The story behind Two-comma mamas™
Hi, I'm Crystalee! These are my cute kids. And this is my story behind creating the Two-Comma Mamas™ program (and soon-to-be-released book to match!)
After several years in the corporate world, when my first baby came along, I felt so torn. I'd worked hard at my career, earned a master's degree, and won several awards for my work ... but this new precious person was my proudest achievement.
She meant (and still means) the world to me and I refused to miss her babyhood. I arranged to work from home two days a week, but felt I wasn't able to give my best to my baby or my employer.
I grew increasingly stressed, unhappy, and fatigued. Although I enjoyed my work, I felt trapped in the 9-5 schedule. I was the breadwinner for our family at the time and convinced myself quitting wasn't an option. I thought about taking the reigns and starting my own company, but that idea terrified me. Wasn't there a (financially sustainable) way to enjoy both my baby AND my work?
Then the best possible thing that could have happened, DID happen.
I was laid off.
I was 15 weeks pregnant with my second baby (see my cute boy in blue!) at the time, and took almost a whole year to focus on my family. My husband and I were both unemployed, and I grew increasingly uneasy about our family's dwindling bank account numbers.
I would stay up at night, worrying about money.
I felt embarrassed we both had master's degrees, but we were just squeaking by, living on my unemployment checks.
I obsessed about checking our bank accounts, only to see the numbers shrinking.
One day I realized something small but significant: "All we need is another COMMA and we'll be financially free."
I made a quiet but powerful commitment to myself that I'd figure out how to be a two-comma mama. And I decided ENTREPRENEURSHIP would be my avenue to get there.
I got a business license, and the clients almost magically appeared.
About seven months after I made this promise to myself, I attended a conference where I heard this Zig Ziglar quote:
"You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want."
In that moment, I knew my journey to become a two-comma mama and enjoy financial freedom was meant to be shared. I felt divine nudges, over and over, "Other moms need to know what you're learning, Crystalee" and "you need to share this." Despite my own self-doubts, I cofounded www.themamaladder.com in 2017 to help other mothers climb after business dreams.
(Need to edit below to fit this program ...)
The greatest effort happens INTERNALLY first before outward actions are possible. I worked hard on chipping away at self-doubt, changing my mindset, and learning from successful mentors. Then I took bold action after action on what I learned.
The past two years my business and babies have grown. I'm using the same skills from my corporate roles and applying them to serving and delighting my own clients. I love what I do. And happy surprise: I make more money working part-time (on my own terms!) than I did in my full-time gig. The best part is I get to enjoy the privilege of motherhood and have fun with my babies every day. I'll never get over how happy that makes me.
It's been a transformative journey for me and my family. It makes my soul sing and I have a deep desire to share the freedom and fulfillment I feel.
