Tag: advice

Q and A with Aryel from Knoxville, Tennessee

“I didn’t leave nursing because I hated it—I left because I hated how much time it took from me...It’s okay to choose differently when your priorities change.”

Q: What are you passionate about? 

A: I am passionate about helping women—especially mothers—understand that they don’t have to sacrifice their lives, their health, or their families to be considered successful.

For years, my dream was to become a labor & delivery nurse. I poured my heart into that work and truly loved supporting women through some of the most powerful and vulnerable moments of their lives.

Being part of birth stories was an honor, and caring for women will always be part of who I am.

But as meaningful as that work was, I realized that while I was helping other women bring life into the world, I was missing moments in my own home that I could never get back.

Being present with my children while still creating income became a new dream—one I didn’t even know was possible at the time.

Now, I’ve built a six-figure online high-ticket direct sales business from home—while staying present and intentional with my family.

Today, I teach and mentor women on how to start and scale their own high-ticket businesses, guiding them step-by-step toward real income, confidence, and sustainability.

I help women create freedom, flexibility, and financial security without abandoning themselves, their families, or the life they’re building.

Q: What were your younger years like?

A: I started working at a restaurant when I was just 14 years old. From that point on, work was a constant in my life.

I’ve worked my entire life—long hours, demanding schedules, always showing up, always pushing through. Responsibility and work ethic were ingrained in me early, and I wore that strength like a badge of honor.

For a long time, I believed that working nonstop was just “how life was.”

It wasn’t until recently that I truly paused and asked myself what life was actually about—and what I wanted my children to learn from watching me.

I didn’t want them to believe that exhaustion equals success or that missing life’s moments is the price of stability. Those realizations reshaped everything for me.

Q: What is something valuable you’d like others to know?

A: One of the most important things I’ve learned is that loving your career doesn’t mean it has to cost you your life.

I didn’t leave nursing because I hated it—I left because I hated how much time it took from me.

Time is the one thing you never get back, and no paycheck can replace missed moments with your children.

I want others to know that it’s okay to evolve.

It’s okay to choose differently when your priorities change.

And it’s okay to build a life that aligns with the season you’re in, not the one you’ve outgrown.

Q: What does feminism mean to you?

A: Feminism, to me, means freedom of choice without guilt or judgment.

It means women get to decide what success looks like in their own lives—whether that’s working in healthcare, building a business, raising children, or all of the above.

True empowerment is having the ability to pivot when something no longer serves your family or your well-being.

Feminism is honoring women’s intuition, ambition, and right to redefine their lives as they grow.

MORE ABOUT ARYEL: I don’t regret a single chapter of my life—especially nursing. Every season shaped me. But I refuse to believe that sacrifice and burnout are the ultimate goals. I want my children to grow up seeing a mother who chose presence, courage, and intentional living. I want them to know that hard work matters—but so does joy, freedom, and time together.

Thank you for reading!

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Q and A with Sabrina H. from Oliver, British Columbia, Canada

“Growth begins when you commit to moving forward before everything feels perfect.”

Q: What are you passionate about? 

A: What lights me up is building or reshaping workplaces into something efficient and effective, yet still fair and resolute.

A company must grow, stay profitable, and keep its edge, but the people within it deserve the same chance to grow in confidence, skill, and earning power.

My psychology degree gave me the human lens and my years in HR provided the systems foundation.

I help people and businesses succeed by creating systems and conversations where fairness and accountability can exist in the same room.

That balance is what I’m most passionate about.

When it’s right, everyone moves forward together and the business grows, and so do the people within it.

Smart Solutions was born from that intersection, after years of watching how companies rise or fall based on how they choose, support, and value their people.

Q: What were your younger years like?

A: I grew up in a home led by strong women.

My mom raised me on her own, with my grandmother close by.

Together, they taught me that speaking up, thinking for yourself, and finding your own way are necessary, even when it goes against the grain.

That mindset became the foundation for how I work and lead today.

Learning has always been my way forward, so I went back to school as an adult and earned my degree in psychology while raising my two sons independently.

That time demanded focus and discipline, and it showed me how powerful education can be when it connects to real life experience.

By the time I finished my degree, I had fifteen years of administrative experience and a solid background in project management, operations, and logistics.

HR became the natural next step, a place to blend human understanding with structure and strategy. The last two decades have refined those skills and brought me to this point, where experience and knowledge come together in work worth sharing.

Q: What is something valuable you’d like others to know?

A: If there’s one truth I’ve learned, it’s that waiting for certainty only delays progress.

Growth begins when you commit to moving forward before everything feels perfect.

It may sound counterintuitive to someone who builds systems, but iteration is part of reality.

Holding out until version one feels flawless only makes it harder to reach version two, three, or four. That lesson was shaped and reinforced when I went back to school as an adult. It wasn’t about timing or convenience; it was simply about starting, and then starting again, until I reached the finish line.

It took many years to complete my degree because life often demanded my attention elsewhere, and each pause made returning feel more daunting.

In the end, I finished with a GPA of 3.28 and a clear understanding that progress is built one imperfect step at a time.

Q: What does feminism mean to you?
A: To me, feminism is about equality.

It means that women should have the same freedom to define success on their own terms, whether that means leading a company, raising a family, starting over, creating something new, or doing all of it within one lifetime.

The strong women I grew up around did not receive the same support or opportunities as men, even though they were often the ones holding everything together.

Watching that shaped how I see the world and taught me that opportunity rarely shows up uninvited.

You build it, one decision at a time.

That same belief guides how I work today.

Now, in mid-life, feminism feels less about demanding a place at the table and more about using your voice once you are there.

It is about standing in your experience with confidence and not waiting for permission to be heard.

MORE ABOUT SABRINA: After years of watching businesses succeed or struggle based on how they chose to support their employees, it felt like it was time to take everything I had learned and turn it into something practical and lasting. That is where Smart Solutions by Sabrina comes from. Starting this business reflects what I value most: fairness, growth, and the belief that people and systems work best when they evolve together. It feels right to be building from a place where experience and intention finally align.

Thank you for reading!

Let’s connect! Here:

Website: www.sabrinasmartsolutions.ca

Email: info@sabrinasmartsolutions.ca

www.sabrinasmartsolutions.ca