MomPowerment: Women Working Part-Time to Balance Career and Family

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There are some people that make their
work just another thing they have to do,

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and there are those that make their
work something that they want to do.

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Welcome to Working on Purpose with your
host Elise Cortez. In our program,

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we provide guidance and inspiration from those
people who have found deeper meaning and

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personal connection to their work life.
It's beyond nine to five. It's working

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on Purpose. Now Here is your
host, Elise Cortez. Welcome back to

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the Working on a Purpose Show.
Thanks for tuning again this week. I'm

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your host, Elise Cortez, joining
you from Dallas, Texas, which is

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home base for me. This program
is all about helping people more meaningfully and

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productively connect with their work and equipping
organizations to do the same for their employees.

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I bring on guests to have a
particular perspective or experience that I think

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expands the conversation about meaningful and productive
work, and I often draw on the

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meeting work research I've been doing over
the last fifteen years, as well as

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my own experience consulting, including the
work that I do today at Insignium,

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which is a global management consulting firm. I'll get to the program in just

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a moment, but a big thank
you to my media partner and sponsor,

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jobbing dot com. They are the
leading locally focused job board in the nation

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and they are dedicated to helping employers
find quality talent in their own backyard.

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While giving job seekers control over their
search, they can find work close to

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home. Thank you jobing dot Com
great partnership. Last week, if you

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missed us, we were on the
air with Isaac Alfton, who is the

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founder and CEO of Trigger Give,
an online, social media driven mechanism that

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makes giving to your favorite charities even
easier. We talked about how Isaac got

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the idea to start Trigger Give,
what is happening in the charity donation arena,

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and just what this lifelong entrepreneur has
learned along the way of developing this

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venture. With us this week is
Suzanne Brown, who is a strategic marketing

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and business consultant, a teed X
speaker, an expert on, an advocate

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for professional part time working moms,
and author her book Mompowerment Insights from Successful

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professional part time working Moms who balance
career and family is out soon or as

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soon to be out. One of
those who will find out here we'll be

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talking about how she empowers moms to
think differently about their career approach and guide's

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moms on their journey to change their
career model using her own experience and research

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and stories, insights and advice from
more than one hundred and ten interviews with

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professional part time working moms. Suzanne
joined it today from Austin, Texas.

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Suzanne, welcome to Working on Purpose. I am thrilled to be here.

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Thank you so much for having me. Isn't it fun? So first?

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Thanks, First, let's clarify is
the book out or is it about to

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be out? The book is out. It's very recently launched, but it

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is out birth. I love it. Congratulations to that. I haven't done

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mine yet, as you know,
we've spoken about that, but you and

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several of my other friends have done
this, and I know just what an

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accomplishment it is, and I really
want to I want to tell you how

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much I admire and applaud what you've
done. Congratulations, Susanne, Thank you,

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thank you so much. You're welcome
so well. Before we get into

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what you learned by interviewing all those
time working moms, well you tell us

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what led you to actually begin the
research in the book condition why study this

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area? So I became a mom
about six and a half years ago.

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Our older son was born, and
I actually transitioned to a part time role

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at the large company that I was
working for, So the book of my

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experience is at really large marketing agencies. And about a year after he was

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born, I had transitioned to working
for myself, so basically becoming a full

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time entrepreneur. And I had had
a side hustle for about seven years at

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that point, and while I was
working for that company, and then as

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I was working as an entrepreneur,
I would get these questions on a regular

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basis about how do you do this, how do you convince your employer,

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how do you continue to find work? How do you deal with balance?

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Like all of these questions from some
of my other either mom friends or friends

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who are about to depend mom.
And I was having coffee with a good

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friend who at the time work part
time and should I get these questions all

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the time too, And so I
said, well, I'm going to find

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a resource and that way we can
just spend people there and it'll be good.

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It'll know we'll have a great spot
to send people. And I looked

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a lot. I looked, and
I tried all kinds of different ways to

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find a resource, and there's not
one. You know, there are definitely

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resources on working part time, but
not specifically on a professional part time role.

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And so I said, well,
I'll just create one, not really

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knowing what I was taking on,
but that's okay, I'm gonna make it

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happen kind of gal. And so
I didn't really know what I was creating

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at the beginning, and so I
just started talking to other women who other

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moms who were working part time in
professional roles, and I realized, Okay,

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what I really need to do is
write a book. And that way

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it's more of a kind of one
stop shop. You can get all the

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information you need instead of oh,
let me do an online resource and then

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you have to do this, and
you can get this here, and then

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you got to go over there for
something else. So it's like literally,

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you pick up a book, you
get all the information, you get to

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hear the other stories, and it
just kind of all came together. But

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it was a long time coming.
I mean, I've researched for like silly

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years before I even started writing,
So it took a while It was not

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a quick like, oh sure,
let me just do this in six months

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kind of things. So I it
was People describe it as birthing a baby,

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and I can tell you I would
not have had a second child if

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I would have carried my first for
four years, like there's just no way.

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But it was worth run, you
know. But it was a long

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It took a lot of time and
energy to find one hundred and ten professional,

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part time working women across the nation
in all kinds of different roles who

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could really speak to being successful.
M I got that, I think you

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and I talked about the fact that
I interviewed a similar number of people for

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my Modes of Engagement research when I
was looking to see how people found meaning

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in their work. So it was
about one hundred and fifteen people and I

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and that wasn't even just people that
were successful, it was just they had

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to be in certain twenty different kinds
of professions. And I really understand the

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energy you're talking about. It was
tremendous. So and I haven't read a

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book yet, so your's yours just
out and mind's not. So let's let's

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not let's not forget that A lot
of things Susan. Yeah, it's coming

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though, it's coming. But right, that's right, it is coming because

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you and my other friends are like, come on, Cortez, figure it

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out. It's not like people put
these kinds of things on their resume,

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you know so, and it's not
on our LinkedIn profile. So you actually

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to have those meaningful conversations. And
I found those women through other women,

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you know. I've found those moms
through other part time working moms, more

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than half, and so it it
took times. It took lots and lots

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of times. Snowball effect is the
snowball approach, as they say in research.

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Yes, all right, so let's
do this really quick, Susanne.

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I just want to make sure that
our listeners also understand a bit more about

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your world and what you do professionally. So you've written this book, but

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you're also are a businesswoman, a
strategic marketer, and a business consultant.

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So what kinds of things do you
do in your work? So I do

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high level marketing for more than anything
seasoned entrepreneurs. So I help them with

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if they're looking at a product and
they're like, Okay, I think I

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can go into this other market by
just kind of tweaking a product or service.

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Is there really a market potential based
on what I have? Or am

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I going to have to make major
changes? So I can look at market

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opportunity or write business plans, do
a really kind of nitty gritty competitive analysis,

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or I can do a three hundred
and sixty degree review of marketing because

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a lot of times when my clients
come to me, part of their challenge

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is marketing base. And so I
can look at what they're actually doing in

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the marketplace and figure out what are
some of the changes. And then I

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work with larger companies to help them
work better with their marketing agencies. Since

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I have more than a decade of
experience working on the agency side, so

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I can be a bridge. Awesome
thank you for that. I wanted to

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make sure that our listeners kind of
understood you're overall what you're up to in

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life, if you will, beyond
writing this book and contributing that, I

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knew there was a lot more happening
too, so I wanted to be sure

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in presence that for listeners, all
right, So the next thing I want

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to get to if we can as
we start thinking, I'm sure that there

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are listeners here that are catching this
and there may be either considering going into

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a part time In other words,
we do seen from a full time to

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a part time or maybe they are
currently full time moms and they want to

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go back out there somehow and be
part time professional moms. So what do

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women need to consider before going part
time and work? So if you're going

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from the I work full time and
I want to work part time, it's

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a little bit different than if you
are a stay at home mom and you're

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wanting to get back in. So
I'll start by talking about if you are

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trying to reduce your schedule. Okay, the most important thing is to really

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think through what is your motivation and
the reason why. I wrote a whole

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chapter on this, but the reason
why you start with, and it's not

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just the superficial why, it's really
kind of understanding the why of your why

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of your why. You know you
want to be able to ask that question

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several times because whatever your motivation is, part time might not be the solution.

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It might be that it's time for
you to become an entrepreneur. It

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might be that what you really need
is flexibility and working part time not going

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to give you the flexibility that you
need, but you need to see what's

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driving your desire to make a change, And that's really kind of the beginning

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of that conversation and then understanding the
implications of if you do decide that part

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time is a good solution based on
your motivation, but if you are a

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stay at home mom and you want
to go back into the workforce, it's

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a little bit different. And the
thing that I actually recommend is not to

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go back into the workforce when it's
to start planning before you're ready. So

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if you want to go back on
June first of next year, you need

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to start having conversations and start figuring
out what are you lacking. Do you

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need to brush up on skills?
Are there things in general that you need

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to adjust. Do you maybe want
to go into a different industry or a

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different maybe a different role in your
same industry, and you need to do

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Basically, you need to brush up
on new skills, right, you need

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to brush up on old skills and
then create new ones. But if you

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say, well, I'm going to
go back into work and I'm going to

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do that on December first, and
you've done no prep, it's going to

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be really really hard. So you
want to have basically time, you want

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to set yourself up. And the
moms who I did interview who went from

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being stay at home to going back
into the workforce, they started having conversations

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at either six or nine or twelve
months before they actually went back into the

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workforce, and that can be something
that you you know, some moms might

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struggle with that because it's like,
well, I'm ready, and you want

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to actually prepare before you're ready,
so that when you are ready, you're

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like going like you can make it
happen instead of constantly stumbling, you know,

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because it can be hard, especially
if somebody's been out of the workforce

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for ten twelve years. It's not
as easy as just a light switch of

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like, Okay, I'm ready to
go back in, so I'm going back

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in. You're reminding me, Suzanne, I would be of the variety of

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going from full time to more of
a part time capacity when I had my

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daughter in February of two thousand and
three, and that is really when I

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put my shingle out there to be
a sole propriety to be an entrepreneur,

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and I began offering really learning and
development work and employee engagement, leadership development,

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stuff like that. And it was
absolutely because at the time my ex

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husband worked full time. He was
a consultantly traveled Sunday through Friday night kind

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of thing. Somebody I felt like, somebody had to be home and I

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figured that was me, that was
who's left. And that's kind of what

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drove me into that part time professional
mom working capacity and entrepreneurship. So you're

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reminding me very much, and I
wish I would have been more thoughtful about

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that. It was the right path
for me, but it was rocky.

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It was a rocky start. Going
into entrepreneurship in general is tough. You

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know, it is a it's a
long it's the long term. It's not

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like, oh, let me just
go do this for two months and then

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I can just go work part it
and then I can go work for a

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company again. You know. It
is in order to really develop your business

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as an entrepreneur, you have to
think about it over the long term.

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And yes, you read stories of
like, oh, on my first launch,

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I made a million dollars, but
the reason why you hear those stories

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is because they are rare. That's
not the normal way that most entrepreneurs actually

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it's not the way that their business
normally develops. I really get that,

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trust me. Yeah, I'm shy
a lot of zeros from a million.

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Let me tell you when I first
started to shy a lot of zero.

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Suzanne, Well, I think here's
another thing that people don't necessarily think about.

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And this is something that that I
heard kind of over and over again,

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because I interviewed about sixty two percent
of the women I interviewed worked for

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somebody else, so small or large
business, and then about thirty eight percent

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were entrepreneurs. And some of them
were solopreneurs, and some of them actually

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had businesses where they had employees.
But regardless, it was very interesting to

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hear them say, it doesn't matter
if you have five, ten, or

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twenty years of experience in an organization. As soon as you hang your shingle,

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you basically go to zero. So
because you have no experience as an

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entrepreneur, so you not only have
to show your expertise, you have to

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prove that you are legit as you
know, as an entrepreneur on top of

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that, and that can be a
hard thing to deal with if you are

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not ready for becoming an entrepreneur.
M No, question. Yeah, there

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was definitely a period of time that
I had to work to prove myself and

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to bolster what I could offer to
the marketplace, no question about that,

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and I'm so glad I did it. And along the way, I wish

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I would have learned from a few
more people. I wish I would have

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done what you did SU's inn by
just reaching out and asking people what they

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knew and what they learned and what
could I learn from their experience? And

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to that end, one of the
things I also wanted to ask you about,

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and I got a little bit of
this in last week's show when I

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was talking with Isaac because he's a
young entrepreneur too and grew up in that

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space. But one of the things
I know you talk about is that we

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can learn something from the generations about
what it means and how part time working

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mom or motherhood actually shows up for
people. What have you learned about gazing

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across the generations? So I actually
I did a whole chapter on the generational

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side of things because I thought it
was a really important element to include.

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So you have essentially three generational elements
at play literally right now. So the

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first is that you have baby boomers
that are starting to retire, and the

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really scary number is ten thousand baby
boomers turn retirement age every day and this

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will continue for at least like another
ten years. So this is huge,

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right, And the realities they're not
all going to walk out at the same

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time like that that is all going
to happen because they are not retirement ready.

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So depending on the report or the
study that you look at as seeing

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that only like twenty five percent or
up to maybe forty percent feel that they

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are ready for retirements. But the
reality is there might be that opportunity to

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partially retire, right for that's the
baby boomers, and that kind of sets

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up other things in an interesting way. And then you have gen X and

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gen X is. It's a very
interesting generation because they are not very vocal

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and they are a book ended by
two really big generations, So the baby

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Boomers and the millennials are really big. So it's basically like if you look

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at an hour glass and gen X
is in the middle, right yea,

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00:17:15.200 --> 00:17:18.960
and gen X is. Gen X
has a little bit more straightforward approach to

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time, so they are they're more
black and whites, and it's more of

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a boundary of I'm going to work
my tail end off and then I'm going

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to go home, and I don't
actually want to hear from you until tomorrow

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morning when I'm back in this office. Like I'm not interested in working after

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hours. I'm going to work like
crazy, and then I want to spend

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time with my family and I barely
even want to acknowledge the fact that I'm

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employed. But it's interesting because that
in part comes from the facts that they

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they were, you know, and
I'm a gen xer, so it was

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fascinating to hear about my own generation. They are the first generation to have

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working parents, both working parents,
and they saw kind of what their lives

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were like, and they said,
I don't want this from my kids.

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So they are much more protective of
their time than there than baby boomers and

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millennials, and they and they simply
don't want this kind of life for their

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kids. But the other thing that's
the challenge is they're getting sandwiched, so

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they are taking care of their families
and with working moms, they're trying to

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maintain their careers on track, and
now they're having to take care of those

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aging baby boomers, right, So
they're getting sandwiched between, so they have

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a lot going on. But these
are the women who literally created the foundation

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of work life balance. So they're
the ones who got pumping rooms. They're

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the ones who even started the concept
of work life balance. So they started

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all these initiatives, and they're actually
very important about to continuing those conversations and

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really to kind of keep taking charge
of things perfect hold on, Hold on.

259
00:19:14.200 --> 00:19:15.039
Then let's go for a quick break. I want to make sure and

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00:19:15.079 --> 00:19:18.160
get that fully treated when we come
back from the break. I'm Alice Cortez,

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00:19:18.200 --> 00:19:21.400
your host. We were on the
air with Suzanne Brown, who is

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a strategic marketing and business consultant.
She is a teech speaker and an expert

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00:19:25.720 --> 00:19:29.319
and an advocate for professional part time
working moms and and also an author.

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She joins it today from Austin,
Texas. We've been talking a bit about

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00:19:32.960 --> 00:19:36.000
how her research came to being,
what she's learned. After the break,

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00:19:36.000 --> 00:19:38.160
we'll hear more about that generational piece
she's been talking about. Stay with us

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00:19:38.200 --> 00:19:55.480
when you're right back. Friend us
on Facebook to keep up with what's empowering

268
00:19:55.519 --> 00:20:02.359
the world. Voice America empowerment E. Cortez as a speaker and engagement and

269
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development catalyst. She designs and delivers
professional development, leadership and engagement workshops and

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can bring her expertise to your organization. She will help ignite meaningful development within

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272
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or to invite a lease to speak
to your organization, please visit her at

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www dot Elise Cortez dot com.
She would welcome the opportunity to help get

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nation's educational system is undergoing constant and
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282
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system as we have known it.
On Chalk Talk with Eric Hamilton, we

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284
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285
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every Monday at four pm Pacific times
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00:21:26.599 --> 00:21:34.160
Empowerment Channel. It's your world.
Motivate, change, succeed. Voice America

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Empowerment dot com. This is Working
on Purpose with Elise Cortez. To reach

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our program today, please call into
one triple eight three four six nine one

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four one. Again, that's one
triple eight three four six nine one four

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one. You may also send an
email to Elise ali se at Elise Cortez

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00:22:06.160 --> 00:22:12.799
dot com. Now back to Working
on Purpose. Thanks for staying with us,

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00:22:12.799 --> 00:22:15.720
and welcome back to Working on Purpose
if you're just tuning in. My

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00:22:15.799 --> 00:22:19.640
guest is Suzanne Brown, who is
a strategic marketing and business consultant, tedech

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00:22:19.680 --> 00:22:23.640
speaker, and an expert an advocate
for professional part time working moms, also

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00:22:23.720 --> 00:22:29.480
an author. Her book Mompowerment Insights
from Successful Professional part time Working Moms who

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00:22:29.480 --> 00:22:33.279
balance career and family empowers moms to
think differently about their career approach and guides

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00:22:33.319 --> 00:22:37.279
moms on their journey to change their
career model using her own experience and research

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00:22:37.359 --> 00:22:41.640
and stories, insights and advice from
more than one hundred and ten interviews with

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00:22:41.680 --> 00:22:45.079
professional working part time moms. I'm
your host, Elise Cortez. So before

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00:22:45.079 --> 00:22:49.279
the break, Susan, you're just
finishing your conversation about the generations and you're

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00:22:49.279 --> 00:22:52.440
starting to chat about millennials. Can
you pick up where you left off?

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Sure? So millennials have a totally
different approach, and I won't lie.

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00:23:00.240 --> 00:23:06.039
Gen X struggles with this on a
regular basis, and so they blur their

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00:23:06.119 --> 00:23:11.000
lines between work and homes, and
so they want work life integration, and

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00:23:11.000 --> 00:23:15.680
it didn't really happen because they became
parents. That's just how they walked into

307
00:23:15.680 --> 00:23:21.160
the workforce. And that can be
something that's very frustrating to gen X because

308
00:23:21.400 --> 00:23:23.440
they wonder, am I really getting
your best effort here? Am I really

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00:23:23.480 --> 00:23:29.400
getting your best time and energy?
And the reality is we are. They

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00:23:29.440 --> 00:23:33.400
just look at time and the lines
are very fuzzy. But the other thing

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00:23:33.440 --> 00:23:38.759
that's interesting is that they look at
technology as a way to enable them to

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00:23:38.799 --> 00:23:41.720
make everything happen right. So you
are still going to get the same amount

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00:23:41.759 --> 00:23:45.599
of time and energy from them,
It's just going to be over a longer

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00:23:45.680 --> 00:23:51.720
part of the day. But these
are this is the generation that is starting

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00:23:51.759 --> 00:23:56.519
to become They're starting to become mothers, and so I'm very curious to see

316
00:23:56.640 --> 00:24:02.359
what's going to happen as they walk
into the land and of motherhood where they

317
00:24:02.400 --> 00:24:07.599
might need a little bit more of
defined boundaries. But they're also becoming managers,

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00:24:07.720 --> 00:24:12.680
so they might be much more willing
to have the flexibility or to sail

319
00:24:12.759 --> 00:24:17.039
back on time and to allow their
employees to do that as they want to

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00:24:17.079 --> 00:24:21.279
do that. So I think that
millennials are actually going to make a huge

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00:24:21.359 --> 00:24:26.799
impact. I imagine that they will
make a huge impact in what worklife balance

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00:24:26.839 --> 00:24:33.319
looks like because it's just fundamental to
who they are. I agree with you,

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00:24:33.400 --> 00:24:37.640
Susan. In fact, I tell
my students at Southern Methodist University that

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00:24:37.839 --> 00:24:42.319
they really represent a very large workforce
number, as you said before, and

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00:24:42.359 --> 00:24:47.480
that they have the ability to go
and really change the landscape of the workplace

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00:24:47.640 --> 00:24:51.039
because of their sheer numbers and because
they are going to be you know,

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00:24:51.200 --> 00:24:55.160
as time goes on pushing out the
boomers just over time and certainly eventually the

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00:24:55.200 --> 00:24:57.559
gen xers. I completely agree with
you. It's going to change a landscape

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00:24:57.559 --> 00:25:02.799
for us. I can't wait.
I meet too. Let's bring it.

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00:25:02.839 --> 00:25:07.640
Come on, millennials, step up, exactly, get going. Well,

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00:25:07.759 --> 00:25:11.240
let's talk next if we can about
the benefits and the challenges of working part

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time. I know that you've learned
a lot about each of these areas,

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00:25:14.880 --> 00:25:18.200
Suzanne, so start with maybe a
few key benefits, if you will,

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00:25:18.319 --> 00:25:22.279
of being a professional part time working
mom. So, even though it wasn't

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00:25:22.319 --> 00:25:29.599
when I specifically asked the question about
benefits, but without asking that specific question,

336
00:25:29.880 --> 00:25:34.720
the thing that most came up was
time with family, so that even

337
00:25:34.720 --> 00:25:37.319
though they didn't describe it as a
benefit, that was the thing that they

338
00:25:37.319 --> 00:25:44.079
were looking for. But when they
actually started talking about when I asked the

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00:25:44.759 --> 00:25:49.400
specific question, the kinds of things
I heard were things like flexibility. I

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00:25:49.480 --> 00:25:56.519
have more flexibility and so I'm able
to actually manage my calendar a lot better.

341
00:25:56.240 --> 00:26:02.160
Or I have balance and so I
can focus on my life and I

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00:26:02.200 --> 00:26:06.880
can focus on my career, and
I have control over those things. So

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00:26:06.920 --> 00:26:12.440
there was definitely an element of control
which I can certainly relate to. And

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00:26:14.000 --> 00:26:19.480
there were things as well, like
I continue to contribute financially, because a

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00:26:19.519 --> 00:26:25.480
lot of the women who I spoke
with were high performers, and so walking

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00:26:25.519 --> 00:26:30.400
away from your career it's really hard, you know where it's literally like I've

347
00:26:30.400 --> 00:26:33.599
been rocket and rolling in my career. I've become a mom and then everything

348
00:26:33.640 --> 00:26:37.400
shuts off. That's a really hard
thing to do. And so they talked

349
00:26:37.400 --> 00:26:47.440
about contributing financially, about having having
a maintaining their personal identity outside of being

350
00:26:47.440 --> 00:26:52.039
a mother, because these were people
who these were These were women who had

351
00:26:52.519 --> 00:26:56.240
careers and they had goals, and
they were achievers before they became moms,

352
00:26:56.839 --> 00:27:00.880
and so they loved that they were
to have a foot in both worlds.

353
00:27:02.799 --> 00:27:06.480
Still am engaged in my career and
I get to be the mom that I

354
00:27:06.519 --> 00:27:10.319
want to be, And I would
completely relate to that. So far,

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00:27:10.359 --> 00:27:11.480
by the way, Susan, I
can completely relate to that. Sorry,

356
00:27:11.519 --> 00:27:15.079
go ahead. And then the one
thing that I did want to mention from

357
00:27:15.119 --> 00:27:18.839
the research that I did, so
not from the conversations that I had,

358
00:27:18.880 --> 00:27:25.160
but from the actual research that I
looked at studies and what professors had had

359
00:27:25.200 --> 00:27:32.720
done analysis on, is that part
time working moms are happier, and there's

360
00:27:32.759 --> 00:27:37.559
a lot behind that. But what
was really interesting is that this study talked

361
00:27:37.640 --> 00:27:44.839
about having the right amount of time
with their children and with their significant other,

362
00:27:45.319 --> 00:27:49.680
which was not too little and not
too much. And I thought it

363
00:27:49.720 --> 00:27:56.680
was really interesting to hear the not
too much parts because you know, so

364
00:27:56.720 --> 00:27:59.359
many of us are like, oh, I want to spend hours upon hours

365
00:27:59.400 --> 00:28:02.960
with my children, and it's like, well, hold on working part time,

366
00:28:03.079 --> 00:28:07.519
lets you do that, but it's
not all of your time. And

367
00:28:08.000 --> 00:28:14.160
that I sounded just fascinating to see
that literally part time working moms are happier.

368
00:28:14.319 --> 00:28:19.400
That that was such an interesting surprise. You know, I did not

369
00:28:19.440 --> 00:28:22.720
expect to hear that, Susan.
I want to make sure I really understand

370
00:28:22.720 --> 00:28:26.480
what you're saying there. So they're
happier. So the part time, professional

371
00:28:26.480 --> 00:28:30.079
working moms are happier than full time
moms or just or stay at home moms.

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00:28:30.079 --> 00:28:33.400
Is that what you mean? Then
both? Then both? Yeah,

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00:28:33.400 --> 00:28:36.039
okay, that's what I thought.
I wanted to make sure that we were

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00:28:36.119 --> 00:28:40.480
we were distincting. Okay, moms
happier than stay at home moms because there

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00:28:40.599 --> 00:28:44.640
is that element of part of their
time goes to something else. So that's

376
00:28:44.680 --> 00:28:48.720
why it's not too little and not
too much with your family in general,

377
00:28:48.759 --> 00:28:52.359
you know, with your significant other
and with your children, and so it

378
00:28:52.440 --> 00:28:56.400
was just it was so interesting because
I think for some of us that's counterintuitive

379
00:28:56.480 --> 00:29:00.880
of like, oh, I gets
spend more time with my kids, therefore

380
00:29:00.880 --> 00:29:03.839
I'm going to be happier. And
it's like, well, there is a

381
00:29:03.880 --> 00:29:08.000
point where that actually starts to go
down, even though you might not want

382
00:29:08.000 --> 00:29:15.279
to admit it. Got that.
I got that. Yeah, okay,

383
00:29:15.359 --> 00:29:18.079
any other important benefits. I want
to make sure we get to the challenges

384
00:29:18.119 --> 00:29:19.799
too, But any other benefits that
you want to make sure in presence for

385
00:29:19.920 --> 00:29:26.599
us, I think those are the
ones that came up the most often and

386
00:29:26.640 --> 00:29:30.519
that I think are most relatable.
M You know, I can tell you

387
00:29:30.640 --> 00:29:33.160
for me, I'll go back just
really quick. When I was in that

388
00:29:33.200 --> 00:29:37.559
space of really being more of a
part time person, a part time professional

389
00:29:37.599 --> 00:29:41.240
working mom, definitely I felt like
I could I could have it all.

390
00:29:41.279 --> 00:29:44.880
That's kind of what it felt like
at the time. I was going to

391
00:29:44.960 --> 00:29:48.240
my daughter's school events, I was
active in her in her school at usually

392
00:29:48.240 --> 00:29:52.519
some kind of a leadership role in
the community, which gave me leadership experience

393
00:29:52.920 --> 00:29:56.880
and developed my leadership acumen. I
was social, I went, I had

394
00:29:56.960 --> 00:30:00.400
fun on vacation. I was really
enjoying the work that I did, but

395
00:30:00.880 --> 00:30:03.680
wasn't consumed by it. I was
making money and contributing to the family all

396
00:30:03.720 --> 00:30:07.039
those things, And so I do
really understand what you're saying. It was

397
00:30:08.000 --> 00:30:11.799
and it was easier than probably what
I'm doing now, which is uber full

398
00:30:11.839 --> 00:30:17.640
time and bingery. And you make
a really good point. You know,

399
00:30:17.799 --> 00:30:22.599
when I talk about going part time, it doesn't make things easy, but

400
00:30:22.680 --> 00:30:27.400
it does make things easier because you
get to do more of the stuff you

401
00:30:27.440 --> 00:30:33.119
want to do that you're normally rushing
through your week and then you have to

402
00:30:33.440 --> 00:30:37.680
still in the weekend in like every
little nook and cranny of time, and

403
00:30:37.759 --> 00:30:41.680
so you just you have more ability
to make it look the way that you

404
00:30:41.720 --> 00:30:47.000
want and you can fit in all
the things. Yeah, that's exactly right,

405
00:30:47.240 --> 00:30:51.079
exactly right. So it's a really
good chunk of time and memory for

406
00:30:51.119 --> 00:30:53.319
me. So thank you for letting
me be present and going down memory lane

407
00:30:53.359 --> 00:30:59.119
for that. It was a good
time for me. What about the challenges,

408
00:30:59.200 --> 00:31:02.079
Suzanne, What are the challenge is
related to being a professional part time

409
00:31:02.119 --> 00:31:06.359
working mom? So this is another
one of those things that I dedicated a

410
00:31:06.359 --> 00:31:10.960
whole chapter two because I would be
remiss to only talk about the good and

411
00:31:11.039 --> 00:31:14.319
not talk about any of the bad
or any of the things that you have

412
00:31:14.400 --> 00:31:18.880
to think about as you are potentially
making this transition, And so I won't

413
00:31:18.920 --> 00:31:22.960
go into the specific challenges, but
I want to talk about kind of the

414
00:31:23.519 --> 00:31:29.920
areas that these challenges fall under.
So, for example, productivity looks different

415
00:31:30.559 --> 00:31:33.720
when you when you go to work
part time. And this is not only

416
00:31:33.839 --> 00:31:37.680
is it a shift in literally and
how you look at your time, but

417
00:31:37.759 --> 00:31:41.400
in some ways it's a mind shift. You know, just think about your

418
00:31:41.400 --> 00:31:47.839
time differently because you have to get
a lot done in less time, especially

419
00:31:47.880 --> 00:31:52.599
from a career perspective. And it
might even be that you say to your

420
00:31:52.599 --> 00:31:57.480
employer, I'm going to work thirty
two hours even though you're not going to

421
00:31:57.519 --> 00:32:01.559
take anything off my plate. So
how do you get a full time job

422
00:32:01.599 --> 00:32:08.359
done in thirty two hours? So
that's one kind of area. The next

423
00:32:08.359 --> 00:32:15.960
one is a financial and a lot
of people think when you if you're going

424
00:32:15.039 --> 00:32:19.079
to cut your time, you're going
to get a cut in salary. And

425
00:32:19.119 --> 00:32:22.359
I will tell you that that was
not the case with a lot of the

426
00:32:22.359 --> 00:32:24.759
conversations that I had. So in
that case that I just mentioned of I'm

427
00:32:24.799 --> 00:32:28.079
going to do I'm going to work
thirty two hours, but I'm going to

428
00:32:28.119 --> 00:32:30.640
do a full time job. That
person didn't necessarily get a pay cut.

429
00:32:31.720 --> 00:32:36.880
But if you are in a situation
where you do get a pay cut,

430
00:32:37.720 --> 00:32:39.440
that could be a financial challenge.
You know, it's like, all,

431
00:32:39.640 --> 00:32:45.519
I used to make fifty thousand dollars
and now I only make thirty five.

432
00:32:46.000 --> 00:32:50.680
Well, that you're going to have
to make those adjustments with your family budget.

433
00:32:50.759 --> 00:32:54.160
How do you look at vacation?
Can you afford to do all the

434
00:32:54.200 --> 00:32:58.200
things that you have to do?
Are or are there changes that you need

435
00:32:58.240 --> 00:33:01.759
to make? Are there things that
you need to think about from the perspective

436
00:33:02.039 --> 00:33:07.680
of you know, do we need
to make lifestyle changes? Now, it's

437
00:33:07.680 --> 00:33:10.240
not always the case, but it
could be, and that might be one

438
00:33:10.240 --> 00:33:15.599
of the things you need to prepare
for if your company does cut your salaries.

439
00:33:16.039 --> 00:33:21.599
I will suggest that you not have
that as your initial conversation with your

440
00:33:22.119 --> 00:33:25.319
your employer, but if that ends
up being the result, then you need

441
00:33:25.359 --> 00:33:31.759
to be prepared for it. There
are areas related to household and child's care

442
00:33:31.839 --> 00:33:38.200
duties, So how do you divide
labor in your household? So you know,

443
00:33:38.559 --> 00:33:43.880
cooking, cleaning, tiding up around
the house. Just because you work

444
00:33:43.960 --> 00:33:50.319
part time doesn't necessarily mean that you
have to take on all of that unless

445
00:33:50.480 --> 00:33:52.480
that's the conversation that you have and
you take on ownership of all that.

446
00:33:53.000 --> 00:33:59.160
But that can be a struggle,
and it can be I certainly talked to

447
00:33:59.240 --> 00:34:04.119
moms who said, well, I
took on more because I wasn't working as

448
00:34:04.200 --> 00:34:09.920
much. And the vast majority of
moms that I talked to had more household

449
00:34:09.920 --> 00:34:15.440
and childcare duties. The those women
who it was like, nope, we

450
00:34:15.519 --> 00:34:19.840
are fifty fifty. It was amazing
to hear how they talked about it.

451
00:34:19.880 --> 00:34:22.320
I mean it was like, of
course, we're fifty fifty. Who cares

452
00:34:22.320 --> 00:34:24.559
that I'm working part time? But
it might be a change that you have

453
00:34:24.639 --> 00:34:29.800
to make and a challenge that you
have to overcome if you have been more

454
00:34:29.840 --> 00:34:36.039
of a fifty fifty household. And
then the final one that I'll talk about

455
00:34:36.199 --> 00:34:43.079
is there is an unknown element to
what you're doing, so you might it

456
00:34:43.159 --> 00:34:45.639
might not work. You know,
you might say, Okay, I'm gonna

457
00:34:45.639 --> 00:34:50.400
go work part time and it ends
up being a terrible experience, or your

458
00:34:50.519 --> 00:34:53.639
role changes so much that you think
this is a nightmare, like I can't

459
00:34:53.679 --> 00:34:57.159
do this. I'm going to have
to go back to work full time or

460
00:34:57.280 --> 00:35:00.159
I'm just going to have to leave
the workforce. But they are my be

461
00:35:00.199 --> 00:35:05.960
a lot of things that that change
if it doesn't work or you know what

462
00:35:06.039 --> 00:35:08.239
happens if you say, okay,
well I'm only going to do this for

463
00:35:08.280 --> 00:35:14.800
five years and that five year mark
hits and you think, I don't only

464
00:35:14.840 --> 00:35:15.960
want to do this for five years, like this is how I want to

465
00:35:15.960 --> 00:35:21.679
manage my career moving forward. Are
there long term changes that you have to

466
00:35:21.719 --> 00:35:25.920
make, like will that impact retirements
or will your company say to you after

467
00:35:27.000 --> 00:35:30.239
five years, all right, here's
the deal. You're coming back to work

468
00:35:30.440 --> 00:35:32.440
full time. And we had this
conversation, so this is a five year

469
00:35:32.559 --> 00:35:38.159
thing. Five years is up,
like let's move on. So so it's

470
00:35:38.280 --> 00:35:42.280
unknown, you know, and part
of it is you just have to test

471
00:35:42.320 --> 00:35:46.199
it out and see how things go
and see what things make sense. But

472
00:35:46.320 --> 00:35:50.639
for some people that can be hard. You know, for some women who

473
00:35:51.119 --> 00:35:54.239
are really good at being in charge
and in control and kind of give a

474
00:35:54.239 --> 00:36:00.679
little bit of that control away when
it comes to what will happen over the

475
00:36:00.719 --> 00:36:05.000
long term. You know what I'm
getting from this, Susanne, is it

476
00:36:05.079 --> 00:36:07.960
seems like what you're saying is that
if you're going to go into this space

477
00:36:07.000 --> 00:36:09.679
of being a professional, part time
working mom, you've got to step into

478
00:36:09.679 --> 00:36:15.039
a fluid space. Is that fair
exactly? Yes? Okay, yeah,

479
00:36:15.119 --> 00:36:19.960
yeah, definitely an element of flexibility
of you know, and it might be

480
00:36:20.079 --> 00:36:23.119
that opportunities come along that you say, Okay, I said I only wanted

481
00:36:23.119 --> 00:36:27.679
to work twenty four hours, which
is essentially like a three day at work

482
00:36:27.719 --> 00:36:31.440
week, but this opportunity has come
up and I need to go back,

483
00:36:31.679 --> 00:36:35.239
I need to do thirty two.
So what do we need to do in

484
00:36:35.320 --> 00:36:37.440
order to let me have a four
day work week? You know? Or

485
00:36:37.519 --> 00:36:43.119
it might be that you have another
baby and you're like, okay, so

486
00:36:43.400 --> 00:36:45.320
I'm not going to work four days. I'm only going to work three.

487
00:36:45.440 --> 00:36:50.960
So yeah, you have to have
that luid side and just you have to

488
00:36:51.000 --> 00:36:53.840
think about things from a flexible way, but you still have to have your

489
00:36:53.840 --> 00:37:00.440
boundaries. So it's kind of like
a balancing those two things. It's also

490
00:37:00.519 --> 00:37:05.840
striking me that you probably have to
get pretty good at being able to enroll

491
00:37:05.960 --> 00:37:07.519
other people in your life to help. And I know we're going to talk

492
00:37:07.559 --> 00:37:10.760
a bit more after we get through
this break about how we handle time and

493
00:37:10.760 --> 00:37:13.880
such. That's going to be an
important thing for me to focus on.

494
00:37:13.960 --> 00:37:16.480
But what you say a bit about
that is there have you learned and through

495
00:37:16.480 --> 00:37:21.599
your research from your own experience that
you get to be a master enroller of

496
00:37:21.639 --> 00:37:27.039
others in your life to make this
work. It is your tribe. And

497
00:37:27.079 --> 00:37:31.719
that's essentially how I describe and if
your friends, it can be your babysitter

498
00:37:32.079 --> 00:37:37.639
or or a part time manny,
or your housekeeper, like the people who

499
00:37:37.760 --> 00:37:44.320
enable you to be who you want
to be. Your tribe is incredibly important.

500
00:37:44.559 --> 00:37:49.320
There is not enough There aren't enough
words to explain how important those people

501
00:37:49.360 --> 00:37:53.800
are. And and as I've talked
to, as I've spoken to some single

502
00:37:53.840 --> 00:38:00.079
mothers since writing this book, it's
even more important if you if you don't

503
00:38:00.159 --> 00:38:05.599
have the support of a significant other, because these are the people who you

504
00:38:05.679 --> 00:38:09.639
lean on, and and it's for
things like childcare or for those moments of

505
00:38:09.679 --> 00:38:15.960
doubt, or when you have a
tremendous success I mean, to some extent,

506
00:38:15.039 --> 00:38:19.840
you can you can celebrate that with
your kids. But it's whether you're

507
00:38:19.960 --> 00:38:23.199
single or you're in a relationship,
like having other people to boost you up

508
00:38:23.840 --> 00:38:29.159
and to celebrate those things that are
amazing and when you have those moments of

509
00:38:29.199 --> 00:38:31.000
doubt, to be able to talk
to somebody who's kind of in your in

510
00:38:31.039 --> 00:38:36.280
your same shoes, to be able
to say, Okay, all right,

511
00:38:36.320 --> 00:38:40.000
so let's talk about some other perspectives
or this is amazing, you know,

512
00:38:40.039 --> 00:38:45.360
and not just put all of that
on your siblings or your significant other or

513
00:38:45.920 --> 00:38:50.280
you know, so you need a
tribe to tribe is sto key in all

514
00:38:50.320 --> 00:38:52.559
of that, I would agree and
a great hold on for that because we're

515
00:38:52.599 --> 00:38:55.079
gonna go for a break. But
let me just quickly echo that as a

516
00:38:55.159 --> 00:39:00.760
divorced full time working mom, I've
gotten exceptional at just pick anybody. Hey,

517
00:39:00.840 --> 00:39:04.840
you I need your help stat over
here now. I'm your host,

518
00:39:04.880 --> 00:39:07.480
Elise Cortez. We got on the
air with Suzanne Brown, who is a

519
00:39:07.679 --> 00:39:12.639
strategic marketing and business consultant, teech
speaker, an expert on advocate for professional

520
00:39:12.639 --> 00:39:15.559
part time working moms, and an
author. After the break, we're going

521
00:39:15.639 --> 00:39:17.639
to hear more about time management and
networking. Stay with us. We'll be

522
00:39:17.760 --> 00:39:35.519
right back friend us on Facebook to
keep up with what's empowering the world.

523
00:39:36.000 --> 00:39:42.960
Voice America Empowerment. Elise Cortez is
a speaker and engagement and development catalyst.

524
00:39:43.159 --> 00:39:47.599
She designs and delivers professional development,
leadership and engagement workshops and can bring her

525
00:39:47.639 --> 00:39:52.800
expertise to your organization. She will
help ignite meaningful development within your workforce that

526
00:39:52.800 --> 00:39:58.760
will increase employee engagement, performance and
retention. To learn more or to invite

527
00:39:58.800 --> 00:40:04.079
Elise to speak to your organization,
please visit her at www dot Elise Cortez

528
00:40:04.199 --> 00:40:07.960
dot com. She would welcome the
opportunity to help get your employees working on

529
00:40:08.039 --> 00:40:13.960
purpose. If you think you've seen
online TV before, let us surprise you.

530
00:40:14.119 --> 00:40:17.039
Voice America dot TV is online now. The leader in live internet talk

531
00:40:17.159 --> 00:40:20.880
radio, has done it again.
Multiple channels, a state of the art

532
00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:23.639
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533
00:40:23.800 --> 00:40:29.000
It's exactly what you want when you
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534
00:40:29.039 --> 00:40:32.199
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535
00:40:32.239 --> 00:40:37.760
world. Visit Voice America dot TV
now and experience the future of online television.

536
00:40:37.960 --> 00:40:43.400
Voice America dot TV. It's time
to live the life of inner peace

537
00:40:43.480 --> 00:40:49.519
that you deserve. Tune in every
week for Sacred Exploration with host Lisa tremont

538
00:40:49.559 --> 00:40:52.639
Oda. You can discover the you
that has been kept hidden all this time,

539
00:40:52.960 --> 00:40:57.639
show off your personal gifts to the
world. Lisa and her guests will

540
00:40:57.639 --> 00:41:01.400
combine health and spirituality to bring you
the experience that you've been waiting for.

541
00:41:01.679 --> 00:41:07.519
You'll enjoy this journey every Wednesday at
five pm Pacific Time at eight pm Eastern

542
00:41:07.519 --> 00:41:12.559
Time on the Voice America Empowerment channel. It's sure to be a nourishing experience.

543
00:41:13.519 --> 00:41:24.800
Follow us on Twitter for more great
ideas at Voice America Empowerment. This

544
00:41:24.960 --> 00:41:30.880
is Working on Purpose with Elise Cortez. To reach our program today, please

545
00:41:30.920 --> 00:41:35.679
call into one triple eight three four
six nine one four one. Again that's

546
00:41:35.719 --> 00:41:39.079
one triple eight three four six nine
one four one. You may also send

547
00:41:39.119 --> 00:41:46.440
an email to Elise ali se at
Elise Cortez dot com. Now back to

548
00:41:46.679 --> 00:41:52.119
Working on Purpose. Thanks for staying
with us, and welcome back to Working

549
00:41:52.119 --> 00:41:55.119
on Purpose. If you're just joining
us. My guest is Suzanne Brown,

550
00:41:55.159 --> 00:42:00.280
who is a strategic marketing and business
consultant, teed X speaker and X spurt

551
00:42:00.320 --> 00:42:04.400
on at Advocate for professional part time
working moms and an author. Her book

552
00:42:04.639 --> 00:42:08.519
Mompowerment Insights from successful professional part time
working Moms who balance career and family,

553
00:42:08.920 --> 00:42:14.199
empowers moms to think differently about their
career approach and guide's moms on their journey

554
00:42:14.199 --> 00:42:17.599
to change their career model using her
own experience and research and stories. Insights

555
00:42:17.599 --> 00:42:21.760
and advice are more than a hundred
and ten interviews with professional part time working

556
00:42:21.760 --> 00:42:25.480
moms. I'm your host, Alice
Cortez. So for this last segment here,

557
00:42:25.639 --> 00:42:29.599
Suzanne, I really want to get
a couple of things on the table

558
00:42:29.599 --> 00:42:31.400
here. One of them is time
management, and of course there'll be other

559
00:42:31.400 --> 00:42:36.199
things around networking. What you say, and I love how you say this.

560
00:42:36.320 --> 00:42:38.480
You say you are a ninjake with
time management, and I know you've

561
00:42:38.480 --> 00:42:42.639
written a good bit about this topic
in your book. So what have you

562
00:42:42.719 --> 00:42:45.440
learned about time management that you can
pass on to us? So, first

563
00:42:45.480 --> 00:42:50.079
of all, I will share that
I stole that phrase from Lauren Brody,

564
00:42:50.199 --> 00:42:54.760
who wrote The Fifth Trimester Guy.
I've said time management is incredibly important.

565
00:42:54.760 --> 00:42:59.320
It's important as a working mom,
but it's incredibly important as a part time

566
00:42:59.360 --> 00:43:04.239
working mom. And so I think
you actually have to shift how you look

567
00:43:04.280 --> 00:43:07.480
at time. And the way to
be most efficient that I have found,

568
00:43:07.559 --> 00:43:12.920
based on the conversations and on my
own experience, is to actually think about

569
00:43:12.960 --> 00:43:19.840
time not just as time, but
time management plus productivity plus staying on task.

570
00:43:21.440 --> 00:43:27.000
And so those three things have to
work together in order to actually in

571
00:43:27.079 --> 00:43:31.280
order for you to be efficient with
your time. And it can be a

572
00:43:31.360 --> 00:43:37.519
shift in how you look at things
because a lot of what we do in

573
00:43:37.679 --> 00:43:43.440
the workplace is we react or we
respond to what is to what is kind

574
00:43:43.440 --> 00:43:45.760
of grown our direction. Right,
It's like you get an email, you

575
00:43:45.800 --> 00:43:51.280
respond, and that might not be
the best use of your time. Even

576
00:43:51.280 --> 00:43:52.639
if you're a full of working mom, that might not be the best use

577
00:43:52.679 --> 00:43:57.599
of your time. So you have
to kind of shift how you look at

578
00:43:57.639 --> 00:44:02.559
things, and you have to be
very put detective of your time without pulling

579
00:44:02.639 --> 00:44:07.199
away from your career. And so
some of the things that I heard kind

580
00:44:07.199 --> 00:44:13.840
of over and over again are things
like batching. And if you're not familiar

581
00:44:13.840 --> 00:44:16.519
with what batching is, it's where
you combine like things so that you do

582
00:44:16.559 --> 00:44:21.119
them all in a row. So
if you have to write a series of

583
00:44:21.159 --> 00:44:23.679
power points, do all the power
points in a row? When you're in

584
00:44:23.719 --> 00:44:29.880
that power point groove, don't be
interrupted by email. Turn off the window

585
00:44:30.039 --> 00:44:34.280
that pops up that shows you a
little sneak peek of what email is coming

586
00:44:34.320 --> 00:44:38.039
through. Put your phone, forward
your phone to voicemail, and that way

587
00:44:38.119 --> 00:44:44.239
you can hit your groove and be
much more efficient instead of as you switch

588
00:44:44.280 --> 00:44:49.960
back and forth between activities, you
actually use a ton of mental energy that

589
00:44:50.039 --> 00:44:52.159
might not make a difference in a
day, but it makes a difference over

590
00:44:52.639 --> 00:44:57.400
a week, a month, a
year, and so batching can be really

591
00:44:57.440 --> 00:45:01.679
helpful. But you also have to
think about things like your productivity peak.

592
00:45:02.440 --> 00:45:07.280
So for me, for example,
I am most productive in the morning,

593
00:45:07.039 --> 00:45:10.280
hands down most productive. Drop off
my voids to school, and I am

594
00:45:10.360 --> 00:45:15.719
like I could climb a mountain if
that's what you put in front of me,

595
00:45:15.400 --> 00:45:22.119
and so I use that time.
That is my time to make amazing

596
00:45:22.159 --> 00:45:25.519
things happen. And you know,
I don't really schedule calls first thing in

597
00:45:25.559 --> 00:45:30.039
the morning if I can avoid it. That's when I focus on my top

598
00:45:30.199 --> 00:45:36.639
priorities because that is when I am
at my best. That's when I tackle

599
00:45:36.800 --> 00:45:42.679
my strategic challenges so that I can
really make a dent in it instead of

600
00:45:42.880 --> 00:45:45.039
oh well, let me open up
email and see what somebody sent me and

601
00:45:45.400 --> 00:45:49.159
maybe I'll respond, or let me
see what's on Facebook. It's like no,

602
00:45:49.159 --> 00:45:52.159
no, no, no no.
Make this your most productive time.

603
00:45:53.199 --> 00:45:58.639
And part of that you have to
be able to establish boundaries. And most

604
00:45:58.639 --> 00:46:02.079
people think of boundaries as okay,
well I work from nine to five and

605
00:46:02.079 --> 00:46:06.199
then I go home at five,
and so the boundary is five. You

606
00:46:06.280 --> 00:46:12.000
actually have to think about boundaries as
how can I how can I create time,

607
00:46:13.000 --> 00:46:17.360
and how can I kind of buffer
time? And so having this idea

608
00:46:17.440 --> 00:46:21.360
of batching or saying, you know, I'm not going to take any meetings

609
00:46:21.440 --> 00:46:23.840
before ten o'clock. And you might
be lead on your team and you can

610
00:46:23.880 --> 00:46:28.119
make that happen, or you might
have to have a negotiation with the lead

611
00:46:28.199 --> 00:46:30.719
on your team. You can make
that happen. But boundaries are certainly going

612
00:46:30.760 --> 00:46:37.199
to help. And I often get
the question of, well, how do

613
00:46:37.239 --> 00:46:39.519
you stay motivated? You know,
if you're trying to make all of this

614
00:46:39.599 --> 00:46:45.920
stuff happen. My personal trick is
I have a to do list and I

615
00:46:45.960 --> 00:46:50.639
have a bad list, and so
a lot of times when you're making things

616
00:46:50.639 --> 00:46:57.199
happen, you don't necessarily think about
what you already made happen. You know,

617
00:46:57.239 --> 00:47:00.559
you're flying to the next thing,
and it's like being able to have

618
00:47:00.800 --> 00:47:05.679
even if it's if it's the exact
same list but one thing is scratched off

619
00:47:05.760 --> 00:47:09.719
or there's a check mark or whatever. But having that that list to show

620
00:47:09.760 --> 00:47:13.480
you look at all the stuff that
I accomplish in the course of a week

621
00:47:14.159 --> 00:47:19.599
can actually be quite motivating and a
great yes keep you on track, you

622
00:47:19.639 --> 00:47:22.800
know of like Okay, I'm rocking
and rolling in this new time management thing.

623
00:47:25.280 --> 00:47:28.480
Yeah, I would add one thing
to that that I also got and

624
00:47:28.639 --> 00:47:30.880
I bet you already do this too, but just to presence it for our

625
00:47:30.880 --> 00:47:35.159
listeners, is we I got this
from my current consulting company. We do

626
00:47:35.199 --> 00:47:38.360
mission control. You really really have
to plan your work and then you create

627
00:47:38.440 --> 00:47:42.199
occasions in your calendar where you're going
to do that work, and if you

628
00:47:42.280 --> 00:47:45.559
honor those occasions, you will be
productive. And going back to what you

629
00:47:45.599 --> 00:47:49.440
said about not getting distracted by social
media or something that comes up on your

630
00:47:49.480 --> 00:47:52.960
cell phone or whatever, but it
is amazing what you can actually do if

631
00:47:52.960 --> 00:47:59.320
you will actually plan your workout and
then execute through your plan absolutely absolutely,

632
00:47:59.360 --> 00:48:04.440
and I actually recommend doing that the
evening before. Yeah, so that you

633
00:48:04.440 --> 00:48:08.679
can hit the ground running the day
of you know, And that's I'm sad

634
00:48:08.719 --> 00:48:12.239
I missed that, because that's I'm
sad that I didn't say that. But

635
00:48:12.280 --> 00:48:16.440
I'm glad you mentioned it because it's
huge, huge, huge huge. You

636
00:48:16.519 --> 00:48:20.679
own your time. Yeah, I
knew that you knew what. I just

637
00:48:20.760 --> 00:48:22.239
wanted to make sure because you and
I had talked about that before, but

638
00:48:22.280 --> 00:48:27.480
I wanted to make sure and get
it out for our listeners. And another

639
00:48:27.519 --> 00:48:29.800
thing that I want to get I
want to say because we're getting so close

640
00:48:29.840 --> 00:48:31.719
to running at a time already,
Susanne, but I want to talk about

641
00:48:31.719 --> 00:48:36.559
the importance of networking. We most
of us know we need to network.

642
00:48:36.599 --> 00:48:37.760
We have to do with some of
us like or some of us hate it.

643
00:48:38.039 --> 00:48:40.039
There's a lot of ways to go
about that, but I know you

644
00:48:40.079 --> 00:48:45.360
have a particular perspective on how that
relates to being a part time working mom.

645
00:48:45.440 --> 00:48:49.440
So what can you tell us?
So networking is the number one piece

646
00:48:49.440 --> 00:48:54.440
of advice that people gave in because
I asked what is your advice? And

647
00:48:54.800 --> 00:49:00.159
number one networking, and that was
how a huge percentage of these women actually

648
00:49:00.199 --> 00:49:04.920
found their jobs. So about a
third of the women who I spoke to

649
00:49:06.119 --> 00:49:10.880
found part time jobs versus changing in
their current role from a full time to

650
00:49:10.920 --> 00:49:15.519
a part time capacity. So and
networking is how they essentially got that.

651
00:49:16.599 --> 00:49:22.039
And my take on things because as
a working mom, I don't necessarily have

652
00:49:22.159 --> 00:49:28.000
a huge amount of time to go
to ten conferences a year. My thing

653
00:49:28.199 --> 00:49:35.320
is network where you are because we
don't really take it full advantage of the

654
00:49:35.719 --> 00:49:40.280
of the network that is literally built
into our day. So things like networking

655
00:49:40.320 --> 00:49:45.400
with your colleagues at your office.
Sure you deal with the people who you

656
00:49:45.440 --> 00:49:47.519
deal with on a regular basis,
but when was the last time that you

657
00:49:47.599 --> 00:49:52.440
talked to that you went to coffee
with someone who you've never interacted with before,

658
00:49:53.440 --> 00:49:58.639
you know, and that is a
person literally who can probably walk by

659
00:49:58.760 --> 00:50:04.559
several times a day, maybe,
but being able to engage with those people,

660
00:50:04.679 --> 00:50:10.039
whether they're at an office or it
might be at your child's school where

661
00:50:10.400 --> 00:50:14.000
you know you see each other in
passing in the morning when you drop off,

662
00:50:15.519 --> 00:50:16.719
but they have no idea what you
do and you don't know what they

663
00:50:16.760 --> 00:50:21.960
do. But they could be they
could be potential clients, they could be

664
00:50:22.000 --> 00:50:25.320
potential employers, they could be looking
for exactly your skill set, in a

665
00:50:25.320 --> 00:50:30.199
part time capacity. You just never
know unless you start having those conversations.

666
00:50:30.360 --> 00:50:35.639
And so it's not a matter of
Okay, let me line up a bunch

667
00:50:35.679 --> 00:50:38.320
of networking events. Now, it's
look around you. I mean, it's

668
00:50:38.360 --> 00:50:43.280
even those social interactions you have is
like I'm learning to a friend's happy hour

669
00:50:43.559 --> 00:50:46.119
for their birthday. You know,
we always talk to the people or we

670
00:50:46.239 --> 00:50:51.719
naturally talk to the people who we
know, right, but what if you

671
00:50:52.119 --> 00:50:54.119
engaged with them, you said,
Okay, I'm miss then for thirty minutes

672
00:50:54.159 --> 00:50:57.840
talking to people that I know,
and then I'm going to meet two new

673
00:50:57.920 --> 00:51:04.039
people today and that is my task
or one new person today, and you

674
00:51:04.119 --> 00:51:08.920
never know who that person might be
and you have no idea. And then

675
00:51:08.920 --> 00:51:15.440
I definitely suggest online coffee chats.
So it's essentially like like having a coffee,

676
00:51:15.760 --> 00:51:20.440
but it's but you can use a
tool like Skype or face time,

677
00:51:20.719 --> 00:51:23.880
or there are tools on Facebook.
You know, there's lots of different tools

678
00:51:23.880 --> 00:51:25.719
that you can use. But that
way, it's like a face to face

679
00:51:25.800 --> 00:51:31.280
interaction instead of just being a phone
call. And that allows you to broaden

680
00:51:31.360 --> 00:51:37.079
your network without having to think about
things like childcare or or oh wait,

681
00:51:37.119 --> 00:51:42.800
I'm in Austin, Texas and you're
in Dallas. You know that is we

682
00:51:42.840 --> 00:51:45.719
could have a face to face conversation, you know, and if it's late

683
00:51:45.800 --> 00:51:46.559
enough in the day, you can
have a happy hour. You can both

684
00:51:46.599 --> 00:51:51.599
have a glass of wine like you
can make wherever you want. But those

685
00:51:51.639 --> 00:51:54.679
are not tools that most people think
about. Yeah, and you know what

686
00:51:54.719 --> 00:51:58.599
I'm getting present too as you're talking
about the Susanne is what I hear you

687
00:51:58.760 --> 00:52:06.159
saying is bringing an intentionality about recognizing
there are people that we encounter throughout the

688
00:52:06.159 --> 00:52:08.559
course of our day and how are
we really connecting to them? Do we

689
00:52:08.599 --> 00:52:10.719
really know who they are? Do
they know who we are? And what

690
00:52:10.760 --> 00:52:15.559
we bring? That's what I'm hearing
from you, is that intentionality piece?

691
00:52:15.360 --> 00:52:20.280
Oh? Yes, very much.
So it's setting ocational networking. Okay,

692
00:52:20.480 --> 00:52:22.760
okay, all right. Well.
The other another thing that I want to

693
00:52:22.760 --> 00:52:25.280
talk about, and we've just got
a couple of minutes left to really quick

694
00:52:25.280 --> 00:52:28.800
maybe if we can just spend two
minutes on this is you talk about the

695
00:52:28.840 --> 00:52:31.599
importance of mentors and sponsors in this
deal. What do we need to know

696
00:52:31.679 --> 00:52:37.920
there? So I want to make
sure that people realize the difference. And

697
00:52:38.239 --> 00:52:43.559
one is a career guide a mentor, which a lot of us think about,

698
00:52:44.039 --> 00:52:49.760
but sponsors are different and that they
are action oriented. And these can

699
00:52:49.880 --> 00:52:53.159
literally be men and women who can
open doors for you. They can help

700
00:52:53.199 --> 00:52:57.559
you find new roles, they can
find projects for you to work on,

701
00:52:58.000 --> 00:53:01.280
but they are actually making the introduction. And so we've spent so much effort

702
00:53:01.400 --> 00:53:07.639
on mentors, but we don't necessarily
think about the sponsors and sponsors as an

703
00:53:07.719 --> 00:53:12.679
entrepreneur. There are people who I
worked for in the past who literally send

704
00:53:12.719 --> 00:53:15.360
business to my way. Still,
that is a sponsor, you know.

705
00:53:15.400 --> 00:53:20.320
That is a great thing to have
as an entrepreneur. So it's not even

706
00:53:20.519 --> 00:53:24.480
just in the workplace. It can
be when you work for yourself that you

707
00:53:24.519 --> 00:53:30.000
want those people who can give you
access to other resources. Absolutely, no

708
00:53:30.199 --> 00:53:35.760
question. Okay, all right,
anything else on that? Before I take

709
00:53:35.800 --> 00:53:37.360
you to the last question, I
want to make sure that you've got to

710
00:53:37.400 --> 00:53:39.199
say what you wanted to see on
that, because I knew you had an

711
00:53:39.239 --> 00:53:45.039
opinion about that. I think that's
it. But definitely do it people.

712
00:53:45.239 --> 00:53:47.639
Make sure that you say did you
hear that? Do it? People?

713
00:53:47.679 --> 00:53:52.880
I love that. Suzanne March all
right, Well, I like to be

714
00:53:52.920 --> 00:53:54.880
able to let my guests have the
last word, if you will. So

715
00:53:55.000 --> 00:53:59.199
keeping in mind that this is a
show that helps you more meaningful and productively

716
00:53:59.199 --> 00:54:02.199
connect with their work, and we
enjoy listeners across the globe, what would

717
00:54:02.239 --> 00:54:07.119
you like to leave our listeners with
today? So there are three things.

718
00:54:07.679 --> 00:54:13.960
One is that you need to own
your strengths, know what you do well,

719
00:54:14.239 --> 00:54:17.920
be able to talk about it and
don't feel like it's bragging. Own

720
00:54:17.960 --> 00:54:23.679
it. The second thing is being
able to work part time is doable.

721
00:54:24.079 --> 00:54:27.920
It is a doable thing. It's
not like this is a brand new concept,

722
00:54:28.480 --> 00:54:30.320
and I think that can take some
of the pressure off of can I

723
00:54:30.480 --> 00:54:36.320
maybe is it possible? It is
doable. And then the final one is

724
00:54:37.239 --> 00:54:42.400
I think that for all of the
women who are listening that it is important

725
00:54:42.679 --> 00:54:47.880
that we think about this as coming
together. So instead of thinking about I'm

726
00:54:47.880 --> 00:54:52.159
doing this right and you're doing this
wrong, if we all just supported each

727
00:54:52.159 --> 00:54:57.880
other, we would get to our
end goals quicker, because chances are the

728
00:54:58.000 --> 00:55:01.480
end goal is the same, are
half looks a little bit different, And

729
00:55:01.559 --> 00:55:07.719
so let's come together and think about
the power that we would have as a

730
00:55:07.800 --> 00:55:12.280
group instead of all of the one
off conversations that we end up having to

731
00:55:12.320 --> 00:55:15.880
do oh my gosh, here here. And I am a big fan by

732
00:55:15.880 --> 00:55:20.559
the way, Susanne of helping women
connect with each other and empowering them to

733
00:55:20.559 --> 00:55:23.800
do so, so I really appreciate
that last point. Wonderful and I want

734
00:55:23.800 --> 00:55:27.239
to thank you for being a guest
on the show. I want to also

735
00:55:27.280 --> 00:55:30.639
thank Kimberly Davis, our joint friend
who brought us together. She is a

736
00:55:30.639 --> 00:55:34.760
wonderful supporter and she knows talent.
So thank you Kimberly and Suzanne. Thank

737
00:55:34.760 --> 00:55:37.119
you for joining me on the show
today. Thank you so much for having

738
00:55:37.119 --> 00:55:42.039
me. I love chatting with you. Yes, I really I wish that

739
00:55:42.079 --> 00:55:45.760
I would have gotten this about I
don't even know fifteen years ago when I

740
00:55:45.800 --> 00:55:47.320
was in this place, Susanne,
I did it all the hard way,

741
00:55:47.360 --> 00:55:51.639
So thank you for sharing your wisdom
for those who are out there about to

742
00:55:51.679 --> 00:55:54.199
embark on this. If you want
to learn more about Suzanne Brown or her

743
00:55:54.199 --> 00:55:59.840
book or the work that she does, go to mompowerment dot com. Pretty

744
00:55:59.840 --> 00:56:04.719
easymompowerment dot com. You can also
find her on Twitter with that same handle.

745
00:56:05.639 --> 00:56:08.079
Next week we will be on the
year with a special session giving thanks

746
00:56:08.119 --> 00:56:13.239
and blessings for our lives. Around
the American holiday of Thanksgiving, we'll be

747
00:56:13.280 --> 00:56:17.679
talking about how can we inculcate gratitude
and thanks into not just our personal lives,

748
00:56:17.840 --> 00:56:22.400
but also the work that we do
in how we connect with our clients

749
00:56:22.440 --> 00:56:24.800
and our colleagues. See you then, remember that work is at least one

750
00:56:24.840 --> 00:56:35.119
third of our lives. So let's
work on purpose. We hope you've enjoyed

751
00:56:35.199 --> 00:56:38.320
this week's program. Be sure to
tune into Working on Purpose featuring your host

752
00:56:38.440 --> 00:56:44.360
Alice Cortez, every Wednesday at six
pm Eastern Time, free pm Pacific Time

753
00:56:44.400 --> 00:56:49.280
on the Voice America Empowerment Channel.
This week, find your life's purpose at work