How one Mom has leveraged her corporate experience to run a Marketing & Communications Business
If you need a hit of encouragement, inspiration, and real talk from a parent who is juggling running a business, homeschooling her two young children, and supporting a partner who is working full time from home, this is the episode for you!
Teresa Ruiz Decker, owner of Dream Catch Consulting, takes us on a journey—from making the decision to start a business when she was laid off 3 years ago, to hard lessons she’s learned along the way, important advice she wants you to know if you’re considering this type of work, how she juggles it all during a global pandemic, and more!
She is a wealth of knowledge to anyone interested in starting their own consulting business. We were absolutely blown away at the amount of wisdom she dropped in less than an hour. So whether or not you’re interested in this specific industry, we would highly recommend listening to this one!
If you're interested in learning more about what Teresa does, check out dreamcatchconsulting.com!
Here's what you'll find in this episode...
[4:48] So what does Teresa do all day? Mostly kick a** and take names for all things marketing for nonprofits, but she also works in project management for these organizations by tapping into a powerhouse of all-female freelancers
[6:47] Super relatable: Teresa first started freelancing as a way to put more money toward her looming college debt
[8:12] Talk about pressure making diamonds: since Teresa had two young children when she made the leap to entrepreneurship, she gave herself just 3 months to make the kind of salary she made while she had a full-time job. Whew!
[9:42] Inspo alert! Teresa did a TON of research on freelancing, including reading Jen Sincero's advice on conquering fear
[11:32] Teresa interviewed other freelancers for advice and guidance from folks like Cat Johnson and Kate Rose
[12:39] Sounds simple, but it worked; to find clients, Teresa just put aside her fears and sent the word out that she was looking for clients
[14:38] So, is Teresa making a good living? Yep, even by California standards (like, over $100k/year!)
[18:40] One of the things Teresa would have done when she just started is reach out to experts for help on things like accounting, taxes, and admin
[25:17] Speaking of experts, if you're looking for business coaching, look no further than Tiffany and Beth (Teresa benefitted from Tiff's help with proposals!)
[28:00] Running a business, raising a 6-year-old and a 3-year-old, a husband who works full time from home (thanks COVID) and part time child care; Teresa shares strategies for juggling her day-to-day (hint: don't give up, and find a schedule that works for the whole family)
[33:10] Teresa really plans her weeks (cough, cough: Capacity Planning), down to the hour, which allows her to make the most of every working minute. Like Teresa says, "you eat what you hunt."
[36:42] You know by now that we at Kenza are ALL ABOUT supporting our freelancing parents! Check out these tips for maxing out your productivity, many of which Teresa and Tiffany both use to create their own success
[38:11] Teresa also tracks her time with Harvest, which allowed her to really establish valuation for her time
[40:49] Teresa's last words of wisdom: totally commit to nurturing yourself, and truly believe that you can do this. Also, really treat your clients with respect and gratitude, and keep the right clients
Resources mentioned in the episode...
Dream Catch Consulting with Teresa Ruiz Decker
