Tracy Harris (Mums With Hustle)
As we mark International Women's Month with this issue we are highlighting Tracy Harris, a woman who has used her skills & business to help elevate mothers as they venture into the world of entrepreneurship. Through her company, Tracy Harris Co, & her top-rated podcast, Mums With Hustle, Tracy provides business coaching & mentoring for women looking to launch, grow & scale digital businesses.
Looking back 9 years, to before she launched Tracy Harris Co, Tracy told Pario that she never envisioned digital entrepreneurship being something that was "in my blood or my path". Back then Tracy was a dedicated & passionate primary school teacher, but after having her first baby, she felt somewhat ostracised by colleagues upon her return.
"At that time there was all kinds of pressure on me. So much so, that I was given an ultimatum to keep my leadership role & come back full-time or hand in the leadership role," reflected Tracy. "I faced a clash of values, do I value status, career, certainty & being a good girl more than I value my family, my dreams & doing things my way? That was my line in the sand moment & ultimately, I chose to walk away for myself, for the baby that I had & for how I wanted to show up in my marriage."
Losing the career that she had spent all of her life up to that point building towards was devastating.
"That period was very dark & stressful. I was diagnosed with anxiety & depression during that process. I speak about all of this now with so much lightness but really it was very very hard. I lost my happy sparkly self & didn't want to be like that. I knew I wanted to have another baby one day & it made me sad to think about growing a baby inside of me when I had such a toxic energy inside of myself. I wanted to heal all of that before I fell pregnant with the next bub & knew that wouldn't be possible if I stayed in a toxic work environment."
Learning to utilise skills & passions in a new way
When Tracy shifted across to launch Tracy Harris Co she had to focus on finding the "common thread" through her 2 careers to ensure it was something she would love working in. In doing this Tracy discovered that her common thread was "the love of helping people tap into their purpose."
Having found this common thread Tracy soon realised that following this passion gave her just as much, if not more, satisfaction by witnessing both her growth as an entrepreneur as she got from seeing her clients succeeding.
While speaking with Pario Tracy explained that watching her clients succeed is "like an addiction" with nothing but rewarding moments.
"It's so rewarding seeing women retire husbands, much like myself. Or to see people create businesses that allow them to travel full-time. We have women that can provide employment opportunities to other people. So much good has come from it all. I will never tire of getting DM's or emails from women telling me how their lives have changed because they're growing a digital business that is smart & scalable."
Biggest challenges facing creative entrepreneurs
During our chat with Tracy, we also spoke about some of the biggest challenges facing her & her clients. According to Tracy, these challenges tend to be internal rather than external, as it's often the "mental game" which causes people to stumble.
"You can go online & learn anything, but information is only so valuable because what good is information if you don't apply it," explained Tracy.
To apply the information & skills that Tracy teaches her clients she says 2 key elements will lead to success or failure.
"Firstly, do you have the skills to apply the information? If not you can learn those skills," said Tracy. "The second part though is the harder part. Do you have the resilience & growth mindset to apply those skills? For most people, & myself included, it is that mental game that has been the greatest challenge of growing my business."
For Tracy, her own biggest hurdle to overcome has been imposter syndrome. Something which all creatives deal with at some point or another.
"With imposter syndrome, you can go from one moment feeling like you've got the greatest idea ever & then the next minute you're full of doubt. When imposter syndrome hits we tend to go into our shell & I very much had that at the beginning," recalled Tracy. "I still get bouts of that now. I know that that inner critic is not the voice of truth, it's just a natural part of how the brain is designed to work. The brain is built to do what is safe, what is predictable, what is familiar & what is known. The second I'm trying to bring something to life in my business that is new to me I know to expect the imposter syndrome to come. That mental game never goes away, you just have to build that resilience & tenacity."
The element of Tracy Harris Co which epitomised this the most was Tracy's Mums With Hustle podcast, which she produced weekly episodes of for an entire year before it started to bring any income into the business.
"I was thinking 'this is madness, no one else would do this except for a crazy entrepreneur' but that is ok because I've learned that we really are 1% of the population. So, if you feel crazy it's because you are. You just need to go hang out with the 1% of crazies & then you'll feel better."
These days Tracy is immensely thankful that she didn't give up on the podcast.
"Every single person that has come into my Mastermind, which is a very high-priced high-end course, has said that they listened to my podcast. So just imagine if I had quit when those numbers were under 100... Where you are now is not where you're always going to be. I'm almost 9 years into having a weekly podcast, that's a long time!
"Are you prepared to go for that long if you knew that you'd have a million-dollar-plus business in a few years? I think most people would say yes. The people who succeed are the people who don't get tired & just keep going!"
Learn to walk before you run
In closing out our conversation with Tracy we asked for a few of her top tips for entrepreneurs. According to Tracy the biggest piece of advice she can give anyone launching a business is to "keep it simple stupid"!
"A lot of people, myself included, are guilty of overcomplicating a launch. Comparison syndrome kicks in when we see how other people are launching & having 6-7 figure launches. So then people try to reverse engineer what other people are doing but that isn't right for everyone, particularly when your audience is small," explained Tracy. "Putting so much effort into a launch that isn't going to convert, simply because you don't have the audience, leaves people feeling exhausted, bitter & defeated. That then stops people wanting to launch again & then they quit."
This keep-it-simple approach also applies to social media.
"Pick your platform, whether that be Instagram, TikTok or Twitter, & then master it," said Tracy. "It's so exhausting trying to be on all of the things. Honestly, until you are making a million dollars in revenue per year you don't need to be on more than 1 platform until you've mastered that platform. For some people that might sound crazy but some people can't even imagine making a million dollars."
Follow Tracy’s Creative Journey on social media at: @mumswithhustle
Support Pario Magazine
Become A Publisher
$10 / Month
- Name Added To Publisher List
- Physical Print Issue
- Early Access
-
