Bots to Bosses

Are you looking for a change this year?

I am choosing to work with TWO small business owners this month who are ready to:
📚 Embrace a stress-free lifestyle
✏️ Make a financial plan for the year they can get excited about
🐝 Start or grow their own business that is both passionate and profitable

If you are ready for a transition in the next six months, comment below with a ❤️!

Are you ready to walk?

I am choosing to work with TWO teachers thi Md month who are ready to:
📚 Embrace a stress-free lifestyle
✏️ Make a financial plan for the year they can get excited about
🐝 Start or grow their own business that is both passionate and profitable

If you are ready for a transition in the next six months, comment below with a ❤️!

I took a pause on posting around the holidays… back this week.

I’ve been doing lots of thinking about how to make my upcoming 2022 year an exciting one. As excited as Jesse feels when he has been given a giant cookie, excited. 🤣

I don’t think it’s enough to live a ‘happy’ life.

That feeling of happy can slip away into routine, contentedness, and ultimately just satisfaction.

Instead, living a life of excitement more days than not. Doing the unexpected, doing things that are new.

No one ever said they felt alive by following the same ole routine everyday.

And I can assure you that when Jesse got this giant cookie, and we simply sat on a bench and watched people walk by, we both felt ALIVE.

It doesn’t have to be extravagant to be exciting. Simple can be exciting.

But what is NOT excitement is going to a job you hate, following a routine that feels fake, and living someone else’s life.

That’s why running my own business is the best move for me.

Tell me- does your life feel exciting right now? Do you feel alive?

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#2022

A few days ago, I posted a challenge for you: to commit to one thing, anything, for a full 15 days.

How is that challenge going for you? Have you stuck to it?

I committed to journaling, self reflection, and introspection.

Here’s what I’m observing so far:

• I like control over my life. Being in charge of what happens in my days, being able to decide what I want to be doing, how I’m feeling.

• Probably for that exact reason ^^, being stuck in quarantine for the past 9 days so far has felt impossible. I am grateful I did not get sick, but I am sooooo beyond over being stuck in the house.

• I need adventures in my life. Daily. Doing something new as often as possible to change it up. Even if that just means getting outside to the beach for a few minutes, and even when it’s raining.

• I don’t make enough time for fun in my life.

• My morning coffee is comforting and helps me enjoy my morning routine.

• Exercise helps me feel more balanced. I’m in my fourth straight week of consistent exercise, hell yeah!

• My kids drive me crazy sometimes and I can’t wait to get them back in school and back to our routine. (Yep I said it- and I’ll probably also miss them next week when they do go back. We just really need more balance there too.)

I hope this post has inspired you to course correct, if you’ve forgotten about your 15-day commitment. Or, maybe it will help you think of something you want to try.

Or, maybe you are ready to make some real changes, over a longer period of time than just 15 days. It is almost the new year after all.

If you are thinking of:
✔️ quitting your teaching job,
✔️ want to brainstorm about starting a business,
✔️ start making the money you want to, or living a flexible life with balance…

As a business and strategy coach, I can help you with all of those things. I have done it in my personal life, and also in my business.

Click this link:
https://calendly.com/botstobosses/
to schedule a time to chat more, and get some clarity on your goals and what you need out of life. It’s free, and it will help you get to that breakthrough.

✌️ ❤️

ANNOUNCEMENT: 15-Day Challenge!

Are you ready to change your life?!

Success in ANYTHING comes from simply being consistent. Being dedicated to your goal, no matter what.

As the new year approaches, we are all thinking of ways we want to change, how we can be better.

But as teachers, the New Year is not the best time to make changes.

Because right after 2022 hits, we head right back into the classroom and get back on the hamster wheel.

So instead of waiting for January 1st, start this weekend, Dec 18th. Then you have the rest of 2021 to start those goals, and hopefully continue them into the new year.

Here’s the steps:

1️⃣ Pick the thing. What do you want to commit to, for doing every day for 15 days?

2️⃣ Make a plan. How will you make this thing happen from now until Dec 31?

3️⃣ Hold yourself accountable! Send me a message, tell me what you are going to commit to. I can even check in with you throughout and help with that accountability.

Comment here: 👇🏼👇🏼
What are you committing to for the next 15 days over winter break?

Do you believe me when I say, “You have the power to write your future”?

Most people don’t- they think they are stuck in their lives like this forever.

They believe they just don’t have enough - enough money, time, resources, ability- to be able to follow their dreams.

Others believe that they are not capable of doing whatever it is that lights them up, because they aren’t the expert, others have already done it, or they are afraid of failing if they were to try.

I’m here to tell you that you can do anything you put your mind to.

Seriously.

If you want something bad enough, and you believe in yourself enough, there is always a way. Yes, it absolutely will take work. And you might not have the resources right now. But I will always tell you, if you can dream it, you can do it.

I can tell you that as two high school teachers, Brett and I certainly didn’t have boatloads of cash just lying around when we first started considering opening our meadery.

So we started small. (More like tiny.) We had 800 square foot of space for our first lease and released 1-2 flavors a month the first summer.

This year, we grew a little bit. We hired a full time brewer and released 4-5 flavors each month, and also financed a property where we could have more seating and foot traffic in downtown Berlin. Next year, we plan to grow more, and add an indoor taproom right in downtown.

But if we tried to take out loans for a 2-3,000 square foot taproom right from the start, we couldn’t have done it.

Taking small steps toward your goal helps you be able to make it possible.

Believing that you have the ability to write your own future is the first step.

If it’s important, you’ll find a way. If it’s not, you’ll find an excuse.

Drop a 🔥 here if you believe that you can find a way to make your dreams happen.

Currently reading Dispenza and am enthralled with this idea that you must break yourself before you build the best version of yourself.

Not the first time I’ve come across this idea (my coach recently said this on his podcast and my other coach lives this daily, among others), but the first time I’ve been able to link it with scientific reasoning at this level 🧬 🧪 and y’all know I love that 😍

The premise is that if everything is made of energy at the basic level, then we can manifest our own futures by being intentional with our thoughts.

Practicing positive thoughts, instead of self-limiting or negative thoughts. And that might be all you are doing right now, hence the losing yourself part.

For example, practicing gratitude for things that haven’t even happened yet, which puts you into alignment for allowing that experience to occur.

I am manifesting that I will live a happy and fulfilling life, with a career that affords me flexibility and freedom in my days as well as the opportunity to be creative, build up our meadery, and help others follow their passions. I feel grateful for having both health and wealth. Grateful for getting to show my children the world and how to live a balanced life.

PLEASE SHARE!
What can you feel grateful for, that hasn’t even happened yet? Feel free to comment here, or DM me if you don’t want to share publicly 🔥

Remember your why.

I’m growing my business because I love my family, and want to enjoy my time with them more.

Right now, I stress so much every time I get called out of work for them being sick. I want the flexibility to be home with my kids when I need to, without being worried about using one of my limited sick days.

Having health insurance and a pension are amazing, but I won’t allow myself to be limited to a salary that is on a schedule, where I get paid the same no matter how hard I work.

That’s why I started my business(es) in the first place, and why I am growing it more so I can have more freedom and flexibility. For my family, who deserves the best from me. And for my own mental health.

What’s your why? Comment here if you want, or send it to me in a DM- I read each and every one and respond ☺️

Our feelings of burnout stem from feeling a loss of control.

Think of the things you are so frustrated with right now.

If you are a teacher, that might sound like:
• Student misbehavior
• Overwhelmed about grades due or lesson plans to write
• Always feeling behind even when you work 50-60+ hrs/week
• Lack of support from parents or admin
• Feeling like you just can never be good enough in your position

All of this stems from not feeling in control of your situation.

Over time, our resilience breaks down… and we go from feeling tired, to feeling exhausted, to just being totally .

But… here’s the thing. We are ALWAYS in control of one major thing: ourselves.

Remember that YOU are in the driver’s seat. Even when it feels like the opposite is true.

😁 YOU are in control of your feelings and how you react to your surroundings.

💯YOU are in control of how you spend your time, from the moment you wake up, or you walk into work, all the way until you fall asleep.

🏖 And YOU get to be control of your fate, your outcome, your future.

When you only have four minutes in between class to take a p*e, or you depend on your income to feed your babies… it really doesn’t feel like you are in control of anything. And that really makes us feel down and .

I’ll leave you with this:
‼️You have the ultimate control of your life and YOU are the one who can make changes to improve your life.

Drop some 🔥 below if you resonate with this today. (I know you will! 😉)

Happy Friday y’all.

8 signs of burnout… how many can you add up for yourself?

1. Feeling exhausted all.the.time. Fatigue is never ending. You end up in bed before 9 or 8!pm some nights, because you just need your day to be over already.

2. You get irritated easily. At your partner. Your kids. And so frequently, at your students. You used to have more resilience against minor things in your classroom, but now it seems like every small thing gets to you.

3. Your eating habits have changed. Maybe you don’t want to eat at all. Or maybe you can’t stop shoving food in your face. Either way, that indicates something is off.

4. Your brain feels foggy. It’s hard to concentrate, to complete even basic tasks. You lose track of what you are saying when speaking in front of the room. You go through your days in a fog.

5. You stop caring as much. That might include your appearance, and personal grooming. It might be the clutter on your desk. Or just apathy about classroom behaviors, where you just don’t care as much if they have their phones out or talk over you while you are talking.

6. You pull away from your work buddies, or stop attending gatherings. You know you’ll feel guilty if you quit your job and leave your friends… so you distance yourself to make it easier.

7. You dread going into work. Every say, you spend an extra few minutes in the car, willing yourself to get out and move those feet toward the door.

8. You cry at least 2-3 times a week about something work related. A student got to you. An admin criticized you after a sh*tty observation. You just feel hopeless and want to throw in the towel because you’ll never get ahead.

All of these feelings are REAL and are 💯 valid.

Add up your score. How many can you relate to? If you are at a 5 or more, you are facing some serious burnout.

I’m starting a series this week on how to BEAT burnout, so make sure to keep an eye out for that. But simple AWARENESS is the first step.

Please share with me - how many did you get? Mine is in the comments.
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For those of you who don’t know that Brett and Meg are branching out as businesses coaches… now ya know!

Using our experiences in starting our meadery and farm, we want to help YOU launch or grow your business too.

With all the craziness that is happening in the world right now, we want to promote KINDNESS and GIVING this month.

🔥So we are giving a FREE MONTH of coaching away

If you are interested, send us a DM and let us know!

This is me… just casually in my beekeeping suit, beehive in the background.

In becoming an entrepreneur, I have gotten myself into some crazy things. Beekeeping happens to be the most recent one. 🐝

From my earliest memory, I’ve loved reading and learning. As a kid, instead of getting picture books, I would pick out the scientific book that detailed plant parts. 📚

When I got older, I decided to pursue science as my major, simply because I wanted to learn more about WHY things are the way they are. 🧬

That blossomed into lots of side hobbies and projects… and then into real businesses.

While living in Colorado, Brett and I learned how to home brew and farm organically. We brought those skills back home to Maryland.

🌱 In 2014, we founded , raising pastured chickens, running a CSA, and then market gardening.

💤 In 2018, after my daughter was born, I discovered how miserable it was to feel sleep deprived… so I founded to help prevent other families from feeling that way. (This year, I actually sold this business to Katie)

🍷 In 2020, my husband, Brett, and I, started - our dream business, making mead from locally sourced ingredients. Because making alcohol and drinking with friends is fun. And it also meets our values of boosting up local farmers and community. And it can replace our teaching income 🤷🏻‍♀️

So keeping bees goes right along with making mead, because we are going to source some of our honey directly from our own farm. Hence, the bee shot.

Along this journey, I have also learned some other valuable skills:
🖥 How to create online businesses, run social media, and market to our audience
🌎 How to network with others to continue learning and build up a community
💫 How to feel alive by following my dreams

As a teacher, it’s so important to me to be able to connect with others and help them learn. So with this venture, that goal still remains.

Just this time, my audience is changing from student to you, a burned out teacher who is ready to make a change.

Thanks for reading my story, and learning about who I am and how my business experience can help you launch and grow the business of your dreams.

If my story inspires you, please let me know! Or if you want to hear more about how we can grow your business m, please reach out. ✌️

You are READY for a CHANGE. 🔥

You are tired of feeling burned out every single day. Tired of dreading walking into work. Tired of busting your ass every day just to be undervalued by students, parents, and your admin. Just tired.

You might know exactly what you want your next career to be… or you might have no clue.

We can help.

We (Megan and Brett) are teachers, turned entrepreneurs. We have built multiple businesses, starting with an organic farm, then a pediatric sleep consulting firm, and most recently a meadery where we ferment wine from honey and fruits.

We know how to plan a business, launch a business, and what it takes for a business to succeed.

And we want to share that knowledge with you, in the hopes that we can empower others to follow their dreams too.

We are now accepting coaching clients for our B.O.T.s to Bosses Transformation Program!

This program is meant for anyone who is feeling burned out in their current job, and is ready to plan and launch their own business in the next 6-12 months.

If you are a teacher, then this is especially perfect for you, because we ARE you and know the specific struggles you face. But even if you aren’t, we are still interested in working with you!

The truth is that this life is too short for just punching a clock. Especially when your job demands more than is even humanely possible.

You know that you truly deserve to live a life of balance. You want to make an impact, but you also want to be able to enjoy your time outside of work with your family or your friends. And get paid fairly for all of that expertise and skill you have developed.

As we develop this program and hone in on how to perfect it, we are looking to work with TEN people for FREE!!

💵 Seriously, free.

📞6 people will get a free, 90-minute clarity session. You’ll walk away from this feeling ALIVE and ready to pursue your dreams.

🧩 3 people will get a free, 5-week program that focuses in on mindset, so you don’t feel stuck in a job that you hate. Instead, you learn about exactly who you are, and gain real clarity on how to go for your dreams.

💎 1 person will get a 3-MONTH program, where you do all of the above, plus begin designing and possibly even launching your dream business. All while getting 1:1 help to refine and perfect your ideas.

Here’s how to apply. Click this link and fill out the application form (or DM us). We will be in touch ASAP.

https://forms.gle/YkDQFsqWbAvH6f9eA

Even if you aren’t interested in working with us 1:1, then you can still support us by sharing this post with your friends or in a teacher group you are a part of!

Woooo! Talk soon, friends. Best of luck this week in all of your teaching endeavors.

You deserve more.

As a teacher, you are doing . You get to work early, you stay late. You bring home papers to grade on the weekends.

You work through your lunch break, or cover someone else’s class on your planning because there aren’t enough subs that day.

You are working to develop relationships with every student. But some students cuss you out, and others just blatantly ignore you. And every class talks over you while you are trying to give instructions (and then they ask for you to repeat the directions the minute they start working on their own).

And your admin don’t hear you, or back you when parents complain that you aren’t “doing enough” to help their kid.

You might have known this going into teaching. Or maybe you are just discovering it now.

But if you are crying after work every day, or dreading walking into the building every single morning… that’s a big clue that something is wrong.

Work isn’t supposed to feel like this. Not every day.

And believe me, you aren’t doing anything wrong.

Listen up!
💫 You.Deserve.More.💫

👏🏼You are doing a great job.

🎨You are a master of your craft.

🏅You ARE making a difference.

I’m here to tell you that if you are feeling burned out, and like you are ready for a change… you aren’t alone. In fact, teachers all over are shouting this from the rooftops.

You should be::
✏️ Enjoying your daily work.
🧘🏼‍♀️Having a work-life balance.
💵 And having a paycheck that reflects the amount of effort you are putting in.

And if you aren’t, then it’s time to think about what needs to change.

You deserve more ❤️

It’s official: we actually recorded the first episode! (Glasses of mead from our own in hand)

💃 🕺 🍷

Now for LOTS of editing and cutting it up.

Next up: starting with interviews of ourselves and then a few other teachers we know who have started their own businesses.

❗️Action item ❗️
We are looking for more people to interview! If you know a teacher who started their own business (as a side hustle or a full time thing), please share that with us!!! Either drop it here or send us a DM.

Today’s goal?

(Besides keeping the tiny humans or large humans in your class alive, of course 🤦🏽‍♀️)

Be 1% better today than you were yesterday.

Why 1%?
This feels so much more manageable than being perfect. You can eat one more serving of veggies, or work out for two more minutes. Or just take a few quiet minutes to yourself to decompress.

Then, the next day, add another 1% to what you did.

At first, you won’t even notice the added effort or time.

But over time, your progress will compound, and you will absolutely notice the effort you are putting in. And in a year, you will be *3.65 TIMES* better in whatever area you have been working on.

1% also sounds so much more do-able. Which means, it is much more likely for you to stick to your goals! Obviously a good thing.

So, let me ask you:
Can you be 1% better in one single thing today?

Drop a 🤙🏼 if you can do this!

We should not let our FEAR hold us back from chasing our ✨DREAMS✨

There are many things we fear. Some of them are legit things that threaten our survival, like that time we ran into a mountain lion while hiking.

Other fears are really just in our head. Things like the fear of being judged by others, or the fear of failure.

I admit, it took us longer to start this podcast and coaching business because of that fear of being judged. By our friends, our teaching colleagues, our bosses. We didn’t want to make anyone think that they are any less-than for wanting to teach, when we are finding it so frustrating. We are still working on getting past this fear, but felt that it is so important to us to share our story and our journey that we are starting *anyway*.

We, just like many others, also fear failure. That is just a natural part of life, because that unknown feels scary and out of our control. But, we know that we have been successful in starting and running other businesses, and we’ve gained so many skills that can help us run this venture, too.

And of course, the part that helps us keep moving forward is remembering the DREAM. Before B.O.T.s to Bosses was even thought of, we have been following our dream, running our meadery .

It allows us to combine something that matters to us- sourcing local, sustainable ingredients- with something that is fun and that we enjoy. A business that helps us be creative, build our community, and lets us have FUN, all while being able to be our own boss.

And now, continuing that dream by sharing our journey and encouraging you to follow YOUR dream, as well.

We truly believe that everyone deserves to find their own thing.

For some, that genuinely is teaching in a classroom for 30 years. Which is awesome, because you are going to make such a difference in children’s’ lives!

For others, that’s finding a different dream. Starting a photography business, or a small organic farm. Selling handmade jewelry on Etsy. Renovating a and traveling the country.

Promise us, don’t quit pursuing that dream just because of a fear that might never even come true. You are SO MUCH MORE THAN THAT. 🌟

Just in case you needed this today 😘

As teachers, we work so hard because we KNOW how much value we provide for our kids. Literally, the planet’s future is in their hands (and thus, ours too. Our job matters.

But when it feels like the weight of the world is in our hands, it can also feel like everything needs to be perfect.

Stop right there ✋

Today, sit back for a moment.

Realize that you are not, and will never be, absolutely PERFECT. And also realize that this simple fact is so freeing and amazing, because it allows you to simply be the unique and wonderful YOU.

Release yourself of the pressure to be perfect. Today, you can be good enough, just as you are.

Perfection can leave you feeling paralyzed and not able to move forward.

Progress is so much more important than perfection. Because at least you are working on continual improvement.

So today, enjoy the progress.

And maybe say EFF it to those things holding you back from that progress.

To begin, one must simply… start.

This has been our mantra recently. We (Megan and Brett) both find ourselves stuck over-analyzing things in this journey to launch our podcast and coaching business.

Being a perfectionist, I took about 15 pictures before I accepted that it doesn’t really matter so much about the perfect succulent placement as much as being transparent and honest in my post, because that is what matters to YOU as the reader.

Getting started with whatever you have on your is the most important part.

If you are trying to start with a new exercise routine, you can’t expect to run a 10K the first day. Even walking for the first few weeks is progress.

If you are trying to eat healthier, replacing one meal with something with better choices is progress.

If you are burned out, then doing one thing for yourself today and making intentional time and space for yourself is progress.

So the theme here is:
PROGRESS > Perfection

Just show up and do the damn thing. Get started.

Because inertia helps you stay in motion once you are in motion. (Gotta throw some science in there, as a science teacher.)

🧐 So let me ask you- what are you looking to start right now? Drop a comment below 👇🏼 or send me a message right now! ❤️🤗

Oh hey! 👋🏼 Megan and Brett here. We are the faces behind

We both currently work as high school teachers (me- biology, him- construction). Two summers ago, we also opened the doors to our meadery The Buzz Meadery where we make honey wine using all local ingredients.

We are finalizing our brainstorms for this new project, and gearing up to launch B.O.T.s to Bosses. For the tiny few who are already following up before we announce this venture to the world- welcome!

And please help us! If you have any podcast episodes you’d like to hear, or want to learn more about anything- comment below! 👇🏼🍁

👋🏼 Hi there!

We are launching our podcast and coaching program, B.O.T.s to Bosses.

Our names are Brett and Megan. We ARE teachers who feel burned out. Something tells us you might feel the same.

Outside of school, we have always been getting ourselves into various hobbies- homebrewing, farming, and eating good food.

In June 2020, we opened the doors to our passion project - The Buzz Meadery where we make mead (honey wine) using all locally sourced ingredients.

Our podcast talks about our journey where we became our own Boss through the meadery, and how we are balancing our business with teaching. Because we are still teaching!

Eventually, we want to build our business so that we are able to afford to just run that full time, instead of teaching too.

Not only will we share our story of how we started our own business, we also interview others to learn about their journey as well. Some of our guests left teaching to run their business full time, and some are juggling both careers. Some are still in the dream phase and know they feel burned out but are figuring out how to launch.

There’s no one perfect way to do life. But, we can definitively say that being burned out the whole time is the WRONG way.

Stay tuned to our podcast for:
📌some inspiration,
📌tangible ways to get started or keep moving,
📌and some humor along the way.

If you are feeling burned out and ready to jump into a new life, we also offer 1:1 coaching services to help you streamline that process. With coaching, you’ll have a targeted approach so you can intentionally plan on how to most effectively launch your new business.

Thanks for checking us out! We are so glad you are here.