589. MUST LISTEN If You Feel Alone and Overwhelmed by All the Things You NEED to Do

The expectation on a lot of us has been you can do it all, you can raise kids and have a career. But it also puts us on this wave to like burnout and fatigue. Because while we can do it all, should we?

Hi, I'm Jacqueline Snyder and this is.

The Product Boss podcast.

I've helped launch and grow sex thousands of product based businesses, even one of my own. And over the last 20 years, I've seen behind the scenes of businesses just like yours. Whether they are makers, manufacturers, artists, or.

Food and beverage businesses.

I have spent so many hours studying it all. I've discovered what makes them successful, what are mistakes they could avoid, how did they turn an idea into successful business?

And what are strategies they have used.

To make more sales and be discovered by more customers. This is what this show is all about. Whether you're just starting out or you're looking to become a million dollar product.

Boss, I'm here to give you the permission to chase your dreams no matter.

How big or small. All you need is the right mindset, a little courage, strategy and support, and you too can be the next million dollar product boss. Let's do this.

Hey, hey, product boss. And welcome back to another episode of the Product Boss podcast. I'm Jacqueline Seiner. I'm so excited to be here with you today. One thing that I have realized has been one of my greatest learning lessons since I became a mom was learning to let go, outsource, delegate, ask for help. All the things that feel uncomfortable naturally to me.

And I wonder if you.

Feel the same way. So I think that as I have been growing as a business owner and growing as a person, as a mom, as a woman, all the things, one of the hardest things for me is asking for help. My husband is so good at it. It's like, oh yeah, I'll ask my third cousin thrice removed to babysit the kids or I'll ask the neighbors if we're late, like to go pick someone up or, you know, I asked so and so to bring in the garbage can or called your mom and asked her, whatever, and I'm always like, don't bother my mom or the neighbors don't want to bring in our trash, or we should just get there on time and like not ask, you know, a friend to pick up the kids. Like, it's hard for me to do that. The other thing that's been hard for me to do is to release the expectation on myself that I should and can do everything at once. So this came up for me when my kids were Little I remember with my son, I wasn't running the product boss and designer consulting co op. I just had designer consulting co op and I was running Cuffs Couture. And so I had a team and I was bicoastal with my husband. So, you know, I was with my son a lot. And I think I took off maybe six weeks from maternity leave and we ended up getting a nanny. And I was able to afford it, even though I wasn't, because I feel like the amount I was making per hour was basically what I was paying the nanny, but it was allowing me to grow the business. So I spent my time at home. It was my first kid. And then I had a nanny for a long time until he was old enough to go to preschool. Then I had my second kid. Oh, second kids. And third kids and fifth kids. I had her. And we were bicoastal. At this point, we were living between New York and la. My son was in school, My businesses were growing. We were bicoastal. There was a lot happening. I have her and we're traveling a lot. And now I've got two kids, which is just a lot. A lot. And as I was just starting the product boss, I remember being coached by a mentor that I was working with and a mastermind that I was in and talking to her about my time and my capacity and what I can do. And she's like, hire for the help that you can afford. She's like, maybe you put your daughter into daycare before you can grow this company. And I was like, what? Like, no. Like, my son was with me till X months. And I don't want to do this to her. Like, so young. Da, da da. But the thing is, is that we were alone. Like, we were on the east Coast. We didn't have support and family. We didn't have all the people we could call on, even though it was already uncomfortable. I'd call my mom and my sister, but we didn't have all that support. And so she's like, if you want to grow your business, then you need to outsource some things so that you can focus on growing the business so that you can buy back your time, Right? Like, you can have enough money to hire a team to run the company for you so you can pick your kids up from school so that you can get this thing on its feet, and then you can be with your kids when they need you to be with them, especially when they're older. So I remember crying the night before I sent my daughter to daycare at my son's preschool. Just hysterical. I was like, oh my God, she's going so young, like messing her up. But I feel alone and I can't grow this business and all the things. And I just remember walking her into daycare. She's little, she's walking. She was so advanced and like my son, I had to like sit outside, you know, the room and if he cried, like separation anxiety, all the stuff. My daughter, she literally was like, peace out, mama. She took her teacher's hand, her turned around, smiled, waved. I just remember it. And like she walked off in her little tiny booties and that was it. And I picked her up and she'd basically taken over the preschool. She's like boss of her class and she loved it and she thrived. And so I had the time between dropping my kids off at preschool and daycare to the time I was picking them up to stay really focused, to being focused on the business I wanted to build. And then when they were home with me, I was able to be focused on them because I know I put in my hours. So I bring all of this up because so many of us are using these words like balance and juggle, but we feel tired and stressed and stretched too thin trying to be all the things to all the people. And I think that one of the biggest changes that we are making as women in our generation and what we're going to pass down to our daughters is very different than what a lot of us experienced growing up. We may have had parents that were like, my son says he was like a latchkey kid for a big part because his mom was a teacher at his high school, so she would have to stay later. So even though his mom was at the school, like, you know, he'd have to come home and get himself snack and whatever. Remember latchkey? They'd all always talk about, like latchkey kids because you're either like a kid that came home on your own or you had a stay at home parent. Maybe your parent was a teacher and they, you know, didn't work during the summers and they were with you. Or maybe your parent was career focused and had a career and they worked all the time. Or maybe they didn't have the privilege to just have one job and they had to be in multiple jobs, right? Work nights, work days, work weekends, work. All the things. We all have very different examples of parenting and the model in which raised us. And so for me, even though, you know, part of my story is like, I wish my mom knew how to make her own money. I was also raised with a stay at home mom. So for me that how do I be a quote unquote good mom if I'm working and I'm not with my kids all the time, right? Or good mom if I'm not making dinners for them every night? Because that's just what I was raised in versus this new way. Like we're all kind of making our own paths now. Like we're all individually creating our own pathway to show what it looks like. My husband is amazing right now. He's primary parent, he picks the kids up, he takes them to sports, he makes dinner. There were a lot of years where I made dinner and I did bath time and I went where he needed to be. Right? There's a lot of years of different versions of what we do. My kids have seen both, but the first part of it is giving ourselves permission to do things differently than how we saw them historically or how we were raised to be able to outsource, ask for help, pay for help if we need it, if we need childcare, to give ourselves permission for that to happen. At some point I had someone picking my kids up from school because when my husband was working and I was working, we were able to afford someone who picked my kids up from school, brought them home, gave them snack, made them do their homework, sometimes prepped dinner and sometimes didn't. And then I was able to come home and be with my kids instead of being like having to cut my day early. I know other people, especially people in my mastermind. One of them is like, I work and I get done at 2:30 or 3:00 clock every day and I pick up my kids every day. It's something she wants to do. So you really want to figure out and align what you want in your life, what aligns best with you and then how you can solve for that. Because we're all problem solvers. But it's not going to be us doing it all by ourselves. It's not. It can't. There's never been a time that, especially as women, we have been able to be business owners that can do anything we want in our business. We can generate any kind of revenue that we want. Maybe we're business owners and have full time jobs, maybe we're business owners, full time jobs and raising a family or we're a caregiver to an elderly parent or a grandparent, or we have our pets that are our number one and we need to get home, we need to walk them like whatever it is that you are. You're able to pave your own path. But how can you outsource, get help, pay for the things that will help move you along further? And I think that's such a big part of us releasing the expectations on ourself and feeling overwhelmed and stressed and like, we can't do it all because we have some expectation that we can. But how? Right? And this is a generalization, but I'm just going to say it. Men don't do it all by themselves. I always use one of our, like, mascots in my mastermind. Used to be Don Draper of Mad Men.

Why?

Because Don Draper got to be Don Draper. He got to come to work and be the boss and be the creative and be the visionary. He did not have to think about getting gifts for his wife or his mistress because he had a secretary for that. This is in the show. This is not me. But. Right. He had a secretary for that. He didn't have to worry about child rearing or feeding his children or getting them to school. He had a wife for that. He actually, in fact, got to get home and she had a scotch waiting for him. Right. That's like the 1950s scenario of, like, the Americana whatever. Right? That's just basically what Mad Men was. But I like to use it as an example of we, as women can have our Don Draper energy as well. Because as we start to earn money, as we start to create our own not only safety and security, but we start to build wealth through our businesses, we also earn the right and the ability to get help where we need it.

Hey, friends, Are you unsure of what to say on social media or what to even send in your weekly emails? Well, what if creating content could be easy? Would you be looking for a shortcut to creating consistent content? Yes, consistent content. Because, you know, consistency is key. Well, let me tell you, you are not alone when you feel like you're.

Struggling on what to post or what to write in emails.

And we know that you have that product part of your business down. But as you're listening to this podcast, you probably already know that to get more people to your products, to buy your products, you need to create great content. No, I. See, I keep saying content, and that's the dreaded C word. And we can't tell you how many product bosses tell us that they want to create great content for their audience and their customers, but they don't know what to say, or they are so busy they can't find the time, or they really, really, really don't want to be the face of their brand. Well, no worries, because that's exactly why we created a Year of content. It is your shortcut to creating consistent content that resonates with your audience and brings more loyal customers who can't wait to buy your products. If you want to see how easy this is and how easy it is to create content for your audience and your customers, head to www.ayearofcontent.com.

One of the first things that I did without hiring a human was using an app to do my laundry when I lived in New York and New Jersey. So I'd shove it all in a bag, I'd order somebody, they'd come, they'd pick it up from my front door, they'd go do it, and they'd bring it back. Because who really loves laundry? If you are that person, send me a DM that you love laundry. A lot of us don't love laundry. And just because we work at home doesn't mean that we should be the ones doing the laundry either. So it wasn't that expensive. And it was so much more worth my time to not have laundry stacking up and to have someone take it and for like 40 bucks. So I like fluff and fold, bring it back folded better than I would ever do. It was a relief and worth every dollar. I don't know the last time I've gone into a grocery store. It's very rare because I use Instacart. I use it for so many different things. I use it for, like, if I have to go get a gift for my kids, I might go on Instacart and order something from Target. I've ordered stuff from Sephora. Sephora. I've had Sephora delivered to friends houses when they've been sick. My daughter had a birthday party. She had three birthday parties in a weekend. I ordered the same product from Sephora delivered to my house on Instacart. I just had to put in gift bags and that's it. I had someone do my gift shopping. Just like Don Draper may have had his secretary and said, I have Instacart doordash. I may not have an assistant that can run and get me coffee or a smoothie while I'm in meetings all day. But you know what? I do have doordash. So I say all this because at first it's hard to spend. It's like, well, I could just do it myself, or I'm just going to do this. And some of us, like, my husband will not order food, and he Will just make his own food at home. It's something that he, like, prioritizes and brings with him. Me, I'm like, there's just other priorities for me. So you can choose what works for you and what doesn't work for you. But it's just that step in the direction of starting to ask for help, resource others, pay for the help that you can't afford, and start to do things a little bit different. Because there is no example of somebody who can do it all. Even if they say they're doing it all. Are they though? What does their support look like at home? Maybe they have really extra special support. But I guarantee there's something that they're doing as well that's shortcutting a process that's saving them time. That may be costing them money, but it's saving them time and it's aligning with their values of wherever they want to spend their time. If you want to spend more time with your family, I don't need to be spending the time I have after work. I at the grocery store or battling my children in a grocery store. Nobody wants that, right? So I can go sit with my kids and help them with homework while someone's doing my grocery shopping for me. And then as you grow, you learn to outsource. So I just wanted to share all this because this is something that comes up a lot in the inner circle mastermind that I work with, like the students that are in there for people that I coach. And I work with a lot of women because we weren't all raised with the concept of outsourcing. The expectation on a lot of us has been, you can do it all, you can raise kids and have a career. I mean, 90s kids, like, we, as women, we were told, you can do everything, you can do it all. But it also puts us on this way to, like, burnout and fatigue. Because while we can do it all, should we. And should we do it all alone and should we be expected to do it all? Because we were raised in this idea of, like, women can be anything and do anything things that, like, maybe our mothers and grandmothers weren't raised with my grandma in England, in London, who's American now, but, like, in London, her picture was on my grandpa's passport. She did not have a passport on her own, so she could not travel by herself just based on the way that that was happening. Right. So my grandma's wildest dreams, that I, like, flew to Portugal by myself and went to Europe solo to meet up with a Mastermind that I was in. So we don't have a ton of the models of this, but I think listening to this podcast, surrounding yourself with groups of people that understand it, it may not be our friends, it may not be our family, it may not be the people that we're normally social with. Because the thing is, my friend, is you are doing big things. You have an idea, you created that idea, you started making that idea and you started selling it. And not everyone we're surrounded with are entrepreneurs that have these big dreams that they want to hit. And so if you're looking for support of people that are aligned with you, that are doing the same and have the big same goals that you have to grow a six figure business, a multi six, a seven figure, even an eight figure product based business. Yes, eight figures. I once someone said they had eight figure business, I was like, what is that, like a hundred million dollars? It's 10 million or more, right? You want to surround yourself with people that are modeling for you what's possible, that are expanding for you what's possible and that are giving you ideas and support. So that's something that I've always found to be essential to my growth since after a decade in business alone, I was operating by myself. And my biggest unlock was being in community and mentored by a leader that was modeling for me what I wanted to do and surrounded by other people that were doing it as well. And that was the mastermind I was in. And that's why I love hosting the ones I have. Because not only are we talking about business strategy, but we're talking about like life strategy and permission to allow ourselves to live these lives however we want to live them. And so no matter what level you're at, I want you to see a potential future for yourself. I want you to think in your life right now, what are some ways I can outsource or resource others? Maybe it's going to cost me something, but where could I buy my time back? And if you are in that six, seven figure range and you're like, I want to be surrounded by more people like this and I want that mentorship. Consider the inner circle mastermind. We have a few spots left. If that's something that you're into, you could head to the productbossmastermind.com if you're in that range and if not, let's keep it as a goal. There's so many people that are like, I have the mastermind on my vision board. I love it. I love it because you're seeing and being modeled small businesses that are makers, crafters, food companies, artists, manufacturers, like all different businesses that are modeling for you that they can make a hundred thousand, five hundred thousand million, five million, twenty million off their products and they can start just like you. Because most of the time when we see big companies, we see the end result and we think like, oh, this is an overnight success. But an overnight success is typically 15 years of hard work, crying, sweat, tears, all the things, right? So when you're in it with other people and they're modeling for you, like their steps through it. And I think that's why so many of you love to listen to the coaching calls. You love to follow along on the journeys of people who are like, transforming their businesses through action and mentorship and coaching. It is something to say like, oh, it is possible for me because they're just like me too. All right, my friends, I hope that this was helpful. If you found it helpful, send me a DM over on Instagram. Hey, the Product Boss. Make sure that you're following the show and if you haven't left a review yet, I read all of them. So it'd be so amazing if you could leave us a review and I'll see you on the next episode.

Thank you for being here and listening all the way through the Product Boss podcast. If you love our show and it has helped you in any way in your business, would you mind doing two things for us? Subscribe to the show so you you never miss an episode and leave us a review. Reviews help other product entrepreneurs know that this is the place to be to grow their businesses and realize that they're not alone. And we know that you all know that a five star and honest review helps you sell more products to more people. So you know that your reviews help us reach more listeners around the world. Remember, what we give is what we receive and we are all about helping each other in the product box community. We are all in this together. We would be so appreciative of you if you could take the time right now to subscribe, leave a review and even share this episode on social or someone you know so we can impact more lives. And remember, subscribing means that you will get notified each time we release a new episode so you never miss a thing. You have helped us grow and climb into the top 10 of all marketing podcasts and together we can keep climbing. Thank you friends and remember, there is room at the top for all of us.