Stay at Home CEOs is an incredibly supportive community of women who create an income from home, around the needs of their families. Whatever your financial goals are, Stay at Home CEOs will work with you to achieve that and help you develop the skills you need to run your own successful online business. If you have ever dreamed about working for yourself but didn’t know where to begin, well this is it! We spoke to Ashlea Grimley from Stay at Home CEOs to find out more.
The passion: What inspired you to set up your business?
When I had my first baby (who is now 3), I felt really lonely and isolated being at home and was itching to go back to work. As soon as I did, I regretted it straight away, I felt like I was always letting someone down. If I missed something at daycare or at home I felt sad for her and if I had to take a day off work because she was sick I felt like I was letting the team down.
Being a working mum is full of tough decisions. You want to spend as much time as possible with your kids, while also not missing out on career opportunities. More than often women have to choose one or the other, or have huge gaps from the workforce. When I had my second, who is now 10 months old, I knew I couldn’t go back to my full-time role and I didn’t want to anymore.
The Launch: How did you start out in the beginning?
I started researching other options instead of going back to work. I tried a couple of products and nothing resonated with me. I then found the perfect company to align myself with, the products are all natural, vegan and wholefood nutritional support. I haven’t eaten meat since I was a teenager and have definitely used that excuse to have hot chips for dinner a few times myself! I knew this was a way I could contribute to the household, fulfill my need to have a role outside of being a wife and mum and also make my family’s health a priority.
The innovation: What was the biggest breakthrough for you with your business?
To not re-invent the wheel! There are formulas to being successful online. I learned that I had to be teachable and now I get to help others do the same.
The whole point of working from home is to have the ability to put the kids first, so if I spend a day singing Let It Go with my 3-year-old 45 times then that’s great…
Yin and Yang: How do you balance work and family?
Some days I can get into creative mode and achieve a great deal, other times my baby boy doesn’t want to be put down so we cuddle on the lounge in our PJs. I have found the key is not to be too hard on yourself. The whole point of working from home is to have the ability to put the kids first, so if I spend a day singing Let It Go 45 times with my 3-year-old then that’s great, and if I manage to connect with 10 new customers then that’s great too.
The Drive: What challenges have you overcome?
My personal growth has been huge. I have had to get out of my comfort zone and stop psyching myself out of things before I have even tried. If I’m nervous about something or over-thinking it, I count down from 5 and jump in. We make up stories in our heads all the time about why someone hasn’t responded to you, ‘Maybe I’ve upset them’, ‘Maybe they don’t like me’, etc, when really they are just busy. My self esteem still gets in the way sometimes so I listen to a podcast of someone who inspires me or read an article or watch a clip and then I’m back in the right head space.
