Real Happy Mom

Practical tips and encouragement for moms

Streamline your Home & Biz with Systems and How to Make Them Stick

LISTEN: APPLE PODCASTS | SPOTIFY | STITCHER

If you are a mompreneur or a busy mom that has a lot going on at home, systems will be a lifesaver. Systems are a process of doing a task that you do over and over again.

Systems can be used in your business and at home. Just ask Brittany.

Brittany is a digital strategist and business coach for women focused on helping them create sustainable systems that allow them to scale simply and have a larger impact on the world; all without sacrificing their quality of family time.

If you need help with getting systems set up in your home or business, this episode is for you.

In this episode we talk about:

  • How you can use systems to scale efficiently without giving up more time
  • Why you don’t have to give up on your career or passion
  • What systems truly are
  • How to use Trello to track milestones, doctors, need to know information along with memories
  • A red flag that you need a system in your home or business
  • Examples on how to create systems that stick

About Brittany May

Brittany May is a girl mom of two, a military spouse and runs two businesses from her home in Germany. After running her first seven-figure business the wrong way (and having it take over her life) she is now passionate about teaching entrepreneurs how to work smarter, not harder.

Brittany is a digital strategist and business coach for women focused on helping them create sustainable systems that allow them to scale simply and have a larger impact on the world; all without sacrificing their quality family time.

Her goal is to help as many female entrepreneurs as possible achieve their own simply happy life!

⭐⭐⭐Join the FREE Work Less Accomplish More Masterclass ⭐⭐⭐
https://www.simplyhappylife.com/realhappymom

Connect with Brittany May

Links Mentioned

Subscribe & Review in Apple Podcast

Have you subscribed to the Real Happy Mom podcast? If not, I’m encouraging you to do it today.

I don’t want you to miss any upcoming episodes. I plan to add some bonus episodes that you won’t find on this website, and if you’re not subscribed, you might miss out on those. Click here to subscribe to Apple Podcast!

I would be so happy and grateful if you left me a review on Apple Podcast too. Reviews help Apple Podcast to know that this is a podcast for other moms so that other moms can find this podcast. Plus, it makes my day to read the reviews.

Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know your favorite part of the podcast. I really appreciate any help you can provide.

Don’t have Apple Podcast? You can subscribe to the podcast Google Podcast, Anchor, Spotify, Breaker, Castbox, Overcast, RadioPublic, and Stitcher.

Related blog posts

 

The Real Happy Mom Tribe

Sign up here to get on the waitlist. I will notify you when the doors are open.

Could you leave me a message about this episode?


Transcript of this episode

Real Happy Mom 0:00
Hey there, Mom, are you juggling all the things in motherhood for managing your time getting healthy meals on the table, to being a present wife, all while making yourself a priority without feeling guilty? I get it. It’s overwhelming. And guess what? The fact that you need support doesn’t make you a bad mom. And that’s why I created the Real Happy Mom podcast. I’m Tony in a wife and a mom of two little boys as well as a general dentist and reservists in the Navy. And I get it when it comes to being a busy working mom. On the Real Happy Mom podcast. I’ll interview real moms to chat about real life experiences. These guests and experts will help you to navigate the motherhood journey by providing answers to your questions and concerns surrounding raising children, self care time management and so much more. So if you’re ready to get rid of the overwhelm, and start being a Real Happy Mom, join me inside the rat Happy Mom podcast.

Real Happy Mom 0:50
Hey there, and welcome back to another episode of the Real Happy Mom podcast you are tuning in to episode number 107. In today I’m talking to Brittany May. Brittany is a girl mom of two and a military spouse that runs two businesses from her home in Germany. And after running her first seven figure business the wrong way, and having it take over her life. She is now passionate about teaching entrepreneurs how to work smarter and not harder. Brittany is a digital strategist and a business coach for women focused on helping them create sustainable systems that allow them to scale simply and have a larger impact on the world. All without sacrificing their quality, family time. Her goal is to help as many female entrepreneurs as possible to achieve they’re simply happily life. Now today on this episode with Brittany, I am going to be talking to her about systems, what systems are and how we can use systems to scale efficiently without giving up more time. She also shares that you don’t have to give up on your passion or your career if you are a mom, and how we can make this all work. She also talks about Trello, which is my love language. And she uses Trello to track some different things for her kids as well as important information. And she shares how she uses Trello to do that. And she also talks about being a profit focused business and why she’s not ashamed of being this way.

Real Happy Mom 2:17
And then she shares one of the major ways to figure out what system that you need to start with in your home or your business. And then we go through some examples on creating systems that will actually stick. Now Brittany has been a tremendous help. When it comes to creating these systems that will stick in I’m sure that you’ll find this super helpful today. Let’s go ahead and jump into episode number 107. With Brittany. All right, welcome to a podcast. Brittany.

Brittany May 2:46
I thank you for having me.

Real Happy Mom 2:48
Yes, definitely. I am happy to have you on and chat with you early this morning. Yes, earlier for you than me. But yes. Just because I believe you definitely bring a different perspective because you are the entrepreneur and the mom and I love that about you. So before we jump into our topic, I just wanted you to talk to us a little bit about you and about your business.

Brittany May 3:15
Yeah, sure. So I’m Brittany Mae, and I’m a digital strategist and a business coach for women. So basically, it’s just a really fancy way of saying that I help women grow and scale their businesses and moms in particular, because I was an entrepreneur, before I was a mom. I did fashion design and actually wound up running a chain of my own brick and mortar stores. So I was definitely all about, you know, the business life and the entrepreneurial life. But then when you become a mom, everything changes. And it’s like, okay, throw everything out the window and turn your life upside down in a good way. So just through that experience, I was working around the clock, like all I knew to do was work. And that was kind of more of a mindset thing, like I loved what I did, but it was like, I thought that that’s how you had to work to be successful. And that’s what I had that in my head like I equated longer hours with working better. And so it really wasn’t until my oldest was born that it like clicked into place. And it was like, Oh, I should be working smarter. Like if I have better systems in place, then I can work less. Because you know, I didn’t want to be away from her. And in the beginning, I was missing doctor’s appointments. My mom would have to take her I was doing you know, the daycare drop offs where I would be crying more than she was, you know, like it was terrible. And it’s like, at the end of the day you really have to ask yourself like what’s the priority and for me That was my family and my kids. And yes, I love business, and I love what I do. But that was secondary. So and also caveat, I think as women, like, I don’t think we should give up on our careers or your passion, it doesn’t even have to be a career or business, but giving up that piece of you, and being, you know, quote, just a mom, you know, because I feel like we do lose our identity A lot of times, so that was really important to me. And I didn’t want to give it up. And I don’t think you should, so I just knew I needed to restructure it in a different way. So I took that business model and put it completely online, so I could work less and work from anywhere, which now as a military spouse, you know, is extremely crucial. And it was really through that experience that I got a lot of moms coming to me, because they saw the process and the transformation. And they were like, how, how did you do that? You know, it was a lot of store or boutique owners and that were working non stop, like I had been, and they’re like, how can I stopped doing this. And that’s, like, I didn’t even know what a business coach was at the time. And so it was like, okay, so I was helping them, you know, basically do what I had done. And it was through that experience that I started my second, the second company, simply happy life to teach women how to structure their business in a better way, a smarter way. And it’s all about those systems, so you can scale efficiently and without pouring in more hours. Because as a mom, it’s, it’s not possible. Like we were just talking about, you know, like how much time our kids eat up. And so if you want to run a successful business, it has to look completely different than, you know, this standard cookie cutter model that’s being pushed out there. Because we have so much on our plates at home and just want to have personal time, you know, to soak up those baby cuddles. And then cute moments with your family, because that’s what it’s all about. So. So that’s kind of how I came came to be.

Real Happy Mom 7:20
Yes, yes, you bring up a couple of things that I just wanted to touch on. The first one is you’re saying that you don’t have to give up on your career and passion, which I think is so so big, because I feel like a lot of times we feel like we have to choose between work or family. But I do believe you can have both. I’m not saying it’s gonna be easy, but there is a lot of work it out to have both. So you don’t have to choose. I’m glad you said that. Yeah,

Brittany May 7:48
yeah, I believe wholeheartedly in that because I feel like as women were put in that position, and men men aren’t, it’s just a reality. And it’s like, oh, we’re mom now. So Oh, you’re still gonna work. You know, you get the eyebrow raised or whatever, or you could self imposed and you feel like, Oh, well to be a good mom, maybe, you know, I shouldn’t work, I should be home full time. And I don’t think it’s kind of like the mentality, you’ve got to fill your cup up first. Like I said, that can be a career that can be a business, it can be just a different passion or hobby. It doesn’t have to be, you know, directly tied to finances. But I think we do. We can’t give up those things when we become moms. And it helps us be better people and more calm.

Unknown Speaker 8:38
Happy,

Brittany May 8:40
which then in turn, you know, you can be a better parent as well.

Real Happy Mom 8:44
Yes, absolutely. Totally agree with all of that. And another thing that you brought up was about having systems I’m in particularly you’re saying having systems so that you can scale your business without more hours. And in particular, I feel like systems is a big thing. If moms in general, if we have the systems, it definitely helps with the flow of life so that we don’t spend so much time doing the same thing that we do on a regular basis. It doesn’t take as much time pretty much is what I’m saying. So I just wanted you to share with us. Some systems were in particular, what do you mean by systems and some systems that we can use in home and business that can definitely improve our lives?

Brittany May 9:28
Yeah. Oh my god. It’s like my favorite topic ever. But basically, I feel like systems can be a bit of a scary word for some people. And they’re like, well, what what does that mean? Like, what does that look like? So yeah, I think a system is it’s literally can be anything that helps you streamline, it helps you It puts things in place, so when you do something, it’s the same every single time. So it could be as simple as just like a bullet point list of you know, things that you check off each day to do you know, that could be your system, it doesn’t have to be complicated. It doesn’t even have to be tech, you know, there’s just so many different ways that you can create that. But it’s just anything that you put in place to make your life easier. And to save some sanity, which I know, busy moms, we get all use. So like a lot of minds, I’m a huge fan of Trello. So if you’re familiar with that, like, Oh, my God, I love it. It’s like my brain in an app. So I actually we have a board, if you guys are familiar, just it’s like a page for each of my kids. And so in that we track their milestones, we track cute sayings that they say at different ages, so you don’t forget, you know, like, we have all their important information, like their doctor where their doctor addresses the phone number, babysitter numbers, it’s like all those need to know important information, along with, you know, like memories, that’s easy to access. And I love this, because one, it’s easy to update. Because especially as a military spouse, like doctors change, you know, every, all the time, in schools and everything. And also, it’s, you know, it’s better than those kind of like a lot of people have, you know, like their home binders. Because it’s an app, so you can share it with anybody that needs access to it, and it’s on your phone. So I can’t even tell you how many times you know, I’m opening it on my phone. Like if I’m filling out paperwork away from the house, you know, and you have all this information that you need right at your fingertips. But yeah, I use Trello for everything, like our recipes, our family meal planning, like it’s insane, like Trello is my life. And then also, just so for business, I’m a huge on being what I call an unapologetically profit focused. So I think that’s one of the first things you need to have whatever is tasks are bringing profit into your business, that is where you need to start. And you need to create solid systems in place around that first to help you because then if you can get one thing done before your toddler has a meltdown for the day, you know, it’s going to be you know, it’s going to be tied to profit, and it’s gonna be done correctly, because you have a system in place. And that’s where it really kicks in and allows you to work less, but you know, get more done.

Real Happy Mom 12:35
Yes, I love that. And I knew I loved you for a reason. I was like, Yes, yes. You just took my love. Yes, yeah. Trello is is amazing. I love it, I use it myself. And that is one thing that I teach inside the Real Happy Mom tribe. Because I definitely feel like you were when we can streamline things and definitely make different boards for different areas of our lives. It makes it so much easier. And the one thing in particular, that I like that you talk about is having one for each kid, because I didn’t think of doing that. And I like that. Because I feel like a lot of times we’re trying to keep a lot of information in our minds. And we can’t remember everything. That’s why it’s so important that we have those systems and that we have those boards, like your Fein so that we don’t have to remember everything. And we can use that that space in our minds to actually process, you know, problems and do other important tasks that our brains are actually supposed to be doing.

Brittany May 13:40
Right? Yeah, no, absolutely. And like my youngest, she’s nine months old right now. And like, I couldn’t even tell you, when her first tooth came in, I’d have to go to her Trello board and look, you know, it’s like all those little silly things that you know, are fun, and to remember and look back on. But if you don’t write it down, and you think you’re gonna remember, but you will. So it’s nice to just have one place to hold all that stuff. Yes,

Real Happy Mom 14:05
definitely. And then to in the business, because I don’t remember who said it, or when No, I think I remember it was Allison from wonder last? Yes, she was talking in a podcast about how a lot of times, especially when you’re starting your business out, you don’t see yourself hiring someone. But you should always prepare your business in a way that, you know, eventually you will hire someone. And the way to do that is to write down everything that you do in the processes that you do so that you’ll be able to handle different things off. And so I love that you say that systems are just like having checklist or knowing different steps that we need to take because a lot of times we think like, Oh yeah, we can just rely on memory on getting certain things done. But again, we may forget a step and then that affects the quality of what we’re doing. So with this In particular, I was just wondering, how can we actually create some that will actually stick for us? Because like I said, I know how important it is, but how can we create those that we will definitely make sure that we’re hitting point 123 in order so that we have that quality control over what we’re doing?

Brittany May 15:20
Yeah, absolutely. I think like, best one is to start wherever you are feeling overwhelmed, like, that is saying that you need a system in place. So any place like whether it’s in your life, or in your business, that you’re super overwhelmed about start there. And I think it’s easiest, I essentially, think backwards, I guess, is the best way you’re gonna explain it. But I would put in place start with things that have to be there. So like, if we’re talking about finances, for example, like your rent, or your mortgage payment, like there’s a deadline attached that, like, you need to pay that on the first or whatever that is for you. So start with those things that are not movable, and have that and then you can kind of create, you know, well, ideally, this is what I would like it to look like. And then you can, you know, start then with the things that are more fluid, like your savings, your retirement, your investing, you know, whatever that looks like for you. And just create, you know, like an ideal situation, or, you know, a goal in mind and start there. I’m huge, though, on leaning into how you work best, because I feel so many people, that’s what happens. They’re like, Okay, this is someone so it’s plan, like they said, this is the perfect, the perfect way to do it, I’m going to do it. And then guess what a week goes by, and they’ve already fallen off the bandwagon and you know, like a diet or finances or whatever, you know, so you have to you have to tailor it to yourself, both your personality, how you function, how you work, you know, in order for it to stick? So like, are you a morning person? Are you a night person? Do you like strict schedules? Are you more of a you need more flexibility, like you have to tailor all that into your systems in order for it to allow you to thrive, otherwise it won’t stick? And then there’s no point in doing it. Um, so I think just start with the ideal, and then basically give it a test run. And as those things start to fall off, or don’t stick, that’s it’s like a red flag that’s telling you that there’s a problem. And that’s when you go in and tweak it and you look at Well, why is it not sticking? Like what could I put in place to help me like do you need to add notifications on your phone, maybe you missed that payment, okay, I need to put more structure in place, you know, because I’m just I’m forgetting or you know, whatever that looks like to you and whatever situation you’re tailoring it to. But it’s really just like start with the ideal start with the half tools that you have to have, and then really just test it out. And we get as you go and adjust it to your needs and to what feels good to you. So it will stick.

Real Happy Mom 18:14
I love all of that. Because I think a lot of times we see what other people are doing, and we’re like, oh Brittany is doing that. Let me just do it, just like how Brittany does it, and then you end up. Exactly. I love that you say to take things in and customize it. So I just want to kind of break down an example with you, and see if we can definitely make it so that the ladies listening totally get what we’re talking about. So in particular, I feel like it’s moms, all of us are cleaning something. Even if you have someone helping you is sometime I know that you’re cleaning up. So let’s just say that we want to create a system for cleaning the house. So for instance, I say that I’m tired of trying to wait until Saturday to do the whole house and clean everything. So I’m going to develop a system for myself for cleaning a little bit throughout the week. So let’s just say I’ll start with, you know, the kitchen and living room on Monday, the kids rooms on Tuesday, Wednesday would be laundry in Thursday would be any of the other areas I missed. So let’s just say I have that little system going up. But I’m starting to fall off come Thursday, I realize like I haven’t touched the kids rooms. So I’m just using that as an example. And some of the things that you’re saying like what is something that we could do to kind of tweak that to be like, okay, so you’re following up on the kids rooms? Like what’s going on? And how can you make this better?

Brittany May 19:43
Yeah, definitely. So I mean, I would look at for this example, I would look at like what’s actually going on during the week so maybe your kids have sports or ballet so then they come home and they dump all their stuff on Wednesday and you please did on Tuesday and then you’re like ah and then So the next week, you’re like, Well, why even bother? Because, you know, they just come and mess it up anyway, you know, just as an example. So then maybe you could switch your days or have them be responsible for doing, you know, break their broom up. And rather than you doing it, here’s what I would do. You want to get real. Make them do it, and break it up through the week and say, okay, Monday, you’re gonna be responsible for putting all your toys away Tuesday, you’re going to be responsible for hanging up the laundry, because I just did it on Monday, on Wednesday, and just finding, you know, the different ways that you can tweak where everything’s kind of meshing better to gather to get that complete system that works. But yeah, you’d really have to dig into Well, why was it because I was tired? Was it because you know, the kids just came in and messed it up anyway? Is it because I’m getting no help? And I’m going on strike. And you know, what after that is, you’ve got to, like, look at the flags and see why. And then we that’s when we come up with you know, a solution or a different system to kind of help buff that out.

Real Happy Mom 21:12
Yes, love it. Now, I love how you helped us with that example. I’m just wondering why isn’t systems that you would suggest that moms start with in work and in home, so that it can better help our lives in manage distress and overwhelm?

Brittany May 21:29
Yeah, like I said, I think first off is like, wherever you are most overwhelmed, that’s where I would start. Because you’re gonna have all the systems in the world. But if you’re not dealing with the one that’s like, needs it, then it’s, you’re not going to be any happier. So yeah, wherever you’re most overwhelmed, that’s where I would start. But if you’re doing pretty good, then I would say finances is a really big one, you know, groceries or shopping, I kind of ties into budgeting do if you will, but like recipes and meal planning, those types of things I know a lot of people struggle with. Also, the important documents, like there’s so many things as a household that you have to keep track of. And just having a really solid system in place gives you that peace of mind, and it helps you make sure you’re not missing, you know, important deadlines or bills, or you know, all the things that we have to manage. And so when you have a system in place, it just makes it so much easier.

Real Happy Mom 22:35
Yes, definitely totally agree with all of those things, in all of those places that you said to start with burgers, because definitely, I’ll be honest, like, I don’t really have systems where like groceries, and things like that, and I probably should go a little bit better. Because like, honestly, like, I just pick whatever I want. So I’m glad you mentioned that. Know, you do have something special coming up the worklist and accomplish more master class. So I want you to talk a little bit about what it is who it’s for, and where we can learn more about it.

Brittany May 23:16
Yeah, definitely. So it’s the worthless accomplish more master class, and it’s an hour and a half. And it is literally jam packed. Basically, we talk about the mindset shift that you have to have, as a mom and as an entrepreneur to really shift from that place of overwhelm, and like burnout. That’s what we don’t want to move you to where you can start streamlining your business and be profit focused. We talk about I call them the burnout blunders. And it’s three of the most common mistakes that entrepreneurs busy entrepreneurs are making, because they’re kind of coming from a, you know, that survival mode standpoint. And so it’s so easy to make these mistakes, but it’s, it’s like the rabbit hole or the snowball, rather. Because then you get those poor results, and then you’re frustrated, and then you’re pouring more time in and not getting anything back. So we address what they are. So once you can avoid them. And then we talk about exactly what that looks like when you do fall into that trap, and then exactly what you should be doing instead to get yourself out of that mode. So it’s really, really great. I try to pack it with tangible actionable things that you can go turn around and implement into your business. So it’s definitely for anybody who the moms the busy moms that are trying to juggle, you know their business and their babies and they’re overwhelmed. Or they don’t have systems in place or they get to the end of the day and they’re just like what happened to the time so if that’s how you feel, definitely go check it out. It’s completely free. And like I said, it’s an hour and a half. So, but it’s definitely, definitely good to put it on your schedule if that’s how you’re feeling.

Real Happy Mom 25:08
Yes, for sure. And I’ll make sure to include that link to the workplace accomplish more masterclass in the show notes. So, Brittany, there is one thing that I always ask my guests before we sign off and that is to give us either a quote or words of encouragement for us Real Happy Mom.

Brittany May 25:28
No. Okay. I will just say to all the moms that you’re you’re doing a really good job. So even if you don’t feel like it, because most days you know, I know we don’t and I feel like you don’t hear it enough. But you’re raising little people, you’re following your passions and you’re doing the best you can so just want to route you on and tell you they keep going and that you’re doing an awesome job.

Real Happy Mom 25:51
Awesome. Thank you so much for that and where can we find you if we want to learn more about you online?

Brittany May 25:57
Yeah, absolutely. I hang out a lot on Facebook at simply happy Britney same handle on Instagram as well. I’m very active in the DMS and I do a lot of behind the scenes stories so if you like babies in business, definitely come check me out and simply happy life calm it’s kind of where we house everything. So you can always find me there as well.

Real Happy Mom 26:20
For sure. And I’ll include those links in the show notes. Brittany, thank you so much for coming on and chat with me this was really really good.

Brittany May 26:28
Yes, thank you so much.

Real Happy Mom 26:31
Now that does it for another episode of the Happy Mom podcast so find the links in the show notes make sure you head over to Real Happy Mom comm slash 107 and there you’ll find all the links that were mentioned in this episode as well as the link to Brittany’s masterclass, this is something that you definitely, definitely want to go ahead and jump into and something that already started myself. So go over to Happy Mom comm slash 107 to get all the information to get started now, if you’ve enjoyed this episode, do me a favor and either leave me a voice message by going over to the show notes and scrolling down and there is a box there where you can can send me a voice message. You can either send me a message or something that you would like to hear on the podcast or you can just send me some love and tell me how much you love this episode. Also, if you’ve enjoyed this podcast and enjoyed this episode, rate and review this episode on Apple podcasts, if you don’t listen to Apple podcasts, that’s fine. You can do this another way by taking a screenshot if you listening to this episode, and putting it on your Insta stories or your Facebook stories. This helps to share the message with other moms that need this inspiration, encouragement as well as the practical tips for motherhood so that we can live this true and authentic lives as real happy moms. Now make sure you join me for another full episode next week. And I will be back with you then. And don’t forget about Thursdays where I’ll be doing my mommy talk Thursdays with you. So that’s it for this week. Take care and with lots of love

error: This content is protected.