We are pleased to present our MogulMoxie Maven Mary Joyce.
Mary Joyce, Founder of Resources Queen, is an award-winning Business Coach, Speaker, and author. She is also part of the Leadership team for the Women’s Speaker Association and co-hosts a popular bimonthly feature show #SpeakerChat on the organization’s Twitter account.
Thanks for investing time with us today. Let’s start with your education background and experiences. Please share a little about how you have prepared to be who you have become from an educational perspective.
“I grew up in Ireland where I was educated by nuns – harsh. They were tough and no-nonsense so you learned. I also completed further education in Personal Development and Teaching.”
Great! Tell us about your business.
“My business was born out of wanting to be there for my children and set my own schedule. I help clients maximize their existing resources and make more money from their services without requiring more work. I’m the Queen of repurpose. I work with clients to set systems in place so that their business runs smoothly and allows for occasional days off. One of my mentors uses this great motivator, ‘How long can you sit on the couch doing nothing before you stop having money come in?’ Most people usually say a day or a couple weeks. I like to help my clients turn that into months or indefinitely.”
Tell us about a typical day as the Resources Queen.
“For me there is no typical day, however most follow a similar theme if I’m not traveling. I took on a long-distance client a couple of years ago so I travel so much more for work now. Which is great, but also a challenge. As all mums know, it takes a lot of work to run a smooth home. I usually start by getting my kids off to school or college and my day typically starts after 10 a.m. I’m not a morning person.
Then it’s following up on calls, emails, updating social media, skype meetings, and creating presentations for trainings. Lunch dates with business partners or potential clients or partners. I’m also on the Leadership team at Women’s Speakers Association where I cohost our bimonthly #SpeakerChat over on Twitter or Facebook Live where we interview our premier members.”
Have you ever struggled with confidence or courage in your career? Tell us about it and how you’ve overcome the struggle.
“I’ve got a lot of inner confidence. One thing I’ve always had is a strong belief in myself and my ability to tackle whatever comes my way. My mum raised us all to be very resilient and we are. She’s blind and never was one to sit in self-pity. She always encouraged us to do what made us happy.
In the past couple of years, I’ve lost many close family members and didn’t have the coping skills to deal with bereavement. It felt like I was going under from the weight of grief. However, those experiences have helped me to appreciate life, those I share my time with, and the women who kept me afloat when I couldn’t cope with the overwhelming emotions.”
Where do you find motivation to move forward with your business after going through great personal strife?
“My children motivate me. Before I had children, I worked in a regular job with no clear career plan. I was young in a new country so I just wanted to have fun and live life without thinking too much about my future. I had a daughter at 24 and that totally changed my outlook and what I wanted. She gave me determination to strive to give her everything she needed, including a strong role model. When my son was born six years later I’d already started my own business.
They are growing up, so their needs are changing, and I’m enjoying growing with them. Also, all the women I’ve met through Women Speakers Association inspire me to do more, be more, and be seen. We are very fortunate to have such a wonderful community of women who raise each other up.
My team also motivates me to achieve more and build our business together so that we can all share in success.”
Tell us about one of the toughest things you’ve had to do in business and what you’ve learned from it.
“I was working with a large corporate client. I delivered a whole series of bespoke trainings for them over a six-month period and invoiced monthly as was agreed with our contract. They were undergoing an internal restructure so things were chaotic and I didn’t get paid for nine months. It was a lot of work and money, and put me in a very difficult financial situation, so I created much stricter payment conditions after that.”
In addition to stricter payment conditions, what tips have you found helpful to manage and increase your cashflow?
“For me, having multiple sources of incomes works, so that I’m not just relying on one income source or one client and that I have income coming in consistently. One of my clients, Colway International, is a direct sales, multi-level marketing company so I’ve built a team and receive passive and active income every week from that.
If you are considering adding additional income streams, make sure that your primary source is solid first. Then, add a second, third, etc. Don’t try to manage too many businesses or opportunities at a time as you’ll burn out, spread yourself too then, and not be successful in any of them.”
What have you accomplished, created, or built that makes you the proudest or brings you the most joy?
“Being able to have my business financially support me and my family. It can be tough to make a business work and keep the lights on. It’s ongoing.”
It absolutely is, but with the right tips and resources, which you certainly have mastered, it is possible! Moving forward, what’s your favorite word and why?
“Determination – I feel this is something we all need to keep us moving forward and both my children have this in abundance. I encourage them not to give up, no matter how tough it gets, if something is worth carrying on for or learning from.”
What’s coming up that you want our readers to know about?
“I’m currently working on turning my popular business resources guide into a book and selling it on Kindle. It’s a work in progress and I’m finding myself very resistant, so I’m giving myself a kick in the butt to get it done.”
How can readers keep up with you?
You can reach me at my website and download my free resources guide www.marymjoyce.com Twitter & FB I’m @resourcesqueen.
We hope you have enjoyed this interview with Mary Joyce nearly as much as we’ve enjoyed interviewing her!
Here are a few key lessons from Mary’s journey that you can implement into your personal and professional life right away:
- Maintain multiple streams of income to ensure consistent cashflow. Mary suggests, however, to make sure to have one secure income source before branching out to a second or third to avoid burnouts.
- Build a strong network of like-minded individuals and fellow female entrepreneurs, either in person or through social media, to build each other up while navigating life and business’s strenuous endeavors.
Now that you’ve been inspired by our MogulMoxie® Maven – it’s your time. What are you going to do differently in your own life or business? We want to hear about it!
