Mama Minisode 04 With Jessica Brooks

Episode Transcript

[00:00:00] Melyssa: Hey, hello. I am back with another bonus episode. I’ve been calling these mommy mini-sode and it’s really me bringing you women, moms who were in your shoes, moms who have online businesses. I just wanted them to talk directly to you and give you some advice. I wanted you not just hearing from me. I wanted you to see that there were other real world examples of mama’s in the world making it work. And so today I am bringing you Jessica Brooks. I actually didn’t even know her name was Jessica. I just knew her as Jess Brooks. 

[00:00:37] Melyssa: She is a mama that I met at a retreat that we both had attended in person. So it was great to get to see her in real life. And Jess is this woman that I connected with so quickly. She has the most amazing smile. You know, people can really bring you in with that smile. And the more I got to know her, the more I knew that she would be perfect [00:01:00] for one of these episodes. 

[00:01:01] Melyssa: Jess is a food writer, turned UX, conversion copywriter, and she’s a mom of two girls. They’re six and nine. When she’s not helping her clients with their copywriting, you’re going to find her in the kitchen. She loves cooking healthy meals and trying to trick her family into eating all these whole grain, fresh baked cookies instead of Oreos. 

[00:01:23] Melyssa: She has a great website and Instagram that I am going to link in the show notes and also on the website. So here is Jess.

[00:01:31] Jess: Hi, I’m Jessica Brooks. I have a copywriting business and I write sales pages for online entrepreneurs, and I’m happy to be here on Mama’s Making More podcast. Melyssa asked me a couple of questions. She wanted me to share some advice with all you mamas out there. So the first question she had was what advice would I give to moms who are just starting out on the journey of building an online business. So if this is you, I have three pieces of advice. The first is to set boundaries [00:02:00] early on. This means setting boundaries about when you work, setting boundaries about when your time for working out is. That’s really important for self care. And set boundaries, set social boundaries. Set boundaries when you’re going to go see friends. Really set, set these time blocks up. So that you become a little more protective of your time. 

[00:02:24] Jess: And one actionable thing that you can do right now is to go and set a vacation responder on your email. So that you don’t feel compelled to check your email 2, 000 times a day. So what this looks like is you go in there now and you just set a little, a little reminder. It’s not about you being on vacation. Let people know when they can expect for you to respond back to an email. So that You have more time between, between having to hop on. So, for instance, I might go in and set, uh, an email responder that would say, you know, I got your [00:03:00] message, I will respond back to you within 48 hours. And of course, make it personable. Hey, it’s so great for you to write. I’m excited to connect. I will respond to your message within 48 hours. You could also give them the times that you are online, if you have a set schedule. So you can say, I work, you know, Monday to Wednesday, so you can expect to receive a reply during that time.

[00:03:23] Jess: But really just set clear boundaries that way. So that, again, you’re not always having to check your device, which takes you away from your family. And the second piece of advice is to outsource and do that creatively. So I. I did kind of things backwards and I found it really worked for me. I’m really fast at cleaning my house.

[00:03:43] Jess: There’s a way of cleaning your house. She’s actually an OG of content creators. Um, she’s called theflylady. net and she has a system of cleaning your house. And I don’t mind cleaning my house and I know I can do it really fast. What I don’t want to do, I don’t want to spend more time on [00:04:00] my computer, I’m already on my computer a lot. So instead, I clean my own house, but I’ve hired someone in my business to help me do the admin tasks that just, I don’t want to be doing. So that I can get up and take a break from my computer. The other reason why, I find as a mom, you’re always, always, always having to declutter. So it’s like, I felt like I was clean, when I had a house cleaner, I felt like I was always cleaning up before the house cleaner came. So now I just do it all at once and it’s just, it’s just more efficient. It works for me. So think about ways that you can outsource things that might just be a little bit more outside the box. 

[00:04:38] Jess: And the third thing is to just be patient with yourself. So, things just take longer. And the one thing I want everyone to remember, I want you to remember that your kids aren’t going to be young forever. So just enjoy that time. Your business will grow slowly. It’s the small steps that count. And so have patience with yourself. 

[00:04:58] Jess: Melyssa also asked me to share [00:05:00] with you about what my online business means to me and my family. And it really comes down to my own mental health. I feel fulfilled doing my business. I feel like I am making a difference in not only in other people’s lives who I’m helping, but also in my family’s because my girls see. They see me talk about money. They see me talking about setting goals. They see me talk about taking control of, of my life and they’re watching me build something and I’m very vocal about it. I talk about what’s going on and what I’m looking forward to and where my challenges are and I think that kind of figuring things out and all the pieces that go into having an online business are It’s just so important for your kids to understand and to also understand that there’s the possibility of creating a life that you want.

[00:05:57] Jess: There are opportunities out there and it [00:06:00] doesn’t have to be a job in a cubicle. It can be on your own terms. It can be flexible. And, and all that, I mean all that contributes to the family. I can pick my kids up at school. I can support them. So it really has been a win-win all around.

[00:06:16] Melyssa: Thank you so much Jess that was such solid advice. Would you guys do me a great favor and go show Jess some love. She is on Instagram @brooks_cooks. I am going to link her website and her Instagram in the show notes and on the website. And I hope you enjoyed hearing all about Jess what she does and her advice for you. I will catch you in the next episode. Thanks for listening.