EP60 Balancing Motherhood and Business as an Entrepreneur with Ruby Valencia

What if balancing motherhood and entrepreneurship could be less chaotic and more fulfilling? Ruby shares her tips on how to build a business as a stay-at-home mom. Ruby Valencia, a brand strategist and website designer, who launched her business during her pregnancy and the early months of her son's life. Her insights reveal how letting go of the traditional 9-to-5 mentality can lead to a more harmonious blend of work and parenting.

Ruby discusses aligning your brand's values, goals, and vision with audience perception, offering practical tips and resources for aspiring entrepreneurs. We reflect on the broader impact of our professional ambitions on our children, showing them that it's possible to pursue passions and build a successful career while raising a family. Tune in to this episode for heartfelt stories, practical advice, and inspiring messages for all entrepreneurial parents striving to balance their dual roles.

About Ruby:

Ruby is a  mom of four, First Gen Latina, breast cancer survivor and Founder & Creative Director at Blue Moons Studio. She supports ambitious and heart centered women with custom branding and website services. She helps women create their unique brand magic, signature aesthetic and creative direction that drives results so they can step into their brand power as industry leaders without the fear of blending in, allowing them to book more aligned clients and grow their income. 

Instagram: BlueMoonsStudio
https://www.bluemoonsstudio.com/

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Website Checklist 

Chapters

• 0:00 Navigating Motherhood and Entrepreneurship Harmony
• 11:46 Balancing Motherhood and Entrepreneurship Challenges
• 23:46 Balancing Motherhood and Business Boundaries
• 27:10 Setting Boundaries Between Motherhood and Business
• 39:24 Building a Memorable Brand Experience
• 46:23 Empowering Kids in Motherhood and Entrepreneurship

Transcript

Violeta Sandoval: 0:00

Hola, hola, welcome to another episode of the Money Chisme Podcast. I am Violeta, your host, and today I have Ruby Valencia, who is a brand strategist and website designer, and we want to just talk about navigating, like entrepreneurship alongside motherhood especially me, that I'm like a new mom and this is all new to me and having to navigate entrepreneurship, and Ruby has experience with that as well. So I think it's an important topic and I really think it's something that we should talk about and kind of make it more normal, especially since most of us are starting our businesses and a lot of us are working at home, so we have to balance motherhood and entrepreneurship. Hola, ruby, thank you so much for being here with me today.

Ruby Valencia: 0:53

Thank you for having me. I'm excited to talk a little bit more about this and just kind of make it less taboo for women and men too to have kids and be able to have be in entrepreneurship.

Violeta Sandoval: 1:07

Yeah, awesome. Before we get into the topic, I kind of just like briefly introduced you, but I definitely want for you to introduce yourself, go more into detail who you are, what you do for those who may not be familiar with you.

Ruby Valencia: 1:22

Okay, yeah, thank you. So I'm Ruby. I am a brand and website designer at Blue Moons Studio. I offer custom brand and website design. I work with women that are really ambitious and heart-centered and being able to create a unique, strong brand for them and have them create have a signature aesthetic as well. I'm also a mother of four and a breast cancer survivor, and Latina, so I have all of these different identities I can relate to and I'm excited to talk a lot more about my motherhood journey and entrepreneurship. I've been a designer and officially in business for four years now, and with that I began. With my now four year old, I began when he was a baby, so I kind of have some experience with trying to juggle motherhood and entrepreneurship.

Violeta Sandoval: 2:21

So yeah, awesome. So I have a five month old and she's my first. I do have a stepson, but I don't kind of count that because he was like around five or six so it was already all past like the baby stage and like all the potty training and stuff like that. So that was easy. When I had my daughter it was really. I've been struggling I'm not going to lie these past five months like trying to figure out how to balance creating and doing all the entrepreneurship tasks and stuff. So I kind of want to go a little bit back to. You said you started four years ago with your first baby and how was that? A new mom and then starting your business? Like how was that journey?

Ruby Valencia: 3:13

So okay, so I do have a. At the time, four years ago, my daughter now at 11 was seven. So was this is.

Ruby Valencia: 3:23

I mean, I had a seven year break, so it was kind of like so I had the seven year old and then I was with my son, who now is four, and it was of course, every baby is going to be different and we were essentially starting all over after having had a seven year break and starting now having a baby. It was basically starting like as if from scratch, and with him I began my journey with my business kind of during my pregnancy, with him kind of tapping into what I wanted to do and what I wanted to grow on the side while working. And when I was like towards the last tail end of my pregnancy, we all went into kind of like you know, lockdown and COVID happened and I started working from home and had more liberty to be able to work on my business. And then, of course, I went into. I had my maternity leave. He is a July baby and so it was like really in the beginning of COVID and everybody was being sent home and then having to deal with navigating, like healthcare with the bait, with COVID as a new mom. It was just like everybody else. It was a lot of chaos, but I decided.

Ruby Valencia: 4:49

So during my menstruating leave, I decided to launch my website and launch myself as a official brand and website designer, taking on new clients, as I had my little one and I mean you're going through it, through the first few months. It is hard. It's so hard because you're getting to know your baby, your baby's getting to know you. You're getting to understand their habits, their wake up times, the amount of feedings they need, how often, their sleep schedules like you're basically getting to know them. And so there was that struggle and then at that time I was still breastfeeding and I breastfed until about maybe five months or so. I think it was like five months or six months is when I was like, okay, I'm done, but oh my goodness, it was definitely a struggle to try to get to do everything and still try to promote my services on online work with I had a hand like a few clients and have my baby with me and then take my daughter to school as being a parent and also a wife and be all the things. So it was hard to figure that out, that journey out early on.

Ruby Valencia: 6:15

I've always been like super into, I guess, like kind of the woo and journaling and all of that stuff, and so that mindset kind of helped me and release the need to have everything perfect and release the conditioning of having to work from 9am to 5pm or 8am to 5pm, and it was more of a when the baby sleeps, that is when I work. So my schedule had to like kind of be all over the place and I had to adjust to when my there was those openings for me to have quiet time and sit down and be able to work, versus wanting to be on at nine and off at five. That was not going to be the case. Had a baby who was on from nine to five, you know what I mean. So it's like to adjust and make the time in between, nap times in between, when someone was helping me here, like dad was here to be able to help me get some work done and, of course, managing train and get some sleep.

Ruby Valencia: 7:19

So there was definitely a shift that I had to make, which was trying to have it in a structured ways and and let go of that structure and just go with the flow of how life was happening. At the end of the day, we are creating a business to be involved around our family. At least for me, that is my. That was. My goal is to create a sustainable business that revolves around my family's needs and not my family or me revolve around the business. And I had to really like kind of just shift gears into that perspective of like, okay, this is not going to be like a regular corporate job, this is going to have to be differently.

Ruby Valencia: 8:06

And so I tried to do that early on and I think since then I've kind of adopted a mindset of it's not about a balance, it's about harmony.

Ruby Valencia: 8:20

Sometimes I'm going to have more time with family and less time in the business, and sometimes it's going to be more time with the business and less time with family.

Ruby Valencia: 8:30

And having that okay of it's not always going to be on eyes on one thing or the other or 50-50. It's more about letting myself go with how my life is, as kids get sick and they're going to need attention a lot more than the business when they are sick, and so that's when that shifts. So it's not going to be 50, 50 can be sent there, 50% with the business. It had to be more like 90% and maybe 10% in the business for those days, and then it shifts. Every day is different and I think adopting that mindset of harmony versus balance is what has helped me be able to just allow myself to go with the flow of my life. And now that I have three little ones I have the four year old, I have a two year old and the 10 month old it's definitely that continuously telling myself no, we're going to have a harmony and we're going to work when we can, when those windows are open, and not trying to control it in a certain way and then having support system is also helpful.

Ruby Valencia: 9:39

super, super helpful is having someone to be able to help when, even if it's on the weekends, I think it's so helpful. Or five minutes to yourself, or just that support system surrounding yourself with a really solid support system, I think is also really important and I know not many people have that. But even with your partner and leaning on him and you and him leaning on you, and having that support with each other I think is so, so helpful and so, like I just kind of makes the difference.

Violeta Sandoval: 10:13

Yeah, for sure, for sure. I definitely want to talk a little bit more about the support system. But before we move on, just because I don't want to forget, I will say that it was super humbling whenever I had my daughter, because I really thought that I could have like this schedule and everything, and with my husband I was like, okay, you're gonna work during these times and then I'll take her, and then then you'll take her and then I'll work and you know whatever. And I think nothing humbled me more than when she actually got here, because it was just like everything went, it was on fire, like I was tired, like the times that I, you know, supposedly said that I was going to work on a task is like I was so exhausted. And then I was like, oh my god, so then I started falling behind and then she'd have her little developmental leaps or something yeah yeah, we had a sleep regression a few weeks ago and that was so hard.

Violeta Sandoval: 11:21

But it's definitely humbling, like thinking that you're going to be able to schedule all these things with. I'm going to work on this and which we did take. We get about 12 weeks of parental leave, and so I was. I really was thinking that I was like, oh, 12 weeks, I'm gonna get so much done and everything in work and we'll it'll be fine because the baby will sleep. It was totally not like that and like I had to figure it out and I think I just, towards the middle, I just kind of like said you know what, I'm just going to take a break. I'm just going to like slow down and just like, just, you know, worry about the baby and try to get her on a schedule and everything. It's slowly getting there. She's turned five months this week, so slowly starting to get there. She still doesn't sleep through the night. She still wakes up like twice.

Violeta Sandoval: 12:17

But I'm glad you're talking about that, figuring out how to bring harmony versus a balance, because it definitely I think it was that mindset of thinking that I would have a balance of like okay, I'm going to work at this time and then I'll take care of her during this time. But it definitely was. It was learning to just go with the flow and be, like you said, in harmony, based on the baby and you're really on their schedule and you have to figure it out around there how you were starting to go into it. Of the support system, that is one thing I have learned that is going to help me now I'm slowly building it.

Violeta Sandoval: 13:01

I still don't have like my mom and mom and my parents are in Texas, so that was rough too, but I finally got somebody that I could just be like. Here you go, can you take her for a little bit, because I'm stressed and I need to work on something and my husband's working, even though he has a remote job, it's still like humbled him too, because he thought he could help out and be kind of like a stay-at-home dad but work from home too, and no, we've had to use our friend to babysit several times during the week. So definitely want to get into the support systems. What does your support system look like right now and what's your I I guess advice for the for people that are trying to balance, well, harmonize, being an entrepreneur and a mom?

Ruby Valencia: 13:55

Yeah, so okay, so for so it was very now looks so much more different than what it looked when I had my son four years ago. I was we, essentially so when I started my business I was still, like I was on maternity leave, so I was still employed, and so I was going to do this on the side and I was going to try to figure it all out, right, but we didn't have like a babysitter schedule like with my daughter. She was her like my mother-in-law helped us so much because she was present and she was able to be our babysitter for her specifically and and we it was so easy, like she was just so much, so much help. But when we had our son, she was ready to follow her husband wherever he went, because he now was retired.

Ruby Valencia: 14:55

And so I don't know my. I guess I think something about being at least me first gen. Our parents want to go back to their homeland more often than usual, especially when they are retired, and that's what that was my in-laws. They were like we're going to spend more time in Mexico than we are here, so we can't help with the babysitting. So with that is where we had to make a decision. How are we going to do this? We're going to be stressing and I'm not going to be able to get anything done with my business. Everything was just like kind of up in the air, and so we've made the decision that we were able to me stay home and take care of the baby and not have to go back to work. So that was for me. I was like, yeah, I get to stay at home mom. I think it's like all of therapy and all of that. It's like when you thought of it.

Ruby Valencia: 15:48

But it is definitely hard being a stay-at-home mom and the only contact human contact you have is a baby. It doesn't feed back to you throughout the day. Because my daughter was in school it was during COVID, so she was like homeschooling. So I also had to deal with that too, now that I remember, and the two only human contact were the little my baby that doesn't talk, and then my daughter, who is good, you know what kind of conversation. So it was hard because I really didn't have like my parents at the time were not retired, they were still working and then his parents, who, for my mother-in-law, would help us she was no longer here and she was gone, and then he had to go back to work because now he is the sole breadwinner to bring in income. And me, I am trying to grow my business. At this point I have one or two clients and I'm not charging a lot and it is not sustainable to clients and I'm not charging a lot and it is not sustainable. And so I had to figure, you know what I had to be able to do it all and, you know, still try to grow my business. And so it wasn't easy. I will say that it was hard because at the time, like I said, there was that less support system throughout the week.

Ruby Valencia: 17:05

On the weekends is when I was like, okay, we're grinding here, because that is when my husband was president and then my parents were able to help, and my siblings as well, because my children are the only grandchildren on my mom's side and my dad on my side mom's side and my dad on my side, and so they get all the attention. And so that was helpful is having them be there so that I could have a break on the weekends. Even if it was then, it wasn't always easy. I made it a point to tell my clients hey, I'm a mom, I have a 10 month old or whatever the age was at. Whenever I would have calls they're going to be in the background. If you're okay with taking a call at this time, then okay, let's do it, but just know my baby might wake up from a nap, my baby may do this or that. And so I was blessed with amazing clients who understood that part that allowed me to be able to then work in my business, take calls and still have my baby present and be able to try to juggle it throughout the weed.

Ruby Valencia: 18:13

But most of my the time I spent in my business working was when there were uh, when that support system was there on the weekends, and I like like you could, I'm sure like just those breaks. Even if it's one day of having some break, that is just means so much. You really do get re-energized by having a break, and that is what helped me. That was how my support system looked then when I started. I, it was me.

Ruby Valencia: 18:43

My partner does work long hours. He's like 10 hours, 11 hour shifts. So it was hard like having to be the whole day just with the two kids and during that time trying to do the work, trying to cook, wash clean, do all the things. But I had to let go of that perfection so that wouldn't start myself out and lean on my support when they were available to help. Because I know and I struggled with it too, because as a Latina, you see your mom at least for me I saw my mom doing everything cook clean, work, take care of us, Like my mom was a working mom too, and so she did it all and we had my grandma who would be there present with us when she wasn't there and my parents were working. But it was like we saw them do everything and there was no leaning on here.

Ruby Valencia: 19:40

Let me leave you waste for your other grandparents that they can be, me and your dad can go and do something and have a break from you guys. There's like no breaks for them. And so I felt guilty. Sometimes there was that guilt of me having to be like, hey, can you guys help me so that I can have a little break and work on my business. It's like if there was a little bit of that resistance of leaning into that support and I had to get like reminders constantly for my, my, my sister specifically, who would just constantly was like hey, lean on us, we're here to support you. You don was like hey, lean on us, we're here to support you. Have to lean on us and and tell us hey, we, I need help, I need you to do this, I need you to that. And so, as I had more kids, so after my 10 month old then or, I'm sorry, my four-year-old then now I had my um third, who is now two, and that one was like also a big shift of like, okay, now I have to readjust even more. Now I have two babies and my 10 year old and now I'm like trying to do all the things now adding another baby on top of that. Again, it was leaning into that support system at the time. On top of that, again, it was leaning into that support system. At the time my dad had finally retired and he was the one helping me. Like sometimes I would go to my mom's house and he would watch my son, who at the time was two, and he would just be outside playing with him and then the baby would be sleeping. I could get some work done and that's how I was able to handle and lean on that support system.

Ruby Valencia: 21:23

And then now with my 10 month old, and so I have my 10 month old, my two year old and the four year old. My mom now is retired and now I can lean on her to help me, or both of my parents, cause they're both retired to go over there and take a break. So I will once a week go and have a break so I can work on my business. And then also again, I I'm still not back to like a nine to five type of schedule. No, this is still a schedule where it's like I have to go with the flow of my life. If I can work during the day, I'm going to do it. If I take calls my clients know kids are might be in the background You're okay to pop on and call them, let's do it.

Ruby Valencia: 22:05

If not, then we have to reschedule to a time that I'm going to be able to have there for them and 100% like all of my clients have been like, okay, that's fine, I don't mind, let the kids be wild and free in the background, cause that's what they do.

Ruby Valencia: 22:23

They do like my two year old and my four year old and it's just been like leaning into them and so when I did start four years ago, it was just with a little bit of that support on the weekends and then slowly it has now to my parents both of them now retired are able to like help me whenever I need it and they're there, able to help. But it's definitely something I think, at least for me, I had to really like let go of that resistance of wanting to ask and let go of that guilt of I can't ask for help. I need to try to do it on my own, just like my mom did it, and out and no. It has to be like no, release that, cause that's no longer the case Now. You can lean on them for help and they're like open with it, asking for it. So, yeah, that's how. That's the journey, of how I've been able to lean on my support and how I've received support from my family.

Ruby Valencia: 23:24

So yeah, that's how the support system currently looks.

Violeta Sandoval: 23:27

Yeah, yeah, that's awesome that you have such a strong support system now and it's one of the reasons I'm going to go back to Texas because my support system is there. One of the reasons I'm going to go back to Texas is because my support system is there. I went and visited them this past week and it was so awesome that I could just like my sister just took the baby at night, so I was able well, me and my husband were able to actually sleep through the night and during the day they take her at random times if I needed that, just de-stress or just hang out or whatever. So that was awesome. But I also like that you are normalizing, like the motherhood aspect of having a business, because so often you're like trying to hide the kids in the background and everything, but you're normalizing that you know what, like I am a mom and if you want to work with me and setting those boundaries too and those expectations, I can't just put my kids somewhere. They're part of me and you're able to still have calls and I love that your clients are cause that was going to be my next question but your clients are on board and supportive and understanding that you are a stay-at-home mom that is, also has a business at home business, so your kids are going to be around there. You might hear them randomly or whatever.

Violeta Sandoval: 24:47

Yeah, um, and I think that is starting to change. I feel like I've started to see that a little bit more. It's starting to get more normalized, especially after more people do remote work and everything like after COVID, because I know like I've called like customer service sometimes and I'll hear the background, like the kids or the dogs, and it makes me happy that they're able to have the job and it doesn't bother me one bit if their dog's in the background, you could hear it or whatever. Because I think it's starting to become I hope it does continue to become more normalized as more people push it. That it's okay that you don't have to have like complete silence.

Violeta Sandoval: 25:29

And yeah, um, even with my husband who is and I was curious too because on the mom side we kind of like, is it expected a little bit we take care of the kids and stuff I was kind of curious with my husband once he started remote work because he was taking care of her several times for the week, but they seem to either. He put the boundary up front and said look, I'm going to be working for y'all, but I'm stay at home, dad, and we have this going on, so you might hear her in the background or something. Do my best, I'll meet myself, whatever. And so far they haven't really. They joke that she's part of the company, going to the meeting sometimes, but he's also having like his breaks too.

Violeta Sandoval: 26:12

Because, even though they're so far supportive, he does need to have his little breaks, of being able to just like focus on his work. So I think we have a good system right now of like maybe two to three times a week where you know she goes to the babysitter, which is perfect because she lives right here in the same apartment complex that we are, so it's just like a few steps away to just go drop her off and for her to pick her up, and it's's so awesome. But I'm glad that we push more out there that you're saying with your clients yeah, so I do want to go a little bit into. You are a brand strategist and website designer, so how has that? I know we talked a little bit that you tell your clients, but how has that been being a mom and being a brand strategist and doing the website design? And I know you kind of like went a little bit into it. But just go a little bit more in detail of your whole process.

Ruby Valencia: 27:09

Yeah. So I do set that boundary, especially when I have clients that are like, hey, can I set or potential. When I have clients that are like, hey, can I set or potential? Like when we start the process, I always have like a discovery call with my potential clients just to make sure we're good fit. And sometimes I'll request a time and I'm like, oh, if I can get a babysitter or at least my, if I can ask my parents for help, cause they're my babysitters, then I'm able to go ahead and schedule it in that way.

Ruby Valencia: 27:37

But if they're requesting a specific time and day that isn't just isn't like my parents are not available, I will like be straight up, like, okay, hey, I'm a mom, I have little ones here at home and, just so you know, if you want to book this time and day, they will be in the background or, well, just be background noises, just so you know, if you want to book this time and day, they will be in the background, or I'll just be background noises, just so you know, and they might pop in, because they always pop in. So like they will pop in and the boundaries are set like straight off the bat If it's like that case or even on the discovery call. We're getting to know each other a little bit more and them knowing that I am a mother first I definitely I think is so important and for them to understand that it's not there are going to be boundaries within the business where it's not going to be like I'm going to be available 24 seven, from nine to five here in the business on my computer. Take checking emails. I do have hours during the day that they can communicate with me and I will let them know. You can email me from here to here and I will get back to you in those hours. I'll get back to you either within an hour or so, but if they are past those hours then they won't hear until the following day.

Ruby Valencia: 28:56

So there's always those expectations I set, especially because, as a mom, I want to make sure that they're aware that first comes my family and then comes my business, and I do care about my clients and everything. But I also have to have boundaries, strict boundaries, so that I can make sure that I'm not overwhelmed. And they are aware too that there are other priorities as well in my life in which are. But they're so understanding and I don't think I've ever had one of my clients complain about the fact that the kids were in the background, because when they are in the background I don't tend to lose focus on the task at matter. Whatever the conversation is with my clients, whether it's a strategy call, whether it's a presentation or whether it's like just kind of questions open ended questions call that we have there is still. I'm still like able to provide them with what they need on that call and there's always like I feel like I've structured my business in a way where they know where we're at in each step of the process and so I'm always on top of that, so they know where we're there, where, where we stand, and they don't feel like maybe I'm all over the place because I have the kids. No, there is structure and I make sure to let them know for the beginning and they see it from the onboarding to the offboarding process, all the structure that I have in place to make sure that the project is on time and run smoothly for them and for me at the same time. So definitely every client knows I'm a mother first and I make sure to make them aware of that so there isn't any like misunderstandings or anything like that.

Ruby Valencia: 30:51

And then when I do work, I work when my kids are napping. So, like right now, my two-year-old and my 10-month-old are the only ones that nap, and my four-year-old is just kind of a ball of energy and so he's the only one. That is about. There are times when I'm able to work during the day with him around, and there's times when he wants all my undivided attention, and so then I go to that. But I try to schedule myself to make sure that the tasks that need to be completed within each project get completed when they are due. So if it's not during the day, then I am taking time late later on, once my husband gets home or the kids are sleeping, to be able to work on whatever tasks it is need to be completed, so that then I can go ahead and provide them that what they need for that next phase of our projects, my phases for branding specifically, there's the brand phases, the design phase, and then there's like the refinement and launch phase, and so each of those phases, they are they. There are certain things that are needed, and I make sure to have a timeline so that I'm not stressed and they're not also expecting something turn around in one day or two. When it takes a little bit longer, there's always. I think how I've structured it has made it really, really clear and they see it on their end as well.

Ruby Valencia: 32:22

And so when I do work, it's when I have that time. And now I need to use that support system and be like hey, I have a ton of work. Hey, take them for a few hours, let's, I need to get some work done. And they're like so happy and I can go ahead and drop them off and then just leave and come back to my office and just get work done and then pick them up later on in the afternoon and it works out perfectly. So I'm so blessed with my support. I'm like my parents have been so helpful and I've been able to get things done in the day without having to be up at night working and stuff like that. So, yeah, I've been able to manage through my projects and the beauty of the work that I do is that I don't have to be on my client on a client call to have to do that work.

Ruby Valencia: 33:19

It is need to be able to be alone and not and focus. And I don't know if it's because motherhood made me this way, but I'm a night owl and so I really get so much things done at night with a minimal time Like I don't need like a, something that can take someone three, four hours can take me to two, two hours or even less. One thing I learned on really early is I'm like I'm also into human design and I'm a projector, and as a projector I were not meant to work long hours in like certain tasks and stuff like that, because we can work effectively in a shorter amount of time. And that is 100% true, because when I am sitting down and I'm given like I have to finish something or a task, I can really like just sit down, focus and be able to finish it in a really short amount of time compared to even six hours. Then it's like I don't need those six hours. All I need is less time and I'll be able to get it done, because I don't know that's where my energy is and I'm able to go.

Ruby Valencia: 34:37

And then, when I need the rest, I listened to my body and I rest and I that's one thing I have learned to do to be able to make sure that I one I'm not over like burning myself out. I know a lot of people burn out and taking on too many things. It's just like I've learned to set boundaries, to make sure that I listen to my body and when my body says rest, you best believe I'm resting. Or laying down and as I watch my kids play, because, of course, as parents, it's like going to rest Is it really rest sometimes?

Ruby Valencia: 35:10

But I take my time to just not be on my business all the time and taking those breaks that my body is telling me that it needs. And then when I come back, I'm just like, okay, we're getting it done, we're getting it done, we're getting it done. And, yep, they always end up finishing on time and not getting delayed. And if there are delayed, it's always because of the project, there's add-ons or the clients back and forth, but it's not necessarily because I, on my end, is taking any longer, so that those are like ways I've been able to like juggle full mom and my business and working on projects, too, for my business, because I think a lot of times we also talk about like the, the client work, stuff, but not necessarily like, okay, what am I doing to build and what are going to help me grow?

Ruby Valencia: 36:05

And I like me, keeping a task list is so helpful and I jot down okay, I'm going to spend this time, this amount of time on this task and this amount of time on that task. On these days I'm going to work on this, on those days I'm going to work on that, and I try to go with the moon cycles for the week to give me that energy that I need. I try to structure it in that way where when I'm writing there on Wednesdays, when I'm working in my business, it might be on a Sunday. When I'm working client work, it's going to be like on a Tuesday or on a Thursday, and so it's like that kind of structure has helped me to where to be able to maintain myself and not be burnt out in my business and as a mom.

Violeta Sandoval: 36:53

So yeah, yeah, I love that you include the human design, because I think that's part's business flow.

Violeta Sandoval: 37:01

But when you're building your own business, you have the opportunity to actually listen to yourself. Like, how you said is that you're following the moon cycle. I didn't even realize that was a thing, and that would be actually another great topic going in human design and going with the moon cycles for building your business and catering your business to yourself, which is what I love that you are doing with yours, um, cause you're really like it sounds like you're really in tune with yourself and knowing your boundaries and making sure that you're harmonizing with motherhood and setting up the business to fit your you, because that's what the point is of starting our businesses so we can do the things that we want and be able to enjoy motherhood or other things that you want to in life. So I definitely definitely love that. But you are a brand strategist and I do want to get some of your tips and your expertise on creating your brand. So what are some of your advice to an entrepreneur or someone that is looking to create a memorable brand?

Ruby Valencia: 38:29

So I think when you're creating a brand, I there's just so many elements and a lot of people really take like a brand and think about it's being a like a visual thing, like your logo.

Ruby Valencia: 38:46

But that is part of your brand, but it definitely lies so much more beneath the surface. And I think when you want to, really when you're thinking about creating a memorable brand, the first thing you need to do is think about what are your values, what is your vision and who are you really trying to have your brand, who's your target audience that you want to reflect that brand to. And having a really clear idea of all of those things help is going to help you then create that memorable brand for that target audience. And I feel like I don't know what the quote is, but there's this quote. But basically, it's like your brand is what people say about you when you walk outside, when you leave the door. It's like that's the what people say about you when you walk outside, when you leave the door. It's like that's the memorable brand you want to create. It's like you want to have it to be a good, memorable brand that someone is going to really recognize and want to be kind of like a try to, and you can't have a brand without the audience and having a clear understanding of who you are and who you want to be perceived as and who your target is, and seeing if they do perceive you as that. That's where the difficult part sometimes is. But when you bring in what I do brand strategy, that is that bridge that's going to help you connect the two so that you can be able to create that memorable brand through your businesses, through those values, and that's going to be what's going to be reflective and that's going to make the connection with those people and that is what's going to create that memorable brand. I don't know, did I? Yeah, yes, I'm like, sometimes I feel like I talk so much about branding and I'm just like it can. Maybe I just go off on tandem, but, yeah, I felt like the.

Ruby Valencia: 40:39

For the one main thing I think, just when you're starting off trying to create a memorable brand, is like first, who are you training creative for and what do you want to stand for? What are your values, what is your long-term vision, what are your goals and how do you want to be reflective as a business? You're a business, but then you want to build a brand and how do you want that brand to be represented out there. And if you are currently a business and you haven't really thought about that, think about how are you being already perceived by your target audience? Are they perceiving you in the way you want to be perceived, or are there shifts that have to happen? And if so, then you have to start asking yourself okay, where's the missing piece? Is it through my messaging? Is it through my visuals? Is it through my tone, my voice, brand voice? How am I really showing up and how am I being consistent? Or am I all over the place? And so I think those are super important questions to ask yourself if you've already been in business for a few years and you don't know if you are creating a memorable brand experience for your target audience.

Ruby Valencia: 41:48

And so I think, to create a brand, I think that's the goal to be able to have a strong brand that's going to be memorable in the eyes of your target audience, just like Apple. It's like Starbucks is just like when you go into a store looking for a bottle of wine. There is going to be one that's going to pop out the more. That's going to be like that brand visuals and then when you go in and taste it and you buy it, you taste it and you get a new experience. That's also part of the brand experience and that creates that memorable brand for you to go back and be able to purchase that same thing or purchase that same cup of coffee, whatever you decide. Do you like pizza or do you like Starbucks, or do you?

Violeta Sandoval: 42:29

like.

Ruby Valencia: 42:30

PCs, or do you like MacBooks or Apple products? It's all because there was something about it that was memorable and that's why you kept coming back to it, and I think that same applies to our businesses on a smaller scale, of course, not like Apple or Starbucks, but it can get to it. Like that, you can create that memorable experience for your business, and if you're not doing it right now, those are some questions you can, you know, begin to answer.

Violeta Sandoval: 42:59

Awesome. So, since you are like a brand strategist and website designer as well, like, how are some ways that, if someone is interested in reaching out to you and working with you, how can they do that?

Ruby Valencia: 43:14

interested in reaching out to you and working with you. How can they do that? Okay, yeah, of course. So I hang out on Instagram so you can find me at blue moons with an S studio, or you can visit me also on my website, blue moon studiocom. That's where you can find me and kind of get to experience my brand a little bit is through those platforms.

Ruby Valencia: 43:35

And also I have like, if you are in a place where you're trying to create a memorable brand, I have a freebie. That's like a brand strategy kind of questions that you can begin to ask yourself, and it guides you into creating, kind of like the mood board, vibe and aesthetic that you want to create for your brand. But it starts with those key questions of who your target audience is and your vision how do you want people to really experience your brand, and so it has a variety of questions that I use with my clients on my brand strategy workshops. I had pulled some of the main questions and I created this freebie for folks that want to be able to begin to kind of have that you know that create that for their own business and create a brand, and so I think it would be a really great resource for people to get their hands on, especially if you are either one in the beginning stages or two already in business for a while and want to be able to create and start creating that memorable brand for your business.

Violeta Sandoval: 44:47

Awesome, I will have yeah, I will have all of that linked down below and thank you so much for coming on here and sharing your journey and your tips and tricks for those that are in the motherhood space and trying to. You know, build a business and a brand Definitely inspires me, I know. I think I mentioned that last year when we met up because it definitely was inspiring. It definitely helped calm some of my I guess my fears. I'm still learning a lot, but it's definitely something that was important that I wanted to talk about and normalize it some more and remind us, like how we were talking about, that we're trying to create this business for us.

Violeta Sandoval: 45:33

And we had to keep that in mind and I'm glad that you have not lost that, because I felt like I was kind of losing that at the beginning and then she came in and I was like, oh yeah, I gotta like work around her. But yeah, thank you so much for coming on here.

Ruby Valencia: 45:49

Yeah, no, thank you for having me it. It was happy. I'm happy to talk about that.

Ruby Valencia: 45:54

I think it's so important for it to be less stigmatized of having a business, being a parent and not being able to have both.

Ruby Valencia: 46:03

I think it's so important to like for people to understand that, yes, you can have both. No, it's not going to be the easiest thing on earth. There are going to be some challenges, but I think it's not going to be the easiest thing on earth. There are going to be some challenges, but I think it's like worth overcoming to be able to do what you love and raise a family. And I'm now four kids in and I still go back to looking at them and having them see me as this mom who's doing the dang thing, and I want to show them that they can go after what they want to pursue in their own life when they are, whether it's that's entrepreneurship, or they want to focus something within education they have. They're able to do that and I wanted to show that for them and it is possible to be able to do that and I wanted to show that for them and it is possible to be able to do both raise family and, you know, grow your business so, yeah, awesome.

Violeta Sandoval: 47:00

Well, that's it for this episode. I will see everyone in the next one. Bye.