Women Branching Out: Megan Flatt
Welcome Megan!
Very happy to welcome Mama Strategist and a wellness expert Megan Flatt to the Women Branching Out interview series.
She helps moms find their groove, claim the time to do it, and create the energy to support their own Mama Revival.
Megan is the creator of Nap It Out, a 14-day online productivity and time management course for busy moms. The next round of Nap It Out begins April 22nd.
Win a spot in Nap It Out!
You can sign up for a free Mama Revival Moment Worksheet (just for Jewels Branch readers). In the worksheet look for details on how to win a free spot in Nap It Out! Entries must be received by 12 noon (Pacific time) on Wednesday, April 17th. Winner will be announced later that day.
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Here’s Megan …
Tell us about you and your business. Who do you love to serve and why? Where in the world are you located?
I’m Megan and I serve moms who are ready to embrace their own Mama Revival. I help moms find their “Mama Groove” and then once they do, I help them claim the time and create the energy they need to stay there.
I live with my amazing kids, Brady (5) and Rylan (2), and my awesome husband in a little town just north of the Golden Gate Bridge in the San Francisco Bay Area.
What’s a mama revival and why do moms (and the world) need one?
A Mama Revival is all about a return to consciousness, renewed attention to ourselves and chance to flourish again. It’s not about wanting anything different from our job as a mom, it’s about wanting more.
We bring these little bundles home and they are completely dependent on us. We completely lose ourselves in their world and in caring for them. Then things start to level out and we are not sure what to do next. We want to be present for our families, but we want to take care of our selves too. We had hobbies and interested before kids, but we are not sure if they still fit our new life, or if we even want them too. A Mama Revival is all about figuring out that next step.
Your Revival doesn’t have to be a huge thing. Your Mama Revival could be to read more, or try new recipes or learn to play the harmonica! Anything that makes you feel more fulfilled as a person, therefore grounds you in being a mom.
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What has your personal mama revival looked like, so far? What little changes have you embraced to get into your mama groove?
Returning to entrepreneurship has been my Mama Revival, but it has been a four-and-a-half year journey. All my life I have been an entrepreneur of some sort, from babysitting to being a National Fitness Presenter.
But I had thought once I had kids, I would want to be home with them. After my son was born, finances dictated I go back to work. I got a job working for someone else, because I thought it would be easier with a baby. It was … but I was unhappy. I thought I was unhappy because I wanted to be home with my kids full time. But my Revival started when I realized I wanted my kids to be my greatest accomplishment, but they wouldn’t be my only accomplishment.
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How has having your own business empowered you?
When I made the realization that my unhappiness was not because I was working, but because I wasn’t working for myself…it was like fireworks went off. It was such a huge ah-ha moment for me. My business is my journey to self-fulfillment. Every time I sit down at my computer to write a blog post or email with a client, I am taking care of myself too. I am fulfilling my passion by helping other moms embrace theirs.
I am creating my own destiny and taking care of my family in the process. I can work on my dreams, and then spend the day at the zoo or the beach with my kids too. It really is the best of both worlds…which is what never realized I wanted all along.
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You’ve been a pre- and postnatal fitness expert and personal trainer for 20 years. How has this experience influenced your online business?
My whole career I knew working with moms was my passion and taking care of moms would lead to happier families. I started my career framing ‘taking care of mom’ by only her fitness endeavors. After working with thousands of moms and becoming a mom myself, I realized there are SO many ways moms need to be supported beyond fitness.
I looked back over my years of working with clients and realized the really good stuff was happening between the bicep curls. The real ‘mama care taking’ was happening with everything else we talked about during our training sessions. I am still a huge advocate of exercise and nutrition based self-care, especially during pregnancy, but I knew I was meant to serve moms on a much broader level.
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Being a mom can bring out such a strong inner critic (mommy guilt). How do you help moms start to silence this critic and move forward?
Oh … mommy guilt is such a tricky lady! She comes up over and over again and in many different ways. She might tell you that you are not doing some aspect of parenting ‘right’ or that pursuing a personal passion is selfish and will take away time from your family. I am not sure mommy guilt ever goes away, I know it hasn’t for me, but I think it is all about managing it.
I have moms write down a “Mama Mantra” … basically taking their “I’m not doing this right” worry and turning it into a mantra like “I am the perfect mom for my family.”
For me, scheduling has had a huge impact eliminating guilt I feel about the time I spend on the things that are important to me. I don’t feel guilty about taking time for myself on Tuesdays, because I have planned Wednesday to be a kids and mama day.
Tell us about Nap it Out. What is it and why did you create it?
I have always been someone who keeps many plates spinning at one time. After I had my second child however, I felt like too many plates were hitting the ground too often. I have studied time management strategies and LOVE lists and calendars, but I felt like the information all the gurus were teaching didn’t fit my mommy lifestyle.
I created Nap It Out after I found myself overwhelmed and sobbing in my driveway. I knew I had so much to offer this world, and my family, but I had to figure out a better way to manage my time and get things done as a busy, hands-on mom. It worked! It worked so well I had to share it with my mama friends and it worked for them too. I knew The Nap It Out system could help so many moms whether their project was cleaning out their basement or writing a book proposal. Moms need a system and support, and Nap It Out offers both.
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Finish this sentence. I believe…
… moms can give their children the world without giving up their own.
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Megan Flatt is a Mama Strategist and a wellness expert. She helps moms find their groove, claim the time to do it, and create the energy to support their own Mama Revival. She is the creator of Nap It Out, a 14-day online productivity and time management course for busy moms. The next round of Nap It Out begins April 22nd. Megan has created a special Mama Revival Moment Worksheet just for Jewels Branch readers, you can access it by clicking here (as well as a chance to win a free spot in Nap It Out). You can catch up with her on her website, Facebook, and Twitter.
If you’re a mama (or not) what do you love to do to help yourself feel fulfilled and grounded? Comment below!
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Megan has been a HUGE resource for me as I work on organizing my own mommy/entrepreneurial life. Her Nap It Out system unlocked the ability for me to both be a mom AND write my most recent online program for my business. Chunking out my day and time and being help accountable for a schedule helped me feel so accomplished with what I was able to get off my to do list and achieve in my life. I can SO relate to her story and know just how powerful it can be to both be a mom while still making time for your own revival too. Great interview!
Megan’s been a huge inspiration for me, too, Beryl! I always think “how in the world does she get so much done?” Now I know! 🙂
Even though I don’t have children, I have been following Megan for about a year now, and it’s been amazing and inspiring to see her message and business evolve. This interview really captures the idea that way back when, she was first helping moms with one aspect of their lives (fitness) but how it’s evolved to a mission statement to help moms give their children the world without giving up their own–brilliant :o)
I love how our businesses continue to evolve along with us, Mindy!
Thank you for allowing us to get to know Megan a little better. I can’t imagine not wanting to give your children the world…and such a thrill to see them grow up and do the same with their children…and yes, realistically, the only way you can do that is by taking care of yourself first.
You’re welcome Cathy!
Wow I love reading and learning about other amazing souls. Thank you for sharing Megan with us! She sure is up to some incredibly things! Nap It Out is so needed for all of us 🙂
Nap It Out is awesome. I took it last time Megan offered it and used all the systems and accountability to get The PDF Workshop launched!
I’m so inspired by you Megan Flatt… I love the point of view you communicate from, it is refreshing. All the things I loved about it:
1. You include working on your business as self care. Ahh… the judgement and guilt I have had (I’m not a mom) around that one
2. The way you include yourself in your brand. It’s feminine and empowering and makes me want to be a mom just so I can take your class 😉
Great interview Christie!
Thanks so much Jenn! Megan is 100% her brand, great to see right!
I loved this interview of Megan as it serves as a reminder to keep our passions close to us, no matter how busy we become. When I become a mother , I hope to Nap it out!
Yes to keeping our passions close and it’s amazing how much we can get done in short bursts of time (that’s part of Nap It Out’s genius!).
This reminds me of the “put your own oxygen mask on first” suggestion. What a gift to teach and remind mom’s how to mother themselves and not feel guilty about it. After all, children learn by what they see modeled. A gift passed down through generations. Thanks for this inspirational piece!
You’re welcome Pam!
Megan, you’re an inspiration! I think the work that you’re doing is so valuable to other moms and I love that you’re helping them empower themselves. And the concept of Nap It Out is awesome! I’m not a mommy but I will definitely recommend you and your site to other mommies I know.
Thanks for commenting Bianca!
Awesome! So great and inspirational to hear about other Mom entrepreneurs!
Yes! I always love learning about how other mompreneurs do it!
GREAT interview, Christie! and GREAT info, Megan! I just LOVE the name… Nap it Out! I am a believer in naps! and my mom who had 7 kids ALWAYS took time to take a nap. She lived til she was 97. I never met a harder worker than my mom who accomplished so much.
So appreciate this information for mom’s because the challenge of feeling the responsibility of giving exquisite care to one’s child, while being an entrepreneur which also denotes a love child, will often first lead to burn out. IN fact, I bet solopreneurs would benefit greatly from Megan’s tips. Thank you!
I think everyone could benefit from Megan’s tips. My kids don’t even nap anymore and she’s helped me focus!
Christie your interviews are always so rich with insight and great information.. I love Megan’s perspective and the “Mama Mantra” and the many ways she supports her clients in making such important developmental shifts.. What’s good for the mommy is pretty much always good for the kids (I know there are examples that this is not true.. but having counseled moms for years.. I know self-sacrifice is not a pretty thing for mothers or families..)
Love it all..
Lisa
Thank you Lisa!
Christie, thank you for always introducing us to the most brilliant women! I’ve seen enough of my mom friends lose themselves that I’m happy to be mom to only furry kids. There are lots of mamas who need this kind of support! Thank you, Megan, for bringing it to the world!
Hugs and butterflies,
~Teresa~
Thank you for the butterflies Teresa! Always welcome here!
Great stuff – and greatly needed. I’m not a parent myself but I am acutely aware of the problems my friends and family have gone through in these very situations, working out how to reconstruct their own lives after having children and puzzling their way through the minefield of juggling motherhood and still being their own person!
I’m glad that you are there to help with this – I may need to refer to you one day myself 😉
Thanks for stopping by Helen!
Christie,
Thank you for sharing inspirational interviews with us. Even though I don’t have children, I have other work a rounds in life. Very interesting and informative. Thank you!
Yes, we’ve all got workarounds, don’t we Denise!
This interview was exceedingly helpful for me. The whole way through I was learning both about Megan and about my own business as I answered the questions about myself as well. Lovely, as always. I find, every time I visit, Christie, that I win on multiple layers.
That’s great to hear Rebecca!
I’ve been a Megan fan since her days as a fitness presenter, so I am really enjoying the process of her Mama Revival unfolding! I definitely felt “lost” after my kiddos were born, and sometimes I still do. (In fact, that’s why I started ClickAClass.com — to reclaim some of the passion I had for dance, yoga and fitness pre-kids.) Christie, you always do the most insightful, fun interviews — thanks for another in your great series!
You’re welcome Jessica! I started my biz because I was missing being creative!