Episode 8 – Breaking the Mold: Tiffany Lewis’ Leap into Business and Finding Fulfillment

Todd Bertsch: 0:17

Welcome back to the Bolt Podcast. I’m Todd Bertsch, your guide on this exciting journey of personal growth and leadership, where my guests and I will share personal stories from our transformational journeys of how small changes can lead to massive results. You’ll discover tips on overcoming obstacles, setting and achieving goals, building lasting habits, developing confidence, living a happy, healthy and positive life, and so much more. If you’re ready to cultivate a growth mindset and become the best version of yourself, then let’s ignite your growth today. I’m excited to introduce our guest for today’s show, Tiffany Lewis.

Todd Bertsch: 1:00

Tiffany is a seasoned digital marketer with over 16 years of experience and a proud mother of two. After losing her corporate job for prioritizing motherhood, Tiffany turned adversity into opportunity by launching her own business, More Meaningful Marketing in 2018, where she helps service-based entrepreneurs build authentic standout brands. Helps service-based entrepreneurs build authentic standout brands. Known for her humorous approach to motherhood and unwavering dedication, Tiffany has successfully found the balance between pursuing her professional ambitions, doing meaningful work and being the mom she always wanted to be. Listeners, this is going to be an exciting episode, inspiring, so please enjoy my conversation with Tiffany Lewis. Tiffany, it is so good to see you, my friend. Welcome to the Bolt Podcast.

Tiffany Lewis: 1:52

Thank you, todd, super happy to be here. Really excited to talk to you today.

Todd Bertsch: 1:56

Awesome. So why don’t we just dig in? I’m sure our listeners are curious. I know I’m curious. I’m sure our listeners are curious, I know I’m curious. You talk about losing your job, your corporate job, because of, out of all things, prioritizing motherhood, and I’m sure there’s a lot of people that have gone through this same thing. So I’d love to hear your story and your journey and what happened, as much as you want to share, and why you ended up starting your own business.

Tiffany Lewis: 2:26

Yeah, thank you, I really appreciate it. I want to be candid and transparent in this story, of course, and I think for many years I was climbing the corporate ladder and convinced I didn’t want children. To be honest, I had siblings that were a decade younger than me and really spent a lot of time not raising them but being needed in the home, and so I just thought, you know, kids aren’t for me. I’m dedicated to marketing love, what I’m doing. And then there became a point where I became an aunt to a little girl and she became a big part of my world and I started to soften to the idea of, wow, you know, it’s really joyful to be around her and seeing kids for all of their firsts and how naive and funny they are at the same time, just so brutally honest. And so I started to kind of shift a little bit.

Tiffany Lewis: 3:13

I was married pretty young, around 22, 23, after college, and you know, even as a couple we didn’t want children. And then, post-divorce, I’ve been married twice. My niece stayed a part of my life through the years and met someone new and decided like, oh, this might not be so bad, as I watched her grow up and then an aunt to many nieces and a nephew now. And so fast forward. You see, when you’re climbing that corporate ladder, many women having children, many dads and parents shuffling into the office, so tired, needing that flexibility, maybe either foregoing promotions or being passed up. And I was determined not to be that, you know, when kids were on my mind. And then fast forward, my daughter comes into the world and I was so in love with her. It was like, oh my gosh, this is what the parents talk about. Everything changed. I thought I was going to be going, you know, 60 hours a week, still traveling at my leisure. You know, nothing was going to change. And then I was like, wow, that was really naive, because this is a big responsibility. And now everything is different.

Tiffany Lewis: 4:18

And so I started to take jobs closer to home and I started to see what daycare brought as far as sickness and needing to be home with those little babies. You know, I would say like for the first three or four years, they really need you. I mean solely dependent on you being there when they’re sick. You know they, they want mom a lot of the times and how do you kind of balance that?

Tiffany Lewis: 4:39

And so that was the catalyst, really, of me losing my corporate job is that I worked for a woman with two small kids and she had a lot more support than I did and, to be fair, you know, I maybe didn’t adjust to do motherhood as gracefully as I thought I was and I ended up getting fired. You know this is pre-pandemic. So flexibility and kind of that spotlight that was shown on parents through and after that wasn’t available and remote work looked different, and so it became my mission then to share that experience and, knowing I wasn’t the first mom or parent, you know to have that happen and knowing that I wouldn’t be the last, became a really big kind of it was an adversity, as you mentioned.

Tiffany Lewis: 5:21

I say my biggest burden really became my biggest blessing in starting this company.

Todd Bertsch: 5:26

That’s awesome. Wow, what a great story. You know, I think it’s a testament to resilience, to courage, fulfilling your passion, your dreams, and writing your own narrative. Dreams and writing your own narrative. You know, I think a lot of us and I have two kids as well and it does.

Todd Bertsch: 5:55

You can’t explain it until you go through it, right, and I think, being naive, a lot of us are naive about what that responsibility is. It is the most challenging and most important and most humbling leadership role that we’ll ever have. And you know, obviously I’m a male so I can’t speak to being a mother and what that’s like and going through that whole process. But I’ve been married twice and you know, so I can relate to some degree and I’ve I’ve had a lot of females around me in the workplace and on my team and in my business and I’ve seen them have their first kids and the challenges that they’ve went through and endured and as an owner and leader, you know, trying to be and lead with empathy. And any way you go about it, it’s challenging, right, and any way you go about it, it’s challenging right.

Todd Bertsch: 6:44

And I think the pandemic was eye-opening and it was horrible for a lot of reasons and ruined a lot of lives. We lost a lot of people, but I also feel like there were a lot of good things that came out of it and a lot of opportunities. The workplace will never be the same. I guess I would ask you let’s say that you were just about to have kids and were coming out of the pandemic, or during the pandemic, when things in corporate were different. Do you feel like your path would have been the same in terms of getting fired or leaving and starting your own business?

Tiffany Lewis: 7:23

You know I don’t think so, because I did do a brief stint in corporate, you know, kind of post pandemic and through it. It was a really hard time. As you mentioned, you know, I had my second child during the pandemic and I was grateful actually for the timing that I could kind of stop and see what life was looking like at a slower pace, to be more present, to be more grateful. I think you’re right, there were so many good things that came from that post-pandemic or through it. I had one of the most flexible jobs I had ever had and I think sometimes I call myself a corporate rebel and I think that I failed corporate a little bit because I had the flexibility then and still wasn’t able to be the kind of mom I wanted to be.

Tiffany Lewis: 8:02

You know, when the kids are sick or, you know, to take them somewhere on a Tuesday afternoon just because I can. You know, and I give you so much credit and you really inspire me the way that you have treated your employees through. You know life and motherhood, parenthood, you know being dads. I know you’ve had quite a few firsts on your team over the years and it’s cool to see that flexibility extended throughout. I know, for you that’s been a big, important part of running this business, and Family First is really true and valued here.

Tiffany Lewis: 8:32

I think if I could have said, you know, there was one thing that the pandemic did really well, it was to show that people really wanted that work-life balance and that flexibility, and maybe they weren’t able to see or express it before. So I think you know, like I said, I had a very flexible position, you know, after the bad experience, and I still just felt like there was something nagging at me that wanted to be just a different kind of mom. But I think a lot of parents, it seems like, have been able to flex work around their lives more because they got a little taste of it and they knew they wanted more of it, and so I think we’re in a much better place now.

Todd Bertsch: 9:10

Yeah, I would agree. It’s interesting. We do employee surveys on a quarterly basis and the most common thing, at least for our company, the most liked feature is the flexibility being able to we call it work your way, so you can either we have a beautiful office you can come in or you can do a hybrid situation come in a few days, work from home a few days or just fully work from home. And a lot of our employees have small children and they’re starting their families and that’s been incredibly important to them. And as a business owner whether I’ll be at small or large, if you have good people and you don’t want to, lose them, then you need to shift or pivot, adjust, evolve if you will.

Todd Bertsch: 9:59

So it’s different. Yeah, it is different. There’s been a huge. I was looking up some research and in the past couple of years there’s been this term coined the great breakup, where we have a lot of females leaving the workforce. In fact, it’s the largest gap we’ve ever seen between men and women leaving the workforce. And the four top reasons for this? The workforce and the four top reasons for this, number one being flexibility, two being work-life balance. Three, caregiving responsibilities and then the fourth being childcare costs.

Todd Bertsch: 10:35

And I think you know, pandemic or not, those have always been the challenges, right? I remember before having my first child and my first marriage and I was like scrapping by. You know, our family was just trying to get by. I was still working a blue-collar job, going to school full-time. My wife at the time was a waitress, second shift. So we tapped each other out Like I did first shift, I come home, she’d go to second, so we never saw each other, but we couldn’t afford daycare.

Todd Bertsch: 11:12

It’s tough, it’s tough, it’s tough. And if you’re trying to really build something for yourself, which you know a lot of us are, we go to school, we have a passion, we want to do good, provide for our family, but yet starting a family is a huge responsibility. But I do believe that working for an employer who cares, who leads with empathy and who’s actually been there, right, because it’s really hard if you don’t have kids to relate to that, that bond and wanting to be there. And when they’re young they need their parents. Right, and I don’t know I’m not talking down on people who send their kids to child care.

Todd Bertsch: 11:59

I did that as well, and it’s just the season of life and your situation. Right. But at the end of the day, the flexibility is huge either way. Right, because the kids are going to be sick, whether they go to daycare or not, they’re going to bring home stuff from school or preschool or kindergarten. And then you need to be flexible and your day is going to have to pivot, you know, regardless of the role you’re in, whether you’re, you know, a producer or if you’re in a director, dp, c-level role. So it’s just, it’s challenging. It’s challenging, but you know your story is really inspiring.

Tiffany Lewis: 12:33

Thank you. Challenging, it’s challenging, but, you know, your story is really inspiring, thank you. Yeah, I think I like to see more of people like you who are running companies and extending that flexibility. Instead, I think a little bit before there was the generation that was like, well, we did it and we suffered through it, and you should too. And so, even despite you know our experiences, we can still extend more grace, more patience, more understanding, more empathy to the people you know that are working for and with us in a way that they, you know, can appreciate, so they don’t have to have the same experience. So I think it takes a really strong leader to do that and separate that and be able to mentor, you know, employees, contractors, through those seasons.

Tiffany Lewis: 13:12

You know, this really kind of scares me the rate at which women are leaving the workforce. I mean, you know, I feel like people in general have come such a long way to advocating for their needs, the flexibility, the compensation right, the balance, and seeing women leave is a little bit scary when they’ve been able to obtain positions and that they wanted and desired as parents or just as leaders, and seeing that shift seems a little bit like it could set us back. You know, even despite being an entrepreneur, I’m a big supporter of just empowering and encouraging others, especially working moms, women, that are having these experiences. We still have child care in our home. We have ever since I left corporate, and sometimes that has been a judgment by family or friends. You know you, you’re home working. Why aren’t you just keeping them there? I’m like have you ever tried to work with a two-year-old?

Tiffany Lewis: 14:01

You know, it’s not a cakewalk and it’s not like they’re just gonna go play in a corner for two hours. That never happens, like if you’re in the vicinity. They want you Sure yeah.

Tiffany Lewis: 14:11

And you know, personally I’ve tried it always. I’ve worked from home full-time, part-time, stayed at home with the kids. I have, you know, had the business worked full-time, part-time, full-time entrepreneur. And it is really hard, I think, to curb those ambitions when you have children for some people. You know there are people who maybe can’t do child care so they flex their home situation. Either they need to work or they’re happier.

Tiffany Lewis: 14:35

I think we don’t give enough weight to fulfillment for ourselves, especially when we become parents. I saw my mom make such tremendous sacrifices and I mean it’s kind of a silly thing, but she had braces in her fifties and I just thought like, oh, that’s, that’s interesting. I never knew she didn’t like her teeth. Well, we all had braces. And so I see that as a mom and I see her sacrifice in working two or three jobs and I think at times wanting the option to be more available.

Tiffany Lewis: 15:02

Just, life goes so fast. You just do what you can to survive and then you look back and you say, could I have done things differently? And I think that’s one of my biggest motivations is that, no matter what I choose in motherhood and work, I don’t want to regret the majority of the decisions. I think as parents, we end up with regrets no matter what. But if we can be a little more intentional, have the right mindset, have goals that are aligned with our family, our future, our work, it can really help us to be more well-rounded.

Tiffany Lewis: 15:31

I’m a better mom when I have this company and when I’m working and flexing that mental muscle at the end of the day than when I have a lot of unfulfilled needs, whether that’s work or the gym or just some self-care. It’s like gosh, all of that sacrifice. I think we’ve seen the effects of that, so that’s a huge motivator for me to not lose my ambition and still show the kids that work is important and really that you get to choose what life looks like. I don’t want to be at the desperation of the dollar all the time.

Todd Bertsch: 16:05

Right, wow, that was beautifully said, thank you.

Todd Bertsch: 16:08

You’re speaking my language for sure, and I’ve talked about a number of those elements on several of the podcasts. It’s all about defining your success right. What does success mean to you? And I think a lot of times we are driven by the almighty dollar or the almighty title or role, especially as we’re younger. You know, and rightfully so, I did the same thing right, so you worked hard to get through college and climb that ladder and then at some point you realize you start a family and your priorities change and your season of life is different. And hopefully, you know, my hope would be that the younger generation can realize this sooner.

Todd Bertsch: 16:53

To your point about you, point about your mom or even my folks looking back saying did I have regrets? A lot of people get to that point late in their career or even retirement and look back and say, oh damn, I missed out on many important events in my kid’s life. Or maybe they had a passion or a hobby that they never pursued because they were working 60, 70 hours a week. I think, yeah, we’re just at a place where reflection is really important. I think a lot of people don’t reflect enough and that comes with, you know, a great morning routine or journaling or meditation, just taking that time during the day, week, or even once a month to really reflect and say, okay, what’s important to me, am I aligned with those core values and those life pillars and staying on track and being able to adjust if needed, track right and being able to adjust if needed, before you get so far along that you’re saying, shoot, now I regret not doing this.

Todd Bertsch: 18:04

And that’s where I’m a big believer in tracking and I think you know I showed you a sample of how I track my life and it might seem a little crazy or nerdy and my wife even makes fun of me, but I’ll tell you what. For me, being a type A, and the way that I operate, I need a system and I need, like that, checks and balances. I know what I want, right. I know what my values are, what’s important to me, but I just need a check and balance to say am I meeting those? Because time flies so fast, like you said. So that’s really important.

Tiffany Lewis: 18:38

I think it’s a big fear or it has been, to make those adjustments. You know, there’s also another piece of this remote work culture that I think is being a little bit swept under the rug because people are happy to be home more. But I’ll be honest, like being home 24, seven, I realized there are days that weeks that like I’m not leaving enough and getting out and getting fresh air and you know, maybe I’m going to the gym but you know I’m not seeing people, I’m not checking in on relationships. It’s very easy to get into so much into life balance. Right, you’re in, actually in your home the majority of the days, weeks, months, without that separation of church and state and I think sometimes for mental health that can be super influential in the way that we operate. I know I need that break, right, like in between my husband coming home from work like he jumped straight in the shower. I’m like dude, like I need a shower.

Tiffany Lewis: 19:29

You know, like you would think, because I’m at home, you know, and back and forth to the gym, that I would have found time, but to your point of really tracking and knowing what your goals are and if they’re aligned, sometimes you know when, especially when you’re working part time in a very full time business that you really have to be so diligent about time wasters, making sure that maybe you have a transition between you know work in the evening if you’re not having that drive, the meditation, the mindfulness, the check in, and not being afraid to make a change if something doesn’t suit you.

Tiffany Lewis: 20:00

I’ve realized that now I have kids who are three and seven and a half, that their needs change of me and no matter really what I want for them, it may not be the best thing for them, whereas you know, my son and daughter have both been daycare kids, and mostly part time, and my daughter at seven and a half is, like, more interested in friends and she enjoys being at school every day, and so they have different needs from parents and, as they find independences, you know that they may need more of you at times and they may require less, and so really being diligent too about what kind of parent you want to be, but also not realizing that it’s not all quantity of time, it’s quality.

Todd Bertsch: 20:42

Yeah, absolutely I agree 110%. And that took me a long time to realize that there was a post I saw on social media one day about somebody who’s a big time influencer and he was talking about kids and time and he said you know, you can’t really get caught up in the quantity, you really need to focus on the quality of the time.

Todd Bertsch: 21:09

And that’s what I really started to do as well, Although I do track the amounts of quality time I get, because, again, you could go by a few weeks and you know I have a 12-year-old daughter and getting time with her is tough.

Tiffany Lewis: 21:23

Yes.

Todd Bertsch: 21:24

Although I feel like I’m a cool dad.

Tiffany Lewis: 21:26

You are a cool dad.

Todd Bertsch: 21:27

She doesn’t. You know, she doesn’t see that, and so I’m constantly trying to get that time. But a few weeks can go by and then I’m like, wow, I haven’t spent any time with you at all, but I’m tracking it so I can see that pattern. I’m like you know what I’m going to maybe pivot or come from a different lens or perspective or try something different. And, like you said, the kids needs change and what their interests are. So finding something that she can relate to, that I can relate to, that we can bond over, is always a good thing, but it’s tricky. It’s tricky.

Todd Bertsch: 22:02

So I want to go back to what you’ve said about being an employer and being empathetic, and that is tricky. I do want to say yes, at the point we’re at now, I feel like we’ve given extreme flexibility. But I do want to say personally, like that was a difficult decision for me to make. I knew what was needed, but personally I love people, right. I started a business to create an environment, a culture where I can see and be around, and I genuinely love my people so selfishly. It was really difficult to make that decision, to say you know what, you can work any way you want, you don’t ever have to come into the office. I may never see you again.

Todd Bertsch: 22:50

Yeah, you know that was really tough for me and I think employers are making that tough call. And I have a beautiful office space 5,000 square feet that’s unused, so from a financial standpoint as well. So I there are two. There are always two sides to every story, but at the end of the day I didn’t want to lose my team. And they’re telling me, I’m listening and they’re telling me what they want. So I gave it to them and you know, they’re still here today.

Tiffany Lewis: 23:20

So you have a lot of longevity on your team. And I think that speaks volumes to how you’ve been able to flex as a leader and I can relate to that as a parent and you know, as an employer, as having been an employee, is that so much of like?

Tiffany Lewis: 23:35

raising your business, raising your family, is not about what you think is best for the family or the business. It’s like how they perceive your efforts. Right, you could be doing what you think are all the right things, like. Well, you know, we need people and we need to nurture each other and we have to have that buzz and that collaboration and it is so important in marketing, you know especially, and then you know, letting people kind of make their decision of what works for them can be hard, especially as parents to watching our kids make decisions. You know it’s a lot of holding on and letting go and I remember you wrestling with that decision and we’ve known each other for quite some time and and it is, it’s selfless, you know to be able to look and understand what the employees need. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t contradict your spirit of what you feel like you need. It’s, to your point, a balance of, you know, the push and pull.

Todd Bertsch: 24:24

Right, so I want to go back to the business. More meaningful marketing First off. Congrats six, over six years now. Yeah, thank you 50% of small businesses don’t make it past five years. So that’s a huge, a huge accomplishment, so good for you.

Tiffany Lewis: 24:41

Thank you.

Todd Bertsch: 24:43

Yeah.

Tiffany Lewis: 24:43

Sorry, taking a stand and going for it.

Todd Bertsch: 24:45

But also you know obviously you’re doing doing good things. So tell us a little bit about your business and the type of work that you do, the clients that you serve.

Tiffany Lewis: 24:54

Yeah, thank you. So you know, when I started the business it was really like I think so many you know, women and men just in the workforce thinking how do I get more time back? And so, you know, loving marketing, I was really in the technical side engineering, automation, manufacturing operations and very B2B. I was really missing the B2C side. But you know, in marketing sometimes that’s not as well paid and so I did chase money at that point in my career and, having my daughter, I just thought I’d make this joke like I would have lived in a cardboard box but I didn’t know if my husband would still love me. So more meaningful marketing was about really getting to the heart of marketing and being able to still thrive professionally while raising a family. And it’s really about, you know, less technical and just more empathy, to your point, more caring, more personal branding. You know, getting to the root of what makes a business owner start a business, maintain a business, grow a business and getting those like little golden nuggets. That maybe not everyone is talking about, and I mostly work with women, but I think that’s because there’s like a vulnerability tied to the work that we do together is okay. You have your products, your services, your offerings, but who are you as a person and who are you as a leader and a parent? And how do you differentiate in a market?

Tiffany Lewis: 26:14

You know, I worked with a lot of real estate agents early and I thought like they can sell homes, why are they coming to me? You know, for marketing, and I didn’t want to rock the boat, but it was like a burning question and I found out, you know, that, like the more seasoned agents were salespeople, but the newer ones coming in were relationship people and they were very focused there and real estate became very saturated through the pandemic, as the housing market was hot, inventory was low and people were really looking for a way agents specifically to differentiate what they were doing. Anyone with a license can help you buy or sell a home, but what’s different about you, how you operate the brokerage you’re a part of? Are you a solo agent? How do you do business?

Todd Bertsch: 27:00

That makes all the difference in a world with you know why someone will come to you and keep coming to you? Yeah, absolutely so. What types of clients are you looking for now?

Tiffany Lewis: 27:06

I would say I work with a lot of women entrepreneurs. Teams of three or less, maybe, have either DIY their marketing or have hired some of it out, but have had not a great experience. You know, I think a lot of industries have stigmas attached to them. Marketing is a big one. There are a lot of people who will ghost or take a website down when things don’t go their way, or maybe they do a piece of marketing and, to no fault of theirs, kind of leave their clients hanging. So I would say someone who wants that really cohesive approach to digital they’re looking at, you know, the impacts of video, what it means to have a website, how they serve their prospects and clients on social. You know looking at their email lists, segmenting them appropriately, speaking to the right people with the right message at the right time on all you know, outlets, so that’s been really impactful and it’s you know more meaningful marketing.

Tiffany Lewis: 27:57

It seems like you know the name tells what it is. But I really care, you know, I care about giving someone a piece of the puzzle or the whole thing.

Tiffany Lewis: 28:04

You know I’m not going to look at just social. When I work with someone, you know, nine times out of 10 clients come to me for that and I’m like well, do you even like your brand? What is your brand? I don’t know. No, I don’t love it, but you know it’ll do for now and I’m like no, no, no Like you have to love it. You’re walking, you’re talking it like you want to see, you’re going to see it a lot. You better really love it.

Todd Bertsch: 28:37

Yeah, absolutely yeah. You better, Cause you’re going to need to stand behind it, right, and then, like you said, it is your brand and I love the name. Thank you, and that you can tell that you care and you have passion for what you do and the people that you serve, and you’re definitely a servant leader.

Tiffany Lewis: 28:43

Thank you, which is really important to me.

Todd Bertsch: 28:46

What are some of the biggest challenges that you faced being an entrepreneur? I know I can go back when I started and it’s tough, right Anything that stands out that you’ve ran into.

Tiffany Lewis: 28:59

I think people always say I hear in the entrepreneurial world especially, you know, I want to have $10,000 months, I want to have $50,000 months. But the reality is, and a coach that I worked with said, like well, that’s a paycheck, like if you want the same amount of money every month, like go get a salary job. And I heard that and I was like you know, there is some truth to that. It’s like you get to be flexible and there’s something to be said about, like rowing the boat that you’ve built. But I think for entrepreneurs like we have so many ideas, so it’s challenging to know which ones to act on.

Tiffany Lewis: 29:30

I know I’ve made mistakes on alignment many times brought in people that I wanted to work with because I was excited and maybe we didn’t align and so that’s been a mistake. It’s hard when you’re raising a family and you need cash. We’re a dual income household and so finding that right balance of cash flow and predictability and knowing when to hire and when to expand I’ve definitely expanded a team early on and then I was like wow, you know, none of these people almost are aligned with what I’m doing and where I’m going, and you realize quickly that there are a lot of transactional leaders out there that will chase the record months and I just it’s hard not to fall into that. When you see it so much in the space, you know You’re kind of attracting the same types of people and just not falling victim to what they’re doing, and so much so that you dilute who you are.

Todd Bertsch: 30:22

Yeah, absolutely, and that goes back to defining what success means to you. So if it is the almighty dollar, maybe being an entrepreneur, having your own business, is not for you. Maybe you do need to go work corporate and have a very sustainable, consistent paycheck. You know it’s tough, especially starting off. Is there anything that you know now that you wish you knew then when you started?

Tiffany Lewis: 30:50

Yeah, I think, just really. I think one thing that helps me stay aligned in for all business owners is just to be true to yourself. We’re in a place where you don’t have to like hide behind a brand.

Tiffany Lewis: 30:59

I always say like the person that you meet, you know on the street should be the exact same person you portrayed online. There should be no surprise that, like you know, there’s a lot of business owners, people on LinkedIn that you thought they would be a certain way based on the content they’re putting out. And you meet them in person, you’re like oh, not my thing, which is okay. You know everybody operates differently, but I think having that North Star within of like, your likes, your dislikes, your obligations, your version of success, your routine, what your life you know thrives in the best possible way, what that looks like, and finding that out early and then not being afraid to adjust if you have to.

Todd Bertsch: 31:37

Right, yeah, pivot, evolve. That’s all You’re always going to do. That I felt like it’s really every five years. Yeah, it doesn’t mean like a full rebrand or pivot, but it’s good just to reflect, take a look at what you’ve done and where you’re heading and any mistakes you’ve made, and learn from that and grow. What do you love most about owning your own business?

Tiffany Lewis: 32:03

Definitely the opportunity to make a direct impact. That was something that in corporate because I did work for larger companies there’s so many layers, so many degrees of separation between starting and finishing a project and just having that direct impact, seeing the difference it makes on a firsthand basis is truly rewarding and something that I felt like I was just striving for all the time but never really feeling. I think that’s the best part. But if I could go back to what you’re saying, one thing you’ve learned. It’s like when people see me online and they say, oh, you’re doing it all, like, how do you do it, can you help me?

Tiffany Lewis: 32:35

And over the years I’ve realized like different people have different seasons of life, different circumstances. They may be a single income home right, you have to know things about benefits. You know what that looks like for you and your family, what kind of stable income you have, what assets you have, how many months you can survive if you don’t make another dollar. Those are real conversations to be had. And so you know, do you have multiple properties you want to own and maintain? There are all these life decisions. So you know, if you look at someone and you really want to be like that. Ask them to be transparent, answer those hard questions, find someone you’re comfortable with doing that and have a mentor that can kind of dissect that on a really realistic basis for your personal circumstance.

Todd Bertsch: 33:18

Yeah, absolutely. I mean that all goes into the business plan, right? Do you have a life motto or mantra that you follow?

Tiffany Lewis: 33:26

I do so. I love a couple of quotes and I think I shared one with you is sometimes God breaks your heart to save your soul. That one really resonates with me. You know, looking back in hindsight, a winner is just a loser. Who tried one more time Seems like pessimistic at first thought, but really, you know, you never know how close you were to reaching a goal if you stop.

Tiffany Lewis: 33:48

And then the other one we say in our house quite a bit is patience and grace are what we give when we love someone, including ourselves, can be really hard on myself. I see it in my daughter too. I’m sure Some of that has been like. You know me not being as conscious about how I worked through that. But I think you know having patience with ourselves. We just want it all so fast and we want everything, and that instant gratification is very easy to fall into in the world that we’re in and realizing that most overnight successes were many years in the making. When you said six or so years for more meaningful marketing, I was like wow it feels like 20.

Todd Bertsch: 34:23

There’s a lot of hustle in there.

Todd Bertsch: 34:26

Yeah, there is. There is a lot of hustle, yeah, and patience and grace boy, those have been two things that I’ve struggled with, you know, my whole life and I did a whole episode on the pause button and we’ve talked a little bit about my journey with patients. And then grace has been something that my life coach has worked with me on for the past couple of years that was my word last year was grace. Grace for me, giving myself grace, because I am a perfectionist by trade self-proclaimed and I’m not proud of that. Honestly. I used to be, but I’m trying to get away from that, Because being a perfectionist is about there being an end game and, like I said, I don’t feel like there is. It’s an infinite game. We just continue to iterate and make changes and be the best that we can be. So, yeah, I don’t know, it’s all about growth.

Todd Bertsch: 35:16

I mean that’s my mantra is just lifelong learner.

Tiffany Lewis: 35:20

I love that there is so much self-awareness and appreciation and even advocacy for really doing what’s best for you. Because you’ve gone through the generation of you know you do what you have to do. There’s this linear approach to life and then you get the golden thing that you’re looking for, you know the golden egg, and it’s just.

Tiffany Lewis: 35:41

You know, life isn’t linear, and so even in entrepreneurship, I think a lot of businesses entrepreneurs. When you work for a company, you want that raise, you want that dollar, you want that recognition, and then you realize that once you’ve gotten it, like what’s next? There’s always something next.

Todd Bertsch: 35:55

Right.

Tiffany Lewis: 35:56

So being content and being diligent and patient, I think goes a long way.

Todd Bertsch: 36:01

Oh yeah, it’s definitely the key to everything, really. And it just changes your whole mindset.

Tiffany Lewis: 36:08

Absolutely.

Todd Bertsch: 36:09

What’s something people don’t know about you that they would be surprised to learn?

Tiffany Lewis: 36:17

Oh, that’s a really good one. I love to be outside. That may not surprise people I live in Ohio, so, and I would prefer to live somewhere where there are seasons. But I love to be outside where a big family who likes to adventure, bike hike, you know, be out on the trails. I think when I had children I was like gosh, I’m never going to get back to the things I love again, you know. But it takes a little more planning and a little more practice. But I really enjoy doing bike rides especially. We have some beautiful trails here. We even go with my parents, so they’re in on it. We do a lot of family outings. That’s something that I really enjoy and hope to, you know, create almost like a tradition you know that we do more with our parents and the kids.

Tiffany Lewis: 36:57

I can’t Like we went to Denver and we took a nanny. They’re like, oh, you need time without the kids, like I can’t wait to have time without the kids. I’m like I can’t go down the street to a concert where I don’t have service and not have contact with the kids. So I don’t think that’s surprising, but on the spot I’m trying to think of what else could be more interesting about me.

Todd Bertsch: 37:16

Yeah, Well, you talk about humor a lot, oh yeah. So tell us a little bit about this humorous approach to motherhood and life in general. I think we need more humor in our life as a society.

Tiffany Lewis: 37:28

Yeah, I really. You know, when you get on social you do see highlight reels and I really try to pull back the veil and the curtain and just say like, no, like, take a picture of my toddler, like in the corner, you know, with something fun, some funny hat and some snack.

Todd Bertsch: 37:46

that’s half on the ground Like that is real life.

Tiffany Lewis: 37:48

It’s some funny hat and some snack that’s half on the ground, like that is real life. I’m like I’m on a call right now and this is what’s happening. You know, and just you know, the smart things my daughter says and it’s really just I think important to know that everybody has that human element, that there really isn’t perfection online, and so you know, I have conversations with the kids. I post those on social. You know the crazy outfits. The other day my son was in a Spider-Man Halloween costume from last year. It’s like one of them that has abs and muscles and he’s just sitting at the dinner table eating. He also has a Santa hat on. You know, it’s just like you can’t make this stuff up. Sometimes they’re just goofy. My son the other day I’m like last one to get ready is the rotten egg because you know they’re moving like sloths in the morning.

Todd Bertsch: 38:23

I’m like we don’t have time.

Tiffany Lewis: 38:24

You guys got to get on the bus and go and he just stands there like in his little underwear and he’s like walking around. I’m like you’re going to be the rotten egg, Like come on, this means hurry.

Todd Bertsch: 38:41

And he just stops and he’s like well, I want to be the rotten egg. Yeah, that’s funny. And kids are great for a number of reasons, but one they just keep us humble and I think one of the things that we lose as we get into our careers, you know, and being professionals and even parents, is that we lose that childlike presence within us.

Todd Bertsch: 39:03

You know, we’re in a box and we take everything so serious. There’s a practice by Shirzad Shamim in the Positive Intelligence Program where he asked you to go find a picture of your childhood where you were truly happy, and for me it’s like playing baseball.

Todd Bertsch: 39:22

I love baseball and I would cry when it rained and the game would get rained out. But I can go back to that and see that smile and that joy and picture that day and really try to represent that now in my life, you know, in the day that’s coming up. So I think if we just can relate and go back to our childhood every now and then and remember those moments and try to bring that in, it’ll make us a little bit different, a little bit more easygoing.

Tiffany Lewis: 39:55

I saw a quote a while back that said if you want to know everything there is to know about life, ask a six-year-old and I thought that’s such a great you know message to think about how much we grow past that point in our life and being able to tap into it with joy and childlike you know excitement, I think, is important.

Tiffany Lewis: 40:13

I don’t remember the in between days as a kid. I remember the memories. I remember the Disney trip. I remember, you know, sports and my parents being present. You know, I don’t know if I remember the in-between days. I find it hard to play as a parent, like I’m an older mom, you know, and I’m like I don’t want to play Play-Doh the mess, the you know, and it’s hard sometimes to happen to that like moment and find the moment and enjoy the moment.

Tiffany Lewis: 40:35

I think there’s this like misconception that all parents are down on the floor playing with their kids 24-7, because that’s what we’re seeing on Instagram, but really we’re just trying to feed them and get them to bed at a reasonable time so we all get some rest.

Todd Bertsch: 40:48

Right and brush their teeth.

Tiffany Lewis: 40:50

Oh, yeah, that one Yep.

Todd Bertsch: 40:52

I will. I will get on the floor and play some Lego. Oh, yes, I’ll drop everything to do Lego.

Tiffany Lewis: 40:56

I don’t like that Lego has like become very niche. Like I don’t want to just play Frozen Legos, I want to build the empire.

Todd Bertsch: 41:03

Right, right. Well, there’s yeah, there’s a lot there, so let’s play a little game, and it might be a little morbid, but we’re at the end of the road, end of life. How do you want to be remembered? What would they say at your eulogy?

Tiffany Lewis: 41:21

Yeah, I mean, this is a big one for me. I definitely want to leave my kids with more financial literacy than I had, you know, and to have a really good foundation, but I do want to be remembered as someone who was able to be good at work and life and happy doing it and balanced doing it. Yeah, that’s awesome.

Todd Bertsch: 41:38

I love that.

Tiffany Lewis: 41:40

And showing the kids you know that they can do it too, because I think there’s so much of being like a slave to the job and so much unhappiness in those early years of sacrifice and doing the grunt work and like you don’t have to stay somewhere. You have so much time.

Todd Bertsch: 41:52

Right, right. I think that’s a great, great message and would be a great role model for your kids.

Tiffany Lewis: 42:00

Thank you.

Todd Bertsch: 42:01

I know we’ve had lots of discussions. You’re a big advocate for personal growth. Is there one thing that you’re working on this year to make yourself a better person for yourself, for your kids, your family, the people you serve, or is there one habit that you’re trying to create or change this year?

Tiffany Lewis: 42:20

Yeah, I am really being more intentional about getting time on the calendar to have experiences. You know I’m doing the the few times a week gym trips. That’s been really big for me. I think there’s this idea of like we talked about as quantity of time. It’s like, oh well, I’m available every night for the kids and my husband and that’s really easy for them when they have a flow. But I’m like it’s not working for me, like I actually am making it a goal to be outside of the house more now because I realize like everybody also needs that distance to figure things out. You know it’s creating some independence in the household. It’s creating some.

Tiffany Lewis: 42:51

You know the absence makes the heart grow fonder. You know you do tend to take things for granted when you’re in it, so I’m asking myself you know, what are the experiences I want to have? That’s really where the money is going. You know we donate a lot of our time to individuals as families, doing some of that charitable work and getting the kids, you know, to understand gratitude early, I think is really important. I went without as a kid and so that’s a big motivation for me to not overgive to them. You know it’s a balance, but to understand that you know there’s a difference for people in the way that they grow up and that we do want to be thankful for what we have.

Todd Bertsch: 43:27

Yeah, absolutely. Well, there’s a lot of great messages in there, especially the gratitude one. And it’s tough, you know. I didn’t grow up with much either. My parents worked two jobs their whole life trying to just give us some decent things, you know, and a decent education. And it’s tough because I have the means now and I could spoil my kids.

Todd Bertsch: 43:51

But what message am I sending? I’m not helping them build any resilience. You know, it’s almost like I want to say a silver spoon, but in that same mantra, and it’s tough and especially when you’re busy, it’s just a lot easier to just keep them happy and just buy that a hundred dollar Lego set that really should be for Christmas. But hey, I want to, like, get some time with my daughter. So if she really wants to do that, a hundred dollars is worth it. You know, like, really, if I’m going to get a couple of working on this together phone down, really intentional and being present, it might be worth it, but still, I get you. That’s a tough one. Yeah, would be very easy for them to go down that road, but they’re being intentional about trying to build some things into the process of, you know, raising their kids so they understand a little bit about what it’s like, you know.

Tiffany Lewis: 44:54

Yeah, and I think for grandparents too, like you have to really advocate for that model. You know we grew up and we have more now, but like the grandparents are spoiling and I’ve had to have conversations like please take them somewhere, let’s all go somewhere together, they don’t need another toy. My daughter said this morning my room I said your room is a mess, we’ve got to work on that. And she’s like well, it’s messy because I have too many toys. I’m like huh, what a bad problem to have which isn’t really.

Tiffany Lewis: 45:17

I mean, she does have like, I think I need to do something about that.

Todd Bertsch: 45:22

Yeah, that’s totally something my daughter would say. So, coming to closing here, just a couple of quick, kind of rapid fire questions. What are some of your favorite books on marketing or personal growth that you’d like to share recommend?

Tiffany Lewis: 45:38

Yeah, I think the big leap is always a big one, the central part of that book and just the mental mindset and being ready for. I think so many people are ready for the quick success but they don’t have the foundational mindset stuff you know, in place and just really being prepared to do that and what it requires.

Todd Bertsch: 45:53

Okay.

Tiffany Lewis: 45:53

So that’s a staple for me. I’m also a big Great Gatsby fan. Classic a lot of like classic literature types of books that I’ve been able to share with my niece, who loves vintage libraries, and we venture out to those.

Todd Bertsch: 46:05

Okay, awesome. And is there one big takeaway that you want our listeners to learn today? What would that be?

Tiffany Lewis: 46:19

Yeah, I think, find your version of happiness and balance. It doesn’t have to look like everyone else’s or anyone else’s. It’s not. You know a competition Really. You, at the end of the day, have to be happy with what you’ve achieved and that doesn’t have anything’s not. You know a competition Really. You, at the end of the day, have to be happy with what you’ve achieved and that doesn’t have anything to do, you know, with everyone else, and I think that’s a hard lesson, I think it’s a lifelong lesson, but I think it’s the most important. I know I want to be remembered as a happy wife and mom, and that can be challenging for me. So always being able and willing to make that pivot for yourself early and often if you have to.

Todd Bertsch: 46:44

Yeah, wow, love that Mic, drop that. And make that a quote. That’s awesome.

Tiffany Lewis: 46:51

Thank you.

Todd Bertsch: 46:51

Well, this has been great, Tiffany. How can people learn more about you and connect with you?

Tiffany Lewis: 46:56

Yeah, so my website’s moremeaningfulmarketingcom. I’m on all the social platforms by the same name. Really excited I have some free resources on my site and always open to conversation. You know, client or not client love to meet people, love to network and encourage and support.

Todd Bertsch: 47:12

Awesome. Well, this has been really great. I appreciate you taking the time and to share your personal story with us. It’s inspiring for me and I hope it will be for our listeners as well. I have a lot of respect for you and what you do and the way you handle yourself. I think you’re a great role model for really anybody who’s out there that’s a mother, that’s an entrepreneur, that’s really trying to be the best person they can be, and that’s what this show is all about. So, thank you so much.

Tiffany Lewis: 47:45

Yeah, thank you for having me, it’s been awesome.

Todd Bertsch: 47:57

Thank you so much for listening to this episode. You are on your way to growth, transformation and joy. If you find this episode helpful, please like and share with your friends and, by all means, please leave a review. You can also view the show notes and subscribe to the Bolt newsletter at toddbertsch.com. Remember real change takes time. Start small and watch the growth take shape.