Consider the Wildflowers
Consider the Wildflowers
098. Laura Wifler: Turning the Page on a New Season in Business
In today’s episode Shanna chats with author Laura Wifler on seasons of business, stewarding your work well, and navigating burnout.
Laura is an author, poet, and co-founder of the nonprofit for moms, Risen Motherhood. She’s authored multiple bestselling, award-winning books for children and is the co-author of the bestselling Risen Motherhood book. Laura is also the founder of The KidLit Lab, where she guides writers in crafting captivating children’s books and navigating the publishing process. She lives in central Iowa with her husband and three children.
WILDFLOWER SHOWNOTES : shannaskidmore.com/laura-wifler/
📌 RESOURCES MENTIONED:
Risen Motherhood Special Announcement Podcast Episode
Laura’s Favorite Children’s Books: Miss Rumphius + Tacky The Penguine
The Kidlit Lab by Laura Wifler
Petro’s Chili & Chips (yep, it’s real)
Risen Motherhood (Book)
*NEW* Gospel Mom: How to Make Biblical Decisions and Discover the Mom God Created You to Be (Book) + The Workbook
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This show is produced and edited by the team at Palm Tree Pod Co.
I think it's, it's like one of those things for entrepreneurs to be willing to kind of lay something down too, and say, this has run its course, and this has been something really beautiful in my life, but also, like, I don't have to cling to it, like it doesn't define me. And if I want to change and pivot, I can do that. The internet doesn't really love for you to change, but ultimately you get to make that decision like you chart your course, and so there's no reason why you shouldn't be doing what you're passionate about and what you love, because you can, you can grow and change, and you can do it publicly, and that's what we're
Lauren / Team Skidmore:doing. Hey, Wildflower, Lauren from Team Skidmore here, and you're listening to consider the wildflowers, the podcast episode 98 seasons in business. As entrepreneurs, we sometimes expect and believe that our business should live in an eternal spring. However, at some point, we all realize that that simply isn't sustainable. In order to have the life and growth of spring, we must also have the quiet and reflection of winter, the letting go of fall, and the inspiration of summer. In today's episode, Shanna chats with author and co founder Laura wiffler on seasons of business, stewarding your work well and navigating burnout, if you like, professional bios. Here it goes. Laura wiffler is an author, poet and co founder of the nonprofit for moms risen motherhood. She's authored multiple best selling, award winning books for children, and is the co author of The Best Selling risen motherhood book. Laura is also the founder of the kid lit lab, where she guides writers in crafting captivating children's books and navigating the publishing process. She lives in central Iowa with her husband and three children. Let's dive in.
Shanna Skidmore:Hey, it's Jana, and this is consider the wildflowers the podcast. For the past 15 plus years, I've had the honor to hear 1000s of stories from entrepreneurs around the world. As a former fortune 100 financial advisor turned business consultant, I have a unique opportunity to see the real behind the highlight reel. I'm talking profit and loss statements, unpaid taxes, moments of burnout and those of utter victory. Or, as my husband says, the content everyone is wondering But not many are talking about. And now I'm bringing these private conversations to you. Hear the untold stories of how industry leaders, founders and up and coming entrepreneurs got their start, the experiences that shaped them, and the journey to building the brands they have today, stories that will inspire and reignite, encourage to redefine success and build a life and business on your own terms. Welcome, Wildflower. I'm so glad you're here. Hi Laura, welcome to the show. Hi Shannon, thanks
Laura Wifler:for having me. This
Shanna Skidmore:is gonna be fun. I feel like we know each other. Ish. Ish is the right word. So I'm just really, really grateful for you coming on the show. I have so many questions and curiosities, and I just want to get to know you better. So welcome.
Laura Wifler:Thank you. Thanks for having me. I'm forward to it too.
Shanna Skidmore:I am currently reading your first book, Risen motherhood. Oh, there's two. There's two, right?
Laura Wifler:The first one came out about five years ago, the green book. I assume you're reading the Risen motherhood book. And then the second one actually comes out on October 15 of this year, and it's called gospel bomb.
Shanna Skidmore:Oh, okay, so for once in my life, I'm early. You are ahead of experience. Yep, I'm excited about it. Gospel bomb, it's on the thing. All right, Laura, tell everybody who you are, and will you just give us a snapshot of your work life in this moment. What are all the things that you have your hands in right now?
Laura Wifler:Oh, goodness, yes, I can certainly try. Yeah. My name is Laura wiffler. I live in central Iowa. I have three kiddos that are 11, seven and nine. That was a weird age order, but you get it. And I do a lot of different things. Wear a lot of different hats. I'm perhaps most known for my work at risen motherhood, which is a nonprofit organization that we really just try to help moms understand how their faith applies to their everyday life. So that's podcasting and writing, and I oversee a team of eight women at the nonprofit, and it is, it is so much fun, is such a joy. I also have the privilege of getting to be an author. So like you mentioned, I've written a couple of trade books. I've co wrote a couple trade books for adults. I have written several books for children as well, and that's really where I think my true passion lies. But online, I'm also kind of a poet, which I fell into a little bit a few years ago during covid, when I homeschooled my kids for one year and one year only, but we had this poetry section, and it made me fall in love with it. And so I write in like, a wide variety of ways, but in many ways, my whole goal is just to communicate different feelings and emotions about faith and life and living and drill as you connect with readers. That's kind of my overarching goal in everything I do. And then I also co found, or founded the kidlit lab goodness. That would be about a year. Ago, and that is a place where I help people who are interested in writing picture books learn how and what the path to publishing looks like, and how to write a great manuscript that kids will want to read again and again. So I do a lot of different things. I'm constantly dreaming. I'm very entrepreneurial, and my husband says that, you know, yeah, I'm, I don't have a lot of fear in me, you know, let's just try it. So, yeah,
Shanna Skidmore:I love it. Oh, my goodness. Okay, let's, let's go back to how this all got started. What were you doing before starting your business? Did you always know you were entrepreneurial? Did you ever, were you ever afraid of starting? Like, I just want to hear backstory. Yeah.
Laura Wifler:So I grew up in a very entrepreneurial family. My dad was in art actually, when I when I was really young, he taught art at local colleges, and we moved around a lot as he tried to find his footing, but eventually we ended up here in central Iowa, and he started his own home painting business, where he painted residential and commercial interiors. And I, you know, all of us kids worked with him on that, just to help get the business off the ground. We were more in like middle school at that time, but then eventually he got into real estate, and so we did a lot in that, and I worked for him, and got to see very much what that looked like. So it's definitely in my blood, and it's not something that felt super foreign to me. But when I was right out of college, I actually went and I worked in public relations at an agency in Minneapolis that was where my husband and I were first living, and then I became a stay at home mom when my son was born, and prior to that, maybe like a year or two, prior to not working and having my son, I started a blog. So this was back in the OG blog days, and I it never turned into much of anything. I wrote for seven years on that blog, and maybe had like 2000 followers at most. Yeah, I was really faithful to show up, and I loved writing. I wrote mostly about motherhood topics and design and whatever was interesting. You know, at the time, blogs just kind of followed the person's interest.
Shanna Skidmore:This was like 2013
Laura Wifler:Oh, goodness, yeah, yeah, somewhere in there, like 20, I think it started 2010 2000 Okay, nine, something like that. But yeah, kept writing, and then it was 2016 and I was living in Chicago at the time, and my sister in law and I, she was here in Iowa, we were talking about motherhood and just how our faith applied to motherhood, and asking, like, hey, is there like, Does God care what kind of diapers I use? Does God care how I potty train? Because if there is, like, a really, real way. I want to do it the best way possible. Because at the time, blogs were all saying, like, this is the right way. These are the Pampers, or these are the diapers to buy the Pampers. You know, buy those ones. You should cloth diaper, whatever. So it sounds really silly, but a lot of the communication online was very much how to or be like me, or it was very theological, and not many people were combining those two things. And so at the time, podcasts were really coming up, and my sister in law was like, Hey, let's start a podcast. Let's try this new medium, podcasting, yeah, and let's talk. Let's air these conversations. And so we did, we did a five episode test, and nothing was nothing was formal at this time, like I wasn't writing for money, I wasn't doing ads, like I had some paid writing gigs through blogging, but I wasn't making any money. And same with risen motherhood, we just started this podcast just for fun, but it pretty quickly took off. It very quickly. We were just promoting it on our personal blogs. And within a year, I mean, it was like, This is real. You know, we knew this is something that is more than a hobby, but we were self funding it. We were self growing it. We didn't even start social media for a few years or for a year. So we were having a hard time realizing that we needed to take it seriously, or we could take it seriously. But over time, we did. And long story very short, eventually, people started sending us money in the mail with without us asking for it. They would email and just say, hey, yeah. They said, hey, I want to support what you're doing. We love what you're giving away, and I want to pay for it. And I said, okay, but you realize you're going to send this to my personal home address, and I'm going to put this my personal bank account. And you're gonna have to trust me that, like, I use this for what you hope I use it for, and I'm like, I will, but also like, I want them to understand, like, we were pretty like, you know, hillbilly around here, and it was at that time we just knew, like, this is a nonprofit. You know, this is bigger than us. This is something outside of us. And we were both sort of slowing, kind of dragging our feet on monetizing it heavily. And so that was when we knew, when, you know, we got a, we got$1,000 check in the mail that paid for something that we actually needed. It was like, wow, you. Was just working and showing and so that's how risen motherhood started. And then we can go on, okay?
Shanna Skidmore:And that was, that was like, 2017 somebody sending you some cash in the mail. Yeah. So at this time where you just like, this, is this just for fun? You had what, all of your kids, two or three kids at this or you're just like in stay at home mom, life was that
Laura Wifler:it was getting up at five in the morning recording the podcast she and I would meet, and we were both pregnant with our the last children that we had, her fifth, my third, and we ended up we needed to hire. We knew we needed to hire someone for our maternity leave. And so we were like, Okay, we need $5,000 to hire someone for$10 an hour back then, that's, that's what our goal was, and they will help us, like, run social media and, like, kind of keep things going. And for six months, that was our goal, and someone sent us a $5,000 check, and we were like, Yeah, I'm not kidding. We were it was pretty wild. Yeah. It's like, Miracle upon
Shanna Skidmore:weeks. Little, yeah,
Laura Wifler:yeah. Do
Shanna Skidmore:you So what made you keep it going? Like, did you want to have it as a business or a nonprofit? Like, did you just while it's working? So let's keep doing it because you were in mom life, like it. I don't feel like entrepreneurship business was what, where your head was going, right? So what made you be like, we're gonna keep this going, or at that point where you like, this is gonna become our, our career. I don't know what our calling our, our nonprofit.
Laura Wifler:Yeah, you know, I think a lot of it was walking through one open door after another, and just very slowly, sort of peeking our head out, testing something, seeing it be successful, and then trying another thing. And I, I mean, I was doing all the like, I was very faithful to write, and I wanted my blog to grow, like, deep down, you know, I always kind of joke that you wouldn't have a blog, you know, bloggers will say, Oh, I don't care if anyone reads my words. It's like, if you really didn't care, then you'd have a journal, you know. So there is an element of being online. You want your words and your work to make change and affect people for good. And that's not a bad thing. I think it can sound bad to people, but ultimately, like, what a beautiful thing to say. Like, I want to help people, you know, grow in this skill or change in this way, but that just never grew for me for whatever reason. Like, I don't know what I I couldn't even look back and tell you, Oh, this is the reasons it didn't grow. It just, it just didn't and yet, I was a lot of success with risen motherhood, and so I think I was always thinking entrepreneurially, but it just, it was also like, yeah, motherhood had, like, my main heart, but I was open to other things. And so it was, like, a couple years into risen motherhood, it was 2020, about, I think we became a nonprofit officially, so we sort of just skated by on donations, and we weren't paid at all, like I wasn't we again. We were self funding, where the ministry dollars weren't coming in, but then we became a formalized nonprofit, and that it was like, Okay, this is real, like we're, we're getting employees now. We have a finance person. We have a, you know, someone who's getting donations in. And so I think it really, it fell into my lap in many ways, but it was what I was truly wanting that time.
Shanna Skidmore:Okay, so first, what is your degree in Public journalism
Laura Wifler:and mass communications with an emphasis in public terms,
Shanna Skidmore:okay? And then, so, was there ever a shift? So, you know, at this point, 2020, your kids are maybe preschool age, you know, was there a shift where it was like now I can give a piece of my mind. I feel like, as a mom of tiny people right now, like I have space in my brain to think about growing a nonprofit. And, you know, look, when did the shift happen from this is a side thing that I do as an outlet, maybe as a ministry, as for impact, to now you're thinking, you're thinking, okay, you've got the, I don't know when the kid lick lab came and you're writing books and like, how did that happen? How did the shift go from like, side hustle to, Oh, wow. Now I'm doing all these things, and it's only been in the last four years.
Laura Wifler:Yeah, yeah. It definitely was like, you know, one little thing gets added, another little thing gets added, type of thing. And I would say, obviously, having my kids go off to school certainly helped at this point. Now they're sixth grade, fourth grade and first grade. My youngest has intellectual disabilities, so she has been more challenging in many ways, and certainly, um, there's more commitments in order to just deal with her care. But um, as they went off to school, that helped. And so my youngest daughter has been going to preschool because of intellectual disabilities since she was three. Um. So I've had a lot of years where maybe I've had some built in childcare, and that helped, but also like, yeah, for better or worse, like, I'm just a hustler, you know, I'm just somebody who's like, Yeah, I'll get up early and I will stay up late, and I don't necessarily do that anymore. I'm older, and I want to say more tired, but, yeah, more wise. Um, but at time, right there was, for me, a creative need, that sort of needed to get out of myself. And if it was at five years, so be it, that's fine, you know, yeah. So it was never that necessarily, like, suddenly there was this shift. I think it was just an element of taking the opportunities as they came. And, like, for better or worse, like, I tried to find ways to fit them in, but also say no. Like, I, you know, I said a lot more yeses,
Shanna Skidmore:okay, I have two questions. For the last four years, officially a nonprofit, did you shut down your personal blog? Like, walk me through the last four years of all the different that you're writing, books, kids, books, coaching. How has all that come to be just again, just one thing led to the other? Or have you intentionally taken some steps to grow things?
Laura Wifler:Yeah, so I shut down my blog. It was probably two years into RM, so it was probably something more like 2018 or 2019 when both Emily and I sort of want, I want to say we deleted our personal footprints from the internet and really went all in with risen motherhood. So I have a My blog is printed out in a hardbound book in my home, but you can't find that blog anymore online. And that was sort of the moment where we were saying, We are all in Rm, you know, I'm really putting my efforts here. Yeah, through that it was, it was actually in 20 gracious. It was a year after risen motherhood started that art, an agent contacted us and said, Hey, do you have a book in you? And we said, No, we do not. We are busy with little kids and all that stuff. But he said, okay, but like, Look, you probably do. And so he walked us very slowly over the course of six months. Again, at that time, we were both pregnant with our last babies, and he very slowly helped us basically write a proposal for a book. And book proposals, you know, they're 2550 pages long. They're big things to write and work on, but he sort of dripped it out in a sustainable way. And so at the end of it, six months later, he's like, Look, you wrote a proposal, and we were like, what, you know? Like, he totally the best way, duped us, you know. And and so that was sort of how we got into book writing. And that book came out in 2019 so he approached us in 2017 it would have been two years prior, and then right after risen motherhood released, I was approached to write a children's book. And it was funny, because I didn't have this big desire to write risen motherhood, it was more of hey, this is the right next step for the ministry and for what we want to provide for moms. But the children's book, when I got that offer, I forward it to my husband and just said, I want to do this. Can I please do this? You know, like, let's make this happen. Yeah, and so that was really exciting. And from there, you know, every book that I've worked on has just been what I really believe that I see gaps in the market. I think that's one of the ways that God has gifted me is that I can see areas where maybe a resource lacks or there isn't something that moms need. And so each of my books have been something that I believe fills a gap in the market. And then with the kidlet lab that really just started a year ago, and that was due to over as I wrote books, and some of my books have won some awards, and they've been on bestseller lists, and I sort of gained some notoriety as a children's book author in the Christian space. I was getting a lot of requests, like, hey, I really, you know, want to write books. You know, I got this idea, or, How do I publish? And I was doing hourly consulting calls with people and they I just couldn't keep up. You know, there was too many requests. Yeah, so I did an E course based on all of the most popular questions I got. And now I run small cohorts of about 15 to 30 people through the kidlet lab at a time. And that has been one of my greatest joys, is working with them on creating great literature and really elevating it. I believe people don't think deeply enough about kids books. Oftentimes we're just kind of shooting them out. And, you know, thinking about page quality, or illustration quality, or, you know, really like bringing in some of the elements that make a great story, even some of these shorter books, you know, you got 900 words. It's really, really hard to do. So I have had a lot of fun helping people do that, and I had big dreams for the lab, especially as now we're ending risen motherhood, but I'm right now, like I said, I'm trying to be wise about how to grow in a really sustainable way. Yeah.
Shanna Skidmore:So, yeah. Okay. Pause, what are your two. Two favorite or must read children's books, books for little kids. One
Laura Wifler:of my favorites is obviously your own. I wasn't gonna say those my one of my favorites is Miss rump, theus by Barbara Cooney. The illustrations are gorgeous. It's really well known. It's just a beautiful book, um, and then this one's a little off the wall, but I loved it as a kid, and still love it as an adult. It's called tacky the penguin. And this is terrible, okay, but I don't remember the author, but it'll come right up, I'm sure. But it's about being kind of a social outcast, and then he ends up being the hero. And it's just kind of a funny, goopy book with kids, so tacky, depending on would be my other one.
Shanna Skidmore:Okay, that makes me so happy. Laura. You don't know this about me, but my daughter is obsessed with books. She's my oldest daughter. Clearly, my tiny one is she's four months old. She eats books right now, so literally, where we joke like, what is she going to be when she you know, what is her career path look like? I'm like, either she's going to design something sparkly, clothes, shoes, jewelry, or she's going to be a librarian. She has so many and so we have a a like a used bookstore here that we love. They trade books. They do. I need to get them on the podcast, genius. They've amazing. And she'll just walk around reading a book and just like, run into people and all the adults just think she and she is, she's the cutest, and they're like, because she's just like so into her book, she cannot be bothered to look in front of her. So yes, I was like, I've got to get your recommendations for her. Okay, Laura, let's talk. Obviously, impact is important for you. The work that you do has had a very obvious mission and heart behind it, but running even a nonprofit takes money and understanding money and figuring out the business side of your businesses. So as someone who you're raising kids, you're doing this, you know, the next opportunity as it comes. How have you figured out? Let me ask, what this what would you say on the business side and the money side has come easily for you, and then what are some of the struggles or lessons learned that you've had along the way with running a business? Oh,
Laura Wifler:man, I mean, I would say that nothing about money has been easy for me. Um, I, I'm a words girl. I write, you know, money's in numbers. And I know I've heard you Shannon, talk about how much you love numbers. And I just, I got nothing for you, you know, like no relation, I cannot relate to that in any way. And so I think that money has been hard, and not in the sense of, like, Oh, where did it all go? Kind of, but just sure setting up the systems that help make sure that it is in order, or finding, even finding my own interest in it and saying, Okay, I'm willing to get it here and try to understand and want to optimize how we're spending our money, or, you know, those kind of things. And so that has been something that, like, I have to choose kind of every day. Yes, owner. What I love doing is I love the ideation. I love the managing of teams. I love really taking a bit like, I can take an idea, and you can have this really high level, crazy idea, and I will tell you every single step you need to do to get to that goal. And so that's like, one of my giftings, I think. But if you start bringing in funding for that, you know, I'm like, you know, but bring in somebody else, bring in the expert. And so, yeah, that's definitely a challenge. But I think that with the dollars, the thing that I have really been helped by or appreciated is just seeing like, again, I kind of mentioned this, but how you can like numbers tell a story, and they still can, and they they absolutely help in major ways for you to be able to accomplish the things that you want to do, and you have to pay attention, like, there's just no choice. Like, you know you it's almost like you could pay attention to the numbers and like, forget about the rest, and it might still run, but you have to pay attention to the numbers. And so I have been helped by not only my husband, who helps with Laura withler creative, which is my personal business that kind of takes all the author stuff, or speaking gives or consulting calls, like different things like that. LWC is over that, and then there's risen motherhood, and we have a finance director there, and she's incredible. And really make sure that everything is wrong. Money and is up to the par there and then at the lab that kind of follow falls underneath LWC. So I think that that's the different ways of managing the money. But I've been really helped by my husband coming in and then us sitting down together and talking about, okay, like, Can I hire someone you know, or can't I? Can I do some ad spend here or different things like that, and having the confidence to be able to do that is so great, or to know like, No, I can't yet. But here's the goals that I need to have in order to grow to the next level.
Shanna Skidmore:Laura, thank you so much for saying that. I just feel like a lot of the people listening to this podcast probably would resonate with you. Money isn't the motivator. Money is not even something you would like to have to talk about totally but as you mentioned, hiring a team, you have to know, if you can pay them, paying for advertising, do you have the dollars to do? It's like I would in no way call it a necessary evil, but it is a necessary skill, which is obviously why I do what I do, and why I'm so passionate with people. Because exactly what you said, the confidence to make decisions and business comes from knowing and having those money conversations. I love it. Thanks for sharing that. Yeah, okay, oh, my goodness. I feel like our time, it goes by so fast, so we're gonna go into a quick fire. But before we do, I want to talk about, in a world that asks us to do everything really well, how you have found harmony and in that because I'm assuming it has a tie in to closing and the decision to close risen motherhood. So having three children, growing these, not the nonprofit, these different areas of interest for you, authoring, writing books, the kitlat Like, everything that you're doing. How have you found harmony these last 1011, years in doing both of those things? Well,
Laura Wifler:you know, I like that word harmony a lot. I remember one time a woman got up at a very small conference that I was at, just as an attendee at a local church here, and she stood up on one foot, and she was kind of tipping around, you know, trying to hold her balance. And she's like, do you see that? Do you see how I am always trying to find balance? And it was just a really beautiful picture as she sort of wobbled on one foot, and even, like, set the foot down a couple times to readjust. Of I think what balance or harmony looks like, especially as a mom and an entrepreneur and business owner, that you're always kind of trying to find it, and you're constantly making adjustments and shifting and growing and not committed to one sort of system or one sort of plan for your day or month or life, but that you're willing to kind of constantly make tweaks. And I'll be honest that sometimes, you know, I've been really out of balance, and I went through a really deep season of burnout. Gosh, it would have been like maybe 2020, 1920, 20. So risen motherhood had taken off, and we were very public and wrote a book, moved there were a lot of personal things that happened that was about when my daughter got diagnosed with disabilities, and she was born, and I burned out and and i i carry some scars I believe that I will have for my entire life, because I pushed too hard in a season. And some of that was necessary, and some of that was self inflicted.
Shanna Skidmore:Laura, can I? Can I? Yeah, double down on that and ask like, did you feel like you had to do the work? Did you feel like was the work sometimes an escape, like, and if you wanted to, I would love to hear about, like, right, doing all this, plus having a daughter with disabilities. I mean, that takes probably extra mental energy, physical energy. That's a lot. So yeah, do you feel like, did you feel just like you had to do it all?
Laura Wifler:Um, perhaps, you know, I think looking back in that season against I remember my sister in law made this Venn diagram of my life when I was really just pretty broken. And the Venn diagram on, you know, the left was sort of like the things that I can't stop doing. So it had motherhood, you know, being a wife, even like, you know, being a sister and all those things. Then on the right side, it had kind of, like, the stuff that I can stop at any moment. Like, now, you know, I could stop working out right now. I could stop, you know, I don't know. I'm trying to think of, I can't even think of, like, the actual things. But like, let's say I always had a weekly nail appointment or something like, quit that. You know, as you're discipling someone, you can stop that. And then in the middle there was some of. Things that were like, Hey, you can finish those things, but like, it's gonna take some time to ramp off. And that would be like, Risen motherhood, right? Like, I couldn't quit that short, but if I needed to, could we do a six month off ramp? We sure could. And so it was helpful to kind of see, okay, these are the buckets in my life. We were building a house at the time. You know, there was a lot going on, and we it helped to see some of those things and see, like, okay, there are some things that I can cut immediately. And I think that would be painful, like it was giving up good things that I like to do. But I could say, No. Like, you know how, how you market a book, right? Or like, something, let's pretend, like, right now there's something at the kid that lab. I could just say, Nope, I'm not gonna take on any more students. Like, take on any more students. Like, we can just let that coast for a little while. It'd be hard, yeah, but you could do it and then seeing, like, okay, there is like, a real offering for these things. Like, what things do you want to stop, you know? Or could you stop and know that, like, relief is coming. And so it was really helpful to, I think, walk through that exercise and see help me, like, mind map a little bit all of my commitments and the things that were putting pressures on me and to understand, like, what kind of needed to be endured and I needed to choose to be, like, finished faithfully, but also know that, like, I could make some hard choices and like, immediately free up some space and time in my Life and begin to work on, like, healing and things like that. So it's hard though, those are, like, you need a friend, an outside friend, I think, who can look at your life, because we are not objective.
Shanna Skidmore:Yeah, and is that what you did to get out of that season of burnout? Did you just start letting things go? Yes,
Laura Wifler:I started saying no to a lot of things, or pulling back on a lot of things. And then also, like, a lot of it was, I stopped agreeing to things in the future, you know? So it was like, Okay, I need to, I have these book contracts. I need to fulfill those. But like, I'm an idea person, right? I have no, I give business ideas to people because I can't, I know, I give book ideas to people and they've been written. Those books have been written. It's so fun. But I realized, like, I can't keep adding to that, even though that's the way my mind naturally works like, so I was booking myself out a year in advance, and that was, like, some of the big things that I had to stop, where it was like, Okay, let's coast down these next six months. Let's wrap your commitments Well, finish well, but then after that, like, you need more freedom in your season.
Shanna Skidmore:Tell me then, how does, how did the decision come to close, Risen motherhood.
Laura Wifler:It was about two years ago. So before any of the book deal the last, the last couple book deals that we have, and things like that, periodically, Emily and I would sort of turn to one another and say, Hey, are you ready to be done with RM? And neither of us ever was we were one or the other was always up, right? And we'd kind of pulled it off, sure, but I turned to her one day, we're on. She's my sister in law, so we were on a family vacation, and I said, Hey, are you ready to be done with risen motherhood? And she was like, Yeah, I think so. And I was like, what you know, it was, it was honestly wild that we both agreed at the same time, and that really set in motion what we knew would be a really long off ramp. You know, it's something that is really important to us, is finishing. Well, you've heard me say that a lot, and to be faithful, to steward commitments to the end. And so we knew we had at the time, I think we said a four year off ramp, which is wild, four years. But we said, we want to write these books. So not only do we have gospel mom coming out this fall, we have another book coming out next spring, called a million tiny moments. And that was these books were kind of part of what we were calling our legacy collection. So we knew books take two years, like we have a minimum two years on this thing. And so from that, we started in motion, just like, what would it look like to end well? And there are not other ministries out there that end by choice. You know, most of them, the the leader is forced out, the ministry goes defunct. Um, there's a lot of scandal that happens. And we just were really thankful that that has not our story, that we can kind of go out the way we want. But there's no roadmap, too. You know, most people don't business or, you know, get absorbed as a nonprofit and continue it on. But for us, we have a whole episode. So if someone's really interested in, like, all of our reasons, there's nothing salacious, you know, there's nothing wild in there, but go listen to, it's something like a big announcement from risen motherhood, and everything is, is we talk it out in there? But okay, I will link that. Yeah, it might be helpful, because it's so hard to be succinct. But really, truly, it was that we felt like we were done, like we had said what we needed to say, and we were both had new dreams in our hearts and ready to change what we were doing. And so I think it's, it's like one of those things for entrepreneurs to be willing to kind of lay something down too, and say, Yes, this has run its course, and this has been something really beautiful in my life. But also, like, I don't have to cling to it, like it doesn't define me, and if I want to change. And pivot, like I can do that. And, you know, the internet doesn't really love for you to change, but ultimately, like you get to make that decision like you chart your course. And so there's no reason why you shouldn't be doing what you're passionate about and what you love, because you can, you can grow and change, and you can do it publicly. And that's
Shanna Skidmore:what we're doing. I love it. You know what's so interesting, Laura, we, most of us, I would say, started our businesses because we were passionate about something. We wanted freedom in some way, like we're excited and and then it's like, you get into it, and at some point it starts to, I don't know, maybe, maybe not everyone feels this way, but I think it's like, well, this is what I do. I think a lot of us, some piece of our identity becomes a part of it. And a lot of entrepreneurs I know, have to work through that identity in their work. But like you said, you don't have to do it forever. And it's not like, well, in business, you stay in business, you know, and it's like, we're entrepreneurs. We start things and we end things. And I heard someone talk about it, and you've probably heard this, I'm sure, just like seasons, like in the in the world, God created seasons, spring, summer, autumn and winter. And winter is a part of it, laying things down, letting things rest, letting things go, like, so, yeah, I just think that's interesting. And so I love that you brought that up. Like, sometimes you can just be done, and that's okay. And at what point did we think we couldn't right?
Laura Wifler:And I think it's really interesting to evaluate for entrepreneurs that usually entrepreneurs are one of two things. They're either a starter or a builder, you know, and starters are the people I think that I'm a starter, who see the needs, who who understand how to take an idea from zero to 60 and break it down and like, get it done. And that, like, energizes them, right? Creating something is so fun. But yeah, sometimes for those types of people that ongoing labor of either innovating on the business or building the business, or even, like keeping it, just keeping it running right, like, hey, we just, this is what we want to do, we're doing great. Like we're satisfied. That can, I think, for someone who's a starter, make them feel really antsy and make them feel bored, yes, and that is okay. I think it's about learning. Kind of, hey, which type am I? Because some people are like, hey, I need the playbook to get started, and then I'm just gonna, like, run that playbook so well, and I'm gonna optimize, I'm gonna innovate, I'm gonna ideate and like, they can go for years and years and years doing the same thing and be so happy. And like, keep improving and keep growing. And so as an entrepreneur, I think it's important that you start to admit to yourself what kind you are, because then I think there is freedom, especially if you're a starter, to say, hey, like, as I think about building businesses. For me personally, I think of them as, now, how can I build them in a way that maybe I'm going to sell them in 10 years. Yes? And yeah. So absolutely, yeah. So often we're building these businesses and we're not building them in a way that you can transfer them, you know, and that again, that's okay. If you're somebody who's like, Hey, I'm going to be content for 50 years running this thing. But for most of us, most entrepreneurs like, hey, if we start building or even like, for your podcasts and your audience like keeping the books in a way that this can be sold and be profitable for someone else besides you, like, that's actually a little bit of a different way of thinking about a business. Yeah,
Shanna Skidmore:I love this so much. This became a whole good conversation right here. Laura, you have probably heard me talk about my core motivators in business. I believe there's four kind of core motivators, and one of them is the challenge, which I think it relates to your starter. Like a challenge motivated person needs new they need something, a new thing, to oftentimes, they don't even finish the project they've started because they're moving on to the next. And so I just love that you've identified that it's okay to be a starter, but like, know that that's how you operate. That got my wheels turning in so many ways. That was so good. Laura, thank you for coming on, sharing your story. I love that you are exploring new things and getting excited about the kidlit lab and new books coming out, and I just think it's a it's a joy to watch someone evolve and change and and respond to their seasons of business and their seasons of life. And it's just been good to get to know you better. Let's go into a quick fire round. All right, what is one thing you would be embarrassed if people knew?
Laura Wifler:Oh, man. I mean, I'm a pretty open book, I will tell you, like, super honest. But I think I was this just came to mind the other day. Actually, it's just how I have zero self control around Fritos. I mean, they are the most unhealthy, horrible thing for you. And, like, I could eat three bags. I am not even kidding. I cannot have them in my home. I love them. So much i They are, like, my deep comfort food, and it's, it is embarrassing, like, how much I can eat of them and how much I love them. So
Shanna Skidmore:Fritos. So is Petros still in business? Or do you know Petros is? I don't okay because, wait, you're in Iowa, son of reach to you, Petros was like, I don't even think it's so, but it's like a mall. I remember, like, in high school going to the mall Petros. It's like chili, and then they put Fritos in it. Everybody listening. If I'm wrong about this, please email me and correct me, but I'm pretty sure. I don't know if I've ever had a petrol but it's like chili. I think I'm gonna have to Google, and I think it has Fritos and cheese, and it's like, I mean, a petrol bowl. That's that's what makes me think, when I think of Petro
Laura Wifler:that's how we eat chili here is with Fritos and cheese, but we don't call it Petros. Is that like a restaurant?
Shanna Skidmore:It's a restaurant. It's like a fast food Oh, okay, Laura, look it up. Okay, look,
Laura Wifler:look at Petro end of the week. Yeah, come on in
Shanna Skidmore:Iowa, because this might be your new favorite thing. I will, I think it has Fritos in it. Oh, man. I
Laura Wifler:mean, I'm telling you, it's so good. It's so good because
Shanna Skidmore:everybody's gonna be like, Shannon, no, I could be totally off on this, but that's what I remember from high school days of Petro Chile with Fritos. Okay, I'm gonna Google it after yes and tell the Podcast Producer if I'm wrong to take this out, any regrets or wish you could do over moments.
Laura Wifler:Yeah, you know, I don't think it's possible to live without regrets. I think I regret lots of things every single day. I want to say hundreds of things. I don't know if it's quite that many, but I regret a lot every day. But that is why I believe it's also impossible to live without grace. So absolutely, yeah, I think tons of do overs, most of them small, thankfully. But I don't think I necessarily have anything huge, but it's just my reaction to things, my hopes, my expectations, my thought process around things, for sure, all the time.
Shanna Skidmore:Thanks for sharing that big win or pinch me moment.
Laura Wifler:The first thing that comes to mind was when risen motherhood the book was in Magnolia magazine. That was pretty cool. But I think ultimately beyond that, I mean, honestly, I when I get to meet women face to face who have been touched by whether it's, you know, the my work at risen motherhood, or it's a children's book, or they tell me that my poetry inspired them to write, and particularly when I get to meet them in person, but also the messages they send me online, like I just I just makes me get the shivers every time. And it's pretty cool that God would use any little thing that I share to make an impact in someone's life. I think it is just unbelievable the power of the internet, of communication, of words, and what they can do in someone's life. And so I don't know, every time I meet people that just, I mean, I cry,
Shanna Skidmore:yeah. Pretty cool. Yeah. That's amazing. Okay, best advice, or just really good advice that you have received,
Laura Wifler:that God calls you to the work, not to the results. Whole adage of focus on depth, not breadth. And I think that that's really important, because I have had books where I have done very little, and they have sold outrageously well, and then I have had other books that I have worked and hustled and just gone to the map for, and it has gotten a lot of media, or it's gotten a lot of attention, and it's really crickets around the sales, You know? And so I think I've really just learned that, like my responsibility is to be faithful, to steward the work well and to do the best that I can with each project and each item that God has given me. But like at the end of the day, the results are just up to him, and even as raising kids as a mom like I am, called to do the work of being a good mother to my children as best as I possibly can be, but ultimately, like, I don't get to choose how they turn out. And yeah, that's, I think, been a comforting quote for me. Yeah, I'm gonna
Shanna Skidmore:sit with that one for a little Yes, so true. All right, last quick fire, and then we will send this off. What are you working on now? Which I think you've mentioned, tell us what you're working on, or one resource that you would like to share. Yeah, I
Laura Wifler:think I would love to just encourage people to head over to the kidlit lab if they have any interest or inkling of writing a kid's book. It is just one of my missions to see more great books in the world and to help people begin to think more thoughtfully about what we are creating for kids and how to write books that kids will want to read again and again. So we have another cohort coming up this fall, and like I mentioned earlier, I have big dreams for that space, that it becomes something so much more, and I hope that that happens sometime soon. I don't know when, but yeah, I'd love. Of to see people over there, and I get to have like, smaller conversations, you know, like, kind of like what we're having here. I get to do a lot of that over there with people who have interest in books, and that's fun.
Shanna Skidmore:I love it. Okay, let's send this off and go back to when you first sat down and recorded that first podcast episode. Or you can go as far back as starting your blog. Either one you choose. What would you tell yourself looking back now, on those beginning days,
Laura Wifler:I think, as I think about risen motherhood in specific, I would say, don't hold too tightly to anything. And two heads are better than one. And one of the reasons I believe risen motherhood has been so successful is that I co founded it with my sister in law, Emily, and she is everything opposite of me. And yet, I think in particular, for a business that was so in the public eye, and you know, was especially dealing with things that people are really tender around. You know, you start talking about miscarriage or adoption or public school choice or phones, and there's a lot of feelings, rightfully so about all those things. And so I have been so thankful to have her, I think, as somebody to walk with and feel like, you know, my natural tendencies are and giftings are in one directions, and she's the exact opposite. And that tension has been really good for the ministry. And so I think anytime you can have someone just help you, ideate and collaborate, even if you run your own business as a solo show, having that community around you who, like, you can just say, Hey, I'm thinking of starting this, you know, what do you think? Yeah, or, How do I pull that out? Or what were the steps you took? I mean, you can listen to podcasts like this all day, and they're helpful. I hope this is helpful to someone, but there is nothing like kicking it, you know, in a room and chat your real issues, and someone helping you say, Hey, this is how I dealt with it. Like, here's something you could try and, yeah, that at times I was frustrated by our differences. I would be frustrated by the difference in even just how I move fast, you know, I'm like Facebook, move fast and break things. And Emily said he wins the race, and that could be at times. It was frustrating for us, but we chose to say our relationship with sister in laws is most important. It matters so much more than any ministry or business or money or whatever all that stuff. And so I was so thankful that we both prioritized that even in conflict, and said, We will choose each other over our way every time. And I would just encourage you know other people, to get those people in your corner for sure. Yeah,
Shanna Skidmore:there is a podcast episode, I think everyone, I think it was with Brittany whitenack. I need to go back in and look. But on consider the wildflowers. Brittany white neck, and she talked about, I think it was this episode, but because I think sometimes she talked about her board of directors, and I think, like, those are people you pay and they're super important people. And she was like, No, I just had a community of, I think it was maybe eight people that I asked if they would speak into the growth of my business, and and they said yes. And I just thought it was really sweet. And Laura, just the encouragement you said, I think so often, and I need, honestly, it was a challenge for me. I need to do this for my own business, where I have a group of people who can just brainstorm with me, get in the room and talk things out that would feel so valuable. And you know, I think a lot of times like, we don't have the funds to do that, or we don't have that feels like that's a big company. No, like, get people around you, even if it's just one person. So I think that's such a wonderful way to send this off. And Laura, thank you for your ministry. Thank you for risen motherhood and the journey that it's had and the impact that it's had. I have no doubt there it is bittersweet to to say bye, bye to it, and I'm excited for the next, what you have next, and the ways that God's going to use what you're doing now. Thanks for sharing your story and coming on the show. Absolutely. Thanks
Laura Wifler:for having me. Hey,
Lauren / Team Skidmore:Wildflower. You just finished another episode of consider the wildflowers the podcast. Head over to consider the wildflowers podcast.com. For show notes, resource links and to learn how you can connect with Laura. One final thought for today from Hal Borland, summer ends and autumn comes, and he who would have it otherwise would have high tide always in a full moon every night, as always. Thank you guys for listening. We'll see you next time.
