Siobhan Alvarez Of Atlanta Autism Consortium & She Shines Media On The Morning Routines and Habits Of Highly Successful People
An Interview With Sara Connell
I would have to say creativity, organization and commitment have been most instrumental to my success.
Beginnings are a Genesis. That means that not only are they a start, but they are also the origin of all that follows. This means that the way we start something, the way we start our day, for example, creates a trajectory for all that follows. How do highly successful leaders start their day in a way that creates a positive trajectory for a successful, effective, productive, and efficient day? How do you create habits that make these routines permanent? How do you get inspired to develop the discipline necessary for such a lifestyle? In this new series, called Morning Routines and Habits Of Highly Successful People, we are talking to successful leaders who can share the morning routines and habits that have helped them to achieve success.
As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Siobhán Alvarez.
Siobhán Alvarez is a mom to two young sons living just outside of Atlanta, GA, who shares her motherhood journey on her successful parenting blog Mimosas & Motherhood, as well as the family finance blog, Budget Baby Budget. After teaching herself how to tackle SEO and generate an income with her blog, Siobhan now teaches other women how to launch their own websites that can generate a real, meaningful income for their own families, too.
She does all of this while also serving as the Executive Director of the Atlanta Autism Consortium, a nonprofit organization that provides free educational programs and events for the autism community both in Atlanta and across the country.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive into the main focus of our interview, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory?
I always knew that I wanted to be in a career that helped people. Growing up, I loved to spearhead canned food drives and volunteer activities for my classmates. When I got to college I thought that I wanted to be a therapist, but after taking time off to work as an international volunteer in Morocco, I realized what I actually wanted to do was go into the nonprofit world.
After graduation from undergrad, I started working in nonprofits, first planning special event fundraisers, before moving into corporate giving and major gifts as my career grew. I loved being able to connect with others in this way, and pour myself into work that made a difference in the lives of others.
As much as I enjoyed my career, I needed a creative outlet that had nothing to do with it. I started Mimosas & Motherhood as a hobby while pregnant with my first child and quickly discovered a love of writing. Over the next few years I viewed it completely as a hobby until the pandemic happened. My husband and I watched as friends lost their jobs, and I was faced with the very real possibility that we could end up in the same position, with two young children to take care of.
I decided to throw myself into learning as much as I could about growing a blog into a business, just in case one or both of us lost our job, too. By the end of that year, I had quadrupled my website traffic and was consistently making a full-time income as a content creator, in the part-time hours I had left after working my nonprofit role and wrangling my two toddlers.
In 2021 I decided to launch our second website, Budget Baby Budget, after realizing how many families struggled with budgeting and financial decisions. While challenging, it’s also been amazing growing both careers at the same time.
What or who inspired you to pursue your career? We’d love to hear the story.
I was inspired to pursue a career in nonprofits after spending time as an international volunteer in Morocco when I was in college. Before that time, I was majoring in Psychology and thought I wanted to become a family therapist.
My time in Morocco was lifechanging. I saw the impact that individuals can truly have on communities, and returned to school with the decision to double major and go into service, earning a second degree in Organizational Rhetoric at the same time. I have been incredibly lucky along the way to work for some amazing nonprofit organizations focusing on a wide variety of needs.
In 2020 I also began my own small business teaching women how generate a meaningful income through their own websites or social media platforms, and realized how much I love teaching. I was inspired to do this after seeing so many people whose worlds turned upside down financially during the pandemic due to businesses closing or reducing their staff. There is a real need for women (especially mothers) to have more financial freedom, and after finding it myself through blogging I knew others could, too.
None of us can achieve success without some help along the way. Was there a particular person who you feel gave you the most help or encouragement to be who you are today? Can you share a story about that?
I am grateful that I have had some incredible nonprofit mentors as I grew my career. Finding a good mentor is such an important part of a career path that many people overlook. With that in mind, I also sought out mentors in the blogging world who I could learn from. This made a huge difference in my success.
In whatever career path you choose, it makes a big difference when you are struggling and are able to reach out to someone who has walked the path before you.
You are a successful leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
I would have to say creativity, organization and commitment have been most instrumental to my success.
Not all career paths are linear. Sometimes you have to think outside the box and look for opportunities in a creative way. In my nonprofit career I walked away from a large salary at a well-known organization to work for a small nonprofit that had an incredible mission. I believed in my heart this opportunity was the right one for me, and that unexpected, creative choice has been wonderful. The same goes for growing a small business: you might have a business plan on paper but realize that it’s not going exactly the way you had planned. Being able to look at your options from a creative perspective can make all the difference in continuing to grow and be successful.
Organization is a huge part of my success. I work from home managing my nonprofit role, my small business, two toddlers and multiple volunteer leadership commitments. The only way I’m able to do this is by being highly organized. I love old-fashioned lists, and use them to map out quarterly, monthly, weekly and daily priorities.
Finally, I would say that my desire to stay committed to what I take on is the final piece. When I say I’m going to do something, I make it happen. While I might need to pivot along the way or change the timeline, I believe in the importance in following through in commitments.
I’m an author and I believe that books have the power to change lives. Do you have a book in your life that impacted you and inspired you to be an effective leader? Can you share a story?
There are a few that immediately come to mind. First, I’ve read multiple books by Dale Carnegie (like How to Win Friends & Influence People) that have really shaped how I approach new situations and opportunities. I also read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey early in my career, and believe that helped shape my work style.
Finally, while not a leadership book, I love Gary Chapman’s The 5 Love Languages, and believe it translates well into how to show your team that they are appreciate and valued.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? How do you think that might help people?
Right now I’m excited to be working on an expansion of my free blogging course. I’ve heard from so many students over the years that they have learned so much by taking that course, but would love to have a really robust roadmap for success as their websites continue to grow.
With this new course, I’ll teach content creators not only how to get their blogs off the ground the right way, but also help them map out how to be successful and grow it into a business, focusing on SEO, landing paid partnerships, maximizing affiliate links, growing an audience and more!
OK, thank you for all of that. Let’s now shift to the core focus of our interview. This will be intuitive to you but it will be helpful to spell this out directly. Can you help explain to our readers why it is important to have a consistent morning routine?
The biggest question I get from others is how I find time to do so much. I always answer with it comes down to prioritizing my mornings! While growing my small business at the same time I was juggling a demanding career and two toddlers, I quickly realized that even with best laid plans, a day can go completely sideways. A few years ago, after trying to juggle a sick infant and an upcoming workweek that was full of important deadlines, I decided to wake up at 5am the next day to try to get ahead of things (much earlier than my normal wake up time).
I realized by 7am that I had gotten more done in that short window of time than I usually did over a 5-hour span, for one reason: I was able to completely focus, with zero interruptions. So, every day that week I got up by 5am and found that not only was I able to power through more work in a shorter window, but I also had time to devote just to myself, without having to worry about work or my children.
This has grown into a consistent morning schedule that I try to stick to every day, and it’s been a gamechanger for my personal and professional life. It has given me more power and control over my days, which in turn has helped my mental health and my productivity.
Can you please share your optimal morning routine that can create a positive trajectory for a successful, effective, productive, and efficient day. If you can, please share some stories or examples.
For me personally, my typical day starts by 5am. I make some coffee and check my email, responding to anything that is time sensitive. From there, I do a little writing for my websites or begin drafting out any documents or reports for the nonprofit that need my attention. I try to get back upstairs to get ready for the day no later than 6:30am, so that I don’t feel rushed when the boys get up at 7am.
Depending on the week, some days I might get up as early as 4:30am if there are multiple things I want to accomplish before our day starts. As someone who works from home with a toddler, I prioritize the most important tasks that I can do on my own during this time.
I also try to exercise at least 2 mornings a week during this early morning time, after answering my emails and before getting ready for the day. It helps me clear my head before things start getting busy.
Speaking in general, what is the best way to develop good habits? Conversely, how can one stop bad habits?
From my experience, the best way to develop good habits is to be consistent. I’ve read that it takes at least 2 months to truly develop a new habit, so whenever I add something new into my life, I try to commit to doing it every day for at least 60 days.
For a consistent morning routine, this means pushing through even when the last thing you want to do is get out of bed early. Start small: commit to waking up every day at the same time and doing 1 activity that you would like to be part of your routine (like quiet time, exercise or answering your emails). Gradually build up to what you would like this routine to look like, and commit to doing it until it feels like second nature.
Doing something consistently “day in and day out” can be hard. Where did you get your motivation from? What do you use to motivate you now?
Honestly, becoming a mother was a huge motivator for me to want to create a better life for my child. When I found out I was pregnant with my oldest, I was working a role that meant I was leaving the house some days by 6am and some nights not getting home until after 7pm. I knew that wasn’t going to work for me once he arrived.
As cliché as it sounds, motherhood changes you. At the time I didn’t know that my goal to create a better life for my children would become wanting to grow my career while also growing my own business. However, my children remain my biggest motivator on days where I’m struggling. I get up and make it happen, because of them.
What other resources would you suggest to our readers?
I always suggest that individuals seek out books and podcasts on topics that appeal to where they want their career to be down the road, not where they are right now. There are so many incredible resources out there that can help you expand your thinking as you work towards those goals.
Ok, we are nearly done. You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
I would want to inspire a movement around random acts of kindness, and teaching our children through our own example how to be good humans. Our world continues to grow and change, but a little kindness can go a long way.
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we both tag them 🙂
Like many in the nonprofit world, I truly admire MacKenzie Scott. The impact that she is making in the philanthropic world is incredible, not just from a giving perspective, but also from the way she is inspiring others.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
You can check out Mimosas & Motherhood at www.mimosasandmotherhood.com/ and Budget Baby Budget at www.budgetbabybudget.com/. You can also connect with me on social media:
Instagram- www.instagram.com/simply.siobhan
TikTok- www.tiktok.com/@simply.siobhan
Facebook- www.facebook.com/mimosasmotherhood
Thank you for these really excellent insights, and we greatly appreciate the time you spent with this. We wish you continued success.
Siobhan Alvarez Of Atlanta Autism Consortium & She Shines Media On The Morning Routines and Habits… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.