We recently connected with Stacey Gish Wallenstein and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Stacey thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Being a business owner can be really hard sometimes. It’s rewarding, but most business owners we’ve spoken sometimes think about what it would have been like to have had a regular job instead. Have you ever wondered that yourself? Maybe you can talk to us about a time when you felt this way?

I feel that all entrepreneurs have this feeling at some point.

Especially those in emerging fields – like blogging and content creation – since people don’t understand what the job entails, how much work it is, and it’s not just getting “free stuff”. In essence it’s running a full scale digital marketing and advertising agency.

Being in a creative field means you’re always on and always thinking.

Working for yourself means that you’re always working and always thinking.

If I stop I don’t get paid. There’s no bi-monthly paycheck regardless of my effort.

It’s exhausting!

I love the line I work 24/7 so I don’t have to work 9 to 5.

However, after a decade of doing this, sometimes I fantasize about the other side. Of walking out at 5pm, closing my office door, going home, and being present in my life versus living amongst blurred lines.

On the other hand, I love that my job as a writer and content creator allows me access to really cool things all over the world. With that said I know that my family has benefited from my job and flexibility. As a creative entrepreneur I can always rearrange my schedule to show up for my kids when needed.

I think one of the biggest challenges one faces as a business owner – especially in a creative field – is burnout. It is also something very hard to come back from because if you’re truly experiencing it, you really have to change your whole life (at least for a little while) to recover.

I think the best way to protect yourself from burnout is to pace yourself and learn to say no.

When you’re the boss and you’re the whole company and you only reap what you sow, it’s very hard not to constantly chase the carrot. But I think chasing it too much and spreading yourself too thin is a recipe for disaster.

I think learning how to shut off work is a constant struggle especially when your work is writing about things to do that are fun!

I recently took my first vacation where I wasn’t working in a decade. Instead of taking thousands of pictures I took a handful, instead of taking notes to jog my memory post vacation, I just sat and read a book, it was amazing! Now that I’m home I’m saying no to opportunities because I don’t want to get back to a place of mental exhaustion.

I think when you have an amorphous job with no boundaries, you have to establish your own boundaries which is very challenging. But in the end, it’s a blessing to have this flexibility, and I’m so grateful every day that this is my job!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

When my husband and I lived in Manhattan and we were pregnant with our first baby (now our 14-year-old daughter) I started getting involved in the Mommy blogging world. This was early on when it was new and exciting.

I started writing for different outlets and had my first solo article published in The Huffington Post when I was pregnant with my second (now our 11-year-old son) about how to make sense of raising siblings as an only child.

We moved out of Manhattan shortly after that (in January of 2014), and I launched my own blog – The Mint Chip Mama – combining all the fun events and activities around us with the thought pieces from my crazy mom-brain head.

10 years later, I am a full-time blogger and content creator. As my kids age, I am getting back to my lifelong passion of traveling. I love uncovering hidden gems, finding things off the beaten path, and bringing both local and foreign places to life.

I think social media is a fun way to show your personality and highlight brands organically.

I love learning about fun products that might not change your life but will make you smile. Of course if it changes your life (like a bidet!) then bring it on too!

I spend all year looking for great items to put in my holiday gift guide and constantly attend events to learn about what’s new and what’s next to share with my readers.

Now a mom of three with a child in elementary school, middle school, and high school, my workday hours are shorter, but my excitement about the next cool thing hasn’t wavered.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I think authenticity is key. I repeat this over and over because I truly believe that people can tell if you’re lying. The example I always use is I don’t have a dog, so if all of a sudden I start making videos about dog food you can tell I’m just doing it for a quick buck.

I also let my crazy personality show through which I hope people find funny despite it earning me the ever feared title of “cringe” from my teenager. However I’ll show her – I was just voted a “Top 40 Funny Mom Influencers in 2024”!

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

I come from corporate America where I worked in customer service for many years. Because of this I handle every new client as the most important account. I hope that this professionalism shines through. It makes me so proud when a client comes back because it reinforces the idea that I’m doing a good job.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.themintchipmama.com
• Instagram: http://www.Instagram.com/themintchipmama
• Facebook: http://www.Facebook.com/themintchipmama
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/staceygishwallenstein/
• Twitter: http://www.Twitter.com/themintchipmama
• Youtube: http://www.YouTube.com/themintchipmama