#awinewith Erica Hatfield
MEET Erica
Erica is the Founder of Hummingbird Careers.
Find Erica here:
Hummingbird Careers website or Instagram @hummingbirdcareers.
Transcript
Danielle Lewis (00:10):
Oh my God. Erica, I'm so excited that you're on Spark tv. Welcome.
Erica Hatfield (00:15):
Thank you. I'm glad to be here.
Danielle Lewis (00:18):
So good. So obviously I know you through the Spark program, so I'm so fortunate to have learned a little bit about your business, but I would love you to tell everybody what Hummingbird Careers actually is, but also how you got here. So what's your backstory? How did you decide to start a business?
Erica Hatfield (00:40):
Okay, so first of all, hummingbird Careers is very much a values driven purpose-led business, and it's all about empowering parents to continue growing their careers through that transition to parenthood and beyond. So very much about growing careers alongside families, as we like to say. So we provide specialist career coaching services, one-on-one group and through corporates. And we've also partnered recently with a specialist perinatal mental health counseling provisional service as well. So we're providing very comprehensive support services to parents returning to work. So that's what we do. Love that. How did I get there? Well, you would think I'd start by saying, look, I was following my passion, but in my case it's more following my frustrations. So it is through my own sort of personal experiences of dealing with getting pregnant, going off on parental leave, finding out I no longer had a job to come back to, but what?
(01:45):
Oh my god. I know. But you find out that that's pretty common. So it's like one in five if you look up the stats from strange, oh my god, conditions. So yeah, it's pretty common. And yeah, deciding, well, what am I going to do next? Looking for a new role, I thought I'd just look for a very similar role and go back and I wanted part-time because who doesn't want part-time when you're trying to juggle everything with kids and work and whatnot? So I thought I'll just like every other time I'll just go out and get a job. And then I realized that because my career had kind of gone up and up and I got to director level that they kind of want people full time. This was before the pandemic. There wasn't a lot of flexibility and so I had to move industries and I had to downshift my role as well.
(02:35):
So I ended up in a, not-for-profit, I got my three days a week, but I was their newly minted HR manager, the very first one they'd ever had. So that's kind of what happened there. I took a massive nosedive in terms of earnings, but now and into the future. So super's obviously impacted as well. Yeah. Anyway, so that was my interesting journey of trying to come back and trying to find and negotiate flexibility in the workplace and realizing that there's a whole bunch of systemic issues. I looked around at my mother's group and realized it wasn't just me and lots of people were experiencing barriers to returning to work and having kids. So I thought, you know what? That's not great.
Danielle Lewis (03:20):
No, not at all.
Erica Hatfield (03:21):
No, and it's mostly moms who do the
Danielle Lewis (03:24):
Primary
Erica Hatfield (03:25):
Parental leave. So I think the stats 95% of primary parental leave is moms. So when you consider that the average time out of the workforce is like eight months, there's a massive impact, particularly if you're in fast moving industries and things like that as well. So I thought, you know what? I'm going to do something about it. It's really, it's not right, it's not fair, and I've got a skillset that I can use to help others so that their journey isn't as bumpy and that they can be prepared and aware of the issues and to help to mitigate some of the negative impacts and be able to push ahead and see it as just I took some time off and now I'm coming back into my career and I'll continue. So yeah.
Danielle Lewis (04:12):
Yeah, I mean I can't imagine going away to have a baby this huge monumental experience in your life and then being told, oh, sorry, it's all over for you now. So not only might you not have a job, but you're not going to have the same level of title, you're not going to have the same level of role, you're not going to have the same money. Lucky if you come back. That is so shit.
Erica Hatfield (04:39):
So yeah, hence my frustrations actually created an organization to come. Well, I love that. I was like, this is so wrong. Somebody needs to be doing something. And I'm like, maybe I'm that somebody. Wow,
Danielle Lewis (04:56):
I love being you're that somebody that's so good.
Erica Hatfield (05:01):
And I did the whole side hustle thing whilst you, because mothers don't have enough to do.
Danielle Lewis (05:08):
Exactly. You don't need
Erica Hatfield (05:09):
Notoriously free of commitments. So I thought I'd just add that into the mix. I'll just work part-time, have my child also, I'll be doing this stuff on the side. But considering I wrote half of the programs when I was still breastfeeding, when I probably should have been sleeping, my daughter was the worst sleeper ever. Oh my god. She still causing problems with that. She's four probably could have better spent my time. But yeah, I was really motivated, let's just say.
Danielle Lewis (05:39):
But I love that. I love how you've gone and taken a problem and gone, well, I know how to fix this. I can actually help people that are going through the exact same thing that I did or am.
Erica Hatfield (05:50):
Yeah.
Danielle Lewis (05:52):
So can people access this? Can people come to you directly that might be in the thick of this problem or is this something that their organization has to put on? How does that work?
Erica Hatfield (06:04):
Look, we provide services directly to people and also through corporate programs. And I think the interesting thing there is there's quite a different mix of why people want support and why they're coming. So through the corporate programs is very much a very structured program that's very focused on returning to the role that you left at the start of your parental leave. So returning to the same workplace and the same role and helping that transition pre parental leave to get you all ready to go and geared up so that you make the most of your time that you are off all that free time that you have when you're on leave. Exactly
Danielle Lewis (06:43):
That holiday that you're on.
Erica Hatfield (06:45):
Exactly. It's so ironic because you come back to work and you go, no, this is the holiday
(06:50):
Children is a hard bit. So perspective shift, but basically helping all those transition points. So getting ready to go off on leave, putting yourself in a really good strategic position. Then whilst you are on leave, getting everything ready to return to work, creating that return to work plan, thinking about flexible working arrangements, childcare, all of those different things that have to come together in harmony so that you can actually smoothly and positively have that return to work experience and then supporting people for that durable sort of sustainable ongoing future focus goals in regards to careers once you are back at work. So it's not like you go off and then you come back and you're left, you are also, once that transition is complete back into the workplace and then you start to look at not just the nuts and bolts of returning but also looking longer term and what do you want now?
(07:42):
Because everything shifts. Everything changes. That's the corporate program. But I guess the retail sort of program, if you want to call it direct to just individuals, I find a lot of people will have more of a bigger life question. Everything's shifted, everything's changed. I had this baby, my life exploded, what do I do now? What can I do now? There's so many constraints that didn't used to be there and all these different things that are coming up and it is just being able to talk through with someone who I guess has expertise in that area and also doesn't want anything from you or expect anything of you. So oftentimes I find clients will say, it is so great just to be able to have this conversation in this safe confidential environment with somebody who doesn't have a stake because they're like, my partner wants me to earn a certain amount.
(08:34):
My mother, brother, sister, friends, they all see me in a certain way and if I have that conversation with them or my colleagues, I know what they're going to tell me and that's not what I want. I want to be able to have a sounding board. I want to be able to talk through my ideas. And oftentimes they've made really great inroads into the thought process and they kind of just need somebody to talk it out with. And other times I've got no idea whatsoever. We work through the whole process of looking at values and strengths and skill sets and experience and things like that. So it's a lot of fun actually being able to go through that creative process with people too.
Danielle Lewis (09:11):
Oh my god, I love that so much. I wish when I had a corporate career, I mean I haven't had kids and I just wish somebody would've taken me through that process.
Erica Hatfield (09:21):
I think people need to be aware of it like before and lead up too. So I think the more awareness we can get out there of the impact childbearing, child rearing, I dunno, as parenthood has on your career, I think it's really important so that you're prepared and that you can make sure that you put yourself in a really good position. Because let's face it, kids are expensive. So at no other time in your life do you really need that money and that's the one time that you kind of take that time out. So I think it's really important to be aware of these things and I wish the other thing somebody would've told me when I was pregnant is that there is sleep training. It is such a thing. I wish I would've known that from day instead. I didn't know until six months down the track and that had a big negative impact. I just say to everybody, have a look at all of your options. Don't just look at the birth. Think about once baby's here,
Danielle Lewis (10:16):
Oh my God, I love that and I love how you
Erica Hatfield (10:20):
In the marriage. So everyone focuses on the party and not actually what happens after,
Danielle Lewis (10:26):
Oh my god, I'm getting triggered here. I'm planning my wedding and I'm just thinking about how gorgeous it will be. But I love how you said you actually sit people down and talk through their values because, and I love how you said that things shift dramatically once you've had either your first child or your second or your third or however ing might be all of 'em. The values you might've had inside your job may be totally different. And if things change literally overnight, actually navigating that space is I can imagine only super difficult.
Erica Hatfield (11:04):
And I think, look, your values may stay pretty stable over time or they might change depending on dramatic things that shift, but your priorities and the way you express that, that will definitely shift. I'm yet to meet someone or it hasn't, or maybe they're just not my clientele that are looking for me. But I mean generally having a child, particularly your first child, there's going to be a big shift in what you typically would do on a Saturday night. You know what I mean? The ins and outs of your day-to-day, life change dramatically. And I think people who have a lot of support from others in their family or networks, friends and other groups and things like that are definitely streets ahead. And not everyone has that support system. Not everyone has someone who's experienced in it. You might be the first of your friends to have a child and everyone's experiences are different too. So hearing just from one individual around their lived experiences is one, and it may not be the right path for you either. And so being able to talk to someone who's kind of removed from having just that personal experience and can talk to you more broadly about things, I think is really helpful to look at things at that level. So yeah,
Danielle Lewis (12:25):
I love that so much. So I totally have my head around how important it is for new mom. So talk to me about corporates. So the actual organization who might be providing this as a service to people, why is it so important for them as an organization?
Erica Hatfield (12:43):
Well, retention in a word, and particularly in the current climate where there's a war on talent, the amount of job vacancies that are out there and the amount of people who are applying for them. So if you're looking for work at the moment, now is a really good time to throw out your cv. You've got the odds are with you. It's definitely it's non employers market at the moment. It's really hard to fill vacancies and it's really hard to find skilled talent to varying degrees of difficulty depending on the nature of the industry and the particular role you're looking to fill. But so basically you want to retain skilled talent, skilled experience, talent who know and understand the business who have a track record there. It makes sense to tap into that. It makes sense to retain the parents as much as you can coming back in.
(13:37):
And there are a lot of barriers going off on parental leave, coming back, you've had all this time off. I find that a lot of the people I work with have lost a bit of confidence in their skillset because it's been a while and how much I remember, how much has the workplace moved on, maybe I haven't heard from my employer at all during that time and I'm like, do they know I'm still alive? I've heard my managers left. I don't even know who my new manager is. It's turnover within teams and they go back and there's no one that they know. So from an employer perspective, it's really absolutely critical to leave no stone unturned when you are trying to retain valuable stuff. And all the parents that I've worked with have got such amazing skills and talent and career histories.
(14:29):
Typically they're not new to the workforce, they're kind of mid-career. So they've got a lot to give. And I think the important thing is also supporting parents as they transition back so that they can give as much as they can in terms of not just hours, but also in terms of skillset. So I downshifted my career so they got a bargain when I went into that role. I could do so much more than what they were looking for in the market. So I think it's important because parents want to be able to, they're still ambitious, they still want to be able to perform tasks and duties that are at the level of their skillset. So the last thing you want to do is shift them into a corner and they'll start looking for another job elsewhere because right now it's the best time to be looking to go somewhere else. You'll be snapped up very quickly.
Danielle Lewis (15:26):
And I can imagine the cost of hiring and training new staff is way more than actually just supporting existing staff to come back into the workplace.
Erica Hatfield (15:39):
Yeah, exactly. The productivity loss is just
Danielle Lewis (15:44):
Relationship finding people time. Oh my gosh,
Erica Hatfield (15:47):
Oh gosh. The amount of time. And you always hear the hiring managers complaining about the lead time or the lag time to get a new person on board that everybody else is under the pump and they were already under the pump and all of that business. It is the whole process of recruiting, training, onboarding, all of that and all the costs that are involved both directly if you're using an agency or whatever or indirectly in people's time, it is just incredible and the lost productivity until you get that speed to competence on the other side. So it's definitely in everyone's best interest to try and retain parents when they're coming back to work. And the amount of investment to be able to do that is minimal compared to the amount of cost if you were to lose them through turnover. So I think it's definitely, and also it plays into the whole diversity and inclusion piece as well and showing how valued that your employees are and being able to say, Hey, you know what? You want to come and work for us because we value everybody and we've got a workforce that's representative of the community. And you can see yourself reflected here because we are willing to support everyone and invest in people who may not fit the full-time, working all hours, mold, that kind of thing or whatever other reasons that you might be outside of the norm. We are willing to create an environment that's supportive and empowering to everyone and I think that's a really important message as well.
Danielle Lewis (17:26):
Yeah, I love that so much. So as the parent who's going through this, how's it facilitated? Is it a course, is it one-on-one coaching? How do you go through the process with somebody?
Erica Hatfield (17:40):
It's coaching, so it's a semi-structured program. So basically there's particular discussion points or topics for each of the different sessions will already be set out with the flexibility of being able to shift that depending on individual needs. So it's always individually tailored. It's not a cookie cutter approach. And also the timings, the timings have guidelines to them. So pre parental leave when you're off and starting to plan for coming back and then once you're actually back in the workplace. But that's also flexible as well because everybody will have different, I guess, constraints on their time. And so not everybody can, oh, two weeks before you go off on leave, let's catch up. Not everybody can do that depending on what they have to do for handover and everything else. And it's always a bit of a crazy time before you go off. But yeah, all of the time becomes crazy time when kids are involved.
(18:37):
I mean that's the biggest thing that I've learned being parent is there has to be flexibility because you become part of this broader family unit now. So you've gone from being an individual and you can throw everything at it to, you're constrained by what's happening with your kids. I was talking to you before about my daughter's being sick, the chaos of that, and shes from that. So you have to have flexibility and you have to have, I think compassion and empathy for the circumstances that parents are trying to work and do their best within. That being said, I read some research recently which I thought was spot on, and they said that the most productive members of the workforce, working moms.
Danielle Lewis (19:24):
Oh, I believe that. I believe that
Erica Hatfield (19:26):
You have to be so efficient with your time. You've got to do drop off and pick up, and between that time you have to get everything done. So you're like,
Danielle Lewis (19:32):
Because
Erica Hatfield (19:34):
You don't have the option of going, well, I'll just stay back another hour's. Not an option. You only have these hours so you have to get through it. Yeah, anyways.
Danielle Lewis (19:44):
Oh my God. No, it's so true though, right? It's like, and if an employer can capitalize on that, getting productive people back in is always a good thing. So many employers rant about unproductive millennials get moms back in,
Erica Hatfield (20:01):
Do you want something done? Give it to a mom. Exactly.
Danielle Lewis (20:04):
That is so good. It'll get done. Yeah. Oh that is so good. So what's your journey been like? So obviously you went from high flying director to mom to back into the workplace and not quite happy with the level you were at and then stuff it, I'm starting my own business. What was the process for you employee to business owner? How was that for you?
Erica Hatfield (20:30):
Oh my God.
Danielle Lewis (20:34):
It's like how long do you have and where's the line?
Erica Hatfield (20:38):
It was interesting because it wasn't exactly what I expected. To a certain degree, I think you have certain assumptions that you even realize you have about what it will be like to run your own show. And usually you're thinking about all the positives. I get to choose what it is that I work on today and I get to do all the stuff that I really love and enjoy and it'll be amazing. And so let me dispel a few myths.
Danielle Lewis (21:05):
Please, please.
Erica Hatfield (21:07):
So when you're an employee and you get to be a specialist in your little area and just work on that and build your capability in that space and do all those lovely things that you love and hone your skillset, when you then flip out of that into a business and you are one person show, you become a generalist across everything and your skillset sets are shallow across all of that because you've got limited time to be able to build it. And the unfortunate thing is if you are like me and you decide, ah, it'll be fine, I'll just quit my job and do this. Just
Danielle Lewis (21:43):
Dive straight in the deep end.
Erica Hatfield (21:45):
Yeah, exactly. Sometimes it's good to be naive because you dunno if you'd ever take that leap of faith if you knew everything. Things always take longer than you expect to occur. So all those articles that you read about every man and his dog is this unicorn business, four to six weeks, they're making millions. They're like this with all the money. It's like that's not an accurate reflection of the whole of the ecosystem, let me put it that way. I
Danielle Lewis (22:18):
Don't think it's an accurate reflection of fricking any percentage of the ecosystem seriously.
Erica Hatfield (22:25):
But I mean that's kind of the seed that's planted. You would build it, they will come, it'll be amazing. You'll raise
Danielle Lewis (22:32):
Millions of dollars, you'll be a unicorn. And you
Erica Hatfield (22:36):
Totally believe in what you're doing. You're really passionate about it. Otherwise you wouldn't be such a risk taker. You're very optimistic or you wouldn't be doing this right? So you believe in what you're doing, you back yourself and you're like, right, I've got something that's really amazing, that's really good. You've focused all your efforts on your service or product and you put it your baby out into the world and you're like, they'll come and then all you hear is crickets and you're like, oh
Danielle Lewis (22:59):
My God, what happened? Where are all the people? Where is all the money?
Erica Hatfield (23:04):
Exactly. And then you realize that it's not just about the service or the product. You actually have to do this little thing called sales and market. Damn
Danielle Lewis (23:12):
Damn.
Erica Hatfield (23:12):
Which I have no skill set in hr psychology background. I just give things away support, advice. I don't know how to sell. So the whole sales and marketing thing was new to me. I was new to socials, I wasn't on any of that. So you can see that my speed to competence started right at zero and I slowly, but you don't even have a chance to slowly build, you have to love learning, which is lucky that I do because the way I put it to people is imagine those lovely little marketing grads. They've had three, four year degree, they come out, you need to be able to kick it with them. And you've got about three to four weeks to learn that skillset. You need to be able to have that speed to competence. You need to be able to know when to let things go and just put them out there and that you will lay track and chug, chug go along as you're still building that roadway.
(23:59):
You know what I mean? So you have to be comfortable with being uncomfortable forever because you're always pushing the envelope and you're always going that one step further. And you also have to be comfortable with being out there, which I didn't realize was a part of it because I thought it's a business, it's not a person, it's a business. And it's like, no, you need to put yourself out there. It's your name, it's your face. You have to go out there and talk to people and spruce your way so to speak and say why it's such a great idea, why it would be so amazing and how it will help them. And I didn't quite realize that. So I had to get very comfortable, still uncomfortable, but more comfortable and less uncomfortable with being able to do that. So it is just, yeah, it's
Danielle Lewis (24:43):
A journey.
Erica Hatfield (24:44):
Easy ride. Lemme put it that way. It's not an easy ride. And if you can continue to maintain some other kind of income stream, I would highly recommend it.
Danielle Lewis (24:52):
Oh my God, I agree with you so much. Both those things. So love to learn because literally what I've been in this 10 years and I still every day I am like, I don't know how to do that. So you really need to be like, yeah, every day is going to be a mystery for the rest of your life. And I love that actually do it as a side hustle. Don't take the leap. You have some other income coming in, not a bad idea, anything to take the pressure off because it is so hard. Being in business is really difficult. So if you've got anything in your life that can help to take the pressure off, that's golden.
Erica Hatfield (25:29):
And to learn those skill sets before you make the leap. So if you don't know anything about sales and marketing, learn it before you go spend time with the people at your current workplace who do that, show an avid interest because you're going to have to know that intimately. You are the one who's going to write the post. You're the one who's actually going to post it onto Instagram or whatever it is. You got to know how to do that. So if you can build those skillsets before you take the leap and build those skill sets alongside building your product or building your service, I think that's really helpful. And the one other thing I would say that's really I think super important is around just you've got to have a really strong reason for being in business because it's going to be tough. It's going to be hard.
(26:14):
Your trajectory is not going to go like this. It's going to be more like this. And on bad days, it'll go through the floor and you need to be able to be resilient and bounce back from that and not only bounce back, but go forward. So for me, because my enterprise is built upon my personal experiences and how much I believe in a fair and equal world and trying to level the playing field, and that's what stokes my fires and keeps going, that is what's really held me together in thinking about who I'm helping. So you need to have a really strong vision, a really strong why you are in business because on those really tough days, you're probably going to want to quit. It's going to be hard. So yeah. Yeah. I'm paint a good picture here of business,
Danielle Lewis (27:06):
But I love it though because I feel like it's just like what you do. You are building awareness for parents and saying, you know what? This is what you're going to need to know is going to happen out there. We're doing the same thing for potential business owners. We kind of go, okay, look, I know it looks fancy on the outside and on Instagram, but it's really bloody hard every day
Erica Hatfield (27:30):
And it's exhausting and you're going to have to give so much more time to it. And I know people say, look, if you have your own business, you think about it 24 7. Whereas with a job you can kind of switch off. I think there's some nuance there because some people with their jobs don't switch off. But the difference is if you're doing something that you are truly passionate about, then you actually love thinking about it all the time. It's a very different feeling of what work is. Do you know what I mean? It doesn't feel like a drag. It feels like it's actually lifting you up and energizing you because it's something that you're interested in. And I'll see articles all the time and I go, oh, that's really interesting and it's totally related to what I'm doing. So technically that's work. But I love doing it and I love finding out these little bits and pieces of research and what's happening in this space at the moment. So it's a very different thing.
Danielle Lewis (28:24):
And it's true, a new concept. We always used to talk about work-life balance, and this idea that you could come walk into the home office, do your thing, close the door and go back into the house and be magically in family mode. But I think the new thing that everyone's saying is work-life integration. I think that we can be a little bit more flexible. We can go, yes, when I'm sitting in front of the tv, maybe I'm reading an interesting article, and you're right, it probably relates to the business, so you could consider it work, but if you love it and you're interested in the space that continual learning and understanding is going to support your business. I don't think you want to sit on the couch and go, oh, I better not read it because I'm supposed to be in family mode or whatever mode in relaxed mode. I think we have to be a little bit more, take it easy on ourselves a little bit more and kind of go, there's going to be a blend.
Erica Hatfield (29:20):
And I think that leads nicely into the whole self-care piece because if you don't look after yourself and you're going a million miles an hour building this business, you're going to burn out and you, you need to be able to have something that's specifically just for you, that's your own me time. That's something that you love and that just energizes you and keeps you, I think there's a bit of a myth as well, particularly for women and particularly for mothers, working mothers, around this myth of having it all, which drives me insane because it's not having it all. It's doing it all, which is a very different thing. And it's exhausting. It's really exhausting, and it can really be something that drags you down at times, particularly if everything always happens at once, it's either feast or fain, isn't it? So something will drop off and you won't get that client and the kids will be sick and the husband, something will happen.
(30:16):
He has to go away for work or whatever it is. It'll all happen at once and it'll get really, really hard. And I think the interesting thing is that in order to help women to be able to have a fair opportunity at work, there also needs to be more sort of fairer division of labor at home of the unpaid work, the unseen and undervalued work that happens domestically running a household and looking after kids. Because if we don't have help with that, then we're never going to be able to get to where we'd like to go and achieve what we want to achieve at work. Because your head is just so full of the mental load of organizing. Before I came on here, I was like, okay, I've got to organize a podiatrist appointment. I've got to get in touch with the school I've got to do, and all of that just, it's a lot. I've got to go and pick up my daughter after this a take. There is so much stuff that you have to remember that you have to do, and then you have to be able to do everything else around that. And so I always think of the superwoman and putting the tape on and all of that, and I think that's not a helpful narrative. The reality is that it's going to be messy and we're all down in it. Don't think anyone is not. Don't look at Instagram and go, oh yeah, that's real life. She
Danielle Lewis (31:38):
Does it all.
Erica Hatfield (31:40):
I know the high heels, she looks immaculate. The kids are all fed and watered and everything's happening and the husband's got his whiskey. None of that's true.
Danielle Lewis (31:50):
Yeah, totally. And even I always think about it from a practical perspective as well. Yes, the mental load's crazy, but I'm like, if I wasn't going to woolly's buying food, I wasn't cooking dinner, I wasn't cleaning, I wasn't doing the laundry. I could be doing more in my business and growing it faster. So it's time as well. We have a finite amount of time that we can actually invest in things.
Erica Hatfield (32:17):
It's so true. And time takes on a whole new meaning once you've got kids in the mix, because you are almost counting the minutes as to do this task or do that task or do whatever. You've only got so much time. Whereas I keep thinking back to my pre-baby days going, how did I fritter away all my time? What was I doing with it? I could have achieved so much more.
Danielle Lewis (32:43):
Oh, that's so funny. So on the self-care topic, do you have any things that you do to look after you?
Erica Hatfield (32:51):
What's I say, do as I say, not as I do not as I do. Look, I try to be conscientious about getting more exercise. Gosh, that's always every year that's on my list. And every year I'm like, damnit, I didn't do it back on my list. 1st of January. What do you call it? Renew year's resolution. That's
Danielle Lewis (33:09):
Right. I love it. The clock and we are forgiven.
Erica Hatfield (33:13):
Exactly. Let's just reset. It's the same thing. No, I've tried to be better and I've tried to do it on the mornings where I'm not totally face on the floors kind of dying from sleep deprivation. So a few times a week I'll go for a short walk because I've made the whole thing of instead of going, I have to go for a 10 hour walk. It's more if I get dressed and I've got my shoes on and I go for a walk around the block, I just get out of the house. It's a win. Totally.
Danielle Lewis (33:42):
I love that so much. I think we get into that. Well, you've got to be up at 5:00 AM and you've got to do this and you've got a journal. And I'm like, no, just do something. And that's a win.
Erica Hatfield (33:51):
Exactly, exactly. So long as you are progressing, I think that it's always a win that's so good. And the things that you need to do, things that bring you joy. For me, it's baking. I don't know why, but I love it. Oh, cool. And the only thing is that now I can't give you all the elaborate things, although I've got my daughter's birthday coming up. She's like, I need a mermaid cake mommy. I'm like, okay, sure. I'll just do that.
Danielle Lewis (34:13):
I'll whip that up. Yep.
Erica Hatfield (34:15):
I'll be YouTubing all these videos. I'm going to make me made cake. Ask me anything I can tell you now. But yeah, normally it's just raspberry muffins or something really quick. But just having that time and that whole ritual of just physically making something and then obviously the rural water beating it afterwards, I love it.
Danielle Lewis (34:35):
It's
Erica Hatfield (34:36):
Win-win, that's always good. And going for walks in nature, that's my other big, big thing. So just being able to get out off the roads As I look around at the back of Sydney where I live, so obviously you have to go for a little while to reach the trees, but once you get there, I find it really calming just to be in nature and just to look at the water and hear the wind go through the trees and see some wildlife. My daughter and I always look for the birds and that kind of thing as they come by, but it makes a really big difference and it kind of helps you to kind of just decompress. And I don't know, obviously I don't do it as often as I'd like. So I think the other message would be it's not a matter of doing some big thing once in a while because that's not going to help you. It needs to be something you do on a regular basis daily if possible. But every other day, minimum weekly, I'd say. Because if you keep holding onto that, you kind of sync. It needs to be have an impact, I think. Because yeah, if you're waiting till Christmas time until you get your break,
Danielle Lewis (35:46):
My own never comes. That's do it now. Yeah,
Erica Hatfield (35:49):
Exactly. Something will happen and then you won't get it. So yeah, make sure you build it in to your routine as much as you can. And like I said, even if it's just something small, walk around the block. Oftentimes I find once I'm out of the house, I'll go for a walk and I'll go, oh, I'll just go around the block. And then I'll be like, I'm feeling okay. I'm here bit further. And instead of five minutes, it's
Danielle Lewis (36:09):
Just that momentum sometimes.
Erica Hatfield (36:11):
Yeah. So I think it's good. And there's no pressure on you to perform at a certain level, just your me time and relaxing. And it's just doing it for the joy of it.
Danielle Lewis (36:21):
I love it. I love it so much. Okay, last question for you to wrap up. So some of the people listening in actually haven't taken the leap yet into running their own business. They're still corporate living or maybe they're even new moms who are going, I don't want to go back to work. I want a new adventure. Any piece of advice you would give someone who might be struggling to take the leap into starting their own business?
Erica Hatfield (36:49):
Well, at the end of the day, I think it's a leap of faith. It's like taking a new job is a leap of faith. You can do all your homework that you can imagine on a place, but you'll never really know what it's like to work there until you do it. And I think it's the same with the business, but there's a big, but prefacing all the things that we said before, make sure that you've got a lifeline income that you can live on or still having some kind of income stream whilst you're doing this. You don't know how long it's going to take. You can't crystal ball it. You won't know. And being able to build up your skillsets and be comfortable with being uncomfortable, all of those things. So go in with your eyes wide open, but go in prepared, hopefully more prepared than I was.
(37:35):
So learn your sales and marketing. Now people, that's a big tip. If you're not coming from that background, you need to build that skillset. And also don't feel like you need to know everything you can outsource. Obviously that's predetermined by how much money you have, but there are certain things that you're better off outsourcing because your time can be better spent elsewhere. And now I really understand why they say fail and fail fast because time is money people, and the longer that you're not earning, the harder it's going to be. And I've seen some of my friends who started businesses around the same time I did that they've already had to go back looking for corporate roles. Wow. Yeah. So do it and do it fast. Yes.
Danielle Lewis (38:22):
You know what
Erica Hatfield (38:23):
I mean? Either that or make sure you've still got that dual income that's happening kind of on the side so that you've got some buffer so that you don't have to move as quickly. But yeah.
Danielle Lewis (38:33):
Amazing. Well, are absolutely incredible. Erica, thank you so much for being here on Spark tv. You're brilliant. Thank you for sharing your insights with our community. Thanks for having me.
