Ever feel torn between what “makes sense” and what feels right in your business?

Been there. Still there, sometimes.

In this episode, I’m joined by Lisa Avila, business strategist for Tenacious Moms and mom of three, to talk about how to actually trust yourself when making decisions in your business—and why your intuition might be the strategy you’ve been overlooking.

We chat about:

• How to use the intuition you already have as a mom to guide your business
• The difference between balance and harmony (and why harmony wins)
• How to tell when it’s a “no for now” vs. a “no forever”
• Why slowing down might actually help you grow faster

Lisa shares so many gems about building a business that works with your season and capacity—not against it.

🎁 PODCAST LISTENER BONUS:

Lisa’s masterclass, Dial Up Your Intuition for Business Success, is normally $22—but you can grab it for just $11 with code SYDNEY at checkout. 👉 Snag it here

Connect with Lisa: @lisathestrategist

Mentioned in this episode:

Join Plan it, Post It, Profit and plan a month of Instagram posts that lead to sales in just 5 days!

Join Plan it, Post It, Profit and plan a month of Instagram posts that lead to sales in just 5 days!

Plan 1 Month of Instagram Content That Leads to Sales in 5 Days! Join Plant It, Post It, Profit!

If you've ever second guessed a decision in your business or felt totally stuck choosing between what makes sense and what actually feels right, this episode is gonna hit home.

Today I'm chatting with Lisa Avila, a business strategist for Tenacious Moms, about how to stop ignoring your gut and use your intuition as a tool in your business.

We all have that motherhood intuition, and Lisa walks us through how we can use it to be an incredibly powerful tool as a business owner.

We're talking about how to make decisions that align with your season, your values, and your real life as a mom.

Lisa breaks it all down in such a simple, doable way.

And honestly, I walked away from this combo ready to lean in and stop overthinking everything, which is huge for me.

So let's dive in.

Welcome to mompreneur Mastery, where we build businesses, raise families, and skip the hustle.

That doesn't actually help.

I'm Sydney o' Brien, certified Instagram strategist, mom of three and your no fluff guide to making more sales with content that's strategic, simple, and you can actually make in the small mom cracks of your day because Instagram shouldn't feel like a full time job you're not getting paid for.

If you're ready to stop posting just to stay visible and start sharing content that actually converts to sales and gets you clients, you're in the right place.

So, Lisa, for anyone who hasn't met you, can you give us a short version of who you are, who you help and what you do?

Basically, yeah, absolutely.

I am Lisa Avila.

I am a business strategist for Tenacious Moms.

I love working with moms, helping them scale, grow their businesses.

And I am also a mom of three teenagers.

So I know what it's like to be in the trenches of motherhood.

And yeah, I love working on strategy, visibility and marketing and always mindset, because we moms, we need mindset shifts every once in a while.

Absolutely.

And I love that you do all of those things.

I know they're like, each very separate, but they're also like, they kind of need to be so intertwined, especially as a mom business owner who's doing like all the things in like very small bursts of time.

So I love that you are able to cover all of those.

Yes.

We really have to find.

It's not about balance for me anyway, it's about harmony because it's always shifting.

There's always something going on and just finding the time in your day to you're always a mom, but you still have dreams and want to build your business.

So finding ways to weave that all together.

I love that you say that.

That is like not about balance, it's harmony.

Because it is always changing.

Even like right now, today is the last day of my kids, like drop off, co op, program their homeschool co op, and the one day a week that I have where they're not here, like I have one kid at home instead of three.

And that's changing.

So as of tomorrow, I have to like reset everything.

It's just constantly changing.

So it's very hard to achieve that balance because even with like little kids, you know, like nap schedules change, you know, they get sick or like are teething, those kinds of things.

So I love that you make that distinction because I feel like it's very easy to get into this mindset of like scheduling and like keeping it that way to find balance, but it's not always doable when you're also like primary caregiver of your kids.

Exactly.

And you're right.

Let's say the school calls in for me and says, you need to come get your kid, he's sick or what have you, your schedule has to flex.

You're not going to say too bad to your kids because for me, my family comes first.

And so.

Right.

And that's why I love to help other moms build their family first businesses, because that's what matters most.

And it's also about giving yourself grace when those moments do come up where you have something scheduled, you know, talking on a podcast.

And I've got my college kid home and he's being very loud.

We just make it work the best that we can.

And the people, other moms, dads, they get it, they understand.

It's just, it's not easy.

It's not.

Yeah.

My youngest, my four year old is upstairs right now watching Daniel Tiger and I bribed him with M&M's and Dino Nuggets to stay there for hopefully 20, 30 minutes so this isn't interrupted.

So, yeah, totally get it.

Yeah, I bribed my kids yesterday.

I was doing a bunch of stuff and I wanted that focus time.

And so I gave my oldest 40 bucks.

Go golf, please.

Like, get out of the house.

Which is nice because when the kids are older, you do have more time when they're in school or when they drive and you can say like, hit the road, Mom's got to work.

Which I feel is so important to show them that we are following our dreams and they can as well.

Right?

Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

I love that part of it too.

Like showing them what hard work looks like, working for yourself, achieving your goals, all of that.

Yes.

Yeah.

It's been so fun to watch them watch me and then go after what they want and then they leave the nest because now they want to go and do their thing.

It's a little heartbreaking as a mom, but also it's so great to see our kids grow and become independent.

Right?

Yeah, I love that.

I'm not, not anywhere near that, but I can, I can imagine the, the bittersweetness of that, for sure.

Yes.

And also I was coaching someone yesterday and telling them because they, this mom, she felt guilty about leaving her kid to go on a work trip.

And I was just giving, you know, what I've seen from my own experience of, yes, it is hard, but also you're showing them, showing them how to do it and how to go after your big dreams.

Yeah, absolutely.

One of the things that, like, I try to instill in my kids a lot is like, you can do hard things.

Just because it's difficult doesn't mean it's impossible.

You can do it.

It takes time, but you can do it.

And so, yeah, being able to show them that through working on a business like, while taking care of them is pretty, Pretty awesome.

Definitely.

It's like modeling the behavior, which is something parents hear about a lot, but definitely a way to do that.

Yep.

And stepping into the fair also, I mean, for my kids, when they were playing sports, they were scared.

They were scared to go try something new.

And we as adults, we tend to get stuck in what we know and what we like.

And so showing them, no, no, we're going to try something new also, which sometimes that's not easy.

And it helps us remember, you know, remember back then when we tried something new.

It's scary.

And we can have empathy.

Yeah, I love that.

Another thing that you talk about or model in your business is intuition and using that as an entrepreneur.

Can you tell us about what that looks like?

Sure.

Yeah.

I love talking about intuition.

And some people may think it's a little woo woo, but I, you know, we have intuition as moms.

We are.

We know, you know, when something is up.

I had a podcast listener last week say that she knows when the room is too quiet that something's going on with her kids.

And she also knows if a client isn't responding, something is going on.

You, you feel that, you feel that in your gut.

And, and so we can take those mom skills that we inherently have and transfer that to our business by using those gut feelings and our intuition.

That's super interesting because, yeah, I was curious about how they would relate, but that example was so spot on.

Like that eerie moment when I'm like, wait, no one is making noise right now.

They're definitely getting into something.

Yeah, that's super relatable.

And with clients, if, you know, sometimes you feel, oh, I don't want to bother them.

But for me, I just know because I know my clients so well, because we work together intimately, you know, one on one mostly.

And so I know she's not ghosting me.

There's something going on, so I'm going to do that, check in.

And I really sit in my body sometimes and just feel what's going on.

And also, it's a great way to make business decisions instead of just saying yes to everything, which we moms tend to do, because we want to take care of everyone and we want to make everyone happy.

But taking a moment to sit in your body, you know, I know, I know it's almost impossible to have quiet time, but even a couple minutes to just sit and say, does this feel light or does this feel heavy?

Is this something I want to do in my business or not?

And then have that courage to say, that's not going to work for me.

Which takes a lot of practice.

Yeah, I was just thinking that, like, man, I need to do that.

Yeah.

It is just, like, so easy to say yes to things, like, whether it's like a engagement, like being in a summit or something, or maybe you have, like, an idea of, like, a new offer.

It might sound really good, but I'm like, do I have the ability to take this on right now?

Like, being able to sit and be like, no, this feels too heavy.

Maybe shelve this for later.

It's, like, very simple, but also really powerful.

Yes, it is powerful to start trusting those feelings.

And it's.

Is this anxiety, fear, or is this an absolute no.

Because it's not what's best for my family and for my business.

And like you mentioned earlier, with Seasons, sometimes we don't have the option of launching a new offer because something is going on with our kids or school is about to be out for summer, and.

And we just need to cruise through and be there for them, and that's okay.

And sometimes that's difficult for me and for other entrepreneurs because, you know, we want to make that money and we want to go, go, go.

Cause we're so creative and have a ton of ideas, but they don't Always have to happen right this second.

Yeah, that.

That is something I'm definitely guilty of.

I literally had that, like, internal dialogue the other day.

I was like, man, I could do this over the summer.

I'm like, no, I can't.

Like, it's summer.

Like, no.

Yeah.

And.

And, you know, and then you don't feel disappointed, and you can give yourself grace in that.

Of, no, I'm a mom first, and this is where I need to be in the moment, and that's okay.

Yeah.

I also, like, I can save it for my to do list.

So, like, it's there for the fall, and then that's, like, one less thing I have to, like, figure out or, like, brainstorm later.

I have, like, a little plan going, so it makes it easier them.

Yeah, for sure.

And then when August, September rolls around, you can jump back in and, you know, finish out quarter three and jump into Q4 and.

And knock it out.

Yeah.

Yeah, exactly.

That's.

So I guess, like, I use intuition more than I thought I would, but I guess leaning into it more would be very beneficial.

Yeah.

And, you know, I.

It's nice to connect with other entrepreneurs.

Absolutely.

For advice and community, but sometimes the advice can get a little overwhelming.

I don't know if this has happened to you where there's so much coming at you, where you need to sit with yourself and figure out what do you really want and what works best for your family, because you know best.

You're a mom.

You do it every single day, a thousand times a day, with your decisions, with your nos and your yeses and where you need to be and all the things.

So transferring that to your business is so helpful, I find.

Yeah, that's super true.

Especially, like, doing social media like I do.

There's all kinds of advice coming from so many people, and the way people present it on social media is, like, in absolutes, like, with very little nuance, because that's what works and gets views and interactions.

But it's so not helpful, especially as a mompreneur, when, you know, you have kids with different needs, you have different time restrictions, different resources, like, all these different things to consider that is not being taken into account.

When you see these, like, random reels with, like, we all have the same 24 hours in a day kind of advice, I'm like, no, we don't.

No, no, we don't.

And I can get caught up in that as well.

You look at influencers and how, of course, you would love your profile to look and how you'd like be on TikTok three times a day.

It's just not realistic.

And so, yeah, trusting in what we know is best for us, it really, it takes away a lot of that anxiety and imposter syndrome, which is a big one.

We don't need it.

We don't have time for it.

Right?

No, not into that.

No.

So how do you blend, like the intuition with actual business strategy?

Like, how do you know when to follow a feeling rather than just like a strategic plan?

Sure.

So I do both where I will ask for kind of symbols or signs.

This is part of that, you know, universe, God, angels, whatever it is that you believe.

But if I really am struggling with if I should launch this, if I should create a group, then I will ask for signs.

And I don't know if you and your viewers see angel numbers or if you look for them, but when you see double numbers, I see that as a sign of, yes, okay, go for it.

But then, okay, great, I saw a sign or I was on my walk and I asked for a sign and I, you know, saw a butterfly.

I don't know, you could look at it different ways, but I always bring this strategy back.

I am going to write the pros and cons.

I am going to put it out there and ask my community, is this something that you would want?

I'm not going to just say, well, that sounds, you know, an angel told me I should go do this, so I'm going to go do it.

And then nobody buys because that's, that's a waste of our time.

And we don't have that.

We have very limited time.

So it's a mix of both of doing your research, you know, asking your market, do they want this, would it be valuable?

And the end user is so important.

I love human centered design because I want to know that my end user is going to use and grow from what I put out there.

And if they aren't, then, no, forget it.

It's not about me, it's about them.

Yeah.

So it's a mix of both.

Yeah.

And it just becomes a habit, really, of, you know, bringing both in.

Yeah, right.

Yeah.

And also, I assume, like, making sure it works for you in the season you're in as well.

Absolutely.

Because I just had to say no to something last night and it really disappointed me because I wanted to put this thing out into the world that I was asked to do.

But I just, I know that summer is going to be so busy, and so I did, I sat with it.

Okay.

I'm not Seeing any signs.

I'm not.

And I'm not feeling good about it.

Yeah.

Even though it would be money and, you know, exposure.

No, No.

I need to be with my kids.

Yeah.

Yeah, that makes sense.

And then, you know, there could be something better in the fall or the same thing, or, you know, there's more opportunities out there.

Just because we say no to one doesn't mean that's, like, the end all, be all, and there'll be no other, like, good things coming down the pipe.

Absolutely.

And trusting in that, knowing that we have so much creativity inside of us, so many great ideas, we're connecting with people.

It's going to happen, just maybe not right now, and that's okay.

And I had to learn that because I do want everything right now, and that's not how it works.

Yeah.

I'm, like, working so hard on, like, trusting myself in these decisions.

Like, I'm going to say no now.

It doesn't mean it's not going to happen later.

This is okay because, like, even when I get an idea for, like, a sale or, like, a new offer, I'm like, oh, my gosh.

Gosh, I need to do this right away.

Like, I'm so excited, but I'm like, no, I don't have the time.

You need to slow down.

Yes, yes.

It's always slow down.

It'll still be there later.

Yeah.

But we do.

We want to create and we want to do it all, but sometimes we can't, and that's okay.

And we're also modeling that for our kids.

It's so easy to schedule kids for everything these days.

Put them in all kinds of activities and go, go, go.

And sometimes you just need to sit.

That's super valid.

We are finding that right now.

This past, like, couple months, we saw so much stuff that the kids wanted to do, so we signed it up.

Signed them up for it.

But they are very easily, like, overwhelmed and very quickly become dysregulated, which means, like, there's stress on them, there's stress on us as parents, and it's.

It's a hot mess.

So.

Yeah.

And no one is their best when that happens, when there are meltdowns.

And, yeah, I.

I definitely believe in that quiet time or just finding something to do, which a lot of kids will say, but I'm bored and I had to learn.

Well, then go outside or.

Or get your Legos or, you know, just find something to do.

You can.

You can do it.

Yeah.

I think it's super important that kids are able to find Their own things to do and entertain themselves and use that creativity and problem solving.

Yes.

So more than happy to facilitate that with finding them up for less stuff.

Yeah.

I mean, it is nice to get that time though, because there is that, well, how am I going to work if I'm telling them to go play with lingos and they're loud and they want to ask me a thousand questions when I'm trying to work on my sales page?

So there's definitely trying to find that harmony as well of, okay, scheduling my time.

I love my Google calendar blocking out time.

And, you know, this is my focus.

Work time, this is Lisa time.

And.

And moving them, of course.

Because something always comes up.

Of course it does.

Always.

Yeah.

So for moms listening who have trouble like second guessing their decisions, what advice would you give to them?

I would say the answer is there.

You just need to find a quiet space and time to listen for the answer.

And it comes to people in different ways.

It can come through signs, like I was talking about, or in your gut.

Right.

The gut is our second brain.

So, yeah, listening for the answer, asking for the answer, and just sitting and listening.

And if it doesn't come to you, you can always reach out to your community, of course, and have a community that is so important, especially as an entrepreneur.

Because sometimes you can get stuck in the box of just, you know, growing your business.

But that outreach and that support is so helpful.

But at the end of the day, you know what's best.

You know what's best for your kids, you know what's best for your business.

Yeah.

Yeah, I love that.

I really like that idea of, like sitting and just like feeling it, I think.

I have three kids.

Two of them are in occupational therapy for, like, nervous system regulation.

And part of it is like learning how to feel certain emotions in your body and how that feels.

And I feel like there's a definite link there.

Yes.

And it's so true.

Yes.

Yep.

And then once you are aware of that, then you know, for the next time of, oh, why did I get the chills?

Or why did I suddenly get a headache when I'm working with that certain person?

Things like that.

It's like, oh, it's my body telling me and I need to listen.

Yeah.

Like, why do I feel myself tensing right now?

Like, exactly.

Yeah.

Yes.

Yeah.

And learning that young, I think I certainly wish I would have.

It would have saved me a lot of, you know, heartache, trouble.

Yeah.

All the things.

All of it.

Yep.

Very handy stuff.

I'm learning a Lot right alongside them.

Yeah, that's.

That's wonderful.

Yeah.

And you, and you, because you have your own business, you can do that.

You can be there with them to learn alongside of them instead of, you know, being stuck in a cubicle nine to five all day.

Yeah, exactly.

That's one of my favorite things about, like, being an entrepreneur is being able to be there for them because, yeah, they're both in, like, multiple appointments a week and sometimes need a lot of, like, hands on support.

So having that, that harmony and that flexibility, that adaptiveness between like family life and, and work life is definitely necessary.

It is so important.

And for moms, I mean, I don't know about you, but I just, I feel like a better mother.

Of course.

But also I have the space in my brain to take care of myself also because I'm not always so rushed, like, oh, I can actually pause and breathe.

And moms need that multiple times a day.

Yes, absolutely.

Yeah.

That rush feeling is like my worst enemy and brings out so much anxiety.

So having that space to, like, take a breath and slow down is very important for my own sanity and makes us better mothers.

Yeah, for sure.

Yeah.

Now you have a masterclass about intuition and business.

Can you tell us a little bit about what that looks like?

Yes.

It's called trust your intuition, grow your business.

It's, you know, pretty simple, but it is for moms who are growing their businesses because I want to show you that you can bring in your intuition and your strategy to grow your business.

And so I go a little deeper into the different types of intuition and then how to apply that to your business.

And you're being a mom.

So it's.

Yes, it's those mom skills that you're basically transferring to your business, which we do all the time and we don't even know it.

Right.

Yeah.

I'm so excited to learn more about that and I will definitely put a link in the show notes and then can you tell everyone where people can connect with you?

Yes.

And I also want to say that I'm offering a discount to your podcast listeners, so there'll be a code in the show notes as well.

So hopefully, yeah, they enjoy it and we can all grow this together.

I think talking about it more.

I know more and more people are talking about it on social media.

I see it on LinkedIn even, which I think is wonderful.

Let's talk about.

Yeah, bringing the, like, right brain and left brain together and growing our businesses.

So, yes, you can find me on Instagram at Lisa the strategist and I love watching you on Instagram and it's fun to be on there social media, you know, it can be a lot for moms but you're showing us how we can do it as moms and I so appreciate that.

Thank you so much.

I was just gonna say I found you on Instagram and like I love your content, it's so helpful.

So definitely make sure you go to the show notes and give Lisa a follow and check out the link for that masterclass with the discount, which is very generous of you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Always happy to chat with you.

Okay.

But seriously, how refreshing was that?

If you have been feeling pulled in a million directions or second guessing every move in your business, you can't see me.

But right now I am definitely raising my hand.

Lisa just gave us all a much needed reality check and a better way forward.

And if that hit home, like any aspect of that, I really think you're going to love her training.

It's usually $22 but Lisa is being super generous and when you use the code Sydney at checkout you'll get it for only $11.

So the link for that is in the show notes.

Go grab it.

Make sure you follow her on Instagram.

I love her content.

She is at Lisa the Strategist.

And start leaning into feels good in your business and your body because you don't need another perfect strategy.

You need one that fits your real life.

Thanks so much for hanging out with me on Mompreneur Mastery.

If this episode gave you more clarity or a little boost of confidence, I would love for you to follow the show, leave a review or share it with a fellow mom building her business on her own terms.

And hey, if something really clicked DM me on Instagram I am ocially yours dot strategist and tell me the one thing you're doing differently.

After listening, I love hearing what is landing for you.

Until next time, here is to less stress, more sales and a business that actually fits your life.