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As a busy mom of three, wearing way too many hats on a daily basis, I sat down and started to really think about my life. I was thinking, what happened to the happier version of myself who was easily inspired, laughed all the time, tried new things, traveled and enjoyed life?
Then I realized, that was me before I became a mom, moved to a few different states, paused my career, put my dreams on hold, then on the back burner and finally out of sight. I had become consumed with motherhood and overwhelmed with life and I did not enjoy who I was in that process. I was tired, crabby, bitter, unhealthy, unorganized and uninspired. This was attracting negative mindsets and negative people into my life and I no longer recognized myself.
So I got to work to change a few things. I understood that I needed to lead with my spirit, (being conscious of my internal being and divine gifts) and not my resume of accomplishments. I saw that I needed a community—moms in my life who were looking for the same things I wanted, relationships, inspiration, purpose and impact.
I created a formula and built a network that addressed these needs in a purposeful way and called it MomNiche. I saw this network enrich my life as well as those around me. As my life changed for the better, I expanded my vision for MomNiche to reach more women who are driven to explore their divine gifts and share it with others whether through business or service. I connect with women who desire authentic and meaningful relationships, and hope to empower themselves and others to have a transformational impact in their circles and communities.
Women often endure great challenges trying to reconnect with their dreams and balance their work and home life. We encourage the balance of spirit, mind and body because we believe that when we intentionally allow our spirit to lead, we will be able to thrive in a more balanced way. As we grow in balance we can evolve in community and share resources that help other women not only succeed but also thrive.
I always knew I would one day be an adoptive mom. My heart was called to it. I wasn't sure how it was going to happen but from a very young age, adoption was always there. I wanted to have the experience of loving a child that you chose everyday, a child that needed love, a child that you could see your love making a difference in their life and above all, encompassing the definition of my faith that is close to the heart of the Father. This is what called to me.
After my husband and I started our family with two beautiful biological babies, we strongly felt that we also wanted to begin our adoption story. We started with the feeling that International adoption would be part of our story, so we signed up with a local international adoption agency. In classes to pursue this avenue, domestic infant adoption was presented as well and both my husband and myself felt an undeniable draw to move in that direction. As we started that journey, finances started to be a concern, we hadn't considered the cost of adoption. It was clear this would be a real barrier for us. As we prayed about it, a friend phoned one day and said have you considered foster care, there are so many children in the system that could use a family. We prayed and realized that this was the journey that we had set out for all along, it just took us some time to get there. As we opened up to this avenue of adoption, the process moved very quickly for us and we saw the doors were flying open.
We began our journey as foster parents, fostering for five years and were blessed enough to adopt our first and second foster placement—a rare thing. Through foster care, we believe our forever family is now complete. It has been hard and challenging in so many ways, but we wouldn't change a thing. This journey has been a HUGE blessing to our lives.
Through this process I learned so much along the way and I kept hearing people say, we would adopt if only we had enough money or if only we knew where to start. So with close friends of ours we started the Promise Love Foundation to help families walk through this journey of adoption with support and direction. It can be challenging to decide where to start or even which avenue to choose. Promise Love Foundation support and help fundraise for families who are adopting. We walk alongside them on their adoption journey whether that is the beginning stages or all the way through finalization and directing them to resources afterwards. It is an absolute gift and joy to be able to be able to coach families through their own adoption story and to be able to give back to families who are pursuing a forever family.
Where many women struggle to say no and take on too much. I’ve struggled to say yes out of fear of taking on more than I can bear.
Becoming overwhelmed and out of control is still my biggest fear. Because of that, waves of emotions flow through me every time I consider taking on a task, project, or adding something to my plate. I’m constantly searching for my path of least resistance.
I help women do what I have to continually do for myself so they too can experience more internal peace and balance while doing what they need to, want to, and were created to do.
Understand your own process
Articulate your needs
Create both, temporary and sustainable self-care plans
Like many, I believe that we are all pregnant with something we’re called to birth. Unfortunately, like many women in labor, I have a history of tapping out quickly when I feel ‘out of control’. However, since life doesn’t offer us epidurals, I have a track record for creating my own…procrastination or just quitting. I know what it’s like to become filled with debilitating anxiety or stuck just by the fear of becoming overwhelmed. Want to know my overarching fear? It’s losing control of my mind.
From a very young age, losing my mind was presented as my possible reality. My mother was diagnosed with schizophrenia when I was around 9 or 10 years old. My sister and I were warned that it was hereditary and that we could show signs anywhere between our teens and our 30s. We were also informed that stressful or emotional life events could trigger a psychotic break. So, at the age of 19 when I began suffering from intense anxiety and major depression, I thought, “This is it. I’m losing my mind.”. However, it turned out to be Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD), a hormonal mood disorder that I’ve been battling for the past 20 years.
Because of the hundreds and hundreds of women who have allowed me to be a part of their birth story, whether as their Labor and Delivery Nurse, Doula, or Childbirth Educator, I became aware of the power of our feminine instincts, our energetic connection, and spiritual intuition. Because of them, I’ve grown to believe that…
The maternal journey mimics and shows us the pathway to personal growth.
Pregnant with my one and only son after months of trying, tears, and several doctors deeming it impossible, I was determined to relish every moment of pregnancy. The pregnancy was typical: nausea and tiredness, in the beginning, insomnia in the end, and sciatic pain throughout. However, I still refer to this time as the best experience of my life. My pregnancy was an educational experience that showed me how enjoying the journey of pregnancy was similar to the journey of labor and life. Finding enjoyment in uncomfortable, overwhelming circumstances may have more to do with the state of mind, than the symptoms we experience. Just as a runner enjoys the marathon, despite the cramped muscles and diligent training required.
My journey taught me the importance of self-awareness, mindfulness, and emotional intelligence. As I continue to learn more about myself, I learn about the patterns in humanity, the Universe, how connected we are to everyone, and how everything is connected to us.
By offering my support to women as they labor through life, I’m able to fulfill my passion of helping women experience a more peaceful mind.
After working as a high school teacher for several years. My husband and I decided to start a family. After our first child was born, I pulled back from teaching full time to part time. Trying to balance work and parenthood was a real struggle and I found myself falling behind daily in our home responsibilities. I often felt overwhelmed and stressed.
Motherhood brought a whole new perspective to life and I began to constantly think of ways to spend more quality time with my family. I was new to Tampa as well and wanted to explore the city. One thing I noticed was that events geared towards families were not readily accessible. I would spend hours some days researching things to do with my kids that would give our family a quality experience together. I often had a tough time finding things that were appropriate for a variety of different ages and balancing this with experiences that would hold their interest. Another challenge I faced was that many of the events I had interest in required travel or were outside of my budget.
I wondered if I was having this difficulty finding quality and affordable experiences to have with my family other parents probably were as well. I started the website Family Friendly Tampa Bay as a resource for myself, friends and other families to easily access free or affordable events in the Tampa Bay area that would give families an opportunity to spend quality time together.
Eventually, Family Friendly Tampa Bay expanded to also provide events that gave exposure to resources such as summer camps, weekend events, and summer programs. We continue to put on the largest Summer Camp Expo in Pasco County and the only Tampa Bay Summer Jump Fest to kickoff the summer.
I also work with vendors, small businesses and nonprofits to help promote events, products and services that reach families and capture the essence of their mission. In addition, I offer services to startup and established businesses to promote products and services through my website and on social media. If you want to create big events with limited stress, I am a knowledgeable and connected resource.
Go to college, get a good job, work your whole life for someone else. It sounds a little depressing, but it’s what most people are taught to do. It’s what I did (or at least started to do). After graduating college, I got a “good” job. I worked, hard for someone else’s dreams and climbed the corporate ladder. I took pride in what I did and convinced myself that I was lucky and happy because, what was the alternative? Eight years later, I was introduced to Arbonne.
After learning more about these products and this company, I realized just how much I didn’t know! I was ignorant to so many things. The crazy ingredients companies are hiding in our products. The inflammatory foods that are leading to some of the most serious health issues people face. How and why social marketing has a new face and is truly the business of the 21st century. I learned, I became passionate, and I started sharing with others. Educated women can change the world. This company has changed my world.
The last two years have been so eye opening for me. I’ve found my true passion, which is helping others realize their true potential and own their future. I’ve educated countless people on healthy habits, toxic ingredients in skincare and nutrition, and how to earn an additional income stream that compounds over time. After 10 years with the same company, I was able to walk away from my “perfect” corporate job. I’ve been able to make my own hours, be present with my two young kids, make & reach my own goals, and teach others how to do the same.
Arbonne is a personal development company disguised in health and wellness. These products are absolutely incredible, and I love sharing them with others. But the most amazing thing that I share is how this business can change lives. I’m just getting started, and I have a huge vision of helping so many others find their success with this incredible vehicle called Arbonne.
I have always had a desire to help people. So it is no surprise that I became a nurse. After years of working in a hospital, I decided that I needed more and I wanted to make more of an impact on my patients. So I went back to school and become a nurse practitioner. I loved what I did. I loved the difference I was able to make in someone's life. It was not the ability to prescribe treatment for their disease or give a diagnosis to bring piece of mind. It was the ability to listen, to bring healing with touch, and to care.
Unfortunately, that love and fulfillment slowly began to fade. I started to hate going to work. I hated being asked to do things that I thought were not ethical. I hated being rushed from patient to patient. But even more so, I hated that my patients were seen as nothing but numbers. This experience in our healthcare system changed me as not only as a provider, but as a mother and a wife. I was no longer present. Work overshadowed every aspect of my life. I was working 24/7. I was yelling at my children. I was depressed. I was anxious and I was bitter.
What happened to the love? Thinking that I was burnt out with my current job, I changed jobs frequently. It took several years for me to realize that the problem was really was that I had been trying to live my dream life in someone else's dream.
When I gave up the desire to live for others and started to live for me and my family, I rediscovered the love I always had. It was still there but had been forgotten and buried deep below the disappointment and disgust with today’s healthcare system. It was then that I remembered my vision years ago of having my own mobile practice, spending as much time as I wanted with my patients, and being in charge of my destiny. That love fueled me to start my own practice, Bay Area Mobile Clinic.
I can not be happier. I have a sense of freedom that I can not explain. With this, I remember the words of Mother Theresa who said it best, "Work without love is slavery".
When I became pregnant with my first son I was in college, working at Office Depot in the Copy & Print Center. I remember that I mainly got that job to have easy access to a printer for my design classes at and little did I know that experience would change my whole life. After leaving Office Depot I worked for two different companies in Atlanta both as a stationery designer and printer. I knew then, especially as a mom, that I was set out to do more.
I opened my business in 2014 while working my job, I had my second child in 2015 and in 2017 I quit my job and took on my business full time. It was scary but I am now a mom of two awesome little boys, married and living in Tampa where both my husband and I run our businesses full-time from home. I could not have asked for a better outcome.
Putting my family first wasn't always the easiest while working a 9-5, so being able to set my own hours made a huge difference in not only me as a mother but my own mental health. Over the years of working I experienced a lot of "mom guilt." My husband traveled for work so most of the time it was just me. Whether my child got sick, had a school event or even scheduled doctor's appointments, there was always an issue with my bosses. I would often get asked "Can anyone else pick him up?" I would leave work.. and would leave feeling like I was doing something wrong. I had fell into such a deep hole filled with anxiety and sadness because I felt that I needed to do it all but couldn't. After awhile I learned that in no way is that acceptable or fair to my family. I am proud to say that now as a business owner I am now able to give myself the flexibility to be with my family and it has truly been a blessing.
Although I specialize in stationery and invitations it was really imperative for me to step foot into the branding industry. My goal with Bliss Creative has always been to turn people's ideas into creations. Building my own business from the ground up was not an easy process, even with me being the designer. There are so many elements to take in and it can become overwhelming. Whether you are starting a new business or re-branding, the key is to makes sure you stand out in the most unique way.
With today's Pinterest and quick turn-around online printers it is easy to say "Can you make me something like this?" While I love a great inspiration, my company is strictly custom designs only. Which means, you will never see the same design twice. Every product is unique to each client or brand along with the guidance and key information needed so you have the confidence to show off your new brand or designs.
I have worked with several moms creating new brands or blogs over the years and just knowing that I am helping someone take one step closer to running their own business and having the ability to be there for their family means everything to me.
As a wife and mother of three children, I know all too well the daily struggles of trying to balance all of the plates that we have spinning in the air. When we try and focus on one of them, we feel like the others will begin to fall.
I think the question that we all ask ourselves daily is "how do I fully invest myself in all of my obligations?" I believe the answer is balance.
It will require give and take and also some sacrifice. We have to learn to be ok with a lot of things. We have to know its ok if your house gets messy while you play with your kids. It's ok if your kids watch TV while you spend time with your husband; and its most definitely ok to invest in yourself.
I have found that what is fulfilling to me is helping other people-especially women find ways to invest in their future. Money is a thief of joy in our culture. We see what our friends and neighbors have and we envy them, long for what they have and will even put ourselves in debt to get it. Sometimes we just need more resources to do more. I have learned, through experience, that debt will steal our peace and strain relationships. Through my own mistakes, I have come to know that financial freedom brings greater happiness than any item I could ever own. With the proper tools and determination, I whole-heartedly believe that anyone can achieve freedom from the chains of debt. I can help you make a personal or family budget, share shopping tips or couponing tips and teach you other ways to save money on a larger scale. Reach out to me if you or someone you know is tired of living paycheck to paycheck and you need help getting started on your journey to financial freedom. It won't be easy, but it will be worth it!
Shawna is CEO of Asage Solutions LLC. She is a Family Life Educator and Healthy Relationships Coach who started her company in 2016 in order to help women and families and navigate life stresses and develop healthy relationship skills and habits. She believes that cultivating and maintaining healthy relationships is an essential skill for coping with the stresses of life.
She has over 20 years of social service experience in the non-profit sector. This experience includes but is not limited to community education, survivor advocacy and crisis intervention. She a member of the Family Life Coaching Association and a founding partner with MomNiche, Inc.
My life experiences, primed me into a young adult who was very inspired and motivated. Among many things, I was a personal trainer and artist but my passion was to create art. I derived my inspiration from viewing life from many different angles –whether it was creating hand-sculpted art pieces or through the lens of a camera. I also enjoyed traveling and connecting with different cultures.
After I met my husband, I traveled to Asia to study Chinese so that I could better communicate with his family. While living in Asia for nearly a year, I practiced my skills as a fine artist and began sculpting and photographing. My work later caught the attention of a local art collector, who showcased my creations at his café. This opportunity led me to be sponsored by a local art gallery and fueled my passion for this work.
I returned home and started a family, leaving art behind me. Fast forward seven years and two kids later, we arrived in Wesley Chapel while pregnant with my third son. Within the first two years in our new home with three boys, I experienced the death of five family members and a real struggle within my marriage. Now, feeling overwhelmed, discouraged, sad and fifty pounds heavier, I was really at a loss. My father, seeing all of this encouraged me (begged me) to start photographing again.
I rediscovered the beauty of creating and I began to heal in many areas of my life that I had not felt empowered in for many years. As I photographed, I appreciated life through births, maternity shoots, families and weddings. I eventually grew a successful photography business, Laura Lo Photography which captures the essence of life and and the stories of love.
Before becoming a real estate agent, I worked an “ideal job” in corporate America. Although I went to college to study for a career in this industry, I became bored with the day to day duties of my job. I did not feel I had a meaningful purpose in my job or the industry.
During this time, I had a two-year-old and was expecting my second child; I was being pulled in different directions and becoming emotionally overwhelmed. Before the birth of my second child, fate had it for me to be a stay-at-home mom. Operative word, fate! Operative word, faith! My husband and I didn’t plan for me to be a stay-at-home wife/mother nor did I want to be. But what a blessing it was. To be able to care for, spend precious countless hours with, and love on my three children all day is something I cherish and appreciate to this day. I also got to meet some awesome women during this time. Although I’ve always had the support of my husband, there was nothing like talking to other women and being uplifted by each other!
When my youngest child started school, I was ready to get back into the workforce. I decided to follow a path I’d once pondered, real estate. As an agent, I love owning my own business and the flexibility of my schedule for the sake of my family, but mostly I enjoy empowering families to realize their real estate dreams.
Homeownership is a real estate goal that many families believe they can’t attain. I show them that their goal is attainable! There are so many programs and organizations out there that can assist families in achieving and maintaining homeownership. I enjoy connecting them to the resources to help them realize their dream; for some sooner than they’d expected! Investing in real estate has personal and economic benefits that can take a family on a path to a new level. Homeownership can also give a family a fresh new start. I feel most aligned with my purpose while connecting with people in a meaningful way and educating and encouraging families to achieve their real estate dreams.
