Can We Have It All? With Carly Rowena

Hopefully by now you’ll know that I have my own podcast (woohoo!) and I’m hoping that you may have even listened to it? That would make me so happy! It’s all about navigating that tricky part of your life, when you’re mid-way through your career, have started a family and just might want to do something different before it feels like it’s too late?! Yup, your thirties and forties. Can you relate?

In the podcast, I tackle various topics to do with small business, entrepreneurship, juggling families and work and everything in between. Every other episode, I welcome a guest onto my podcast who I will have a good ol’ natter with about the realities of their success, job and juggle. The aim is to be approachable, relatable and inspiring for other women and mums out there who are looking to leave the 9 to 5 for whatever reason.

Alongside the podcasts featuring amazing guests, I will create a blog-post with some further Q&A to really get you going! 😉

Here’s my first guest, Carly Rowena…let’s get to know her a little better shall we?…

Can We Have It All?

Carly Rowena, a bit about you… Can you, in a nutshell, explain who you are, what your biz is and where we can find you?

My name is Carly, i’m a Personal Trainer and online Health and Wellness Blogger who runs retreats around the world! You can find me by searching ‘CarlyRowena’.

How many children do you have? / What’s your family set-up?

We have a little girl called Jax who is 15 weeks old*.

*At the time of writing.

How long have you run your business and/or been out of the 9 to 5?

I’ve been officially full time for nearly 4 years!

What did you do before all this?

I used to work in Marketing for BMW & MINI.

What is your best advice for someone who wants to quit their job and pursue a passion or creative idea?

Life’s too short for regrets. Give yourself a couple of months so save up some cash to see you through and then GO FOR IT!

What has been your biggest struggle along this journey? And how did you overcome it?

My biggest struggle is finding the perfect balance between work and play. When you are your brand it becomes very difficult to know when to switch off.

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What does an average day look like for you? Feel free to break it down into hours/times – whatever works best. Do you have help/childcare/colleagues etc? Do you work from an office/studio/home? etc.

I work from home and generally start my day around 6am when I get myself and my daughter ready to head to CrossFit. I always schedule my instagram the night before so that’s the first click i click upload to. Then once home it’s time to feed my daughter while typing up a blog post or editing videos / photos. I work from home and so occasionally ask if a friend could pop over and take my daughter for a walk while I film but usually it’s just me.

What is your top life-hacks/productivity hacks that help you on a daily basis? (Perhaps an app, or a time-saving discovery of yours)…

Since becoming a Mum my top tool is Whatsapp voice note, it’s such a helpful way to communicate with brands or agencies when you don’t have your hands available to type.

Who are your inspirations and why?

I’m constantly inspired by everyone I follow but I have to admit I have a new found respect for any single working mums, that sh*ts hard!

What book should we all read to help us on our journey?

I personally adore Hashtag Authentic by Sarah Tasker (affiliate link*):

*Note from Holly: This means I get a teeny tiny percentage of the purchase if you decide to buy, ie the commission comes to be rather than Amazon or Google so you’d be helping a mama out!

Is there anything else you’d like to share, that might help to inspire other women looking to pursue a career/job/flexible working environment they love?

I feel so lucky to have found my dream career and cannot recommend it enough to others. Just remember that everyone has a niche because we are all individuals and although most people online make it look easy it is a full time job that requires time and dedication but if you put your mind to it you can totally do it!