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Ep. 47: The Identity Shift Every Mompreneur Needs Before the Strategy
10 Plays16 days ago
Are you doing all the "right things" in your business but still feeling stuck? Downloading the freebies, following the strategies, showing up online — yet something still feels off?
Here's the truth nobody talks about: the strategy was never your problem. Your identity is.
In this powerful solo episode, host Laura Caroffino — former Department of Defense contractor, military spouse, and mom of five turned 7-figure entrepreneur — breaks down the identity shift every faith-driven mompreneur needs to make before any business strategy will actually work.
In this episode, you'll discover:
✅ Why you are not starting over — and how to start FROM everything you already are
✅ Why being a CEO is a decision, not a destination — and how to make it today
✅ Why your faith must be your foundation, not your fallback — and what that looks like in your business
If you've ever felt behind, invisible, or like your dreams are just out of reach — this episode is your permission slip to stop waiting and start becoming the woman you were called to be.
🔗 Ready to take the next step? Visit lauracaroffino.com/resources to explore coaching, programs, and free tools built for women like you.
💬 Tag Laura on Instagram @lauracaroffino and share which identity shift hit home for you!
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Transcript
The Quest for Fulfillment in Business
00:00:00
Speaker
Can i ask you something real quick? How many times have you downloaded ah freebie, bought the course, mapped out the strategy, and still felt like something was off? Like you were doing all the things, but still not moving.
00:00:13
Speaker
Here is what no one tells you. The strategy was never your problem. You can have the best business plan in the entire world, the prettiest brand, the most optimized content you can, and you can still feel like an imposter. Like just any time you want to show up, you have that imposter feeling show up. Why? It's because you haven't made the most important shift first.
The Power of Identity Shift
00:00:42
Speaker
And that is the identity shift. And that is exactly what we are talking about today.
Introduction by Laura Carrafino
00:00:51
Speaker
Welcome to Mamas Who Lead, podcast where the essence of motherhood meets the spirit of leadership. I'm Laura Carrafino, former Department of Defense contractor, now full-time network marketer, coach, and a mom to five incredible children.
00:01:06
Speaker
Alongside being a proud military spouse, I've journeyed through the highs and lows of transitioning from a structured career to building a flourishing business from the ground up all while navigating the beautiful chaos of family life.
Empowering Women in Leadership
00:01:20
Speaker
In this podcast, we dive into the stories of women who exemplify resilience, leadership, and the unyielding power of motherhood. From insightful conversations with top income earners and network marketing to heart to heart discussions with leaders who are reshaping industries.
00:01:37
Speaker
Mamas Who Lead is here to inspire, educate, and empower you to weave leadership into the fabric of your everyday life. Whether you're at the beginning of your leadership journey or looking to pivot your career or seeking ways to balance your professional growth with family life, this is the place for you. Together, we'll explore the strategies, challenges, and triumphs of women who lead with purpose, passion, and a little bit of mom magic.
00:02:03
Speaker
So grab your headphones and let's embark on this journey together. Welcome to Mamas Who Lead.
00:02:12
Speaker
Welcome back to Mamas Who Lead. i am so excited for today's episode. Today's episode is we are going to talk about the identity shift every mompreneur needs before the strategy.
Balancing Family and Business
00:02:25
Speaker
And I promise you by the time we're done, you're going to see yourself in completely different. And I'm just so excited. So let's just start here. And I want to paint this picture for you.
00:02:38
Speaker
It's late, the kids are finally asleep, you open your laptop, you pull up your notes on your app, and so you start Googling, like how to grow my Instagram, how to get clients, how to launch an offer, or maybe you're using ChatGBT now. you know There's so many you know options for searching, and you know you're consuming everything, you're taking the notes, you're super motivated.
00:03:03
Speaker
And then morning comes, the kids will eat breakfast, your husband eats something, the laundry is piling up, and that version of you, the one with the big dreams, open laptop, she disappears.
00:03:17
Speaker
Does that sound familiar? Here's the truth.
Identity as a Business Foundation
00:03:21
Speaker
I had to learn everything the hard way. You cannot build a business from a broken sense of self.
00:03:28
Speaker
You cannot out strategy and identity crisis, even though i tried my darndest to make that happen. And so many of us, especially us as moms and military spouses and those who've moved and sacrificed and put everyone else first, we have lost the thread of who we actually are outside of what we do for everyone else.
00:03:54
Speaker
So before we start talking funnels, before we start talking content, before we talk offers, we need to talk about you
00:04:05
Speaker
And that first shift that you need is is this. You need to stop telling yourself you're starting over because you're not starting over. And I actually hear this all the time. Laura, I left my corporate career. Laura, I paused my business for my family. Laura, I feel so behind. Or I, you know, resigned from that company and i just haven't found my identity since then. you know But you're not behind. Behind a who? Behind what timeline?
00:04:39
Speaker
Everything you have lived, every role you have held, every sacrifice you have made, every season you have survived, that is not waste of time. That is data. That is wisdom. That is your story. And your story is your most powerful business
Career Transition to Network Marketing
00:05:01
Speaker
asset.
00:05:01
Speaker
So when I left my career as a Department of Defense contractor, I didn't feel like a seven-figure entrepreneur. Like, that wasn't even in my radar. I was like, what am I going to do? how am going to find a sense of myself?
00:05:17
Speaker
And also still raise these tiny little beings, you know, that are counting on me. Because I just, my career didn't transfer. I couldn't find anything within commute distance that was...
00:05:30
Speaker
worth the commute and you know I'd have to put my kids in daycare and stuff like that it's very hard so I ended up falling into the entrepreneurial world by accident. Like I found a catalog that I just happened to love every piece of jewelry in it. And it was one, it was a network marketing company and I didn't know that. I didn't know what it was. I just went home and bought their kit because it had all the jewelry pieces I wanted.
00:05:58
Speaker
And then the next thing I knew, that was and a business opportunity that brought in extra income for our family for groceries because it was a tight budget. We went from two incomes to one and it provided date nights. It provided um and money to for extracurricular activities for my kids. You know, incidentals that we didn't have money for before. so When I was making that transition, i felt like a woman trying to figure out who she was outside of a title. you know i
00:06:36
Speaker
But I had to make a decision. I was going to stop seeing my past as a gap on my resume and start seeing it as a foundation of everything I was built building.
00:06:49
Speaker
So if you've read Proverbs, Proverbs 31 doesn't just describe a woman who had it all figured out from day one She is described as a woman who works with willing hands. Willing, not perfect, not polished.
00:07:06
Speaker
Willing. So the first identity shift is this. You are not starting over. you are starting from everything you already are. And that is powerful.
00:07:20
Speaker
Like whenever I had had to leave government contracting and, you know, i was being a stay-at-home mom in and it went into network marketing, vastly different career full fields, you know.
00:07:33
Speaker
I worked at the time with majority men and then, you know, started, well, with my last position was majority men and then went over into this and started working with majority women. So that was a transition too. Right.
00:07:46
Speaker
I had to learn all the new things, but I also had so many skills that I brought with me from my previous career into this as well, like analytical thinking and willingness to learn about marketing and learning all the things. So that is a very important thing.
00:08:05
Speaker
step you need to realize that you are starting from everything you already are. All right, the second shift, and this one is going to sting a little, but in the best way, is that you have to decide you are a CEO before the revenue proves it.
Envisioning Success and Identity as a CEO
00:08:22
Speaker
i know that's I know that's crazy, right? Most women are waiting for permission, waiting for the followers, waiting for the clients. And I'm guilty of that myself now, like because I'm in a different season.
00:08:34
Speaker
um you know You're waiting for someone to validate that, yes, you are. you know do do you want them to validate you are a business owner? But the truth is, identity leads behavior. Behavior does not create identity.
00:08:51
Speaker
So if you see yourself as someone who is just trying this out or kind of doing a little thing on the side, that is exactly the energy you will bring to every sales conversation, every piece of content you do, every decision you make, and your audience will feel it.
00:09:10
Speaker
It's a, you know, the moment I actually stopped introducing myself as I used to be a government contractor. Now I'm kind of doing something, some coaching. And I started saying, I'm i'm a business coach and I help women build profitable, faithful businesses.
00:09:24
Speaker
That's kind of where everything changed for me. My posture changed. My content started changing. And my results changed. And this is what I teach inside my current business.
00:09:37
Speaker
container called from her to CEO. And that is the CEO decision is not a destination. It's a daily declaration. So I want you to ask yourself right now, how am I introducing myself? How am I talking about my business, even in my own head, like because the world will see you exactly the way you see yourself.
00:10:00
Speaker
And I want to, I want you also to try this, you know, utilize chat, chat GBT. I want you to think about your ideal life, who the woman you envision yourself to be, and put that in chat.
00:10:19
Speaker
And you know, say this is, um you know, I, my dream life, my ideal, you know, my ideal version of myself, you know, is fit, healthy, has an abundance of money and wealth and, know, gives to charities and is there for her family and um dresses influential and speaks on stages, whatever you you vision yourself as, write it in chat to BT. And then after you write your dream self in it, Ask ChatGPT to give you a day in a life of that version of yourself. And that will help you to start living in your new identity.
00:11:16
Speaker
So try it out. Tell me what what what you what it says for you, how it works out for you if you try that. And you know tag me on Instagram, Laura Carafino. I'd love to hear from you.
00:11:27
Speaker
But I also want to share one more shift, and that is, and this one is going to tie kind of the others together, is that your faith cannot be the thing you run to when the strategy strategy
Faith as a Business Foundation
00:11:40
Speaker
fails. It has to be the thing you build on before the strategy starts. Right? I mean, yes, always run you know back to your faith for sure. But if you lean on your faith before you start building, it's going to change everything for you. I've watched so many women build businesses on hustle, on comparison, on fear of being left behind. Oh, if the FOMO. Girl, I have felt that.
00:12:02
Speaker
And I know what that's like. But if you lean on your faith first and start with that, it's going to work. Okay.
00:12:14
Speaker
And if, but if you don't, all of the other, yeah, that'll work for a little while until it doesn't. And then burnout hits and then the numbers drop. And then you're near near you in that fear mode and like, oh my goodness, and trying to make it work and trying to do everything. And then it doesn't until that season shifts and there is nothing underneath them to hold them up.
00:12:38
Speaker
Psalm 127 verse 1 says, unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor it in vain.
00:12:49
Speaker
The builders labor in vain. That is not just a nice verse for a Sunday morning. That is a business strategy. Right?
00:13:00
Speaker
So when your identity is rooted in who God says you are, not in your follower count, not in your revenue, not in what other women in your industry are doing, you become unshakable. You can pivot without panicking. You can rest without guilt. You can lead without losing yourself. Right?
00:13:21
Speaker
And that's a big key, right? This is the foundation. it's it's It's not a funnel. It's not the framework. It is the foundation. and when you build from that place, from from purpose, from faith, from a clear sense of who you are and who called you, that strategy will actually
Recognizing Potential and Building on Faith
00:13:41
Speaker
work. And you're not going to have that burnout. Because now you're not just executing the tactics. You are walking in alignment.
00:13:51
Speaker
So let me bring this all together for you. Before the strategy, before the content plan, before the next course or next coach, you need three identity chefs. The first one is you are not starting over, you're starting from everything you already are.
00:14:06
Speaker
And that is marvelous, right? Two, you are CEO is not a title you earn. It is a decision you make today. So make that decision.
00:14:17
Speaker
And three, your faith is not your fallback. It is your foundation. These are not soft, feel-good ideas. They are the shifts that separate women who stay from those who stay stuck and from the woman who builds something that lasts.
00:14:35
Speaker
And try that Chachabiti little... you know, task there and see if that were, you know, what helps you plan out and where you can envision who you are and who you want to be. And let me know about that.
00:14:50
Speaker
So I recorded this episode because i needed to hear this at at so many points in my own journey. And I know someone listening right now is sitting in in that late night moment as well. Kids asleep, laptop open, wondering, is this really for her? And it is. You are it. You are not given...
00:15:09
Speaker
this dream by accident. You are not placed in the season without purpose, and you do not need to have it all figured out before you take the next step. You just need to decide who you are and then just show up as her. Try that activity with ChatGPT.
Engagement and Growth Opportunities
00:15:24
Speaker
And if today's episode hit home for you, here's what I want you to do. First, screenshot this episode and share it to your Instagram stories. Tag me at Laura Carafino tell me the three shifts you needed most today. And believe me, I will read every single one of them. And if you're ready to stop waiting and start building, head over to my website, LauraCarafino.com, explore how we can work together.
00:15:52
Speaker
I would love to um see if this is a good fit for you and just or if you just want to get connected to our community, there is a next step for you. And third, if this podcast has been adding value to your life, please take 30 seconds and leave a review. It helps more women find this show. And that is how we grow this movement together. So just thank you so much for spending this time with me today. You are a leader. You are a mama and you are made for more. So until then keep leading, keep growing and keep believing in what is possible.
00:16:28
Speaker
You've been listening to Mamas Who Lead with Laura Carafino. Thank you for joining us on this journey today. Each episode, each story, and every piece of advice we share is a step towards building a community of empowered, resilient, and inspiring families.
00:16:44
Speaker
Mama leaders, just like you. Remember leadership isn't just about the title or the workplace. It's about how we navigate our lives, uplift those around us and pave the way for future generations.
00:16:57
Speaker
As we close today's episode, I encourage you to carry forward the insights and inspiration you've gained, apply them to your life, share them with your tribe and continue to lead with heart and purpose.
00:17:08
Speaker
For more empowering stories, strategies, and support, make sure you subscribe to Mamas Who Lead on your favorite podcast platform. And don't forget to follow us on social media for behind the scenes content, community discussions, and much more. Until we meet again, keep embracing your unique journey of leadership and motherhood. You are capable, you are powerful, and you are exactly where you're meant to be.
00:17:33
Speaker
Lead on Mamas.