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Amy Leclerc's journey from the glossy world of New York fashion publishing to franchise co-owner of Sit Still, a revolutionary children's hair salon concept, is a masterclass in career reinvention and entrepreneurial vision.
"I joke that every year it was a different apartment, a different job, a different boyfriend," Amy laughs, painting a vivid picture of her early New York career—a real-life "Devil Wears Prada" experience that taught her invaluable lessons about taking big swings in business. When motherhood brought her back to the Pacific Northwest, she spotted untapped potential during her son's first haircut at a local children's salon called Sit Still. The experience was unlike the primary-colored, cartoon-filled environments typically aimed at children: "Unlike the doctor's office or daycare, it was so cool... there was a retail shop selling Moroccan oil, irreverent t-shirts, temporary tattoos." That moment of discovery planted the seed for her next entrepreneurial chapter.
Drawing from her experience scaling Bar 3 fitness studios from a small operation to over 150 locations nationwide, Amy approached Sit Still's founder with a vision for national expansion. She shares candid insights about what makes franchising work: "Franchising at its best should feel like paint by numbers." This means creating detailed playbooks covering everything from training protocols to bathroom amenities—all the elements that create a consistent brand experience while allowing for local market adaptation.
Perhaps most compelling is Amy's philosophy on reimagining success as a working mother. Describing herself as "unemployable," she's designed a career that allows her to "play around with the Legos that are my schedule" to be present during her children's pivotal moments. "When your kids embark on middle school, high school... that's the time to be present. That is when the stakes are higher." Her story proves that entrepreneurship can create the freedom to align business success with personal values—a powerful reminder that we can design careers that serve our lives rather than the other way around.
Ready to reimagine what success looks like on your own terms? Amy's journey will inspire you to take those big swings while staying true to what matters most.
Resources:
Sit Still Kids: https://sitstillkids.com/
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Download here: MOM BALANCE PLAYBOOK
Hire a VA or start your VA business here: https://camillewalker.co/
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How do women do it that handlemotherhood, family and still
chase after those dreams?
We'll listen each week as wedive into the stories of women
who know.
This is Call Me CEO.
Welcome back everyone to CallMe CEO.
(00:41):
This is your host, camilleWalker, and we celebrate women
doing incredible things,building businesses as mothers
and also changing the world andreimagining what it looks like
and what it means to be aworking mother.
And also today we're talkingabout how you can really design
and imagine what that means foryou.
(01:02):
And today I'm speaking with AmyLeclerc.
She is a co-owner in Sit Still,which is a special experience
for young children when they'regetting their haircut.
She walked into a small SitStill in Oregon and said this
needs to be everywhere.
So she's going to share with usher story, from going into
(01:24):
fashion in New York City towhere she is now in the Pacific
Northwest, and tell us what itlooks like to design her life
and why she considers herselfunemployable.
So, amy, thank you for being onthe show today.
Amy (01:41):
Absolutely.
Thank you for having me.
Camille (01:43):
Yeah, so introduce
yourself to our audience.
Tell us a little bit more aboutyou, your family and what got
you into the world of hair.
Amy (01:52):
Yes, I'm Amy Leclerc.
I'm a mom of two.
My son is 13.
My daughter is nine.
I'm married to my husbandDerivay.
We live in the PacificNorthwest and I guess the
(02:14):
highlight reel of my life, or myadult life, started in New York
, like you said, working inmedia advertising.
I was working for small nichefashion publications.
It was definitely a Devil wearsPrada, like experience.
Camille (02:25):
Crazy and I can't even
imagine.
Amy (02:28):
It was crazy and I loved
every second of it.
I really there is a saying I'mnot from here, but I was born
here.
That feels absolutely applicableto me in New York.
It's like the 21 years that Ilived not in New York were a
dress rehearsal for my baptismin an incredible city that is
(02:54):
still my favorite place onplanet Earth.
But yeah, spent 10 years therepretty high stakes, career,
environment, learned a ton and,in a very nonlinear way, found
myself back in the PacificNorthwest taking Bar 3 classes,
bar 3 being a boutique fitnessbar based concept that was brand
(03:18):
new at the time and convincingthe founders of Bar 3 to let me
be a part of their growthprogram.
At the time they wereconsidering do we open more
corporate locations?
Are we going to franchise?
I knew nothing aboutfranchising but learned really
quick and we collectively endedup opening, over the course of
(03:39):
close to 10 years, their 150plus studios across the country.
Camille (03:45):
Amazing.
Amy (03:45):
I opened my own location in
the West Village of New York,
which was just such a careerhighlight Still, something I
look back on so fondly.
I had both my kids on the barthree watch and thought I'd work
there forever.
I really thought I would workthere forever.
(04:05):
It was my dream job, I mean.
It could go on and on.
So it was very unexpected thatI found myself considering a
move.
But I had two small kids andwas taking them to a little
kid's hair salon in a suburb ofPortland called Sit Still and
(04:28):
while I was there I just lookedaround and felt this experience
and thought whoever is doingthis should franchise it, and I
mean, long story short, whoeverthat was is my now business
partner.
We went and had coffee.
She said I have been wanting togrow for years.
I've been approached byinvestors, people who want to
(04:49):
help me license it, open more.
I don't know what to do.
And with that I brought twowomen from Bar 3 with me.
We left and have been activelyfranchising kids' hair salons
since 2019.
That's amazing.
Camille (05:07):
So how did you end up
going from New York to Oregon?
What was it that took you outof the city that you love so
much?
Amy (05:14):
Yeah, I joke that every
year it was a different
apartment, a different job, adifferent boyfriend.
I mean it really was like mylife was moving that fast and
around the time I was turning 30, I had been with my now husband
a couple of years.
He's from a very small town inthe South of France, he's kind
(05:36):
of a country boy.
I was always like, what are youeven doing in New York?
He'd go surfing out on LongIsland on the weekends.
We were always kind of escapingthe city for nature, which felt
really intuitive to me.
I grew up in beautiful Portlandand so it was just kind of a
(05:57):
hunch that we needed a change.
We got to the age that it waslike are we going to ever afford
to own an apartment here?
Like just kind of the biggerlife questions had us looking at
something a little bit morelifestyle oriented.
It was a big move, it was ahuge leap, but I mean,
(06:18):
ultimately it was the rightdecision.
Camille (06:21):
So you had your two
children before you moved to
Oregon.
Amy (06:25):
No, we had our kids in
Portland.
Yeah, oh, you did.
Yeah, we moved to Portland in2008, 2009.
And I had my son in 2012 and mydaughter in 2015.
(06:45):
So, landed in Portland, took abar three class and was like I'm
home, gotcha.
Camille (06:50):
Okay, so you are still
building bar three as a mom
going back and back back fromliterally coast to coast.
Yeah, how did you manage that,that's a lot.
Amy (07:02):
I mean I look back and it's
like really interesting Cause I
think there's just certainseasons of life where your
tolerance for certain things isjust your energy Totally.
Yeah, like I would.
I mean I go to New York forthree days and I'm so ready to
get home it's like I need to gothere and get my fix, but it's a
grind.
Yeah, I mean I was on a planemy entire pregnancy with my
(07:24):
daughter.
We were getting, we opened barthree and you know I had her a
few months later.
So TSA by the end likerecognized me waddling through,
getting on my airplane and Ithink you know it's.
It was just a knowing that thisis a moment in time and it's a
(07:45):
huge investment for me,financially, emotionally.
It was an opportunity for me togo back to New York and
leverage all those relationshipsthat I had and sort of have a
home there.
That just felt really resonantand like the right thing to do
at that time.
I don't think I'd do it againin this moment.
(08:10):
You know I'm not like chompingat the bit to own my own sit
still in New York.
I just I don't think it's thatseason for me at this point.
Somebody else should be owningManhattan.
Camille (08:23):
One thing that I would
love to ask you, with your
success in so many differentfields, is what gives you the
gumption?
I mean, obviously you'reamazing at sales because you
convinced two business owners tobe like, yeah, come on this
ride, which is incredible.
What are some skills, or howdid you build those skills for
(08:44):
sales?
I know that, gosh.
I talked to so many women whoare really hesitant to share
their service or their product.
They know it's good, they knowit helps people, but they can
sometimes shrink into themselvesand not be bold with it.
What would be some advice thatyou would give to them?
Amy (09:01):
I understand that and I see
that in my world a lot this
idea just some trepidation orfear around, kind of putting
yourself out there.
I do think I like hit planetearth with just a certain
ability to get people excitedabout things.
That said, I think it's reallyimportant to align yourself
(09:24):
whatever it is you're selling,to have a real authentic
connection to it.
Like I couldn't just go outthere and be great at sales like
period, I found things thatI've loved that inspire me, that
just get me so jazzed to bringto people around me, just get me
(09:48):
so jazzed to bring to peoplearound me, and I think it's.
It's not.
The question isn't like how doI get better at sales?
The question is, what gets meexcited?
So it doesn't feel like sales,I like it and I would.
Camille (09:59):
I would say taking it a
step further, because most of
the people I talk to they'relike I love this, I'm passionate
about it and I still it's moreof like an internal battle, you
know, even if they love thething, and maybe that's that
piece, that you're like I wasborn with it guys.
Amy (10:16):
I mean there is a little
bit of that and I was put you
know as a very young woman.
In my career in New York I wasput in some pretty high stakes
environments.
Without knowing it, I wasworking for a fashion
(10:36):
publication, a brand newdowntown indie fashion
publication, and my boss threwme a list of people to call and
I'm scheduling meetings withRalph Lauren's like media.
I was like 22.
I mean, I think part of it wasjust that like baptism by fire
(11:00):
that I had at such a young ageand you sort of feel the success
, you know when, like, some ofthose meetings were really
fruitful.
So it was like, oh, this, thisworks.
I mean there is some impostersyndrome, for sure, of like who
am I, little Amy from Oregon,you know, in Ralph Lauren's
(11:21):
office, like what am I evendoing here?
But just exposure therapy.
You go to enough of them andyou're like we're all kind of
playing the part.
Camille (11:32):
Yeah, I like that
because it is that's so true
that we're all just kind oftaking on a role and if you put
yourself in the place to bethere, that's when the
opportunities come, becauseotherwise, what it's not going
to if you don't put yourself outthere.
I love, I love that adviceplaying the role, because we all
(11:52):
are.
That's incredible.
Amy (11:54):
Nobody is, like, more
authentic than you.
Like.
It's just I think we do,specifically women, tell
ourselves these stories to staysmall.
We don't deserve.
Who am I to?
Oh, you know I don't want toannoy anybody and that's not
helpful.
It's really natural but it'snot helpful and I just believe
(12:20):
in taking big swings.
You know I've been really luckybut, yeah, kind of put yourself
and they haven't all beenwinners.
You know I've had like failuresand you learn from those.
You often learn from those morethan you do the things that are
working, cause you're notreally critically thinking about
the things that are working asmuch as like Whoa, that was a
(12:41):
disaster.
What did I do wrong?
I never want to do that again.
Camille (12:45):
Do you have an example
of one that you would be willing
to share with us 18 years,something like that, no, 15
years.
Amy (13:05):
I have invested in other
franchise concepts.
I love new brands that come tomarket that are sort of
representative of where theculture might be at that moment.
And I made an investment inanother franchise a couple of
years ago with a businesspartner and the signs early on
that the alignment wasn't therewere there and I did not listen
(13:31):
to them.
I found myself saying yes tothe things that in my heart I
knew were the wrong decision andit ended exactly as, looking
back, it was designed to end.
We're no longer businesspartners and I'm no longer
involved in that business, andthat's okay.
(13:54):
That's part of playing the game,that's part of just putting
yourself out there.
But I think, having not hadthat experience, I would
continue to be bullish aboutjust investing and inserting
myself in any concept that seemsexciting and relevant.
Where now I've had moreopportunities come to me to get
(14:17):
involved and I'm just a littleless willing to say yes without
really doing the internal deepdive around.
You know, are we aligned?
And in most cases I've had alot of business partners you
know, sadie and Chris Lincoln,from my bar three days to my sit
, still partners.
(14:37):
Like usually, it works out, butwhen it doesn't, you have to
own why.
Camille (14:46):
That's good insight.
I think that that does comewith experience, like you said,
where there are times that it itcan be shiny and new and
exciting and you want to say yes, but to be very selective.
My husband is in the financeworld, cpa, very conservative,
and I can get really excitedabout things.
I'm a big, big idea kind of galand and he said, the only ship
(15:11):
that is for sure to sink is apartnership.
You know, like he'll say, but Ithink that you know I've done
hundreds of these interviews nowand there are partnerships that
work really well and it doesn'tmean that a partnership is
going to last into eternity.
Seasons change, people move onand that is fine.
(15:32):
But can you tell me, as you'vebuilt this franchise, what has
been some really key indicatorsor questions or things that
you've set up so that yourpartnerships have been
successful as you've grown thishuge franchise of sit still?
Amy (15:52):
Yeah, I mean, given that
there are four partners that own
the parent company, I alwaysthink of that as sort of the
mirror to the franchise.
Right, your franchisees andfranchise businesses are really
a reflection of what's happeningat home at the franchisor level
(16:12):
, and why my relationship andpartnership with my partners
works is that there is absolutemutual trust and respect of each
other and, even more so, thereis such commitment to the brand
(16:35):
in the business that transcendsus as individuals.
It's not about Amy or my otherpartners.
It's about sit still and whatsit still needs, and as it still
grows and evolves, those needschange and how we collectively
and individually participate inthat evolution has absolutely
(16:58):
changed.
We've already had big changesin six years with the four of us
, and they were the rightchanges to adapt to where the
business is.
And so when I talk to potentialfranchisees, a lot of them ask
about partnerships.
You can imagine most of thesefranchisees are moms.
(17:19):
Right, there are women who areexcited about bringing a new,
cool concept for kids to theircommunity.
That all checks.
It's super resonant to a mom ofyoung kids, but the idea of
owning a business on her own canbe super overwhelming.
It's like maybe she has anotherjob, maybe she's got littles at
(17:41):
home that just require a lot ofher.
So the idea of sort of sharingthe work can be really
attractive.
But what I coach our franchiseeson is the idea akin to what
your husband said, which is likefranchising with a partner is
just higher risk, potential,higher reward from the
(18:04):
perspective of there's two ofyou and you can probably do more
together at its best.
You're opening multiplelocations and you can do that
faster and with more resources,et cetera, but it is a marriage
resources, et cetera but it is amarriage and if you're treating
it with respect and trust, youreally have to go to how does
(18:37):
this end, have that conversationand then work back to how do we
work together to ultimately,you know, not have it end, but
be very realistic about the factthat oftentimes they do and it
doesn't have to be a bad thing.
Camille (18:49):
Yeah, I like that
approach.
I like that with thinking of theend in mind, of if and when you
were to sell, what would thatlook like when you're still
emotionally removed from thework and the years that go into
it, because it is like birthinga child, like anyone knows
that's built a business that youinvest so much of yourself in
(19:11):
it.
So if you can in the beginningkind of have an idea of, like
what would that look like, thenpossibly it doesn't make it so
painful when it is time to turnthe page.
Yeah, exactly, I would love tohear more about how sit still is
different.
I want to hear about yourexperience walking in like paint
that picture for us.
(19:32):
And then also I would love tohear about the process of
building a franchise, becausehow do you do that and what how
of building a franchise.
Because how do you do that andwhat was that like for you and
what did you learn?
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Amy (20:34):
My first time walking into
Sit Still with my son.
He was probably two at the time.
It was his first haircut and Ihad gone to Facebook because
this was like the Facebook erathat all my friends, what blaze
needs is haircut.
Where am I taking him?
And it was like all friendsfrom sort of like all corners of
(20:55):
the city with kids alldifferent ages sit still, sit
still, sit still.
You've got to drive to thesuburbs but it's worth it.
Go to sit still.
So I had some expectations.
I was like this place has somecachet and walked in and was
like whoa, unlike the doctor'soffice or the dentist or, quite
(21:18):
frankly, daycare or preschoolthat are so primary colors,
cartoons, balloons, it's likethis is cool.
There was a retail shop at thevery front of the store.
It was selling Moroccan oil,irreverent t-shirts, trucker
(21:38):
hats, like temporary tattoos,like cool.
I was like what is this?
And then blaze had his haircut,sitting in a little New York
city cab like a little car chair.
The intake was incredible.
What are your goals for blaze?
Are we cutting this?
Camille (21:57):
mullet off Like true
question Cause mullets are in
right now, so you never know.
Amy (22:04):
Oh, they've never left
Portland, that you know.
They will always have a placein Portland.
Um, and you know, cut a locketof his hair, put it in a little
baggie with a Polaroid photo 150bucks.
I bought Moroccan oil, a babygift, his haircut, and I just I
(22:25):
just thought, gosh, everyingredient for a franchise is
here and I do feel like I've gota nose for business, just in
terms of like.
What are the brands andexperiences that are pushing the
envelope around expectations?
(22:46):
This idea of surprising anddelighting client service, like
we're just so kind and attentiveand attuned and personalized
the experience and that wassomething we really prided our
ourselves at bar three on.
This is not a one size fits all.
You're going to have a clientbase that spans ages, abilities,
(23:09):
all the things, and how do you,in a group environment, create
what feels like a personalizedexperience?
It is a much harder way tobuild and scale a business, but
if you do it right, that's yourstaying power.
And so I just saw thesesimilarities with just the wow
(23:29):
factor and I just couldn't.
I couldn't get it out of myhead.
Camille (23:34):
So how long from the
time that you went in for the
first time to approaching theowner?
That you went in for the firsttime to approaching the owner?
What, what was that timeline?
Amy (23:41):
That was another five years
.
It was another five years I hadmy daughter.
She had her first haircut thereand I got a phone call from a
friend who said I have someoneI'd like you to meet.
She owns a kid's hair salon.
She thinks she wants tofranchise it.
I was like is it sit still?
(24:02):
So I'm taking that meeting.
Camille (24:07):
Okay.
So you kind of put it out intothe universe like this has so
much potential, and then sheended up coming to you.
That's really interesting.
Amy (24:15):
She ended up.
You know small town and that'sjust the way things work.
But I do remember I will alwaysremember this is the story I
continue to tell when I met Newand we had this meeting and it
was like there is something here.
I remember going out to dinnerwith my husband, who is like
your husband I mean, hervé hasbeen employed by the same
(24:38):
company since he was an internin New York, 21 years old Wow,
so he's not the risk takerfamily.
But I remember him saying youneed to do something with that
kid's hair salon.
He had gone, he'd been to a fewof the kids' appointments and
(24:58):
just his ability.
I was like if Hervé sees this,I need to really be paying
attention.
And then from there, there wasa sense of ease with meeting new
, thinking of some operationalwomen on my Bar 3 team that I
would bring out, present this to, and I mean it was a huge leap.
(25:20):
It was a huge, huge leap.
But as we were all moms ofyoung kids at that time, it was
so obvious to us One, she'sdoing something really special
and two, there's just nobodyelse out there doing this,
unlike fitness, which was socompetitive, and there's yoga
(25:41):
and Pilates and spin and fivebar concepts and it just was so
white hot, it's like kid's hair.
It's not trendy, but there's away to reimagine the experience
the way new did and bring thatto market across the country.
Camille (25:57):
I would love to hear,
if someone were considering a
franchise, what are some firststeps that they would take to do
that.
Amy (26:06):
In terms of considering
buying a franchise or
franchising their own business.
Let's do both.
Camille (26:13):
So the first initial
question is like how, where did
you start with starting creatingyour own franchise?
And then also, how wouldsomeone maybe be a part of this
one if they wanted to?
Amy (26:23):
Yeah, so I.
What is what is just vital forany brand that wants to
franchise their business orreally grow it in any fashion is
understanding what yourplaybook is.
Understanding what's yourplaybook.
How would you take thisbusiness right here and
(26:44):
replicate it over here?
What would that take?
And in most cases, it takesreally an audit of the whole
thing.
How'd you build this?
How do you train people?
What's the client experience?
What soap do you have in thebathroom?
Those decisions matter.
I'm really a stickler forbathroom amenities.
(27:06):
I think they absolutely.
Really.
The proof is in the pudding.
You know it's like if you're areally elevated brand, you need
to have great soap in thebathroom.
Those decisions matter.
They should all be documentedand live in a playbook that you
could hand to Sally over hereand then Sally's job is to
(27:30):
execute.
So you're providing all thetools and if she's the right
person, she's executing themflawlessly.
But it's really that audit.
It's creating resources, it'smaking it really simple.
Franchising in the best wayshould feel like paint by
numbers and if you can createthat visual and it's like this
(27:56):
is here and this is here andthis and then this, and have
that live somewhere that'sreally easy to understand and
digestible.
You've got a good franchise.
Camille (28:07):
I like that because it
is so much about the culture too
.
As far as building out orfinding franchisees, what I know
that that's a big piece of whatyou're doing.
How do you recruit people for?
Amy (28:19):
that Thus far it's been
100% inside out.
It has been local people whohave experienced the brand oh,
you're growing, oh, I could ownone of these, and it sort of has
like ballooned in the PacificNorthwest that way.
And our bar three community wasa really big launch pad for us
(28:47):
in the beginning.
When we left bar three andannounced we were getting into
the kids hair game, there were alot of bar three clients,
instructors, owners who werelike oh interesting, and you can
imagine there's a lot ofentrepreneurial women out there
who are interested in building aportfolio.
We have a lot of franchiseeswho own other franchises in the
(29:10):
boutique fitness space.
This is a great compliment tothat.
So really it's been organic.
We do spend money on Instagramads, google search, but really
are finding people from theinside out.
My leads that come to me areone out of two.
(29:31):
I just went to your salon ininsert market.
We need one of these in mysister's community.
Or we're moving or I live threetowns over.
That sort of kind of reallydirect experience with the brand
.
Camille (29:51):
That's really cool and,
as far I know, every franchise
is different, but there is aninitial investment for the
person who's wanting to do that.
What would someone expect toneed to invest, and do you I?
Those are questions that I'mlike I don't know.
Can you share that?
Is that something that you cankind of share what that looks
like?
Amy (30:10):
Yeah, I tell people in most
markets you need to plan on
investing in your first salon$250,000 to $300,000.
That is your upfront franchisefee to shampoo on the shelves
the day you open.
All inclusive.
(30:30):
Most people take out some sortof business loan borrow against
a retirement account, 401k,personally finance I've really
seen it all.
But in terms of building aretail space, that's pretty
affordable and sets you up for areally fast ROI.
(30:52):
Our franchise term is 10 years,so you've got 10 years to
recoup that initial investmentand ideally, you know, exit many
, many times.
Camille (31:05):
That's cool.
So would you say on average?
I know it has to deal with likethe market and where they are
and how successful they are withtheir own marketing.
But is there an ideal that yousay you want to try to cut, even
by this year, like year threeor year four?
Amy (31:23):
In broader terms, if you
are on the others, this isn't
necessarily specific to sitstill, but like just in general.
In general, yeah, on the otherside of that initial investment
between years two and five, somepeople just hit it out of the
park.
Some people, especially in youknow, like a membership model
(31:46):
business that's not sit stillofficially, although we have
clients that have hair, it grows, needs to be cut, rinse, repeat
, so that's helpful.
But if you start really strong,your trajectory is fast.
It's not the case for everybodybut yeah, there's absolutely no
(32:07):
world in which you shouldn't be.
The back half of your franchiseterm shouldn't just feel like
profitability.
Camille (32:15):
That's awesome.
I love hearing about thatbecause I'm always curious about
new franchises that open up andI think I wonder what that
looks like, what people wouldexpect, and with most businesses
, it's year two through fivethat you're finally getting to a
place of turning the profit andmaking it on the other end of
(32:35):
things.
So that's really cool on theother end of things.
So that's really cool and Ilove.
I want to hear more about yourpersonal vision, about
re-imagining what success canlook like for you as a woman,
mother, business owner, and whyyou consider yourself unhirable.
Amy (32:53):
Yeah, I do consider myself
unemployable from the
perspective of I love working.
I'm really impassioned aroundwhat I do, but it really is on
my own terms.
I've been able to cultivate andcreate a work-life balance that
(33:14):
I think is just super unique towhere the culture is in time
and space that supports myvalues as a mom, wife, member of
my community, while also reallybeing a big driver of our
business.
And that does not mean a nineto five traditional work
(33:39):
structure.
I really got a taste of that inNew York where it was like sink
or swim, we don't care whereyou are, go make it happen.
And I was able to do that, andso I've sort of carried those
ethos with me throughout mycareer, which is just empower
people to be the best versionsof themselves.
(34:02):
That looks different for everysingle individual.
Some people really needstructure, other people need to
be cut loose and everything inbetween, and I think smart
people within business andbeyond recognize what makes
people tick and can adapt tosupporting them to thrive.
(34:25):
And so, yeah, I mean for me itjust the idea of re-imagining is
really tied to a lot ofintrospection around where am I
right now in my career?
Where am I right now with mykids.
I heard something years ago thatwas resonant for me.
(34:46):
That was something along thelines of you know, when your
kids are little not babies, butlittle, you know, toddlers, the
three to five to even 10, a lotof people can kind of do the
things you know.
A lot of people can get themfrom A to B.
There's a lot of people who cankind of support you in that
(35:09):
moment of being a mom.
But when your kids embark onmiddle school, high school, this
idea of actually being a sturdypillar who has eyes and is
really attuned to what's goingon with your kid emotionally,
that's the time to be present,that is when the stakes are
higher.
(35:30):
That resonates with me big time.
I don't think there's somebodyelse who can think there's
somebody else who can replacewho I am to my kids at this
inflection point in their lives,the way when they were four
yeah, somebody else can take youto the playground like box
checked it just feels different.
And so I feel really gratefulthat I'm in a place where I can
(35:53):
sort of play around with theLegos that are my schedule, that
allow me to be there when Ithink my kids need me the most
and I just encourage everybodyto think what does that look
like for you?
And then work back from that,because there is a lot of
freedom out there if you know toask for it.
Camille (36:16):
I love that.
I love how you talked aboutmoving around your schedule like
Legos.
I so relate to that, becausethere are Legos on every floor
of my house.
And I mean level, not every room, but we have Legos on all three
floors of our house and I lovethat you talk about that.
That is the time that you wantto be.
One term that I really lovethat I've heard and I think
(36:39):
about it is you want to be atthe crossroads of your child's
day and if you can be there whenthey get home from school, when
they're leaving for school,when they're coming home from a
friend's house, when they'regetting back from the dance or
getting ready for the dance orwhatever it is, it's those
crossroads that gosh, it's aluxury.
Not everyone can do it, but itis so wonderful to be able to be
(37:03):
there, and a lot of times withteenagers, they want to chat you
up late at night.
I thought I would get so muchmore sleep with not having
babies anymore.
It's not true.
That's when they get a lot ofenergy and they want to chat for
hours, which is great, but it'sreally.
It is so interesting to go intothat phase of motherhood and I
(37:24):
really love what you shared andthis is kind of taking a little
spin on the story that you justshared, but can you tell our
audience that story of what thatman said to you about being at
the movies?
I love that.
That had such an effect on youas well.
Amy (37:38):
Said to you about being at
the movies.
I love that that had such aneffect on you as well.
Yeah, one of my first bossesthis is probably my second like
sale magazine sales job in NewYork he was actually a young dad
which was like kind of crazyCause I didn't know many young
parents when I was young in NewYork, but he was a young dad and
super cool and he was likelisten, I don't care if you and
(37:58):
your sales team are at themovies all day, as long as you
guys are selling your ads andmeeting your quota, I don't care
, I'm not going to ask questions.
And that Liberty that like oh myGod, I could be at the movies
all day, which I never did Umactually like fueled me to do a
(38:18):
better job and to just be like Ican make this however I want.
And it really was a very, veryimpactful empowerment of like
you know what, like here's along leash, go make it happen.
And that really has followed mewhether I've just kind of
called that in energeticallylike you just can't go back from
(38:41):
that.
That level of freedom, thatlevel of somebody believing in
you so much that they are notgoing to micromanage you, has
really played a huge part in howI've built my businesses in how
I've built my businesses.
Camille (38:58):
Yeah, I think that's
pretty cool.
I would imagine that that'ssimilar to how you approach your
franchisees, too, where you'relike, hey, here's the roadmap,
I'm here to support you and gomake it your own, like I think
that's really, really empowering.
Amy (39:12):
Yeah yeah, it's exactly
that, exactly as you described
it.
Camille (39:16):
Well, that is so cool.
Well, I have loved your story.
It is so gosh.
There are so many differentthings that you've learned along
the way, and I'm reallygrateful that you have shared
your journey.
I think it's really empoweringto reimagine and, even though
you were in one field, you wentto a new one, and even though
you had trusted partners and youwere loving what you were doing
(39:37):
, you were still able to say, oh, but I think it's time to pivot
.
I think that sometimes we getcaught up in the idea that to
move on from something, it hasto be tragic or it has to be
something that is painful, or wegot pushed out or we had to,
but to go more with ourinstincts which I think you are
exceptional at and to think,yeah, this, I'm in a different
(40:00):
phase and I'm ready to move on,and I think that the idea of
that is so beautiful.
So thank you for sharing yourstory with us.
Amy (40:08):
Oh, happy to thank you for
the opportunity.
You're so lovely.
Camille (40:12):
Oh, thanks.
Well, I would love to ask youthe two questions I ask all of
our guests.
Which is, what are you reading,watching or listening to, and
also a motherhood moment youwould like to share?
Amy (40:25):
I am reading Let them by
Mel Robbins.
I'm watching White Lotus likeeveryone else.
I think I'm just going to saymy proudest motherhood moment,
which happened pretty recently,was with my 13 year old son.
We were at our local grocerystore.
We're checking out and thewoman who's checking us out is
(40:49):
sharing with us that she's comeon, fallen on hard times.
It's gotten really expensive.
She has to move in with her son.
She's really sharing with usand my son had bought two Amazon
gift cards there for birthdayparties that he was going to and
we got outside and we reallydidn't even have to say anything
to each other.
(41:09):
He just grabbed the gift cardsand went back inside and gave
them to her.
Camille (41:17):
And I kept chills
everywhere.
Amy (41:19):
Yeah, do that, do that,
like that.
I I just I don't.
You know, I'm not big on greatwhat my kids grades are, or you
know, are they learning violin?
But like, if you can have thatlevel of empathy, I just think
that's what is what makes theworld go round.
(41:39):
So I mean he can totally be ashithead to make Right, right,
right.
Camille (41:45):
He's a teenager, we
know teenager.
Amy (41:47):
But that he has the
capacity to, just, you know, do
what.
What we both knew in our heartswas like the obvious thing to
do in that moment just feltreally great.
Camille (41:59):
Way to go.
Mom, that's.
That's a reflection of you.
That is really cool.
Oh, that is the best.
I mean, if your kids get caughtbeing kind, that is the best
feeling where you think that'swhat it's all about.
It's about loving other peopleand having that compassion.
That's incredible.
Oh, I love that for you.
That's about loving otherpeople and having that
compassion.
That's incredible.
Oh, I love that for you.
(42:20):
That's so great.
Well, this has been absolutelyamazing.
Please tell our audience wherethey can find you, connect with
you, maybe open one of their ownsit stills.
There's got to be someonelistening who's like this, is it
?
Amy (42:34):
I hope so.
Can't wait to talk to you.
I hope so.
Can't wait to talk to you.
Sitstillkidscom.
Sitstillkids.
On Instagram and I'm AmyLeclerc.
You can Google me and find 30ways to chat with me.
I'm kind of all over the place,but yeah, I would love to talk
to somebody from your audience.
If somebody's tuning in andlistening to this, I already
(42:56):
know I'm going to like them.
Somebody is tuning in andlistening to this.
Camille (42:59):
I already know I'm
going to like them Very cool.
Oh well, I like you and all ofyou listening.
Thank you so much for beinghere.
Anytime you share this content,this episode, it helps us so
much to inspire other women andshow them what's possible.
So thank you for being here.
I hope you have a lovely day.
We'll see you next time.
Hey CEOs, thank you so much forspending your time with me.
(43:20):
If you found this episodeinspiring or helpful, please let
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