and life you love, and this is Q&A Tuesday. And today’s question comes from Kirstie

in the UK and she writes,

“Hey Marie. Let me start by saying what an inspiration you are to me. It’s so great

to see how you put everything across in such a fun and fresh way.” You are welcome. “So

here’s my situation, I started my dream business at the age of 23 and when it was

just 1 and a half years old, I got pregnant. I was in a relatively new relationship, but

I trusted that everything happens for a reason. My daughter is now 7 months old and watching

her grow is teaching me so much. I’m trying to be the best mum I can be, but, I’ll be

honest, this was not part of my business plan.” Little smiley face. “Being so young and

having a new business and a new baby is really challenging, especially because no friends

my age are going through the same thing. I do have a supportive partner and he also runs

his own business, but since he’s the main breadwinner, he feels his business has to

come first. Do you have any tips on how to be the best mum I can be and not let my dream

business slip through my fingers? Sending you tons of gratitude, love, Kirstie.”

Kirstie, this is such an important question. In fact, we have tens of thousands of moms

in our community that are feeling exactly how you are. Now, I am a stepmom, but Zane

came into my life when he was 9 years old and long past diapers, so I can’t really

relate to your situation exactly. However, I have someone here who knows exactly what

you’re going through and she’s gonna help us uncover some incredible tips to help you

have a business that you love and be a great mom at the same time.

Latham Thomas is the founder of Mama Glow, a boutique maternity lifestyle brand, author

of the best seller, Mama Glow: A Hip Guide to Your Fabulous Abundant Pregnancy, which

has been endorsed by Alicia Keys, Rebecca Minkoff, Christy Turlington-Burns, and more.

She’s the mom of the 9 year old phenom, DJ Philano, co-founder of the Mama Glow Film

Festival and Mama Glow Salon Series, platforms for education, advocacy, and philanthropy

in maternal health.

Latham, thank you so much for being here today. I love you so dearly and it’s such an honor

to have you here on the show.

Thank you for having me. I’m glad to be here too.

So, I know that your story is very similar to Kirstie’s, which was odd when you and

I talked via email. Right? Tell us a little bit about that.

I related so much to Kirstie’s story. I was 23 when I had my son, Philano, I was also

in a similar situation where his father was the breadwinner, I felt like my business had

to take a backseat, and I also felt like I didn't have the resources and support to make

it happen. So I really related to her story.

Yeah, and I love that, and that’s why I wanted to have you here today because, in

all honesty, we’ve been getting this question for years now and it’s been a topic that

I wanted to tackle and I was like, “I can’t tackle it,” because I didn't have a little

baby while I was growing my business. So I know you and I have talked about this a lot

and you have 5 glow tips that can help us. So let’s start with tip number one which,

I believe, is really a mindset tip.

So glow tip number one is don’t victimize yourself. It’s really easy to get caught

up in this idea that you don't have enough and this, you know, idea of lack. Right?

Yeah.

So from woe is me let’s go to wow is me. I’m powerful, I can do this, I have everything

I need to make it happen. So it’s really about changing your mindset.

I think that that’s perfect. I think for all of us, no matter what our situation is

in life, it really starts up here.

Totally.

And if you get that right, then everything else can follow.

Exactly.

So glow tip number two is about make nap time your dream time. Tell me about that.

So turning nap time into dream time came about because a lot of parents, when they have new

babies, they think, like, “Oh my God, the baby is sleeping. Let me get some work done.”

But not housework and chores, really get the nuts and bolts of your business down. So this

is a time for you to start strategizing, to get things done in business, make phone calls,

important emails, and really kind of map out what you want your business to be. Because

you can always find time to get your housework done, right? And you could hire somebody to

do that as well.

Yeah. That was awesome. And I love glow tip number three which is join a babysitting COOP

or start one. Tell us more about that.

So, babysitting COOPs are a great way for parents to get affordable childcare within

their community. So you can hire somebody and all of you can pool resources to look

after your kids.

Yup.

Or each, you know, different days of the week you can have one person look after all the

children. It’s a great way for the children to be together and thrive as they grow together,

but it’s also wonderful for you to have that set aside time to devote to your business.

Awesome. Glow tip number four is getting people on board. What does that mean?

So getting people on your team, finding cheerleaders, people who really believe in what you’re

trying to do. Because there’s always naysayers...

Yes.

...and those people need to get out. Right?

Yes.

So you wanna make sure that you find people...  your partner should know what you’re up

to, your family, make sure that you have cheerleaders. So you want these people to all know what

you’re doing but also be able to support you. So there’s gonna be times where you

need resources or need help last minute and you wanna just be able to be able to ask.

Yeah and I... what I love about that too is, and something you and I said, you know, we

were talking privately on the phone. You said it’s so important for a woman to really

share how big her vision is...

Yes.

...with the people that she loves so they understand it’s not just some little side

hobby...

Exactly.

...that she has a big vision for her business and while it may not be there yet, for them

to really buy into where she’s going and they can get on board and I... I just thought

that was so lovely and it also forces us, I think, as women, to be real with ourselves.

Exactly. And to claim it. Right? We have to change the legacy. Like, a lot of the moms

have this thing of giving so much of themselves, and we all do it, but we give so much all

the time that we feel like we can’t give back to ourselves.

Yeah.

But people don’t know what we’re up to in the middle of the night when we’re typing

these emails and doing all this work. Like, they would probably wanna help us. Right?

Yeah.

So you gotta pull that team together and get people on board with your mission.

So whether you’re a mom or not, I think that that’s really, really important to

get people on board with your mission and your vision. So let’s take it now to glow

tip number five, which is take goddess time.

So this was really born out of what I see as a necessity of moms to really reclaim themselves.

When you start to create boundaries around your self care, then you could really create

boundaries around how you wanna build your business too. So you need to have some respite,

some rest, relax, and you’re giving so much on a regular basis that if you’re not putting

back into yourself, no one else is going to be able to do it for you. So whatever it is

that you love, you know, shut off your iPhone for a second, maybe take a hot bath, cuddle

up with a good book, maybe go see a movie with a friend or something, maybe have dinner

for one, something nice, dress up. Just be alone and enjoy that time because it’s really

rare to have it.

Yeah.

And it’s so important for us to do, especially as we’re building our businesses and helping

to grow our children, we get exhausted. And so it’s a way for us to recharge the batteries...

Yeah.

...and to have a little glow time alone.

I love that and, you know, I can hear so many women saying, “Yes, yes. That sounds great,

but I feel so guilty when I take any time for myself.” So, for example, you know,

if I’m spending a couple of minutes doing email, I feel like I should spend other time

with my kid. Like, taking a bath feels selfish. What do you say to women who have a big guilt

issue about taking any goddess time?

Guilt doesn't really help us in this situation. We’re really trying to grow and expand ourselves.

So you know how when you ride the plane they say put your safety mask on first and then

assist others? It’s sort of like that type of philosophy. You have to replenish yourself

first before you can be a really good mom and of service to others and to your work.

So you wanna put back into you and you can’t feel guilty about that because you’re a

priority as well, but you can’t be an amazing mom and an amazing businesswoman if you’re

not, you know, taking care of yourself.

Latham, thank you so much. That was so, so wonderful. All of those tips are amazing.

And, I have to just say, got your book, Mama Glow...

Thank you.

...which is all about, I mean, a hip guide to your fabulous, abundant pregnancy. And

for anyone, if you want more tips on how to really take great care of yourself, I highly

recommend getting Latham’s book. It’s absolutely fantastic. So, Latham, thanks again

for being here. I appreciate it.

Thank you, too Marie. I appreciate you.

So now Latham and I would love to hear from you. What tips do you have about being the

best mom and the best business owner you can be? I really wanna see a rich discussion on

this one. And, as always, the best stuff happens after the episode over at MarieForleo.com,

so go there and leave a comment now.

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