Rich As A Mother: Healing, Hustle, and Breaking Generational Cycles

In this powerful episode of Breakthrough Conversations with Rhoda & Co., Rhoda sits down with entrepreneur, business coach, podcast host, and founder of Rich As A Mother™, Lacey Burkett.

Lacey shares her journey of surviving domestic violence, intentionally pursuing healing, and breaking generational cycles to create a different future for herself and her children.

Together, Rhoda and Lacey discuss motherhood, entrepreneurship, burnout, resilience, and what it truly means to build a life rich in purpose, presence, peace, and legacy.

This conversation is a reminder that healing is possible, success can be redefined, and the cycles that shaped your past do not have to determine your future.

In This Episode:
• Breaking generational cycles and creating a new legacy
• Healing beyond survival mode
• Motherhood and entrepreneurship without burnout
• Redefining success and personal fulfillment
• Creating safe spaces for women to grow and thrive
• The power of intentional healing and self-worth
Connect with Lacey Burkett
Founder of Rich As A Mother™
Business Coach | Systems Strategist | Podcast Host
https://www.richasamother.com/

If this conversation resonates with you, be sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who needs the reminder that healing and purpose can coexist.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hey, what's your secret? You got the kind of that leads to a speech that could be model multitasking genius.

SPEAKER_02 0:06

Yeah, you got it uh Alright, welcome back to Breakthrough Conversations with Rhoda and Company. Today's episode Rich as a Mother, Healing, Hustle, and Breaking Generational Cycles. And our conversation today is really deeply personal. It's incredibly powerful, and one that I believe we will that will resonate with a lot of women. So joining me is Lacey Burkett. She's the founder of Rich as a Mother, business coach, systems strategist, podcast host, mother of two, and a true generational cycle breaker. I'm so excited to have this opportunity to talk to Lacey. And Lacey has spent nearly a decade helping six and seven-figure entrepreneurs scale their business through systems, automation, funnels, and back-end strategy. But her mission goes far beyond business growth. Through Rich as a Mother, she helps women build businesses that support their lives instead of consuming them.

SPEAKER_01 1:12

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 1:13

I know that's right. She teaches women how to create sustainable success without sacrificing motherhood, healing, presence, all the things that matter most. Her work is centered on helping women step out of survival mode, reject burnout and culture, and build lives rich in freedom, purpose, flexibility, and impact. And Lacey is also a survivor of domestic violence who has done the courageous work of healing and rebuilding. So today she uses her experiences to create safe spaces for women, helping them realize they do not have to choose between entrepreneurship, motherhood, and their own well-being. They can have all of that. So in this conversation, we're talking about resilience. We're talking about healing, breaking generational cycles, redefining success, and becoming the woman you needed when you were younger. Lacey reminds us that being rich isn't just about money, it's about being rich in purpose, rich in healing, rich in presence, rich in legacy, and rich in motherhood. Lacey, welcome to Breakthrough Conversations. Look at your bio. Thank you so much. That's beautiful. Oh my God, that is a reflection of you and your story and your journey. And I'm so excited to have you here. So let's get into it, girl. You ready? Okay, yes, I'm ready. The first question that comes to me is around your personal journey. When you hear the phrase rich as a mother, what does that mean to you personally?

SPEAKER_01 2:50

So my son actually, when I was um pivoting my business, he was actually the first one to come up with that name. And obviously, we had two different ideas of what that meant. Um, his idea obviously was monetarily. Um, but yes, money is important, wealth is important. But beyond that, rich as a mother is about presence, about peace, about flow, about not feeling this internal struggle of am I, you know, dropping and sacrificing my business? Am I, you know, failing as a mother because I'm torn between these two beautiful worlds that I've created.

SPEAKER_02 3:33

So that is releasing that mom guilt. Yes, absolutely. That's beautiful. Um, kudos to your son. Who would have known that that became a whole platform and a whole business concept that it's living on to this day? So you've shared with me and you're bravely sharing with our listeners that you survived domestic violence twice. Was there a defining moment where you realized survival alone was no longer enough and healing had to become intentional?

SPEAKER_01 4:05

Absolutely. So healing, yes, not only does it need to be highly intentional, but it's such a personal internal journey. One that if it's here's the deal we could play, you know, the blame game all day, every day, but there's there's definitely an internal reflection that needs to happen from a point of where did I allow the boundaries of my own to be crossed? Where can my voice be stronger and more confident? And there are no that's fine.

SPEAKER_02 4:57

Yes. I love this. Already what you're sharing is moving.

SPEAKER_01 5:07

There comes a time where you have to take that internal reflection and really work on yourself. It is healing is such an internal thing. Like I said, you can play the blame game forever, but until you realize maybe patterns that you have in yourself, then you're giving up your power.

SPEAKER_02 5:33

Right.

SPEAKER_01 5:34

And by playing into victimhood, you're giving away that power. Right. You will always find your identity in victimhood instead of being a victor. And if I wasn't a victim of domestic violence, I experienced it.

SPEAKER_02 5:58

You experienced it. Domestic violence. I love that reframing. And you said something that I was brought up in the church in my younger adult life. I started going to church, and one of the things my pastor, who was my father-in-law, used to say was, We are not victims, we are the victor. We are victorious. I love that reframing. So you are not a victim of domestic violence. You survived it, you experienced it, and it doesn't define you. And something else you said that was really uh hitting home for me, and you mentioned about identifying when you're looking inside where you allowed yourself to cross your own personal boundaries. And it really is, that's so true. Like, I don't think a lot of individuals recognize the power they have over situations and circumstances, and I'm speaking to myself as well, when we ignore the patterns. That is so powerful to me and so very profound. And people on the outside are sitting saying they know of a situation that this person is in, and they're saying, why don't they just leave? It's not as simple as that. And it's not be it's not always because the person that they're in this relationship with is dominating them. It's like you said, it's that internal dialogue that's so important. I was at a uh job interview yesterday, and the um the lady that was interviewing me, I had several, it was an on-site interview out of town, and she said uh to me, she said, I do have one more question, Rhoda. How are you when you're your worst self? And I was like, what a powerful question. And I said, it's all internal. I say, you may not see it, but I'm having this internal dialogue that's really not healthy, and I'm in a negative energy, and I'm trying to, I say, now the beauty is I've gone through some training and some therapy, and I've I've learned and still learning how to coach myself through those moments to coach myself up to a higher level of energy. But when it first hit, whatever the circumstance is, I go to a very dark place. It's always worst case scenario for me. And I share it with her. I say, and it's likely because I've experienced a lot of trauma in my life. So my brain is wired that way, and I'm constantly working to retrain it.

SPEAKER_01 8:36

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 8:37

Yeah, so that's very similar.

SPEAKER_01 8:38

And you do, you tend to fall back into those patterns if you don't recognize that. So, yes, healing is very it's an internal job.

SPEAKER_02 8:47

It is inside out job. Yeah. So healing, as we just talked about, is often talked about like it's linear, but it rarely is. So, what did healing honestly look like for you behind the scenes?

SPEAKER_01 8:59

Oh gosh. Um messy and it's always a work in progress. Um, something that you touched on too is that we're constantly retraining our brains. Um, your brain obviously looks for evidence, and the only thing it has to go off of for evidence is the past. So although you're constantly having new experiences, your brain is constantly searching for when have I experienced something like this or what's something familiar. So, you know, you go through what should be a happy time and your brain automatically correlates it to something that you experienced in the past. So something even as exciting as welcoming my daughter. It makes me think about maybe welcoming my son. And then it's, you know, it goes back to, you know, just maybe a less happy time. Right. Um, but that happens constantly. So I think it it comes in waves, healing does, but it's it's definitely a constant journey. Right. Um, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 10:02

Yeah. I'm listening to a book on uh Audible. I can't think of the name of it right now. I can share it with you after this. But I was listening on the plane and he was saying how our brain is trained to think a certain way. And if you if something triggers that thought, your body doesn't know the difference. So whatever emotion or feeling you had in that moment, no matter how long ago it was, it experiences it all over again. So he's talking about how you can retrain your brain so that you don't revisit those moments.

SPEAKER_01 10:36

Right, right. That was like I think too, one thing that's important is when you experiencing when you experience that is just to take a step back for a second, witness it, understand what your body's trying to do because your brain's trying to protect you is all it is. And so just witnessing it and understanding that, hey, it's a different point in life, it's a different time in life, and just letting it go.

SPEAKER_02 11:00

Right. You know, both of us, you and I talked about this, we both understand what it means to inherit some painful cycles. So, what's one cycle you are most proud to have broken?

SPEAKER_01 11:14

Okay, so I am so happy, and I have to remind myself of this daily. I am so excited that my daughter feels so safe to take up so much space. Yeah. She is two and a half and she is so loud, and her personality is just it fills up a room.

SPEAKER_02 11:32

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 11:33

And so I have to remind myself what a blessing that is, that she feels so safe to be able to express the way she feels, and just her personality is just incredible for two and a half. Um, but beyond that, I'm very proud that I can show both of my kids what it's like to have a loving home and a strong mother and father together. A an amazing example of what a man in a marriage should be. Um, and have that for my son to look up to is incredible because on, you know, both sides, there there was definitely some unhealthy upbringing. Um, and so it's just it's incredible to be able to give my son that gift now. My husband is an amazing human being. Um, so yeah.

SPEAKER_02 12:27

Well, kudos to you for breaking that cycle and being that example for both of your children. It's gonna go a long way. I too, and my family was the first on my mom's side, the first to break that cycle of marriage. I married young, we're still married, it'll be 36 years and still like each other and still make each other laugh and we make other people laugh. They keep saying we need a reality show. But when my youngest son was like seven, he was sitting in front of the TV watching Real Housewives of something. And I didn't even know it was on because I at the time wasn't really following those. And all of a sudden, I was in the kitchen and he turned around and he was crying. And he said, How am I supposed to find a wife if all the women are crazy? And I said, Jalen, what's wrong? He said, How did my dad find you? And that was his personality. He's always focused on marriage at a young age, because that's what he's witnessed. And he is 22 and he's in this long-term relationship. I would be surprised if they don't end up married. He is a relationship guy. So to the point you made, those cycles matter, and our kids are watching. Yes. And it impacts their decision making too.

SPEAKER_01 13:48

Yeah, and I think more than you know, teaching your kids or telling your kids what to do or how to do it, they're watching you all the time. So, you know, choices in life, brave ones, scary ones, yes, ones that should be easy, but they're not, but they're the right things to do. It's how you lead by example.

SPEAKER_02 14:07

It is, it is. So, what inspired you? Let's talk about your motherhood and entrepreneurship bucket. What inspired you to build a business focused on supporting women and entrepreneurship and mothers specifically?

SPEAKER_01 14:21

So prior to having my daughter, um, I had, and this was even prior to COVID, I had started working as an executive assistant virtually and an online business, business manager. Um, and I would build the systems for six and seven figure entrepreneurs, their back ends, you know, all of the things. And after I had my daughter, I was like, it's fine. I work from home, it's cool. I don't expect a hiccup or anything in business. And with my son, I was in corporate. And so my grandmother watched him and I was able to just go to work. Right. So working from home with my daughter was a brand new experience, one that I highly underestimated. And at every stage of motherhood, just when you think you have it figured out, they surprise you. Right. So I quickly realized that I either needed to give up my business, that I had worked so hard and, you know, had learned so many things in the industry, or I needed to shift and pivot. And so that's exactly what I did. Instead of, you know, building the back-end systems for my clients, I'm like, you know what? The back-end systems that I understand, if moms could implement these in their service-based business, they would experience a level of freedom that they never knew existed. And so I think that that's well, I know that's where my passion for that came from, is because a lot of, you know, you think social media managers, photographers, hairstylists, I mean, this could apply to almost any industry, um, generating that extra level of passive income or, you know, automating some of their back-end processes. Um, yeah, that's really where the passion came from.

SPEAKER_02 16:07

That's amazing. And now with AI, that's a whole nother layer that could be added to that to make it even more helpful for moms. So, why do you think so many women feel guilt then when pursuing their own dreams, especially mothers?

SPEAKER_01 16:22

So I think I think all women feel this. Um, most women, but especially mothers, we are so giving and we are so used to putting ourselves last, um, whether it's feeding our kids or, you know, who gets to relax and rest and play. Um, and so I think that there's an internal struggle for moms, especially of, okay, well, I need to sacrifice this so that my family feels supported or so that my kids feel supported. Because I think that moms are the first ones to, you know, go without and sacrifice.

SPEAKER_02 16:56

Right. And you're right. All women, we all do that. Put ourselves last. So you help women system master business. What are some signs a woman may be building her business from burnout instead of alignment?

SPEAKER_01 17:10

Hands down, it's overwhelm. And I think that hoverwhelm is such a it's an easy fallback. Um, we're all overwhelmed. But it from a business standpoint, hands down, there's something in your business that is overwhelming you. And it doesn't mean that it has to stop or that you have to step away from it completely. There's definitely an alternative, but it's a matter of finding out where that drain is coming from. Um, but yeah, it definitely shows up as overwhelming.

SPEAKER_02 17:42

Overwhelm. Yeah. When you say that, like when I was I was dabbling around in entrepreneurship and I got so overwhelmed, because I was like, which direction do I want to focus on? Yeah, I can see that being true. Yeah. So how do you personally define success now versus earlier in your life?

SPEAKER_01 18:03

So booked out was always the goal, especially in you know, the service industry. Um, but at some point you can only scale so high, especially if you're by yourself. And hiring out isn't always feasible. It's not it's not always feasible and it's not always the answer. I mean, that creates another ex you know, overhead expense. Um, and so I used to think that being booked out was what success was. Okay. And now it's the amount of freedom and white space I can have in my calendar. Look at the difference. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 18:40

Being booked out earlier was how you defined it. And now it's the total opposite. How much white space do I have in my calendar? And I would assume one of the reasons that's important is so that you can have the space to create and tap into some creativity, but also for self-care.

SPEAKER_01 18:58

It's self-care, it's pouring into my family. It's opportunities like this that's serving not only my audience, but your audience in a different capacity. And if I was at home with one client all day, every day, or multiple clients all day, every day, I couldn't do things like that. It's we're reaching by doing business in a different way, you're able to help a broader audience. Right. And it might not even be your audience. Right.

SPEAKER_02 19:25

That is so true. So what does it mean? I heard you say this early about your daughter feeling safe. What does it mean to create a safe space for women?

SPEAKER_01 19:37

So I think all women have experienced this at one point that um, you know, sometimes we tend to think the worst of women, like we feel very judged or and that could be from an internal perspective because we're, you know, we're um we're not mirroring, projecting. Projecting. Yes, we're projecting that onto, you know, other women. Um and so for me, creating a safe space is come as you are. Right. Um, there's no judgment. There's we are all trying to scale, not only professionally, but personally, to this almost unattainable level that even if we reached it, it probably wouldn't be good enough. Right. And so I think just you know, I just want to, I just want to have a friendly environment, right? Like I just yeah, show up as your authentic self.

SPEAKER_02 20:34

Yeah. Let's take the mask off. Yeah, that's true. Yeah, that's a good that is a very good way of putting it. So, what would you say to the woman listening who feels stuck in survival mode right now?

SPEAKER_01 20:51

Okay, so the first thing you need to do is write all of it down or talk to yourself in the car or do something to get it out of your brain because it's not productive and it's blocking you in so many ways, and half of it's garbage, and most of it's not true. Right. And what is true, then reflect on it and then figure out what to do with it. It's almost like cleaning out the Tupperware cabinet. You know what I mean? Like you just have to take it all out, match the lids, find out, you know, what missing pieces are and throw it away.

SPEAKER_02 21:28

Throw it away.

SPEAKER_01 21:28

I actually did that recently. It felt so freeing. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. You're like, where did this come from? Exactly. And that's what happens in our happens in our life. So true.

SPEAKER_02 21:39

What a great analogy. Yeah. So if your younger self could see your life today, what do you think she would say?

SPEAKER_01 21:47

She would be so confused. Um, in in the best way, in the best way. Um, because it's funny, you tell God your plan and he laughs. Right. Um, and this Was not a linear path or journey. And I couldn't have even in a million years predicted that this is where I or we would be. And so yeah, she would be amazed, but she'd be like, what the heck? Like we're doing what? How would that happen?

SPEAKER_02 22:17

Yes. So a woman that is an entrepreneur, or maybe she's not, maybe she's wanting to be, thinking about being, or maybe she's not even an entrepreneur. She just wants to connect with you. What would connecting with you look like and what would you have to offer them?

SPEAKER_01 22:39

Okay, so they can either find me on Instagram at Lacey's Best Life or they can go to my website, richesamother.com. Um, on there, I have blogs that they can sift through everything from motherhood and home to systems and strategies, business. Um, but if they're experiencing overwhelm in their business, I do have a three-minute little quiz on there just to help them pinpoint where their leaks are happening in their business that's causing that overwhelm. Um, it gives them a score from one to 10 and helps them kind of pinpoint as well as gives them the next best steps on how they can fix it themselves or how we can work together deeper on it.

SPEAKER_02 23:23

Awesome. Awesome. So we're gonna shift to rapid fire around. I'm gonna ask you these questions, and whatever comes to mind, I want you to answer. Oh gosh. So the first one is one word that describes this season of your life, beautiful chaos, but I know that's too. But I love it. Beautiful chaos, which also signifies that life isn't perfect that doesn't take away from the beauty. Right. That's all it keeps it fun, interesting. Yeah, yeah. What's one thing motherhood made you stronger at? Slowing down, slowing down, love it, and what's one boundary you no longer apologize for? Saying no thank you. Yes, that's so true. Coffee, tea, or silence? Oh unsweet iced tea. Okay, and I like it sweet. What's something you used to pray for that now you have? Everything in this life. Wow. And finish this sentence.

SPEAKER_01 24:26

Being rich as a mother means being rich as a mother means not having to sacrifice motherhood for a livelihood.

SPEAKER_02 24:52

I love that. Not having to sacrifice motherhood for livelihood. Because guess what? Without the livelihood, your motherhood is suffering. That is powerful. Oh my god. So, Lacey, first I want to just say thank you for sharing. Like some of the stuff that you and I talked about to even get to this point to see what we could focus on gave me intel into some personal struggles you've had and you and I both have had. And we bonded on that when we first met. So I just want you to know that you are you are an example of rich as a mother, like what it looks like. The things you've overcome have made you who you are today, and you're a perfect example for it's so many women out there that feel stuck and that don't understand why they're choosing to stay in the situation they're in, and they're they want out, but they don't know how to get out, and they don't realize the key is within them.

SPEAKER_01 25:56

It is. Yeah. 1000%. Um, and that's another thing too, is no one can push you to make a decision in life. And I think that this goes for any not only traumatic experience, but just any experience in life. No one can make you do something. You have to have the courage and the confidence in yourself. And I know that that's the biggest hurdle to get over. But do the inner work. I mean, I think I started I started with podcasts and audible books. Right. Um, some really probably sketchy music. Um, but it just it boosted my confidence and it made me feel powerful on the inside. And whenever, once you make a powerful decision in life, no matter what it is, once you make a powerful decision in life, there's nothing else you can't overcome or do.

SPEAKER_02 26:54

That's so true. That is so true. Well, I love this conversation, and we can have it again in the future. This was amazing. Again, Lacey, thank you for your honesty, your vulnerability, and your strength today and all the way up into your life to this moment. Your story is such a reminder that healing is possible, cycles can be broken, and women do not have to choose between motherhood, purpose, peace, and success. I love that. And I appreciate the work you're doing through Rich as a Mother to create spaces where women feel supported and empowered and seen. So, to everyone listening, I hope this conversation reminded you that your past does not have to define your future. Healing takes intention, but legacy changes when someone decides. The cycle stops with them. So thank you for tuning in to Breakthrough Conversations with Roland Company, and we'll see you next time. Thanks for listening.

SPEAKER_00 27:55

Hey, what's your secret? You got the kind of that leads with speechless. It could be model multitasking, genius. Yeah, you got it off. Hey, what's your story? It can't get from the 40 under 40. It's our practice in your high heel glory. I do it off.