June 23, 2024 • 18 mins
Taking intentional breaks saved our marriage and our business.
Jessica and Alex share the behind-the-scenes challenges of being an entrepreneurial couple, working long hours, and realizing the toll it was taking on their health, happiness, and relationship. Through a vulnerable story of overworking and finally taking a honeymoon cruise, they reveal how stepping away from the business allowed them to reset, recharge, and realign their priorities—together.
With practical insights on planning ahead, building a dependable team, and setting boundaries between work and home, they offer a heartfelt reminder that sustainable success includes rest. Let this be your permission to unplug and enjoy the life you're working so hard to build.
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Alex & Jessica Fortis
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Alex (00:09):
Welcome to Married to the Hustle, the podcast where love,
faith and business come together.
Jessica (00:14):
I'm Jessica, and with me is my partner in life and
business, alex.
Together, we're diving into thewild world of entrepreneurial
couples.
Alex (00:22):
Each week, we'll bring you real stories, hilarious moments
and valuable insights fromcouples who are building
businesses and rocking theirrelationships.
Talk about living the dream.
Jessica (00:33):
Or surviving the nightmare.
Alex (00:35):
So buckle up and get ready for a fun ride with Married to
the Hustle.
Hey guys, welcome back.
Today we have an awesome topicthat we're going to be speaking
about.
You know, working hard, playinghard, the importance of taking
(00:55):
breaks and having a little fun,avoiding the burnout in our
everyday lives.
Jessica (00:59):
And you know, today we're going to be sharing some
challenging moments that we'vehad, because the reality is that
business is not all pretty andpink and it's not.
Entrepreneurship is not whatit's all hyped to be.
But, most importantly, we wantto go ahead and share with you
guys some of the things thatwe've done, also in order to not
experience some of thesechallenges again.
(01:21):
So I'm going to take you guysback to a quick story.
A couple of years ago, westarted to grow significantly,
not only in the business, butalso in my coaching business,
and we were working lots ofhours, lots of hours, not just
myself, but also Alex, and it'sa different type of work, right,
when it comes to coaching andconsulting, it takes a lot of
(01:44):
your brain work, you're mentallydrained, you have no energy to
give anything else and when itcomes to the labor work, alex
does more physical work.
It was really taking a toll onhis body, but the job needed to
get done.
We got engaged one Christmas acouple of years ago and we knew
(02:06):
that the following year we weregoing to start planning a
wedding and even though it wassomething super small, just
close family.
One of the things that I saidto Alex was like oh great, we
get to book our honeymoonbecause we have not gone away in
a year and a half.
Do you remember that, alex?
Right, what was your thoughtprocess when I said that?
Alex (02:25):
Honestly, at first I was like, yeah about that, but you
made it happen, like you alwaysdo right.
Jessica (02:32):
But here's the thing right, we needed to make it
happen.
Right, it was our honeymoon, wehad something to celebrate and
you know, it was like the unionof our relationship under God
and in front of our family aswitnesses.
Right, and for me, I looked atit as we finally get to take a
break.
(02:52):
We had probably been working atthat point like a year and a
half straight and I knew weneeded to take a break.
One of the things that that Irealized was that, if I booked
it ahead, we had no choice thanto go.
Alex (03:07):
Right, and you had something to look forward to,
right.
So that for me was like allright, there is a light at the
end of the tunnel, right, Iloved it.
I enjoyed it and it kind ofrefreshed me.
Most of the time, you know, wewere just relaxing in each
other's company.
It was great.
We did a cruise, because weboth love cruising.
(03:28):
And when we came back I waslike all right, I'm fully
charged, I'm ready to go again.
How did you feel?
Jessica (03:37):
Absolutely, not only for myself but also for our
business also for, you know,obviously, our relationship
right.
We were entering a new seasonin our lives married, and then
also when we got on the shipremember my aunt had done some
upgrades for us.
And she told us, I think, likethe day before we were going
(03:58):
away or something.
And she didn't tell us exactlywhat it was.
She just said there's a littlesomething waiting for you on the
ship.
So I don't know how she figuredit out, she did, and that was
so nice because we were able todo things that we don't normally
do for ourselves and being ableto just be here, spend some
time with family.
Even after the wedding.
We didn't leave right away.
(04:19):
It took us like another week sowe were able to still spend
quality time with our familieswho had come from out of town
and then we enjoyed our timetogether.
But I think the most importantpart was reflecting during that
time that, even though Alex keptsaying I don't think we can do
it, I don't think we could do it, we don't have the time, how am
(04:41):
I supposed to take the time?
How you know, we can't leavethe business for eight days
straight without us, withoutWi-Fi.
We just can't do it, we can't.
I mean, there are so manyreasons why he said we couldn't
do it, but I did it anyway.
Right, and he thanked me for itso much because it was one of
the things that we needed toreset and from that point
(05:02):
forward, we committed that everyspring and every fall, we would
do something, we would book atrip, whether it's a cruise or a
weekend getaway or whateverjust to be able to reset.
Every spring and fall was a timefor us to do that, and so
there's a couple of pointershere.
We have about five pointers ofwhat you can do in order to make
(05:24):
sure that you're taking breaksand having fun in your
relationship.
And you know they're not theend all be all.
They're not.
You know they might work forsome, they might not work for
others, but we definitely wantedto share this information from
our perspective and what hasworked for us.
And so, alex, do you want tograb the first one on planning
(05:45):
ahead?
Alex (05:46):
Planning ahead so we don't waste our time, right?
Planning ahead for mepersonally means I have
something to look forward to,right?
So I don't mind if I have towork six, seven, eight months I
mean straight hard, but I knowafter the eighth month or
whatever the case may be, I havesomething to look forward to,
some relaxing time, which is notalways easy, but, like right
(06:11):
now, we're going into summer andit's probably the busiest time
of the year for us.
You would say, right, jessica?
Oh, yeah, for the most part,absolutely, and just knowing
like, okay, after this is allsaid and done, you know, maybe
we can take a weekend off, youknow, go sit on the beach
somewhere and just relax and notworry about anything.
(06:32):
Part of that has to be tohaving the right team in place.
Right, having a team where youknow if you do go away there's a
problem, they come up withsolutions.
I always stress that out withour team is like things have to
happen for a reason.
Right, you're not going to knowhow to react to every situation
(06:53):
until it actually happens.
Right, it might not be theright choice you made, but we'll
learn from it, right?
So that's very, very importanttoo.
Jessica (07:01):
Yeah, I agree, and for me it was also that delayed
gratification.
It's like, okay, I booked itnow and I don't have to worry
about it until September,because the trip was last
September.
And so I started to feel like,you know, just feeling so
grateful, feeling grateful thatwe went on this cruise and it
had already been paid in full,feeling grateful that we went on
(07:22):
this cruise and it had alreadybeen paid in full.
You know, we had, you know, wehad no concerns, no worries at
the last minute when it came tojust going away and just
disconnecting completely.
But then also for us was, youknow, having that escape and
having.
You know, I'm one of thosepeople I like to read and so I,
you know, was able to grab anycorner and start reading a book.
(07:44):
I even fell asleep on thebalcony, quote unquote, trying
to read, but being able to justbe grateful and just embrace the
time that we had disconnectedfrom the business.
And the coolest part and I'lltell you this, I don't know if I
ever told you this, alex, thatone of the cool things about
(08:06):
that trip in September was thatwe didn't talk about our
business at all whatsoever.
Correct, and that was sonecessary for me.
Alex (08:16):
It was like a big disconnect moment.
You know almost like youunplugging the power and you're
not plugging it back in untilyou get back.
Jessica (08:25):
Right.
Alex (08:26):
And you know you would expect sometimes this is the way
I think right, Okay, we'reunplugging, but what are we
going to walk back into when weget back?
Right, that's always, that'salways how, how I think.
And we were blessed.
I mean, a few minor thingshappened, but nothing major.
Jessica (08:44):
Yeah, yeah.
And it was funny because I saidto our admin well, she's more
than our admin, she's really ourbusiness manager.
She does everything around here.
And I remember telling herwe're going to be stopping in
Mexico two nights before we headback home.
I'm going to reach out to youfrom there, just in case I need
(09:05):
to stay in Mexico.
Yeah, I remember that.
And she was like Jessica, stopit, we have it under control.
And you know we were planningahead for a couple of months.
You know we rallied the teamtogether and we were like if we
need supplies, who's going tohandle that?
Oh, I am.
If we were like, if we needsupplies, who's going to handle
that?
Oh, I am.
If we need to deal withcustomer issues, I'm going to
(09:25):
handle that.
And everybody really took chargeto make it happen.
So they really rallied aroundus to be able to disconnect.
But the funny part is that wedid wind up getting Wi-Fi in
Mexico and I text Tiffany and Iwas like and I text Tiffany and
I was like hey, we're about toget back on the ship.
We're in Mexico.
Should we turn around?
(09:47):
And she was like no, come back,everything is going great.
Come back already, though wewere gone for eight days, and so
that was probably the longestwe've ever been away from our
business, completelydisconnected, so it really was
an opportunity to enjoy thatdowntime and not deal with
(10:07):
anything at all that wasbusiness related.
So, alex, why don't you talkabout the importance I know you
touched on this really quicklywhy do you think having the
right team in place is crucialin making this happen?
Alex (10:24):
Absolutely, because usually when things happen in
the business, they come to mecustomer complaints, or there's
a walkthrough, potential newcustomer sales and unfortunately
, that time of the year when wewent to on our cruise, I wasn't
available for any of that stuff.
So I told them you know, ifthings, the biggest issue for us
(10:49):
is a complaint, a customercomplaint, somebody calls out
how are we going to handle this?
I try to set the team up thebest I could as far as like
supplies and things like that,but also letting them know hey,
this is who you need to go to,this is, we have an account
there, whatever the case may be,just to set them up and Just
(11:09):
letting them know that let's tryto come up with a solution for
the problem.
And I think our team for themost part sees that when there's
a problem, they come to me allright, this is the solution.
Let's try this and having theright team that jumps on board
and has you back 100%.
For me, it's family.
We have a family here.
(11:31):
We're always looking out foreach other, looking out for the
best interests of each other.
We try to mentor a little bit,coach a little bit.
So the right team, the rightmindset of the team is very,
very important for that.
What did you say?
Jessica (11:47):
Yeah, no, I totally agree.
I think that trip really wasone of the most prepared that we
have ever been.
Mind you, we've been inbusiness for six years, guys we
talk about last year, so we wereabout five years in and having
the right team was reallyimportant at that time.
And not only that, it's justthey embraced it.
You know, they embraced it.
They were like go, don't worry,don't worry about anything, we
(12:09):
have it under control.
And it was just such a goodfeeling.
And then, coming back, actuallycoming back, we both came back
with COVID, remember, and so wewound up having to stay home
quarantined and we were able todo some virtual meetings and it
was just great to be able to seethe team still being happy that
(12:30):
nothing went up in fires,nothing went up in flames the
week before, and it was just areally great time for our
business and for us as well.
You know, I would say even.
Furthermore, like what, asidefrom men listening to their
wives, I'm just saying whatadvice could you give other
(12:51):
couples that are workingtogether?
Advice, could you?
Alex (12:53):
give other couples that are working together.
It's tough, right?
Because I don't know to me.
You're working with your wife,you're not only working with her
.
Then you're going home with herLearning to leave work at work
and home is home.
I always try my hardest not tothink about work when I'm at
home.
(13:13):
It doesn't always work well,because sometimes I'm at home
and I get an email.
I said, jessica, look who justemailed us.
And then sometimes you give mewhy are we talking about work?
Right, and so it's.
My advice for working couplesis work is work and home is home
(13:33):
.
Learn to leave your work atyour work.
If it's something importantthat you need to speak about,
take a note and share it thenext day you guys are sitting
together.
Yeah, because you have toseparate the two.
You have to separate the two.
Jessica (13:48):
And I think one thing that we've done for the last few
years now and I don't know ifwe kind of walked into it or if
there was something that wediscussed, I don't remember but
we ask each other permission todiscuss.
You know, like, if it'ssomething absolutely urgent,
there's one like guys, I have apet peeve, don't ask me if I'm
(14:08):
busy, y'all, I'm a New Yorker,I'm a hustler, like no, don't
ask me if I'm busy, because I'malways busy, but there are
certain times that things areurgent.
Right.
And I actually would prefer ifhe says I know you're really
busy, but I really need you fora few minutes, or or I really
need you to take care ofsomething, or whatever the case
(14:29):
may be.
Right For me.
It's like.
Number one is thatacknowledgement that you know
I'm already busy but not justautomatically going into things.
And you know, alex has thisthing that he has to respond to
email immediately.
Well, selectively, he doesn'trespond to mine.
Alex (14:46):
Well, I think and that's the customer service too Like if
we see something that comes in,you know that is raising
eyebrows.
We got to get to it Right.
And then there's certain thingsthat I'll answer it tomorrow,
right.
Right, it's funny that youmentioned that.
You know asking becausesometimes I wake up five o'clock
(15:07):
every morning.
I come downstairs and make mycoffee and I have a coffee for
Jessica.
So when she comes downstairsshe has a coffee and she'll come
downstairs and I don't knowwhere she gets the energy from,
but she's just full of energy atfive o'clock in the morning and
it takes me a little bit towake up.
Let me have my coffee.
She'll go have a coffee andshe'll come to me.
(15:28):
Can I share something with you?
And I'm like, okay, sure, letme stop what I'm doing here,
cause I try to read, try to readmy Bible, try to read my, my
daily passages.
And she'll stop me right there.
And she's oh, nevermind, you'rereading.
I said no, I already stopped.
Right, just tell me.
Tell me before you forget.
Jessica (15:47):
Hey guys, that's something I need to work on
because, you know, I justautomatically think that
everybody has the same energy asI do.
And you know, for those of youthat know, know that Alex is
very laid back and very calm andI'm the complete opposite.
I am not calm at all, I ameccentric, I'm in the doing mode
.
Sometimes I look mad and it'slike, nah, I'm not mad, I'm just
(16:09):
focused.
So that that has been somethingthat definitely it's work in
progress because, you know, atthe end of the day, we're in the
process of becoming better,becoming better, better business
owners, better wives, betterhusbands, right, better, you
know, together in a relationship, and so these are little things
that we've, you know, been ableto just kind of learn from each
(16:30):
other and whatnot.
So this was a lot of fun.
This episode was a lot of fun.
This episode was a lot of fun.
I hope you guys chuckle too onsome of these funny stories that
we have here.
But we have more for you guys.
We have more Expect some thingscoming.
Very soon You're going to startseeing some interviews with
some amazing couples and some ofthem might make you laugh, but
(16:53):
some of them might make you crytoo to be able to hear their
stories, and we're so excited tocontinue to share with you guys
all about what it takes to bemarried to the hustle.
And so with that, I will leaveyou guys.
I will see you guys in the nextepisode and I can't wait to
hear more about how our show isimpacting your life.
Alex (17:15):
Thank you, guys, for listening.
We'll catch you on the next one.
Jessica (17:18):
Awesome.
Alex (17:18):
Well then, stay hustling.
Jessica (17:20):
Stay hustling, Take care guys.
Alex (17:31):
That wraps up another episode of Married to the Hustle
.
We hope you enjoyed today'sshow and found some inspiration
and practical tips to apply toyour own business journey.
Jessica (17:41):
We love hearing from you, our amazing listeners.
If you have any stories,questions or tips to share,
connect with us on social mediaor send us an email.
Your input makes this podcasteven better.
Alex (17:52):
And don't forget to subscribe to Married to the
Hustle on your favorite podcastplatform so you never miss an
episode.
And if you enjoyed today'sepisode, please leave us a
review.
It really helps us grow andreach more entrepreneurial
couples like you.
Jessica (18:06):
Join us next week for more exciting stories,
insightful interviews andvaluable advice.
Until then, keep hustling, keepthriving and keep loving what
you do.
Alex (18:15):
Thanks for tuning in and happy hustling.
Welcome to Married to the Hustle, the podcast where love,
faith and business come together.
Jessica (00:14):
I'm Jessica, and with me is my partner in life and
business, alex.
Together, we're diving into thewild world of entrepreneurial
couples.
Alex (00:22):
Each week, we'll bring you real stories, hilarious moments
and valuable insights fromcouples who are building
businesses and rocking theirrelationships.
Talk about living the dream.
Jessica (00:33):
Or surviving the nightmare.
Alex (00:35):
So buckle up and get ready for a fun ride with Married to
the Hustle.
Hey guys, welcome back.
Today we have an awesome topicthat we're going to be speaking
about.
You know, working hard, playinghard, the importance of taking
(00:55):
breaks and having a little fun,avoiding the burnout in our
everyday lives.
Jessica (00:59):
And you know, today we're going to be sharing some
challenging moments that we'vehad, because the reality is that
business is not all pretty andpink and it's not.
Entrepreneurship is not whatit's all hyped to be.
But, most importantly, we wantto go ahead and share with you
guys some of the things thatwe've done, also in order to not
experience some of thesechallenges again.
(01:21):
So I'm going to take you guysback to a quick story.
A couple of years ago, westarted to grow significantly,
not only in the business, butalso in my coaching business,
and we were working lots ofhours, lots of hours, not just
myself, but also Alex, and it'sa different type of work, right,
when it comes to coaching andconsulting, it takes a lot of
(01:44):
your brain work, you're mentallydrained, you have no energy to
give anything else and when itcomes to the labor work, alex
does more physical work.
It was really taking a toll onhis body, but the job needed to
get done.
We got engaged one Christmas acouple of years ago and we knew
(02:06):
that the following year we weregoing to start planning a
wedding and even though it wassomething super small, just
close family.
One of the things that I saidto Alex was like oh great, we
get to book our honeymoonbecause we have not gone away in
a year and a half.
Do you remember that, alex?
Right, what was your thoughtprocess when I said that?
Alex (02:25):
Honestly, at first I was like, yeah about that, but you
made it happen, like you alwaysdo right.
Jessica (02:32):
But here's the thing right, we needed to make it
happen.
Right, it was our honeymoon, wehad something to celebrate and
you know, it was like the unionof our relationship under God
and in front of our family aswitnesses.
Right, and for me, I looked atit as we finally get to take a
break.
(02:52):
We had probably been working atthat point like a year and a
half straight and I knew weneeded to take a break.
One of the things that that Irealized was that, if I booked
it ahead, we had no choice thanto go.
Alex (03:07):
Right, and you had something to look forward to,
right.
So that for me was like allright, there is a light at the
end of the tunnel, right, Iloved it.
I enjoyed it and it kind ofrefreshed me.
Most of the time, you know, wewere just relaxing in each
other's company.
It was great.
We did a cruise, because weboth love cruising.
(03:28):
And when we came back I waslike all right, I'm fully
charged, I'm ready to go again.
How did you feel?
Jessica (03:37):
Absolutely, not only for myself but also for our
business also for, you know,obviously, our relationship
right.
We were entering a new seasonin our lives married, and then
also when we got on the shipremember my aunt had done some
upgrades for us.
And she told us, I think, likethe day before we were going
(03:58):
away or something.
And she didn't tell us exactlywhat it was.
She just said there's a littlesomething waiting for you on the
ship.
So I don't know how she figuredit out, she did, and that was
so nice because we were able todo things that we don't normally
do for ourselves and being ableto just be here, spend some
time with family.
Even after the wedding.
We didn't leave right away.
(04:19):
It took us like another week sowe were able to still spend
quality time with our familieswho had come from out of town
and then we enjoyed our timetogether.
But I think the most importantpart was reflecting during that
time that, even though Alex keptsaying I don't think we can do
it, I don't think we could do it, we don't have the time, how am
(04:41):
I supposed to take the time?
How you know, we can't leavethe business for eight days
straight without us, withoutWi-Fi.
We just can't do it, we can't.
I mean, there are so manyreasons why he said we couldn't
do it, but I did it anyway.
Right, and he thanked me for itso much because it was one of
the things that we needed toreset and from that point
(05:02):
forward, we committed that everyspring and every fall, we would
do something, we would book atrip, whether it's a cruise or a
weekend getaway or whateverjust to be able to reset.
Every spring and fall was a timefor us to do that, and so
there's a couple of pointershere.
We have about five pointers ofwhat you can do in order to make
(05:24):
sure that you're taking breaksand having fun in your
relationship.
And you know they're not theend all be all.
They're not.
You know they might work forsome, they might not work for
others, but we definitely wantedto share this information from
our perspective and what hasworked for us.
And so, alex, do you want tograb the first one on planning
(05:45):
ahead?
Alex (05:46):
Planning ahead so we don't waste our time, right?
Planning ahead for mepersonally means I have
something to look forward to,right?
So I don't mind if I have towork six, seven, eight months I
mean straight hard, but I knowafter the eighth month or
whatever the case may be, I havesomething to look forward to,
some relaxing time, which is notalways easy, but, like right
(06:11):
now, we're going into summer andit's probably the busiest time
of the year for us.
You would say, right, jessica?
Oh, yeah, for the most part,absolutely, and just knowing
like, okay, after this is allsaid and done, you know, maybe
we can take a weekend off, youknow, go sit on the beach
somewhere and just relax and notworry about anything.
(06:32):
Part of that has to be tohaving the right team in place.
Right, having a team where youknow if you do go away there's a
problem, they come up withsolutions.
I always stress that out withour team is like things have to
happen for a reason.
Right, you're not going to knowhow to react to every situation
(06:53):
until it actually happens.
Right, it might not be theright choice you made, but we'll
learn from it, right?
So that's very, very importanttoo.
Jessica (07:01):
Yeah, I agree, and for me it was also that delayed
gratification.
It's like, okay, I booked itnow and I don't have to worry
about it until September,because the trip was last
September.
And so I started to feel like,you know, just feeling so
grateful, feeling grateful thatwe went on this cruise and it
had already been paid in full,feeling grateful that we went on
(07:22):
this cruise and it had alreadybeen paid in full.
You know, we had, you know, wehad no concerns, no worries at
the last minute when it came tojust going away and just
disconnecting completely.
But then also for us was, youknow, having that escape and
having.
You know, I'm one of thosepeople I like to read and so I,
you know, was able to grab anycorner and start reading a book.
(07:44):
I even fell asleep on thebalcony, quote unquote, trying
to read, but being able to justbe grateful and just embrace the
time that we had disconnectedfrom the business.
And the coolest part and I'lltell you this, I don't know if I
ever told you this, alex, thatone of the cool things about
(08:06):
that trip in September was thatwe didn't talk about our
business at all whatsoever.
Correct, and that was sonecessary for me.
Alex (08:16):
It was like a big disconnect moment.
You know almost like youunplugging the power and you're
not plugging it back in untilyou get back.
Jessica (08:25):
Right.
Alex (08:26):
And you know you would expect sometimes this is the way
I think right, Okay, we'reunplugging, but what are we
going to walk back into when weget back?
Right, that's always, that'salways how, how I think.
And we were blessed.
I mean, a few minor thingshappened, but nothing major.
Jessica (08:44):
Yeah, yeah.
And it was funny because I saidto our admin well, she's more
than our admin, she's really ourbusiness manager.
She does everything around here.
And I remember telling herwe're going to be stopping in
Mexico two nights before we headback home.
I'm going to reach out to youfrom there, just in case I need
(09:05):
to stay in Mexico.
Yeah, I remember that.
And she was like Jessica, stopit, we have it under control.
And you know we were planningahead for a couple of months.
You know we rallied the teamtogether and we were like if we
need supplies, who's going tohandle that?
Oh, I am.
If we were like, if we needsupplies, who's going to handle
that?
Oh, I am.
If we need to deal withcustomer issues, I'm going to
(09:25):
handle that.
And everybody really took chargeto make it happen.
So they really rallied aroundus to be able to disconnect.
But the funny part is that wedid wind up getting Wi-Fi in
Mexico and I text Tiffany and Iwas like and I text Tiffany and
I was like hey, we're about toget back on the ship.
We're in Mexico.
Should we turn around?
(09:47):
And she was like no, come back,everything is going great.
Come back already, though wewere gone for eight days, and so
that was probably the longestwe've ever been away from our
business, completelydisconnected, so it really was
an opportunity to enjoy thatdowntime and not deal with
(10:07):
anything at all that wasbusiness related.
So, alex, why don't you talkabout the importance I know you
touched on this really quicklywhy do you think having the
right team in place is crucialin making this happen?
Alex (10:24):
Absolutely, because usually when things happen in
the business, they come to mecustomer complaints, or there's
a walkthrough, potential newcustomer sales and unfortunately
, that time of the year when wewent to on our cruise, I wasn't
available for any of that stuff.
So I told them you know, ifthings, the biggest issue for us
(10:49):
is a complaint, a customercomplaint, somebody calls out
how are we going to handle this?
I try to set the team up thebest I could as far as like
supplies and things like that,but also letting them know hey,
this is who you need to go to,this is, we have an account
there, whatever the case may be,just to set them up and Just
(11:09):
letting them know that let's tryto come up with a solution for
the problem.
And I think our team for themost part sees that when there's
a problem, they come to me allright, this is the solution.
Let's try this and having theright team that jumps on board
and has you back 100%.
For me, it's family.
We have a family here.
(11:31):
We're always looking out foreach other, looking out for the
best interests of each other.
We try to mentor a little bit,coach a little bit.
So the right team, the rightmindset of the team is very,
very important for that.
What did you say?
Jessica (11:47):
Yeah, no, I totally agree.
I think that trip really wasone of the most prepared that we
have ever been.
Mind you, we've been inbusiness for six years, guys we
talk about last year, so we wereabout five years in and having
the right team was reallyimportant at that time.
And not only that, it's justthey embraced it.
You know, they embraced it.
They were like go, don't worry,don't worry about anything, we
(12:09):
have it under control.
And it was just such a goodfeeling.
And then, coming back, actuallycoming back, we both came back
with COVID, remember, and so wewound up having to stay home
quarantined and we were able todo some virtual meetings and it
was just great to be able to seethe team still being happy that
(12:30):
nothing went up in fires,nothing went up in flames the
week before, and it was just areally great time for our
business and for us as well.
You know, I would say even.
Furthermore, like what, asidefrom men listening to their
wives, I'm just saying whatadvice could you give other
(12:51):
couples that are workingtogether?
Advice, could you?
Alex (12:53):
give other couples that are working together.
It's tough, right?
Because I don't know to me.
You're working with your wife,you're not only working with her
.
Then you're going home with herLearning to leave work at work
and home is home.
I always try my hardest not tothink about work when I'm at
home.
(13:13):
It doesn't always work well,because sometimes I'm at home
and I get an email.
I said, jessica, look who justemailed us.
And then sometimes you give mewhy are we talking about work?
Right, and so it's.
My advice for working couplesis work is work and home is home
(13:33):
.
Learn to leave your work atyour work.
If it's something importantthat you need to speak about,
take a note and share it thenext day you guys are sitting
together.
Yeah, because you have toseparate the two.
You have to separate the two.
Jessica (13:48):
And I think one thing that we've done for the last few
years now and I don't know ifwe kind of walked into it or if
there was something that wediscussed, I don't remember but
we ask each other permission todiscuss.
You know, like, if it'ssomething absolutely urgent,
there's one like guys, I have apet peeve, don't ask me if I'm
(14:08):
busy, y'all, I'm a New Yorker,I'm a hustler, like no, don't
ask me if I'm busy, because I'malways busy, but there are
certain times that things areurgent.
Right.
And I actually would prefer ifhe says I know you're really
busy, but I really need you fora few minutes, or or I really
need you to take care ofsomething, or whatever the case
(14:29):
may be.
Right For me.
It's like.
Number one is thatacknowledgement that you know
I'm already busy but not justautomatically going into things.
And you know, alex has thisthing that he has to respond to
email immediately.
Well, selectively, he doesn'trespond to mine.
Alex (14:46):
Well, I think and that's the customer service too Like if
we see something that comes in,you know that is raising
eyebrows.
We got to get to it Right.
And then there's certain thingsthat I'll answer it tomorrow,
right.
Right, it's funny that youmentioned that.
You know asking becausesometimes I wake up five o'clock
(15:07):
every morning.
I come downstairs and make mycoffee and I have a coffee for
Jessica.
So when she comes downstairsshe has a coffee and she'll come
downstairs and I don't knowwhere she gets the energy from,
but she's just full of energy atfive o'clock in the morning and
it takes me a little bit towake up.
Let me have my coffee.
She'll go have a coffee andshe'll come to me.
(15:28):
Can I share something with you?
And I'm like, okay, sure, letme stop what I'm doing here,
cause I try to read, try to readmy Bible, try to read my, my
daily passages.
And she'll stop me right there.
And she's oh, nevermind, you'rereading.
I said no, I already stopped.
Right, just tell me.
Tell me before you forget.
Jessica (15:47):
Hey guys, that's something I need to work on
because, you know, I justautomatically think that
everybody has the same energy asI do.
And you know, for those of youthat know, know that Alex is
very laid back and very calm andI'm the complete opposite.
I am not calm at all, I ameccentric, I'm in the doing mode
.
Sometimes I look mad and it'slike, nah, I'm not mad, I'm just
(16:09):
focused.
So that that has been somethingthat definitely it's work in
progress because, you know, atthe end of the day, we're in the
process of becoming better,becoming better, better business
owners, better wives, betterhusbands, right, better, you
know, together in a relationship, and so these are little things
that we've, you know, been ableto just kind of learn from each
(16:30):
other and whatnot.
So this was a lot of fun.
This episode was a lot of fun.
This episode was a lot of fun.
I hope you guys chuckle too onsome of these funny stories that
we have here.
But we have more for you guys.
We have more Expect some thingscoming.
Very soon You're going to startseeing some interviews with
some amazing couples and some ofthem might make you laugh, but
(16:53):
some of them might make you crytoo to be able to hear their
stories, and we're so excited tocontinue to share with you guys
all about what it takes to bemarried to the hustle.
And so with that, I will leaveyou guys.
I will see you guys in the nextepisode and I can't wait to
hear more about how our show isimpacting your life.
Alex (17:15):
Thank you, guys, for listening.
We'll catch you on the next one.
Jessica (17:18):
Awesome.
Alex (17:18):
Well then, stay hustling.
Jessica (17:20):
Stay hustling, Take care guys.
Alex (17:31):
That wraps up another episode of Married to the Hustle
.
We hope you enjoyed today'sshow and found some inspiration
and practical tips to apply toyour own business journey.
Jessica (17:41):
We love hearing from you, our amazing listeners.
If you have any stories,questions or tips to share,
connect with us on social mediaor send us an email.
Your input makes this podcasteven better.
Alex (17:52):
And don't forget to subscribe to Married to the
Hustle on your favorite podcastplatform so you never miss an
episode.
And if you enjoyed today'sepisode, please leave us a
review.
It really helps us grow andreach more entrepreneurial
couples like you.
Jessica (18:06):
Join us next week for more exciting stories,
insightful interviews andvaluable advice.
Until then, keep hustling, keepthriving and keep loving what
you do.
Alex (18:15):
Thanks for tuning in and happy hustling.
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