Breaking in the first week of the new year with an inspiring interview from Maruxa Murphy, a published author, co-owner of several Facebook community groups including Austin Mom’s Network, a mother, a wife, a friend, a mama whisperer and #girlboss extraodinare. It was such an honor to photograph her lifestyle business headshots and learn more about her story In fact, we even had a special little visitor whom I should say made a great makeup assistant ;) We walked around the Mueller Lake area being silly and documenting the light that shines so bright from within her. Maruxa is truly filled with enough nuggets of wisdom that could make a gold mine completely worthless. Read through to learn more of the good stuff!
Name: Maruxa F. Murphy, M.A.
Company Name: Freedom Fast Lane
Web and Social Media Links: www.FreedomFastLane.com; www.facebook.com/FreedomFastLane
How long has your business been around?
I’ve personally been creating and running businesses since 2005, but I’m now partnering with Ryan Daniel Moran of FreedomFastLane.com this year!
Why did you choose to work for this company?
I can tell you why I chose to partner with Ryan Moran and his company… Ryan is someone I respect and look up to for having created multiple multi-million dollar businesses that support his main goals of creating wealth while building businesses that work for our lifestyle goals instead of businesses where individuals feel enslaved to the 9-5 day in and day out typical experience. I was and am impressed with his ability to take a vision for being in business and live it out in his own life. When I heard there was an opening in his company as Community Manager and they wanted to talk to me, it felt like it was an easy yes to open up that door and see if this would be a good fit. Both his goals and mine were very much aligned and I’m using my skills and gifts to help grow a business that serves other business owners to building businesses that create more freedom!
I’ve been an entrepreneur most of my life, and I’ve been running businesses ever since I was a little girl, actually. I’ve created businesses that were service based and others that were virtual training/product based that created and continues to create passive income for our family. Recently, however, I had an opportunity present itself to me that made me pause and think about going back to work full time for someone else. I haven’t worked for someone else in 7 years! It surprised me, because even though over the last 2 years of being an entrepreneur and running my company, I knew I wanted to shift something… but I didn’t fully know what it was.
When I was approached earlier this summer to consider working with the Freedom Fast Lane team and Ryan Daniel Moran as their Community Manager, I noticed a shift in my body. My body tells me a lot of information regarding when I need to choose a next step, and it was a feeling that I hadn’t had in the past when I had been asked at other times to go back to work full time with other previous employers. When Ryan and I spoke, I had a sense of peace that overcame me and honestly, I was really excited with what I could do to build out the company’s community culture with the experiences, gifts, talents and passion I have for building others into their brilliance and potential. It felt like a good fit for me and for Ryan, and I made that choice to shift and take a new step forward!
People have asked me if I feel like I’ve failed because I chose to focus my energy and time working with another company and not my own. Honestly, I don’t feel that way at all. I feel blessed that I can be able to utilize my gifts and experience to serve more people than I could have served on my own. We are partnering our areas of brilliance for the greater good and to impact lives of thousands.
What makes this business so unique?
I get to work around brilliance all. The. Time. Really! I get the opportunity to work with moms, dads, single and married individuals who all have great ideas and find ways to help them make more money!
Do you have a storefront? Do you work from home?
We do have an office here in Austin, yet I work from a variety of locations. It depends day to day as to what is needed and where it is best for me to be working….or if I want to head to Tibet. I can work from there too, if I have an internet connection!
How do you balance it all?
I actually don’t believe in balance. I believe in the concept of integration a ton more than the idea of balance. To me, balance suggests that once you have gotten one area of your life in a good place (let’s say, you are spending less time in the office and more time on family) and you focus on that fact, then, something gives and you find yourself needing to put in more time at work so that you can do well at work, and then your family like slacks. You always feel like you’re one or five steps behind where you should be. That doesn’t feel great at all! Instead, what I do that has kept me sane and focused on things that matter to me is to do 2 things and only those 2 things:
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Realize it’s really about integration not balance. Life happens, so instead of playing tug of war with all the minutiae of life, I focus on being present with what is in front of me, practice deep breaths, and find ways to make meaning of what needs my attention right now in this moment. I find that looking at my life as integrated instead of balanced helps me enjoy the present moment much more.
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I also make it a practice to not focus on all the things I don’t want in my life, but I focus on what I want more of in my life. For example, which of these do I want to focus on: a happy and peaceful home versus a home without quarrelling? I definitely want to keep my sights set on a happy and peaceful home and specifically verbalize it that way for myself and when I talk about my home because what I put in my mind impacts my actions. If I choose to focus on not wanting quarrelling, my mind is thinking about….quarreling and the bickering I can’t stand.
What is one piece of advice you can give to any mom starting their business?
Create a business out of your convictions to make this world a better place…but also make sure it is something people are WANTING and can find more information about it from you. One of the most important aspects of building a business is marketing. 70% of your efforts in building your business should be based in marketing your message because you may have the most amazing product ever, but without people knowing about it and wanting it, there’s no place for it to go and serve others well.
What is the best aspect about having your own business?
You can create your business to be based around your values and your lifestyle goals.
What is the part you struggle with the most in business?
I struggle with wanting to do everything right now! Therefore, my biggest question always is: What is our most immediate goal? Which part of our action plan will get us there fastest so we can move on to the next agenda item?
What did you wish you knew before starting or joining a business?
I wish someone spent more time with me on business models. I believe there are business models to fit everyone’s goals and lifestyles. When I first started in business, it was based on passion, but not much else. It taught me a lot, and I still sometimes wonder if I had built it with the intention of creating a business that fit my values and lifestyle goals, how would that business have served me and my clients differently today?
Do you have a future or long terms goals with your business?
I am really excited about the partnership with Ryan! I know that what we create in terms of an incubator for entrepreneurs selling physical products will be life-giving and life-changing for so many. I am excited to help carry out this vision and see what will happen for everyone in this community!
Fun Facts:
What do you love to do when you’re not being supermom?
Have wine and enjoy going out for a fantastic Moms’ Night Out! I love love love my friends here in Austin, and I’m extremely grateful for them. It’s nice to be able to go for dinner and just connect as people. I also really love going out with my husband on dates. It’s a treat and helps us stay connected in the midst of our crazy busy schedules!
What is your favorite household product?
My Shark Steam Mop hands down! I have 3 kids and 2 of them are 2 and under and a dog. Food and milk are a constant part of our floor décor, yet I enjoy walking on clean floors. The Steam Mop is an easy and quick way to sanitize and clean up the sticky ickies, as we call them at home.
What wardrobe staple can you not live without?
I love to wear wrap dresses. I own four of them, and I love them for a night out for work or with girlfriends. You can dress them up or down. I feel amazing in them and I like how it flatters my body shape!
What was your first job?
My first “job” was being the co-founder of The Pink Panthers with my best friend, Elizabeth when we were about 11 years old. It was a babysitters club, and we organized all the potential babysitters in our neighborhood, created a club, and marketed our little endeavor. We screened all the sitter requests for the neighborhood, connected the family with a sitter who was CPR and First Aid certified and took a babysitters course. Each sitter put a portion of their earnings into the Pink Panthers Club Fund so we could buy ourselves things like Pink Panther Letter Jackets and snacks and drinks, of course! J
What celebrity would you love to have dinner with?
Hmmm, definitely Oprah. I would love to hear her stories and how she’s made her mark in the world. She inspires me.
What was the last book you read?
Oh! The Places You’ll Go! by Dr. Seuss I read it to my daughters last night.
Is there any piece of advice, tips, events happening or discounts you would like to share with our readers?
Don’t ever give up on yourself. If you have a dream and a desire to create something beautiful, whether that be a business, a piece of art or learn a new skill, please take a step in that direction. You’ll find yourself in an adventure you create and that no one can take away from you. Give yourself permission to grow in to the person you were made to be, because this is the only life to live out in your brilliance. The more you choose this, the people, the places, and the things that align with your vision will start to show up to help you strengthen those paths.
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