and they've come for the last two years to all of our conferences. And so they've been raised. I had a business before I had children, so they've been raised with me operating A business. And I have always, like, ebbed and flowed the different seasons of the business to match where they were at in life. Yeah, but they've always been part of those conversations. They've always been part of decisions. And I've always explained to them what I was doing. And, like, it was so beautiful at the last conference that we were at to see them at the back of the room looking at me with so much pride. And like, so often, you know, they're walking around and they're talking to members and they're shaking their hands and they will. I said to them after, like, that was really beautiful that you were so there and so involved. And they're like, well, this is our business. Like, this is what gives us our life. And I was like, yeah, yeah, that's right. And I was like, I did it.

We made it. We made it. They get it.

I think that it's really important. Like, I talk to some people that really separate their business massively from their family. And one thing that was probably the best thing we did when our kids were little is we had Sunday family meeting where we went over the week, and all the big decisions I would talk about as a family, and they'd feel like they would weigh in on it and when I was traveling and when I'm not and everything that we're doing. So it makes a huge difference.

Yeah, and I love that. I love that because you're teaching them all of those skills from such a young age. Hey, like, they're ahead. Like, I don't think. Yeah, I'm. I'm one of those people, too. I can't separate the. The two. I've never actually been able to, like, it's. It's not like, work and then life. It's. It's a work life.

Especially when we're lucky enough to get to do something we love as well.

Yeah, that's right. Yeah.

So in the last 18 months, you have three times your business, which is.

Yeah.

Incredible. Is there different things or different advice that you can give to people that has made the biggest difference is a combination of a lot of different areas. Or are there things that stand out for you that have made a really pivotal change?

One is, literally, I have to reevaluate my life on a daily basis of, you know, am I actually working on the right things right now, given the such limited time available to do that? And I am not willing to sacrifice any more of that time. Like, you know, when you. When you pre kids, I remember, like, thinking, oh, if I don't get that done, I'll just do it later. But I don't have that later anymore. So, you know, it's like what gets done, gets done. So I need to be working on the right thing. And the other thing really that happened for me is like late last year my dad unexpectedly had a really massive stroke and we ended up in, in Brisbane at the, at the hospital for, in the acute stroke ward for a good three week period. And in that period that was a, like when I was making a big transition in my business around, you know, servicing a lot of private clients at the same time as working with early education and care services. And it was in that moment that I like that I actually just decided and made that, that real decision that actually my, my zone of genius, my purpose is and what I'm really good at and can make the greatest impact to be available for the times like this, to sit by his side for that three weeks to be then available for my children was through the online course platforms. So it was for me, that's when it all changed. Like I hadn't seen that growth until that moment right when, which is funny because I actually didn't work at all for those three weeks. But when I got back, I had to like refer all my clients on to other people. I had to close down that stream really of my business and then just go all in on this online platform. And that is where suddenly I just had the momentum and I had services contacting me and I'm wanting to get on board and engage in services and. And then that sort of just flowed on from there. So. I know. Yeah. So I think sometimes it requires that moment to really realize like you do have to go all in on yourself, like not sort of playing around in all the different buckets. So that, and what, what in terms.

Of marketing do you think has made the biggest difference from you going from that local focus to a more broad.

So marketing. Yeah, so like I, I have been really active on like Instagram and which feeds then into my Facebook. So I do try and show on that platform. I have been working with others like on being guests on their podcasts or being in their, you know, presenting webinars and things like that in their, their own platforms. And then you know, like I have put a lot of effort into building my networks through my like mailing a lot of connection. Marketing connection. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

That's awesome. What do you think has been the biggest challenge moving into the online. What's been the hardest part?

Well, what has been the Hardest part and continues to be the hardest part is you don't know who you are talking to. So, like, I'm so used to presenting face to face and really being able to connect with those people and adapt to the audience who, who is in front of me. Whereas I find that, yeah, on the online space, I actually don't know who is, who's coming on and it's really terrifying.

It's why I like presenting live the moment. I like seeing people and adapting and doing that. There's often, like, especially if I'm doing solo podcast episodes that I will forget that there's thousands of people listening to it. And then I finish and I go, yeah, I got, I got liked a little bit personal there. Like, it's a weird.

Yeah.

Set up. Yeah. It is challenging when you're used to servicing people one on one and face to face and moving into that is very strange at first.

And I also think social media and, and I have to not get myself into that trap. But like, the content people are putting out on social media is absolutely amazing. But, and it's, it's often, especially in my industry, it's, it's absolute best practice. So people are putting out strategies and practices that, you know, if you're on your, if you're working at 100% on your A game, you're going to be able to implement that with a child. But on your normal day, that's really difficult. Right. And so there's this. Yeah, I constantly get trapped in this, I guess, disconnect between, yes, this is best practice over here. But like, in reality, what we do.

That's a great thing for you to talk about, though.

Yeah. Yeah.

Because, you know, let's be honest, we're not all perfect all of the time.

Yeah.

Same in business. You know, there's all the things we should be doing every week, but, but rarely does life flow like that. You've got to, you've got to do the important things. And that's exactly what you're doing as well.

Yeah. But it becomes so daunting. Right. Like, that's what I mean. Like you see that and it actually puts you into a place of freeze because that feels so far from where you are. And I, I know that to be true for so many people that I work with. Like, they see these best practices and are like, oh my gosh, how do I do that? When I'm unattainable, it's unattainable. And so, yeah, I think finding that sweet spot in social media in particular, ensuring that you continue to be relatable and your true authentic self but actually provide value. Right. Has been, you know, like a dance.

And what does your ascension model look like now? You've got, you've got your regulation rituals program just promoting that. Is there anything else that you've got on there?

Yeah, so that's, that's what I have at at the moment. I have a, like a couple of mini offers that are now available on there as well. So like visual routines, schedules like and there's also an inclusion masterclass. Like they're just really small offers. They're like $7. And then I, I am in the process which will be complete by end of this week of just having a.

Few other time this episode episode comes out.

Oh yes. By the time this episode, a few like highly requested topics that I typically present on in evening workshops. I am turning them into like mini course master classes. So and they will be more just like at 297 really affordable for early childhood services to be able to just dip in to or individuals to dip into. But my may like my signature course is the regulation rituals course course. Yeah.

Amazing. And do you have at the moment in your mind or does it change all the time? What does success look like for you in your online business?

Yeah, so I think success would be like currently I am still away from home presenting workshops and things like that frequently, like especially Terms two and Terms three. There's a huge, you know, need for that. But I have been experiencing so much success with the services that I've worked with when they are like picking up the online content and then I'm coming and using the funding and resources like in the day coaching and mentoring on the floor. So for me like from a personal level and also from a professional outcome level, I would like to be able to say that those evening workshops turned into like accessed online where there's more uptake of that because you know, more people know about me and know about the content and get a lot of value out of that. So it would look like more like I'm just away on outreach like once a one week a term first as much as you know what I am now. So that's kind of what success looks like to me.

Edit that. Coming in hot.

Yes.

Okay, my final question for you is what is being part of her empire builder done for you? What, what do you like about it?

Ah, I, I love that. So I do travel quite a lot and so I love that it there is like every single thing you can imagine that you would Ever need to create an online course, market an online course, brand yourself, write a book, all the things on an app that plugs into my Bluetooth and away I go. So listen to it in the car. I listen to it in the car. Yeah. And even the technical one, like technical episodes, I listen in the car because that's the way my brain works. Better anyway. Like, if I read a book, I read the book, but I also listen to the audiobook. And so I'll listen to it and then I want. Once I've stopped, I'll go back and I'll like. Screenshot. Yeah, yeah. That I need to then sit at the computer and work through or whatever it might be. But yeah, so I've been able to devour quite a lot of. So I feel like I know you very, very well. Been able to devour so much of the. The content and I see like such huge value in being able to do that because it covers everything. So before I guess I was just pulling like buying little mini courses from different types of people or I was listening to a whole bunch of different podcasts, but it was just confusing me because everyone has a different way of doing things. But this. Yeah. I'm able to pull everything from the same lens, you know, point and. Yeah. And just chip my way. Like, I'm not. I'm. Yeah. You know, there's.

How do you go with your. With your timing that you have. Do you have set amount of time that you do implementation of new ideas each week or how do you work that into your schedule?

That's. That's more strategic than I am currently. I just. Implementation. Like I just write. I use a Monday.

What you need when you need it.

Yeah, I just grab what I. Yeah. And what's. Yeah. So I'll just search what I need when I. When I need it. So I wrote out like the initial model that I would like to work to. From my business and then I've just had to sort of pick one thing and then I'll just chip away when I can at it, then the next thing and chip away as I can at it. But you know, like, I've learned how to build my whole website and do all my social media. Like everything is. I have done, like everything I have done. So. Yeah.

You must be so proud. You built it all.

I do feel. Yeah, I do feel. Yeah. Pardon?

Have this and that. Have it all.

Yeah. Yeah, I love that. Yeah.

It's such an inspiration. It's an inspiration to people that are wanting to go into online from the Traditional business, but also mums that are wanting to go. We want. Want to be able to do work. I mean, for me, it was always the same. It's. I want to be able to do work that I feel proud of, that I feel like I'm contributing the world in a positive way. But I'm also like, there for my kids every day and there for my family and they know that they're my number one. And it has, you know, it's paid off massively on. On both parts. And I think it's. I always get really sad when I hear people talk about that one thing needs to be sacrificed for the other. I do think that you need to make choices and I love that you talk about that because there is. There is sacrifices in terms of, you know, I grew my business at a much slower pace than what I could have if I went all in. Even the last couple of years because my kids are getting close to moving out of home. I took my foot off the accelerator and planned to for another couple of years because I'm like, this is it. This is my last chance. Like, I want to soak it up and there's plenty of time to go set the world on fire later. But we can still do stuff that we love in between.

But I love that the online course space, like from your. Your business as an example, I can be listening to content that you may have recorded like three years ago or two years ago maybe is not so relevant in your life anymore, but it's totally relevant in mine, you know?

Yeah.

And like that. That's just like a gift that keeps on giving. And that's what I think. Even with my work, it's like I. I can actually impact so many more people through this because they can have me on my best day. Right. Every time they listen to it, that's me on my best day. Yeah. Verse, you know, and. And then that allows me to actually have quality of life throughout the rest of my life. Yeah, I love that.

Well, Sally, I am cheering you on. Congratulations for 3xing the business in 18 months. See if we keep it going because it is. It's the best of both worlds. And I'm so lucky that I get to work with awesome humans like you and that we have access to this type of business model. It's just the greatest revelation ever. So thank you so much.

Thank you, Tina.