It's not just money that women don't talk about
openly. It's what we were talking about right
now, that we need space that is our own and it's
away from our kids. Like we feel a lot of shame
just saying that as well. What you don't want
to be. You just said it and it made me nervous.
I was like, oh, what if someone thinks we don't
love our kids? Yeah, we do, we love you. It's
like what you're saying, you don't want to be
with your kids all the time. Yes, I don't want
to be with them all the time. Did I stutter?
and welcome to The 40s Formula, your go -to place
for insightful discussions on navigating your
40s and thriving in this transformative decade.
We're your hosts, Amanda and Jasmine, two women
that are passionate about exploring the challenges
and adventures that come with turning 40 and
what lies ahead. independent board director,
and professional speaker. She is also the owner
and CEO of Launchpad, the kindest community of
entrepreneurs on the internet. With over 18 years
of work experience across startups, SMEs, and
MNCs like Shell, Sephora, and Meta, Megha has
worked in a variety of roles and built vibrant
communities across multiple industries. She has
a master's degree in mass communication and loves
the arts, word, visual, and motion. A mother
to two boys, she is currently working on her
first book and serves as a trustee on the board
of the Swayam Foundation, an NGO that is creating
learning and work opportunities for people in
India. Well, y 'all are in for a serious treat
just getting to listen to our guest's voice today.
I love it so much. The amazing Megha Singh is
here to enlighten us on everything from small
business growth to empowering women to forge
better relationships with money, like everything
entrepreneurial women need to know. in their
40s so thank you so much for being here mega
thank you for having me amanda and jasmine can
we talk about the fact that women are out here
starting businesses not having addressed their
fears and uncertainties about money and just
kind of sweeping that under the rug they don't
know how to ask for it how to make it how to
spend it where do you start With your female
entrepreneur clients, how do you start the conversation
about money? Honestly, it's a great thing that
they're starting without knowing about managing
money, because it's just one of the things that
you don't know when you start a business. And
it's good that if we are starting a business,
we don't let anything block us. So I am in favor
of like taking action. Just put it out there.
Let's see how it goes. I think how I begin the
conversations with money is rather than me. Me
starting the conversation, I have them speak
to me about different aspects, like how are they
thinking of pricing their products and services?
How do they check their monthly accounts? And
on the basis of their responses, I'm able to
gauge how comfortable they are with money or
not. Because that's where these are, especially
for founders. These are the two key areas where
I see the money blocks, which is like they will
undercut themselves. They will like, like, you
know, they are not confident about charging a
certain price. And they will feel like, I don't
know if that's where the imposter syndrome also
comes. Will people pay me for this? Right. So
that's the big area first. And then I have founders,
you know, it's so interesting. They make about
half a million dollars, but they're not able
to take a salary because their costs are so high.
It's only come about because they're not looking
at the accounts. They have like, OK, somebody
else is taking care of that. As long as it's
like a little bit profitable, I'm good. at that
level they should be able to pay themselves and
again then that gives me insight that there is
a block there which is making them not look at
their numbers on a regular basis yeah that makes
total sense and i love the term money block yeah
because i think you know obviously in the coaching
work that i do there's a lot of kind of blocks
around you know why can't you eat better you
know why what's stopping you from getting out
to exercise and i think that's very similar yeah
for women and money you know it's not dissimilar
you mentioned two things that you do help right
so women who are just starting out, see value
and be able to charge. Women who have already
made half a million dollars that need to kind
of reallocate their costs better. Do you help
women with other aspects of money, like navigating
salaries? So women who are not necessarily an
entrepreneur, but corporate, like how do you
work with women that are already? in a job? With
the founders, it's the business coaching. I also
work with corporate women around money. And I
think that the first step there is sometimes
actually telling them that, you know, you can
negotiate your salary. You don't have to accept
just the 5 % bump or 10 % bump. For many women,
that itself is the block that, okay, I got my
5 % and I'm happy with that, right? So the first
step is actually to get them to be comfortable
with the idea of negotiating. The second step
is really getting them comfortable with the number
that they want to ask for. So honestly, if someone
is, say, comfortable with $500, if you ask them
to suddenly be like, go and ask for $50 ,000,
that's a big jump. They'll be very uncomfortable.
So it's really like the work you do, it's always
step by step, right? So it's like, okay, what
is the number you feel comfortable asking? Then
the third stage is really preparing them for
it, right? Now, I feel that's the... difference
between like men and women and of course i'm
generalizing but it's like men would be like
hey i helped you achieve this this much this
year give me x amount or i'm going to quit and
join another company right and a woman would
like think multiple times and be like she'll
have like these are the 10 points that you know
how i have helped you can i get a 10 bump you
know and like i said i'm generalizing to make
a point but like you're generalizing the exact
story that my girlfriend just told me Made this
like 10 point case study to present to her boss
about why she deserved, you know, X, Y, Z. Like
that's exactly what she did. So not wrong. And
it's weird because I also feel like, you know,
women are always more self -conscious about everything.
So if you're like looking in a mirror, a guy
might look in the mirror and be like, oh, fuck,
I look so good. A girl will look in the mirror
and be like, oh, fuck, my bum is so big. Or my
belly is so big. I feel like, you know, for women,
you're always trying to justify, am I worth it?
And we're more critical of ourselves. Women say
things like, can I wear this dress? No man, honestly,
has put on a shirt and go, can I wear this? It's
just they're wearing it. I'm wearing it and I'm
living. Do you find there's a particular type
of woman or person that is not afraid, but intimidated
by this whole asking for, for paying for something
or, you know, putting a price on something? Is
there like a, is there? Is there a personality
type that feels uncomfortable when it comes to
money? Most of the personality. personality types
I've met of women feel uncomfortable around money
in some areas. I can think of only a couple of
women that I've met who are like really comfortable
with money conversations and money talk and openly
talking about their salaries or negotiating that.
Most women I have met have some blocks or the
other and they can have different personalities.
They can be extrovert. They can be introvert.
Really no personality type as such. But that's
the journey, right? That's the work. that we
need to do. And this is something I share often
that for women, owning money is so new. Like
my mother was. like amongst the few in her generation
who was actually working, others were homemakers.
And she started the journey by just earning.
She would pass the money to my father and he
would manage the money. So in a way, I am the
first person in my generation, in my family,
who's like earning the money, saving the money,
managing the money, investing the money. And
so if you just look back at the history, not
just in Asia, in America, you know, when did
women actually start getting bank accounts? When
could they buy property? property it's so new
to us so therefore I feel like we should be empathetic
to ourselves that you know there is a reason
why we have these blocks but you're absolutely
right it's like if you don't have centuries of
ownership you know, genetics behind you, you
know, should I say epigenetics really? Then it's
like, well, how likely would it be that you would
have this amazing relationship with money? So
first of all, tell us about money meetups, because
I think this is the coolest idea. Talk about
like having coffee on steroids, right? So tell
us first, what is money meetups? So, you know,
this really came from my own journey with money.
So I started as someone who was earning a lot
of money back in India, not saving a lot. So
there was two aspects to my money journey one
is around the money mindset and one is actually
practically managing money so you know i would
earn a lot but i would spend it so not really
save and invest it and the second thing was when
i came to singapore i came here and i had no
job no money um you know no networks and it really
affected my self -esteem to have to ask my husband
for money you know so when i finally like set
up my business that's why you know the other
thing i'm so passionate about is helping small
businesses grow is because my own small business
gave me financial independence and meaning and
purpose and doing projects that i love and creating
back. What I'm doing now with money meetups,
right, has really been influenced by this journey.
The third thing I noticed was that my husband,
my male colleagues, friends, they would go to
bars, you know, or over a game and they would
talk about money. Like, you know, I've invested
in this or there's this new opportunity here.
Or are you putting money in crypto? Yeah. And
I was like, my husband does this over surfing.
Yeah. Yeah. Out in the waves. Yeah. And then
I was like, where are the spaces where the women
are talking about money? Like when we meet up,
usually. it's not even work we talk about kids
in casual situations right so I was like I just
want to create a space where it's a safe space.
Women can come and talk openly about money. There
are no dumb questions, you know. So what I do,
two formats. So one is like a casual meetup.
So I've done like a lunch where it's like very
casual setting. And I do have conversation cards.
So it's like, don't talk about your kids. Don't
talk about your holidays. Talk about the prompt
that I've given you here. Yeah, I love that.
And then the second type I do is where I actually
bring in a guest expert to talk about something.
around money. So the last session I did, I had
an expert in fixed income investment to come
and talk about it. Because like for me, my, you
know, investing journey, I had knowledge about
like equities and you know, the typical, the
traditional gold and real estate. I didn't know
about debt investing or fixed income investing.
And now that's what I learned that how it's become
so easy for us as retail investors to be able
to put like small amounts of money and it's more
guaranteed income so like these are the things
that I didn't know about and so I brought this
expert to talk about it so I do both the formats
where it's more casual and sometimes it's more
like a workshop style as well I definitely feel
like I need to brush up on my money game. No,
it's incredible. And I think, you know, when
you are in these situations, you probably realize
that there are a lot more women in your situation,
whatever your situation is, right? Whatever your
situation is, then you realize. What are some
of the common themes, like, you know, on your
conversation cards? Like, what are you asking
women to ask? I talk about limiting money beliefs
and stories. So, you know, I don't know about
you guys, but, you know, Like when I grew up,
the common things I heard was money doesn't grow
on trees. You have to work very hard to make
money. If you have money, you're evil because
no good person would make money. So that means
if you've made money, you're not ethical. So
I had to rewrite a lot of those stories that
were there in my head, the narratives to be able
to make money for myself. So the conversations
are either around like, what are the money beliefs,
the money stories that you have been hearing?
then some of the questions on the cards are like
what's your money goal for the year and that's
a very triggering question for many women because
they're like oh i don't have a money goal like
i didn't set any targets for this year again
the two prongs that i was saying one is the money
mindset piece and one is like very strategically
building your money pool and then saving and
growing it through investments yeah so the questions
are around those two yeah i love that do you
find that it's almost like imposter syndrome
so when someone set up their own business and
they they're thinking about how much to charge
it's like can i really charge this much am i
worth this much do you feel like the imposter
syndrome comes into it Or is it just because
you're thinking your belief system is money doesn't
grow on trees. Are people going to pay this much
for it? It's both. The imposter syndrome definitely
comes up because most of the founders I work
with are first time founders. Like they don't
have a history of setting up businesses. So they've
either come from the corporate world or there
are women who, exceptional women who had great
careers in other places and now are not finding
those opportunities here. So looking to start
a business. So there is a lot of imposter syndrome
around like, am I a founder? Because the moment
people think of like entrepreneurs, they think
of like the Zuckerbergs of the world and the
masks and all of that. And then they're like,
I'm not them, you know? So there is a lot of
imposter syndrome for sure. But that was the
interesting realization for me when I started
doing my business coaching, because I thought
I'll be just talking around like business strategy
and how do you create your product and service
marketing and sales. But the biggest piece I
work with founders on is the mindset. So we cover
things like imposter syndrome for sure, but even
things like perfectionism, which means that they
are just waiting for everything to be right before
putting it out there. Or procrastination, which
is kind of linked to this. So they're all kind
of limiting beliefs that we need to work on.
And I think you guys would know like being founders
is like the biggest personal growth journey you
can go on. Oh, yeah. No question. And when you
were talking, I think there's so many parallels
in any sort of coaching, right? And, you know,
it's like, so you're a coach, I'm a coach, right?
Very different worlds. But we're both sharing
an experience right now of writing a book. Yes.
Are you being coached? I'm not being coached.
So I am. I started a coaching journey for that.
And it's so interesting what you're saying. That's
my version of imposter syndrome, where I was
like, no coach is going to take me. I'm too new.
I don't know anything about the publishing industry.
I'm going to be an embarrassment to this lady.
And now at this stage in my writing journey,
a lot of the feedback I get, she's like, you've
really thought this out. You have a ton of experience
in this area. You've worked with hundreds of
women. And I was like. You're damn right. You're
absolutely right. So I think part of what's important
and what you do is making women, they're not
illiterate about money. They operate in the money
world like we all do. And just getting over some
of their own blocks. And there are stats to prove
that women are much smarter at managing money
once they actually do it. Like they're savvier
at it. It's just that we don't hear about those
stories. So these narratives need to be out.
And again, you just mentioned. you know, like
all the Zuckerbergs and the Musks. Male, male,
male. Right. Like, you know, like I want to hear
about the female or should I say I want to have
a touch point for that female. And again, it
doesn't have to be. And that's the other thing,
too, is like only looking at those super, super,
super, super, super high achievers then kind
of negates the experience of anything below it.
Absolutely. And I think that actually leads to
my next question, which is right. So women obviously
in their 40s can't help but measure their careers
by their financial worth. Right. What they have
earned, what they have. the revenue that they've
earned as well as their earning potential, right?
But I love that you use the term impact, right?
So, okay, here's the money you've earned, but
here's the impact that you've made. Can you tell
us a little bit about how you help women leave
legacies of impact? Everything that I do is so
built on what I have experienced and I went through.
So at the age of 40, so I'm going to turn 43
next month, I went through a bit of a dark night
of the soul where I was like, I'm really not
sure what I want the next 40 years of my life
to look like. And so I kind of took a backseat
from my projects. I also... went down like i've
started on a deep spiritual journey that i'm
still continuing on but i have come out of that
dark night with very clear understanding of my
mission and that mission like for me you know
sometimes there's a lot of noise so i just keep
it very simple it's two letters ai but not artificial
intelligence yeah it's ai as an abundance and
impact so for me i want to create abundance for
myself but also help others create abundance
and then i want to be able to impact other people
and help other people create impact so that that
was like how i narrowed down as what i see my
mission for the next 40 years and then everything
else whether it's the work i do at launchpad
the work i do at Coaching work, the money meetups
and all kinds of leads to this AI mission that
I have. Right. When I work with women at this
stage, as you were saying, right, it's the conversation
is often about it's just by getting them to think
about what is the legacy you want to leave behind.
You know, forget the numbers, get out of the
operations. Let's just take a quiet moment. And
that's where journaling really helps, you know.
Let's just be self -aware on, you know, 40 years
down the line. Once we pass away, what do you
want to have left behind in the world? Right.
And just that question sets people thinking.
And, you know, they're like, oh, I want to like,
you know, leave a company or leave a book or
I want to like actually work in like, you know.
poverty alleviation I want to like help the environment
like and then it's like okay we've come up with
these things that you want to do now but right
now you're at this stage now how do we go from
here to where you want to be Amanda, you know
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cannot wait to see what you make. That sounds
like a very intense and kind of intimidating
journey, but I assume that's exactly what you
help with. Yes, exactly. It's getting ready to
be. And I guess that then provides clarity as
well, plodding along in the world, doing your
shit. And then it's like, what is it that you
want? And I think if you really sort of think
back to it, it will give you the route and the
path. how you're going to get there because like
we do as coaches as well you know if you don't
know where you're going how do you know what
you need to do in order to get there yeah and
i'm probably way oversimplifying this but i'm
sure you've seen each of these women i'm about
to describe so we have i'm going to paint for
you three women in midlife okay so we've got
woman one Let's call her Jasmine. Do I want to
be a woman? Let's call her Jasmine. But we got,
yeah, we got woman number one who's been working
in corporate careers since her 20s, right? And
has recently started a family and is out, wants
to be out of the game, wants to be out of the
game, wants a different pace of life, doesn't
want to travel so much, needs to be out of the
rat race, but literally doesn't know a different
life. She doesn't know a different way. That's
been her identity, you know, since she was working
in New York City in, you know, 2014. So she doesn't
have, a map for what's next so there's there's
one midlife yeah second midlife woman took off
time to have kids so she has not been in the
corporate world in fact she's been out of the
working world entirely let's say in her 30s right
so maybe she started work in her 20s took off
her 30s to start a family wants to get back at
it in her 40s has no idea what that looks like
and then woman number three who's basically a
hybrid of the two right so it's like she family
irrelevant here or there, but wants to achieve
a work -life balance. So whether it's corporate,
whether it's entrepreneurship, she wants a life
that is her own design. How do you help each
of these women? So for each of them, right, what
I would have them do is an audit exercise to
begin with, right? So what that audit exercise
looks like is for a week, just write down the
activities that you're doing every day. Like
I actually have a template for this. So it's
like, okay, 7 .30am, 8 .30am. 9 .30 a .m. Write
down everything that you're doing. That you're
currently doing. You're currently doing. Yeah,
it's an audit. Currently doing for a week. But
next to it, have indicators of whether is this
giving me money? Is this giving me energy? Anything
else I'm getting from it, like maybe I'm just
helping out in the school and it gives me a lot
of joy or I'm just doing this for impact. I'm
hugging my child from 9 .30, 9 .31. It's like
it's giving me joy. So what I have them do is
kind of, I call it like an energy audit, but
it's really like measuring, you know, your day
to day in terms of like money is so important,
right? So money for sure, but also like energy
that you're getting, anything else you're receiving
from it or you're giving. So that's one exercise.
And then the second exercise I have them do is
what does my perfect day look like? Right. So
again, it's once they do these two exercises,
right, it's like I have the current life audit.
I have my perfect day. Now, how do I reach that?
And for each of these three women, right, the
journeys will look very different. But it's like.
The first step is really knowing where I am and
where I want to be. And that clarity is so important
for both the things. And I think one thing I
wanted to highlight here, because this is something
that comes up a lot, is that when women start
thinking of impact, right? I think we're all
in our 40s, right? You're very sweet to say I
think. Yeah, we all are. So we all have this
idea. We grew up with like that one job has to
give us everything. Like that one job has to
make us money. It has to give us like we should
be able to create impact. We should feel fulfilled
by it. And that's the notion that I help women
break, that it's totally fine to do one job that
gives you money and then something else you're
doing, which is just for impact. And a third
thing that you're doing, which is like, you know,
giving you joy. It doesn't have to be like. it's
like putting you know pressure on like one relationship
to fulfill you right like my husband or my partner
has to be everything for me yeah so that's the
kind of pressure we need to take away from the
work that we're doing as well because you know
the woman that you were talking about in the
first case right like she could have a corporate
job and a little bit of a side hustle in fact
i know so many women in singapore who make these
cute like woolen things i've forgotten the name
of it i know what you mean it's a little it's
not the potato thing is it it's it's not the
potato i've forgotten what it's called it's not
it's not knitting it's yeah it's a new thing
crochet yes exactly yeah so they have a side
hustle of like these little crochet toys there's
no pressure on making money i have a little broccoli
yeah like there's no pressure of making money
from it like you know of course they may sell
it they may gift it they may take part in pop
-ups but money is coming from the corporate job
this they're doing for fun yeah so that's what
i mean and then they'll also do some form of
social service you know they'll go and like prepare
like boxes of lunch boxes for migrant workers
or something like that so it's like you can create
a life in which you can You know, hit all the
targets and goals that you want, but not expect
it to come from one role, which is where I feel
like that's where we get like that's the mistake
we make. Yeah. Well, and when you said like you
can have fulfillment and don't expect it to come
from one role, I think that that really speaks
to motherhood. Yeah. Where it's like you. It's
okay to say that, like, my sun, moon, stars,
reason for breathing, reason I wake up, go to
bed, do anything is my kids. Yeah, yeah. And
while I will say that, actually, and it's literally
tattooed on my body, but, like, my point is,
like, it's okay to be a mother and also have
an actual real life with real interests. Yeah,
absolutely. You know, so this woman number two
in this case, right? It's okay to say, I'm ready.
to do something else in addition to being a mom
if that's what you want i love my boys i have
two boys they're 11 and 7 but Like after my first
son, I wasn't working. I had such a hard time
just taking care of him, not physically, but
mentally, because I felt like all I'm doing with
my life is feeding him, changing him, putting
him to sleep. And that's all my life is. Once
I had my second one, that time I was working.
I was like, this time I'll take a four month
maternity break. I'll really enjoy the time with
my son. I was back to my projects in two months
because again, I felt like. What am I doing with
my day? What am I doing with my life? Like I
love him, but I need something else, you know?
That comes back to your identity, you know? And
again, what brings you joy? So I was having a
conversation with a client yesterday and for
her, she said to me that during COVID, it was
bliss because it meant she got to come home from
the office, relax, you know, take it easy from
work and it wasn't so stressful. And then I was
like, that's great. And my husband felt exactly
the same way. I said, for me, my COVID journey
was completely different because I was at home
with the three kids. And it was intense and,
you know, it was not relaxing. And, you know,
just you kind of feel like, I guess if you were
to flip it, it's like having your lockdown in
the office. That's what it feels like, doesn't
it? No, you're so right. You're so right. You
know, women, I think at a certain point, need
to be told, like, it's okay to have multiple
identities. Oh, yeah. You don't have to stick
to one. One of the things that really helps me
as like a multi -hyphenate, right? You know,
someone who's writing and doing whatever. It's
like, be where your feet are. Yes. Be present.
Yeah. So it's like, you know, we're in the podcast
studio. We are all here. You know, it's it's
Galentine's Day for those, you know, later, but
it's Valentine's Day. And it's like, yeah, so
we're all here doing this with each other. And
then when we step out of here, we might be on
dates with our husbands or we might be in our
kids school and we might be. And then that we
can be that. Yeah. You can be all that. Yeah.
You know, you don't have to pay. And, you know,
I just want to highlight this, that, you know,
it's not just money that women don't talk about
openly. It's what we were talking about now.
right now that we need space that is our own
and it's away from our kids. Like we feel a lot
of shame just saying that as well. What you don't
want to be. You just said it and it made me nervous.
I was like, oh, what if someone thinks we don't
love our kids? Yeah, we do. We love you. It's
like what you're saying, you don't want to be
with your kids all the time. Yes, I don't want
to be with them all the time. Did I stutter?
That's what I said. No, you're absolutely right
though. Okay, so we've hit on some of the kind
of like really buzzwordy things. in business
right imposter syndrome yeah burnout right limiting
beliefs fear of failure if you could only pick
one of those okay what is the biggest one that
you think affects the greatest number of women
and how do you how do you help them get past
it So I'm going to cheat here a bit and call
it limiting beliefs because I feel like all the
others kind of come into this bucket. But you
know this, Amanda, like you will tell people
that you need to train every day, even if it's
like seven minutes. Like even if it's like seven
minutes, put in something every day for your
body. And the same applies for nutrition as well,
right? Like it has to be a daily thing. What
I have realized that I never did. and now I've
started doing it and I encourage founders to
do, is that we need to do daily mind training.
Like we are not setting aside time to like empower
our minds to be the best selves. And it can be
affirmations. It can be visualization. It can
be listening to like positive hypnosis videos
and audios, which are like, you know, like what
I've started doing now is I sleep with a self
-hypnosis video. I've heard about this. I used
to do that. You did it too. I used to do it.
So I started doing that during pregnancy and
it was hypnobirthing at the time. But the problem
was every time I turned on, I fell asleep. And
I was like, wow, this is amazing. Then my husband
started joining in and he was like, my God, why
did we never do this before? Was he listening
to the hypnobirthing? Hypnobirthing. But again,
we'd get 10 minutes into it and we'd both be
conked out. And it is incredible. Like, it's
so relaxing. I started doing it with the kids.
So I'll say, okay, we're going to do some, what
do we call it? I call it, I say meditation or
something. And I mean. It doesn't help them fall
asleep, but what it does is it calms them a little
bit. They feel better. They're not so excited.
Is that why you do it? For calming? No, I do
it because what I read the science around it
is that your subconscious is always awake. So
these words, even though, so I put it at very
low volume near me. And these words, even while
you're sleeping, it's actually kind of. imprinting
on your brain and rewriting the thoughts and
the beliefs you have. And I'm also a light sleeper.
So what happens is when I say wake up two, three
times, I wake up with someone saying, oh, you
have an abundant mindset. You're drawing abundance
into your life. Like, it's like, you know, waking
up and hearing that, it is like, it's hard to
kind of, you know, say it in words, the impact,
but I can feel it. in terms of like how I'm behaving
once I wake up, you know? And how, like I wake
up feeling so positive and empowered and like
I have agency, I can create my day. And that's
the one thing that I changed. Get out. How long
have you been doing it, if you don't mind me
asking? Four or five months now. And nightly?
Nightly. So literally head hits pillow. yes thing
goes on yeah yeah so what i do is i i like reduce
the light to the minimum so the light doesn't
disturb me i have it played and playing on my
ipad yeah and it's like a you can find these
are free videos on youtube of course you have
to search to find what resonates the best with
you but marissa pierre is a great one you have
you do you know marissa i don't actually She's
an RTT specialist, rapid transformational therapy.
And so she's someone who does these, shares these
free self -hypnosis videos, audios on her YouTube
channel. I'll just put that on like very low
volume and no light. And it keeps playing in
the background. Megha bought us some gifts today,
which were some journals, which I am very excited
about. Thank you. And surprisingly, I had actually
asked. about journals and the reason i had done
that was because i wanted to just do a brain
dump before i went to bed i didn't want to be
on my phone i wanted to write down what I needed
to do and what I had already achieved that day
so that I'm not thinking about it at night time,
just to kind of, you know, just get it out of
my head. And I feel like when you are struggling
with so many thoughts, you know, as a mum, as
an entrepreneur, you know, as a wife, whatever
it is, just getting that stuff out will kind
of help you get into this. Deep rest. I do feel
like I brain dump on my husband. Like, I like,
I have, I'm that person who has to like talk
for 10 straight minutes and then we can pass
out. I wanted to do that, but Amin basically
said, can you stop projecting your stress on
me? Okay, fine. I need to just write it down.
I'll put it in my journal. That's a great point
because I found it so much easier to like. compartmentalize
after doing these self -hypnosis videos because
now I can be like I'll deal with it tomorrow
and like shut down and it's like rewind time
and it of course helps that I have something
playing which is telling me other things and
then in the morning when I wake up right like
I'm actively able to choose thoughts which I
couldn't do earlier like I would always start
my day by oh I have to do this I have to do that
this is urgent that's urgent like already like
I'm waking up at 5 .30 and I have like a stress
That is me. That's literally me. You're describing
me. But now I'm like, I can just be like, that's
later. That's for later. And then choose something
else, you know? And I'll have these affirmations
I say to myself. I do my prayers in the morning
as well. And I think that mind training has made
such a difference. So maybe that's the next soapbox
I'll get on after money. Oh, get on it. Mind
training. I feel like that is literally the soapbox
to get on. It's the atomic habits of, you know,
mindset shifting, right? It's like, do this one
thing every day. Again, we talked a lot. little
bit about you know women having career changes
in their midlife right so whether it's you know
going back to work or starting work or giving
up the corporate life whatever it may be how
important are networks in this case right so
like is this something that you can go at it
alone is it better to know people like how do
women leverage networks to make transitions at
this age networks are really crucial and i feel
like this is something that should be taught
in schools that you know the the people you surround
yourself with are the ones that will help you
to achieve your life goals and i don't mean it
in a very strategic or a practical way, like
somebody will give you a job or an opportunity.
It's again, the mindset. So if I'm aiming for
a $1 million business, right, I want to surround
myself with founders who also have the same goal
or have achieved it, because then I will feel
that, oh, it's doable. It's not a big thing.
I can do it. If they can do it, I can do it,
you know. And so for women, I feel it's especially
more important, like whether you're in that transition
phase, right, to find networks where women are
in the same journey as they are. So what I feel
now is that instead of trying to, like I do,
like, you know, I run Launchpad, which is a community.
You run a network. Yes, helpful. Yeah, I run
a network. And so what I tell founders is that
find networks where you find an alignment in
terms of values and in terms of people who are
on a similar journey. I think one of the mistakes
that people make while joining networks is to,
think very very short term like I'll get a project
I'll get someone who'll work for me I'll get
clients which of course happens it happens all
the time but The biggest benefit will come if
you get the values alignment and if you're on
the same journey as the other people in the network.
So that's what I would say, like women in the
transition mode, just find networks where there
are other women who are in the transition mode,
but also on a journey, you know, like I would
caution against joining groups where you're just
complaining about your situation and not taking
any action. Join groups where... women are taking
action and they can help you and guide you in
that direction i saw a wonderful quote to this
end the other day and it was like if you look
at your circle and you don't have people that
are aligned with your values, lifting you up,
helping you with positive self -talk, then you
don't have a circle, you have a cage. I love
that. And that's, I feel like that's exactly
what you're describing. It's like if you, like
you said, if your networks are actually places
that people are complaining, holding you back,
telling you you can't, that idea is stupid, it'll
never work. you don't have a circle. I love that.
You have a cage. I'm going to remember that.
Yeah, no, I obviously stuck with me. I was like,
yes, so good. No, and if I can talk to the power
of communities, like I shared a little bit about
my story, right? Like came here, no money, no
network, no friends. Like it was through joining
a community called Crib, which is again a community
for female founders. Like I found, of course,
I got like people who gave me work. And then
once they liked my work, I got more work through
word of mouth, but I found friends. I found a
community. I found people who could understand
my story and my journey. And I didn't feel lonely
anymore. There is Simone Heng. I'm sure you know
about her. So Simone talks about loneliness being
such an epidemic, right? Like it was so lonely
for me to be like in Singapore as a mother, not
having any support system or friends or having
productive. work to do and so my network gave
me all of that that just spurred me to think
about like when you were mentioning like kind
of being alone in motherhood and all that like
so there's a network that I was a part of and
I get no need to mention it I'm sure if you're
a mom in Singapore you know what it is and I
realized that it was no longer serving me and
I think it was because you know, by, by the time
you're a mother of three and again, for me in
rapid fire, right? So it's like, boom, boom,
boom. Like this all is very fresh in my mind.
Right. Because it just happened. It's like, by
the time you get to that, it's like, yes, I have
a newborn. Like this is a newborn child, but
I don't have the concerns. of the newborn moms
anymore. Because I don't have the fear and uncertainty.
I don't have the like, how do you use a breast
pump? Like, we're good, right? So how do you
know when it's time to reevaluate your networks?
And you know, it's something that we're seeing
in Launchpad as well, where it's like when founders
started with us three years ago, they were just
starting out. And a lot of our offerings were
very valuable to them. But now that, you know,
they have reached a certain stage in their business,
either they've become very busy. You know, they
don't have time to take part in the activities
or it's like they no longer feel in alignment
with the startup founder because they are like
a more mature business. You know, they, as I
was saying, they are making 300 ,000, gunning
for a million. Their concerns are very different.
You know, their challenges around maybe building
a team, their challenges about getting B2B work.
So I think it's, we... You're absolutely right
that we should evaluate our networks in terms
of like, and again, I would say not evaluate
in terms of like, am I getting clients from this
network? But am I feeling in alignment with the
people in this community, right? Are my concerns
their concerns? Are my stories and their stories
similar? Or do I feel like... I just don't connect
with them anymore. And that's when it's a time
to look for a new network. Yeah, I think you're
totally right. And again, I think, you know,
it's funny that you mentioned that because we
obviously met through Launchpad. So we met through
this network. And I think what our businesses
look like now versus two years ago is very different.
But that's, you know, this is just a free plug
for Launchpad. I do think actually your network
does a really good job of growing. like like
i can grow in that network right so it's not
just for startups actually yes you know it's
for every stage of business yeah so and again
free plug love it yeah i love you yeah in fact
for those founders who now feel that um there
is um You know, like the Launchpad offerings
are like, you know, not enough for them or not
adding enough value. I have something coming
up for them later in the year. Very exciting.
Well, again, speaking of Launchpad, right? It's
like you stepped into some of the biggest shoes
in entrepreneurship in Singapore, right? I mean,
specifically female entrepreneurship, right?
Chris Edwards, the previous CEO of Launchpad
Group. You know, you are the first one to have
the... Correct? The helm? I was going to go with
both of that. You're the second person to be
at the helm of Launchpad, right, since it began.
So how did you navigate taking over someone else's
vision? And making it your own, making it better,
making it bigger. Like, how do you do that? Because
I do think that's something that's happening
to women in midlife. It's like we are now experienced
enough to be taking on big roles. So how do you
face that with confidence? So I think the great
part here for me was that I was not taking on
someone else's vision because Chris and my vision
were aligned. So that's why, you know, like this
was the first time Chris reached out to me. Instantly,
my answer was yes, even though, as you said,
it's a really big step up for me. It's a big
role, big shoes to fill. But because I, A, I
had worked in the business intimately, so I knew
it really well. But B, I knew that when we were
working together. Our vision was aligned. Our
values were aligned. The impact we wanted to
create was the same. And so for me, it really
felt like just taking on the reins of something
where we were headed in the same direction. But
for sure, if it was like someone else's vision,
it would be very hard. So luckily for me, it
wasn't. And again, I'm working with someone in
a coaching capacity right now that has... basically
been doing that over and over, like going into
companies and just turning them upside down.
Amazing. And that is stressful, man. I'll tell
you what. I mean, it's a wonderful, impact is
created. Right, right. But talk about a stressful
situation to try and, you know, convert corporate
cultures and then leave. Right, right. And then
do it again to another company and then leave.
I mean, I have nothing but respect. No, and you
come in as an outsider. So for me, like I couldn't
think of buying any other business except Launchpad
because this is a business that I knew so well.
I know the team so well. um i knew chris so well
so it's like this would be the business if i
had to buy i would buy yeah not any other where
i'm like coming as a stranger you know yeah now
that makes total sense well gal we have loved
having you on today you have given us i mean
like honestly we could make this entire episode
into like 50 reels already i mean you've given
us so many great talking points but the question
that we always leave with is what is your 40s
formula what are you giving to women in this
decade that can help them thrive do better be
better I'll be very honest. I'm still working
on the formula. And I think this is a big, you
know, like I feel proud of myself for saying
that because I used to be the sort of person
who would need the 40s formula sorted out at
the age of 40. And I'm like, I'm still working
on it. I'm 43, but it's fine. But I can tell
you the things that I've become very clear on.
And one is. having clarity about what I want
and I need. So that is something that's very
important and I now have. The second thing is
boundaries. So I have become very... clear and
open about what I won't accept. And I stated
that I don't like this. I don't want this and
I don't accept this. So it's like having the
boundaries and taking up space, having an abundance
mindset. So, you know, I've lived my life where
I've had a lot and we just need to see the news
in the world to see how privileged we all are
living the lives that we are. But I've had that
scarcity mindset where I'm like, oh, this is
not enough or I'm short of money or I'm short
of. time i'm short of people so for me 40s is
really about like i'm going to be in that abundance
mindset i have so much i can create so much and
then legacy and impact are the i would say the
last two pillars of my formula where impact as
i told you was something that i came upon after
my dark night of the soul and impact is something
i want to do uh like i want to create i want
to help others create because honestly Otherwise,
life feels meaningless in the sense that, okay,
I made money and I have a family and... That's
it. And that's the end of my life. Like I lived
my life and I ate and I slept and I worked and
that's it. Like what else did I do? So I feel
like life for me feels meaningless without having
created positive impact. And the legacy is all
tied up around that. Like, you know, I often
think about this, that on my deathbed, what are
the things I will look back on in terms of what
I did to serve the people, to serve the world?
So I would say those are the five pillars. If
I can recap. Yeah, this is beautiful. Give us
the five. Yes. It's clarity, it's boundaries,
it's abundance, it's impact and it's legacy.
It's gorgeous. A true formula. We love a good
formula. We do. We love an actual formula, let's
be honest. It's something that we don't get very
often, so we appreciate it when it comes. Thank
you so much for being here today, Megha. This
has been wonderful. We've learned a lot. I've
learned so much. So thank you for being here.
Thank you for having me. I felt like we've only
been speaking for five minutes. Time has literally
flown by. Yeah, it has. Thank you so much for
giving me this opportunity. Let's be real. Perimenopause
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you know we love coffee. And if you want to show
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one. Just visit buymeacoffee .com slash the 40s
formula. Cheers. Before we go, please remember
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We appreciate your time and support. Thank you
for being part of this community. And we'll be
back next week for more empowering conversations
with inspiring guests. Bye. So Generation Great,
it's G -R -E -Y, grey, T -T. So it's like basically
a three -prong lifestyle community for... Over
50. Yeah, I'll call it over 50. I will not say
seniors because 50 is too close to be a senior.
That's too close to my world to be calling it
seniors. Yeah, the older we get, the younger
like 50, 60 feels, doesn't it? Yeah, I refuse
to say seniors at 50.