IAM1823 – Business Strategist Helps Mompreneurs Raise Their Businesses while Raising Their Families

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Allison Hardy Teaser 00:00

And really maximizing what is working. A lot of times women come to me and they have existing businesses, but they've hit this plateau and no matter what they seem to do to get past that plateau, nothing really seems to be working. So they're at crossroads.

Intro 00:16

Do you want to learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and grow your business from successful entrepreneurs, startups, and CEOs without listening to a long, long, long interview?

If so, you've come to the right place. Gresham Harkless values your time and is ready to share with you precisely the information you're in search of.

This is the I am CEO podcast.

Gresham Harkless 00:40

Hello. Hello. This is Gresh from the I AM CEO podcast and I appreciate you listening to this episode. If you've been listening this year, you know that we've hit 1600 episodes at the beginning of this year. We're doing something a little bit different where we're repurposing our favorite episodes around certain categories, topics, or as I like to call them, business pillars that we think are going to be extremely impactful for CEOs, entrepreneurs, and business owners, just like you, what I like to call the CB nation architects who are looking to level up their organizations.

This month, we are focusing on CEO Hacks and CEO Nuggets. This is by far one of my favorite questions I asked on the show. In other words, I asked, what are the apps, books, and habits that make you more effective and efficient? Those were the CEO hacks. Then I asked for a word of wisdom or a piece of advice or something that you might tell your younger business self if you were to hop into a time machine. Those were the CEO nuggets. That's what we'll focus on this month and some of the top ones that can instantly impact your business.

I love all the questions, but with every episode, I thought I would walk away with something I could look at and implement right there to save the precious resources, time and money. Or I would also learn about the advice, tips, and tidbits and tools of the trade on how to level up our organization. So you'll hear some of these this month. So sit back and enjoy this special episode of the I AM CEO podcast.

Hello. Hello. Hello. This is Gresh from the I AM CEO podcast and I have a very special guest on the show today. I have Allison Hardy of allisonhardy.com. Allison, it's awesome to have you on the show.

Allison Hardy 02:15

Gresh, thank you so much for having me.

Gresham Harkless 02:17

No problem. No problem. What I want to do is just read a little bit more about Allison so you can hear about all the awesome things that she's doing.

Allison Hardy is a business strategist for mompreneurs through infusing their business with a hearty dose of automation, authentic social media driven by Facebook live and stepping into the role of an influencer through email marketing. Allison helps women raise their businesses while they are raising their families so that they can live life by design.

Allison is the creator of the Life by Design podcast, a Huffington Post contributor, has been featured in the YFS magazine and was named one of Washington D. C.'s most influential professionals under 40 by Washington Life magazine. She's also a wife to Teer, and mom to five-year-old Camden and six-month-old Nora.

Allison, are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO community?

Allison Hardy 03:07

Oh, I am ready.

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Gresham Harkless 03:08

Awesome. Let's do it. So the first question I had was just to hear a little bit more about your CEO story and what led you to start your business.

Allison Hardy 03:14

Yeah. So I've always been an entrepreneur ever since I was 21 graduating from college. I've had a side hustle. I went to college to teach College-level art. So that's what I did after school. I did all the right things, got the terminal degree, had the fancy quote and quote fancy job, and was living the dream. I had it all supposedly, and then I got married and we got pregnant, and at six months pregnant with my first, who was Camden, I got laid off from that dream job that I had worked for for 10 years. Like it was devastating. It was like one of those moments when you have a total life kind of meltdown.

It was a really scary time because I was only going to be able to take five weeks off after Camden was born just because of finances and that's how it was. So getting laid off at six months pregnant did not financially work for me and for my family. So thankfully I had a super side hustle little business that I would work on occasion and I make a couple of dollars every now and then from it. But I had that and I was like, all right, first off, super grateful. I have this second of it's time to make it work. It is time to take this business full-time. It had been something that I had been really wanting because I saw the writing on the wall. I saw teaching wasn't going to work with my life with a kid. Like it just wasn't going to happen.

The 12-hour days, six days a week weren't going to be possible anymore. So it was an opportunity for me to really rewrite my story. I took that business from part-time status to full-time status and replaced my nine-to-five income in the three months before Mr. Camden was born. So that's really like the start of my full-time entrepreneurial journey.

Gresham Harkless 05:01

That's awesome. Obviously, I'm sorry to hear of course that you were laid off, but it seems like it puts you in the trajectory of where you were supposed to be anyways. To see you for having the courage to be able to push forward and get everything in line so that you, your family and of course, Camden and Nora can have a happy life.

Allison Hardy 05:15

Yeah, it was a terrible, terrible time. It was really like I had a total quarter-life crisis. I lost my mind over it, but really it's been the best thing that ever happened to me because I would not be here today if it didn't happen.

Gresham Harkless 05:27

Absolutely. So I wanted to drill a little bit deeper and hear a little bit more about like how you serve the clients and what are the products and services that you have?

Allison Hardy 05:34

Yeah. So I really help women dive deep into their businesses and figure out what's working for them or what's not working for them. Getting rid of that stuff that's not working and really maximizing what is working. A lot of times women come to me and they have existing businesses, but they've hit this plateau and no matter what they seem to do to get past that plateau, nothing really seems to be working.

So they're at a crossroads are like, all right, do I need to work more? Do I need to work less? Do I need to outsource? Do I need to have some automation? Do I need to have passive income? Should I get rid of all my active income? What does that look like for me? And that can be hard to figure out because what got you here won't get you there. So the stuff that got you to the point where you are now will not get you to that next level. And so it's figuring out what that stuff is that will get you to the next level that I help women really do.

So I serve my clients through masterminds. I have a year-long mastermind that I run. I have a membership site and I've just recently wrote a brand new course called From Wallflowers to Groupies. It's a Facebook group course to really help you monetize your Facebook group, but also step into the role of an influencer and create a community around your brand.

Gresham Harkless 06:43

Awesome. So I wanted to ask you now for what I call your secret sauce. What you feel distinguishes you or sets you apart from other people that might be doing something similar?

Allison Hardy 06:51

Yeah. So I feel like what sets me apart is I really, truly understand my ideal client because I am my ideal client. I've done everything wrong. I've done all the wrong things. I can tell you exactly what not to do and then I've had successes in my business. So I really understand the unique struggles that we as women who have maybe home-based businesses or online businesses and little ones at home, I understand the priorities. I understand the struggles. I understand how hard it can be sometimes and how incredibly amazing it can be.

I understand how you can second-guess yourself and third guess yourself and fourth-guess yourself. It can be isolating sometimes because it's not a normal thing to do is have a home-based business while you have your kids around. It's just not something you go to college to do, right? In school, you're not asked, what do you want to be when you grow up. And you don't say like an Online business owner. That's not a response that people have. So it's a different way of doing things. It's a different way of running a business and I get it. I understand it.

So my clients are all ridiculously ideal. We connect on a deeper level because again, I understand it and they understand me and we can have that sort of trust and that rapport with one another because of our situations.

Gresham Harkless 08:10

Yeah, that makes sense. And a lot of times I feel like people want to be heard. They want to feel like they are able to connect with somebody. So you having built a business and understanding exactly how to help out those mompreneurs and entrepreneurs and women that want to build businesses and are not really sure how to do it and are afraid to make certain mistakes, you can speak to them and develop that connection.

So I think that's a good example of a secret sauce.

Allison Hardy 08:30

Yeah. And I think a lot of women are afraid to do this whole crazy online business thing, right? Like maybe they thought that being a stay-at-home mom was going to be the best thing that's ever happened to them, and then they realize, this is not my favorite thing in the world.

And it can be scary when you realize that. But a lot of women get really caught up in feeling guilty about wanting to be ambitious or wanting to create a business or wanting to be home or wanting to do both of them, like giving yourself that permission to want both of those things to be there to raise your kids and to start this business and make a bigger impact. Sometimes it's just a matter of granting yourself that permission and then finding those people that get it.

Gresham Harkless 09:11

Yeah, exactly. And I'm sure like having an overall environment that helps you to feel confident in doing that and feel like it's okay and asking for whatever you want in life is also very important. I'm sure by you being able to build that community, you've been able to see that as well.

Allison Hardy 09:26

Yeah, exactly.

Gresham Harkless 09:28

Awesome. I wanted to switch gears a little bit and ask you for what I call a CEO hack. This might be an app or a book or a habit that you have, but it's something that makes you more effective and efficient as an entrepreneur or business owner.

Allison Hardy 09:39

Yeah, I actually have two. So my first one is the book, The Desire Map by Danielle Laporte. I actually read this book probably four times a year. It's a book that really helps you walk through and figure out why you do the things that you do. It helps you establish your core desired beliefs. So one of my core desired beliefs is security. So it really helps you figure out why you do the certain things that you do to help you to feel secure. What do you do to help you feel secure? It encourages you to really look at your actions and to understand that why that you do certain things in your life and in your business because of your core desire to believe.

So it really helps you quite honestly, learn a lot about what motivates you and how and why you do certain things. So that was a really big, impactful book for me. It still impacts me every year. I read it often. Then the second thing is you always hear about how you need a morning routine. A morning routine is so incredibly important. It'll set you up for success, all of that stuff, but really sometimes what sets you up for success is more sleep. So when you have little ones at home or, like just you're being woken up throughout the night, I think a lot of times we could put pressure on ourselves because we think we're supposed to do these things.

We think we're supposed to have this morning routine where we wake up before everybody else and we do our meditation and our mantras and we do the things that move our business forward. When in reality, the things that really move us forward are taking care of ourselves. Part of that is sleeping. So if you're not sleeping, sleep. Don't feel pressured to implement these things, these habits in your life that work for other people because they work for other people. You have to figure out something that works for you.

Gresham Harkless 11:24

Exactly. That makes perfect sense. A lot of it is like self discovery and understanding what works for you, you have to make sure that you fill your cup up because you can't give to your children or even to your clients.

If you haven't got any sleep, you're tired, you're exhausted, you're not yourself and you're not able to present your best self and often when you do take that rest, you can also be even better than you would if you wouldn't have taken that rest.

Allison Hardy 11:44

Yeah. And you may have less time in the day to work on your business, but really you're going to be so much more productive because you actually can think cohesive thoughts because you're not exhausted.

Gresham Harkless 11:53

Exactly. Awesome. Now I wanted to ask you for a CEO nugget. This is a word of wisdom or a piece of advice or something you might tell your younger business self.

Allison Hardy 12:01

Oh my gosh. Yeah. I have two things again. So number one, build your email list. Your email list is your bread and butter. That's where people are going to buy from you. That's my biggest regret in my business is I didn't build my email list early on. Email marketing was like this afterthought for me because I needed cash. I was in that I need money. I need cash coming into my business because I'm about to have a kid. So I really wish during that time I would have worked on my email list and building that more.

Then the second thing is you absolutely need to have a stream of passive income that is automated in your business. It doesn't have to be a course that's a thousand dollars. It can be something that's 27 Dollars, but having something that is automated that makes you money makes your business life-proof. So let's say you get sick for a week, you can just lean on that funnel, that email funnel. Maybe it's a Facebook ad to an email funnel that again pitches your 27 Dollars, something you can lean on that to make you money and to keep your business afloat while you are handling your life.

So when life comes at you, like your kids get sick or you have a baby or you just want to go on vacation or heck, you want to take a day off. Like your business is still a float and it's still generating income on automate in the background.

Gresham Harkless 13:13

That makes perfect sense. And yeah, that's definitely a great reminder. Making sure that life always does happen. So it's always something that pops up. So making sure that you have a backup plan for like your backup plan, so to speak, definitely helps out and having that additional stream of income.

Allison Hardy 13:26

Yeah, for sure. For sure.

Gresham Harkless 13:28

Awesome. Now I wanted to ask you my absolute favorite question is the definition for what it means to be a CEO. We're hoping to have different quote and quote CEOs on this show.

So I wanted to ask you specifically, what does being a CEO mean to you?

Allison Hardy 13:39

I actually really love this question. It took me a while to figure out my answer to it. So for me, being a CEO means making a bigger impact that extends beyond me and myself. So it's an impact that can be felt for generations. And one of the big motivators in my business is leaving a legacy. My mastermind is actually called the legacy mastermind because I want to, and my clients want to create this sort of ripple effect. Like I want my great grandkids to look back on me and be like, my great grandma, she was a badass and really handled this, like crazy business and built this like amazing nonprofit and gave back. That's how I want to be remembered.

I want to be remembered as a really generous and giving person through impacting women to do the same in their own lives and in their own businesses. So being a CEO for me is me realizing that I can make a bigger impact and that I am making a bigger impact than I am making now. I'm striving for that every single day.

Gresham Harkless 14:36

I love that and I love the perspective. I can visualize and see your grandchildren saying that you are a badass. So I definitely can see that as well. So I think you're well on your way.

Allison Hardy 14:46

Thank you.

Gresham Harkless 14:48

You're welcome. So Allison, I truly appreciate you for taking some time out of your schedule. What I wanted to do was pass you the mic, so to speak, to see if there is anything additional you want to let our readers and our listeners know and how best people can get ahold of you, find out about your Facebook group and all the awesome things that you're doing.

Allison Hardy 15:03

Sure. So I guess the last thing I wanted to say is you're capable of doing anything you want. You really are. I think society a lot of times puts us in a box and says, Nope, you belong here. This is where you're going to stay. But really I think for so many of us, we have these like visions and this drive and this ambition, but we let life get in the way. So if you have that drive and that ambition, no matter what it is, if it's making that impact at home, or if it's making that impact on other women, or making an impact in your local community, you're in a homeless shelter at your kid's school, you can do that.

You can be this amazing force of all kinds of goodness in the world. It's just a matter of you saying, this is what I want and this is what I'm going to do and being unapologetic about it. Because if that desire, if that dream is in you, it's never going to go away. And so might as well just acknowledge it and do it because it's going to drive you crazy if you don't. So that's why that's the last bit of advice.

Then my Facebook group is called The Mompreneur community. If you search on Facebook, you'll find it. My podcast, like you said earlier, is called Life by Design.

Gresham Harkless 16:05

Awesome. I truly appreciate you, Allison, and we'll make sure to have all those links in the show notes so everybody can click through and follow and engage with all the awesome things that you're doing, but I truly appreciate you again.

I hope you have a phenomenal rest of the day.

Allison Hardy 16:17

Thank you.

Outro 16:18

Thank you for listening to the I AM CEO podcast powered by Blue 16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at iamceo.co. I AM CEO is not just a phrase, it's a community.

Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and everywhere you listen to podcasts, subscribe and leave us a five-star rating.

Grab CEO gear at www.ceogear.co. This has been the I AM CEO podcast with Gresham Harkless. Thank you for listening.

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