[00:00:00] Well, hello there. My name is Dr. Christiane Schröter and I am the podcast host of the Happy Healthy Hustle. Moreover, I'm a mom and that's why I'm here. So I, a mom, work full time as a professor, have my own podcast and my side hustle, my business is Hello Happy Nest. And now you're wondering after this introduction, how does she manage this all?

[00:00:26] ~Well, that's actually the talk of my presentation. My presentation is called nurturing success, cultivating side hustles for moms. ~So let's maybe briefly talk about this. Sometimes you think when you have children, how in the world can I even start a side hustle? Because I'm already feeling so overwhelmed with everything.

[00:00:38] But I can actually tell you out of my experience, what happened was that I felt that the side hustles were in fact making me a better mom. And in this presentation, I'm going to lay out exactly how and why that happened. So why are side hustles beneficial for moms? When I had my children and my two girls are now [00:01:00] teenagers, they're about two years apart, so now they're 14 and 16 years old.

[00:01:04] I can tell you at the beginning it was actually quite overwhelming, especially given that my husband went and worked full time. And you can hear from my accent, I am born in Germany but I live in California and I had just started a new job. I actually started this job when I was pregnant with my daughter.

[00:01:24] So I showed up in the classroom as a professor, about five months pregnant, and I was on the tenure track. So there was a lot of pressure to teach well, to write those journal publications, to go to different conferences, and of course, to be an amazing faculty member all around, not being tired, just being the best you could be.

[00:01:45] I didn't want to stop the tenure track clock, which means I wanted to go on in my career and get promoted from assistant to associate and then full professor with tenure. So what really helped me here? Well, I would say from early on, [00:02:00] I was very clear with regard to boundaries. At the beginning, in fact, as a mom, I was really focused on keeping things very simple with regard to my children.

[00:02:10] So I did not enroll them in a lot of after school care programs. I basically really focused on spending as much time with them as I could after work. And I didn't want to shuttle them around to any activities or programs. That meant that I was very deliberate with regard to seeking out mom groups myself.

[00:02:30] Because I am German, I really wanted to pass on the language to them. And so I made sure that I connected with a group of moms in this area that speak German, so that my children, even though when they were born, they're still very young. Always heard the German language. There was something so important to me that I also carried it on in ordering books from Amazon DE.

[00:02:54] I had CDs that played German songs. We watched German movies and you [00:03:00] can tell that. As a professor, and of course, also as an expat living in California now from Germany, that was one of the most important things all around for me. So while you might've thought, well, I could have enrolled them for music classes or gymnastics and who knows what.

[00:03:18] I basically knew that as a full time working mom, I couldn't do it at all. And I just had to focus very wisely. What was important to me. And so I focused on the language piece, I focused on spending time with them, and I also focused on just building connection with them. To me, it really didn't matter whether that was in a gymnastics class or in a music class, I kept things very, very simple.

[00:03:41] I went for walks with them in the neighborhood, I met with the German moms group. And they just went into your backyard. So I would say until they were about two, life was pretty simple. I also want to admit to you that I actually made most of the food at home for them. And that was [00:04:00] partially because I did study ~health and~ food and nutrition.

[00:04:03] ~So~ I'm very passionate about health. And now I work as a food and wellness coach, as a fitness instructor, and I have my own business coaching. So I never really wanted to fully give up on this food and nutrition piece. So for me, a side hustle was also something that nurtured my own leisure and passion while still letting my family thrive.

[00:04:29] ~So ~I created the food from scratch. I basically bought a blender, made the baby food from scratch and really experimented with different recipes, had a lot of fun in having friends over and cooking with them, or even having other families over for potlucks. So you can kind of like see from early on. I was very deliberate with regard to how I wanted to build my passion.

[00:04:55] I didn't choose like 15 different things. I basically thought, all right, it's going to be health and [00:05:00] nutrition for me. And eventually my hustles are kind of going to focus on these areas. So then I would say the big turning point for me really happened when I enrolled my children in swim class. So that was probably one of the first activities that we really ended up doing.

[00:05:18] And that one is important because we do live in California. So I got to get those children ocean ready. And of course, many people have pools and it is very common in this area to visit ~different parks that also have water in them, ~water parks. So I wanted that they were safe. So one day I was sitting at the pool and I watched my children in the swim class.

[00:05:36] And I looked around and I saw these other parents also watching their children at the swim class. And all of a sudden I thought, why am I sitting here? I'm sitting next to one of the most gorgeous recreation centers in the whole country. And yet I am stationary. ~And so I checked in with the lifeguard. I checked in with the teachers.~

[00:05:53] ~And, um, they had everything under control. They said, yeah, um, basically you pick them up here after class. So~ I went ahead and went into the recreation center and started working out. So whenever they had their swim class, I [00:06:00] started working out and they became my little routine that I really looked forward to.

[00:06:05] I looked forward to this swim class because it allowed me to take care of my own health, ~my passion, which with regard to fitness. And because before I had children, I would continuously work out, regularly go to the recreation center. ~In fact, when I was a student, earned my PhD, actually lived quite close to the recreation center and would go there every single day.

[00:06:17] So I felt it was missing from my life and now I felt I was gaining it back. That became such a passion that eventually the fitness instructor started noticing it at the recreation center and asked me whether I want to also complete a certification as a fitness instructor myself. And that's what I ended up doing.

[00:06:37] ~So ~my first side hustle was born out of the fact that I always, I was always passionate about health and fitness. And it was something that I needed and wanted to work out to take care of myself. As a stress relief, but also taking care of my body while I was taking care of the children and I was working full time.[00:07:00] 

[00:07:00] So being a fitness instructor allowed me to work out, to be on a schedule, to be accountable and not paying for a gym membership. And of course, building the community, making these fantastic connections with other people, my workout classes. So I would say that was kind of the avenue into sharing a lot of health and wellness knowledge.

[00:07:23] Because after my fitness classes, then participants would come up and ask me questions, whether that was stretching, about muscle groups they wanted to work, what about recipes? And so out came my Social media~ outlet,~ where I basically then started sharing various recipes and various tips and tricks on social media.

[00:07:45] And I really became so passionate about it that then I started my coaching business, Hello Happy Nest. And Hello Happy Nest is really born in the idea that we want to feel comfortable in our own body without feeling we are [00:08:00] limiting or restricting ourselves. The comfort in our body is so important because it builds that confidence but at the same time it also means that each of us has a different journey where we are arriving and each of us has a different workout or sets of food that make us happy.

[00:08:18] ~So~ saying hello to that happy nest and the nest that is your body, your vessel, is so important because we kind of have to step in our own comfort zone. ~So~ that was my own personal journey. So let me help you identify the right side hustle for you. What I would encourage you to do is look a little bit at a time in your life when you felt you were truly happy.

[00:08:40] What were you doing at that time? What were some of the hobbies or the passions that you pursued? And why did you give up on it? And it could be a financial reason. It could be time, of course, but it could also be a reason such as, you know, as I did, [00:09:00] I didn't know how to work out with children. And I can honestly tell you there are more recreation centers than you know, that actually do offer childcare.

[00:09:10] So if you want to work out while your children are still taken care of and in good hands, because my children actually always had a blast at the Children's Center,~ uh,~ in the Recreation Center, look into that. At the same time, it could also be something such as cooking or painting, a creative hobby that maybe you just don't feel you have the time for anymore.

[00:09:33] So sometimes a side hustle might even start as something that you can pick up with your children. Both of my children now actually love cooking. They love making cakes and preparing various dishes in the evening. But they also have that creative side where sometimes they just try out new recipes and just go for it.

[00:09:54] Pick up ingredients from our garden or read something and then they try it [00:10:00] out and they have no fear of failure because not always things turn out. So, your side hustle, while it might seem, needs to be necessarily something that could be picked up as you did this before children, could be a variation.

[00:10:15] It could be that maybe it's modified and at the beginning it includes your children to some extent, but it could also be that maybe at the beginning you're just doing little spurts of a side hustle. And so to speak, like a mini side hustle. And that is already better than not doing anything at all. So while it might seem really hard at the beginning to prepare these super simple recipes in your kitchen when you were always really passionate about food, don't worry about it at all because it is still going after your hobby and it's still creating something.

[00:10:49] ~So~ how did that Coaching and the wellness and the health then for me really lead into a lucrative side hustle. I would say that really [00:11:00] happens from what I'm doing right now, from the point of sharing. ~So~ people started coming over, they enjoyed the recipes that I created. In fact, I created a cookbook that I'm going to share here with you as well.

[00:11:11] Family Favorites Cook Book. And the amazing thing about the cookbook, of course, is that it puts together things that. We really enjoy it and we love, and so it comes more from a place of authenticity than just a Googling random recipes. And I think that's really the key element in a side hustle. You, as, as long as you feel authentic, and as long as you feel that the side hustle lines up with who you are and what your passions are, you are going to find time for it.

[00:11:45] ~Because, There,~ there always is like a little moment somewhere that you can maybe use to pursue your site hustle. And as I said at the beginning, you could include your children. Then you can maybe ask your partner or your friends or family to help you out [00:12:00] with it. And the more you share what your site hustle is, the more you're actually going to find out about different resources that might support the growth of your site hustle.

[00:12:11] So I started sharing recipes. I started talking about wellness coaching, people encouraged me to start with social media, and eventually then they encouraged me to start my own podcast, Happy Healthy Hustle. And on Happy Healthy Hustle, I always encourage people to talk about their challenges, but also of course their superpowers that they tapped into when they overcame these challenges, and where they are today.

[00:12:38] So I know deep down we all have these superpowers, we all have these passions. I want to really encourage you, if you think of yourself as standing at this road. And looking at one side of the road, seems like this super safe path that you have been doing all along. Other side of the road is the [00:13:00] road to your side hustle.

[00:13:01] And you can't really see very well down that road. It's maybe fog. And it seems like it's a little bit bumpy. It even looks a little bit risky and unsafe and uncomfortable at times. I would encourage you, get comfortable with being uncomfortable. The more you get comfortable with being uncomfortable and you actually start going down that road, the closer you're going to get to fulfilling your dream, because think about that.

[00:13:34] The fear of failure of taking that road. will crush more of your dream than not ever going for it. So if you always go down the safe path, you never turn down to the dream path, to the risky one, you will never get there. So you'll have to start slowly taking steps. and getting closer to your dream. And it's not going to be easy for me.

[00:13:59] There were many [00:14:00] moments when in my workout programs where I thought, what am I doing? Mom of two teaching these workout classes. ~Um, ~and I can honestly tell you there are so many moments of self doubt. However, I think that the more you put yourself out there and you share exactly that, The more you're going to see, people will resonate with it because in my workout classes, there are so many participants that show up because of these stories that I share that they feel they can relate to it, that they feel they had~ these self moments,~ these moments of self doubt as well.

[00:14:42] And they also feel that I see them because I was at this spot myself. And I had these challenges and these failures myself. So think of these failures, these moments of struggle, a little [00:15:00] bit more as your first attempt in learning. Your first attempt in learning, F A I L, really in figuring out what do I really want to go for?

[00:15:11] What is it really that my passion is? Because we are also changing and especially after having children our side hustles might even be different from the ones you might have pursued before. So I can also tell you that there are many moments when you get very much scared about starting a side hustle.

[00:15:33] And there are many moments when some side hustles might appear like super interesting because they're promised like, Oh, a quick return on your money. And you just need to invest for this initial starter kit. And then you can maybe make a lot of money within three to six months. And it promised you thousands of dollars per month.

[00:15:54] My philosophy is, and I always tell my children, if it seems to be good to be true, it's probably not [00:16:00] true. It's maybe the German in me as well. So think about side hustles do take time to grow. The more control you have about When you work, how you work, what your messaging is, what your products are, the more this is going to be your baby, so to speak.

[00:16:22] So if you work in a side hustle together with somebody else, or maybe for a large company selling their products, you're always going to be a little bit at the mercy, of course, of what these products stand for, what they represent and who you are. And I pursued this as well. And at the end of the day, decided that I rather want to sell myself as a coach and my business, so to speak, as my podcast and the products that are underneath,~ um,~ the trackers, the planners that I have all created by myself.

[00:16:59] And I felt [00:17:00] more comfortable with that for a couple of reasons. First, I put my own creative spin on it. And secondly, I also have more flexibility with how I want to put the emphasis of my business. So for instance, because I am from Germany, I use a lot of European flair in my products. My planner, for instance, is called Petite Practice Planner.

[00:17:24] As in tiny habits planner, petite practices standing for the European flair, the small steps that we take. And of course, the goal that we reach by practicing because practice leads to progress and never going for perfection. I also have my cookbook that I talked about earlier that has some European flair with it.

[00:17:49] Some of the recipes have a little bit of a European crossover. And I use trackers. The German mind in me really likes to measure things and to keep yourself [00:18:00] accountable by checking things off electronically. So all these products I created myself. And of course I feel that I have the ability to modify them, to update them, to check in with my clients, how they work.

[00:18:13] And that's something that I didn't quite feel I would get if I were to sell another company's products. What I also started then doing is, of course, you can look a little bit in how do you want to grow online? Do you want to be on social media? Do you want to have your website? Do you want to have your podcast?

[00:18:31] And for me, it was a true petite practice. One thing led to the next. So I started with social media, then I added my own website with my blog, with my recipes, and I, in 2023, started my podcast. ~So~ I didn't go for it all out immediately. I basically became comfortable with one element and kept on adding the other ones.

[00:18:56] ~What was important for me was that at the end of the day,~ I still wanted to be a role model for my children and I wanted to [00:19:00] make myself available to them. Now, my children. I'm very much inspired because when I see what they currently do is that they actually kind of look at me and they find their own little niche.

[00:19:15] They find their own little nurturing of their passions, but they also have that passion for entrepreneurship and innovation, which is what I teach at the university, but which is also something that as female entrepreneur, of course, I'm going after myself. So my children last year participated in a children's entrepreneurship fair where they sold their homemade candles, their cards and their ceramics.

[00:19:42] And they really appreciate it about the fact from creating the products. Promoting the products and then selling the product that really goes into it. And they had seen me do this at some level at home, but that was really their own experience of doing it themselves. So I [00:20:00] would encourage you one overarching, most important thing is you have to think about you not giving up on your passion, but then you also have to think about by going for your passion.

[00:20:12] You're actually instilling that same thought process in your family and in your, in your children, because going for your passion really means that yes, you are taking that route. You are going for your dreams, overcoming the challenges, the fears, the fact that you might fail every so often, but you're going to have the resilience in getting up and you keep on going.

[00:20:35] And if your children are going to look at you and they think that, Yeah, you know what, my mom, she's doing this and I really applaud her for going for it. So how do I really keep this all in line? ~Because at the beginning I introduced myself and I said, I'm a professor, I have my podcast, I have my wellness coaching.~

[00:20:49] ~I also have most importantly, my mastermind of my Hello Happy Nest business. So~ I would say that it really keeps on giving. In my podcast, I meet amazing community. ~Many~ members of this community join my [00:21:00] mastermind collective. In my mastermind collective, we are essentially holding each other accountable for reaching our own business goals, for making our businesses grow.

[00:21:10] In a way that doesn't add it to our to do list, but rather actually we celebrate every single win, every single petite practice, and we really empower ourselves in going for our dreams. All of that infused with my European flair. So when I'm really talking about my nurturing of the side hustle business, you can kind of see that it made me, as a person, actually A little bit more relatable, a little bit more authentic.

[00:21:43] And it also allowed me to connect more with my roots. So the key point really is by going for your side hustle, your side hustle might actually become the driving force in identifying who you are and putting yourself out there and [00:22:00] making yourself more visible as to what you stand for, where you came from, and where you're going to go.

[00:22:07] So it's a little bit of a compass. Your side hustle really identifies you as the person that really went for their dreams, didn't just sit on the sidelines, didn't think I'm going to wait, I'm going to wait, I'm going to wait. Because I can tell you one thing that someday may never come. So I would encourage you reach out to me.

[00:22:27] My name is Dr. Christiane Schröter. Let me know if you have any questions about going for your dreams. I would love to welcome you in my mastermind collective, the number one community for female entrepreneurs to nurture your business, make it grow.~ And of course, check out those things for your to do list without adding any more time constraints.~

[00:22:43] I also of course encourage you to grab my freebie. I'm sharing some recipes here with you today and I'm so glad that you were here! [00:23:00]