Moms Making Six Figures Podcast
Moms Making Six Figures Podcast is your go-to resource for learning, growing and discovering your path to a better quality of life. Through this podcast, you'll hear directly from Heidi Bartolotta and many other Moms all over the world as they share their struggles and how they overcame them to achieve extraordinary success on their own terms. Listen to these real women as they share their real stories that provide you real inspiration for your own journey to success. At Moms Making Six Figures, we help guide and mentor women on building and advancing their own businesses. Let us assure you that (1) there is no limit to your earning potential and (2) you can build your business or career at the pace you choose, steadily or rapidly. We are here cheering you on!
Moms Making Six Figures Podcast
From Foreclosure to Financial Freedom: Dana Lombardi's Journey of Resilience and Triumph
What if you could transform financial despair into a story of triumph? Meet Dana Lombardi, who went from a thriving interior designer to facing the brink of foreclosure, only to emerge as a leader in her business. Dana's journey began her journey in interior design, balancing her career and raising her children, and then pivoting to an online T-shirt business. However, the 2008 economic crash derailed her plans, leading her to an unexpected opportunity that would change her life forever. Hear how a simple home meeting became the turning point she never saw coming.
Join us as Dana recounts the relentless battle to save her home, setting urgent financial goals, and sacrificing countless hours of sleep to secure her family's future. She talks about the importance of determination and the impact her entrepreneurial spirit had not only on their finances but also as a lasting legacy for her children and grandchildren. This episode is a powerful reminder of the resilience required to overcome adversity and the strength that comes from unwavering commitment and hard work.
Dana also opens up about the pivotal role family support played in her success. She and her husband made a transformative decision to switch roles, allowing her to focus on network marketing with ambitious financial targets. Learn how these experiences shaped their children's lives, teaching them valuable lessons in resilience and the reality of "failing forward." Dana’s reflections on parenting and personal growth offer insightful advice for anyone navigating life's unpredictable journey.
Dana Lombardi | Entrepreneur | Immune System Coach
Instagram: @danalombardi1
Facebook: Dana Lombardi
Hi, moms Making Six Figures. I am excited to share today's podcast with you. I have the privilege of interviewing Dana Lombardi and I think you are going to take some very insightful nuggets on business, on leadership and on motherhood from this podcast, so enjoy.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the Moms Making Six Figures podcast, where it's all about real women, real stories, real inspiration and now your host and creator of Moms Making Six Figures, Heidi Bartolotta.
Speaker 1:Dana, thank you for being here. Thanks for having me. I'm excited. Yeah, I'm excited about this too. Yeah, so let's start out with your professional background, take us back and just give us a little bit of progression of where you started and then kind of bring us up towards today.
Speaker 3:Okay, so I started as an interior designer and I had a company called Prima Dana Interiors in Silicon Valley and I loved it and it did give me flexibility to be able to be home with my kids and schedule when I wanted to work, basically, and I did that for many years. That actually morphed as a result of a client and I were driving to the San Francisco Furniture Mart which isn't there anymore, which is crazy and I had asked her what she did for a living and she had an online business selling bracelets like Italian charm bracelets those square ones yes, remember, she was the very first one out there and I'll just never forget it and my brain was like and she was doing well, and I thought I'm working too hard. I was starting to like burn out. My kids were getting to the age where they were really busy and so I went home and I told my husband. I said I'm going to do something online. He's like okay, what? And I go, I have no idea.
Speaker 3:And a year later I came up with this idea and I started a T-shirt company which I have never told you this before called it Couture Moms and it was mom-inspired T-shirts and I was inspired by I saw somebody wearing a T-shirt that was studded, remember when the BB crystals were in, in yeah, I'm like that's brilliant. So I started that. We're aging ourselves, I know, I know, but you know we're going to age gracefully, heidi. And so I started that, and I did that for um six years, and then the crash happened.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah. And how old were your children at that time?
Speaker 3:So I had one in high school, one in middle school, one in two in elementary school or one in middle school. Yeah, they were elementary to high school. Okay, the crash happened and my husband was a contractor and he did really high-end finishes. You wouldn't call him to build a house, right, he would do all the finished stuff. And when that happened, people stopped doing that because the economy was very similar to what's happening, kind of right now, and we were in trouble. We made some mistakes. We didn't lay people off in time, we were paying happening kind of right now and we were in trouble. We made some mistakes, we didn't lay people off in time, we were paying them out of our savings and we found ourselves in a really scary situation. We were in active foreclosure and I had picked up a part-time job. At that point I was running my t-shirt company, which saved us really it was a godsend. And my husband was working out of town and we've just he got another job.
Speaker 1:I mean, we were yeah, like a lot of people at that time, really just trying to figure out how to stay afloat. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:And foreclosure is a scary thing. It's really scary. And so one night I got invited to a home meeting to check out this product, or whatever try this product, and I honestly didn't want to go. I was just the most depressed I had been. The stress level was really high and my husband happened to be home. It was on a Tuesday evening. My husband happened to be home, which was rare, and he's like Dane, you need a girl's night out, get in the car, I'm going to drive you. So don't judge. But he drove me three doors down because it was raining and he knew I wouldn't have gone anyway.
Speaker 3:And that night, that product I was really impressed with. But at the end of her presentation she talked about a business opportunity and I tuned her out. I was so close-minded, not interested in home-based business at all, but I was haunted that night and I kept seeing people. She would love this, she would want this, she would do this and, being a woman of faith, I had been praying for a while. God, we just need like 800 to 1,000 extra dollars a month. That's all we need. Help grow our business. I didn't know how that was going to happen, but I just heard and felt in my spirit that night that this was the answer to that prayer.
Speaker 1:What was that transition like mentally, to go from, you know, very successful, very high income in a field that you were obviously very good at and obviously you had your T-shirt company, but to that crash? And the reason that I ask is because, as you mentioned, I think that there are a lot of people that are going through different but similar circumstances today and I think it's nice for them to hear someone that has gone through that and navigated it and come out on the other side having learned a lot but probably also realizing that there were blessings in it.
Speaker 3:Mm-hmm. Well, it's going to teach you humility. I have stories upon stories. I'll share one, because I think that was one of those moments where I was like my water was being shut off. We were literally robbing Peter to pay Paul and we were paying the bills as they were like threatening right. And that very moment the valve is at the top of the street and a group of moms that were in my social circle were out doing a walk and one of them they had been walking right by the house and one of them called me later and she said are you doing okay? And I go, yeah, just busy, totally forgot to pay the bill. Nobody knew that we were struggling so much. Um, that's like yeah, when the foreclosure notice happened, um, so much mom guilt, like what my poor kids, like they didn't ask for this and we're going to have to uproot them, and um, and so that invitation that night was divine. It was a divine appointment.
Speaker 3:I went, like I told you, and I called the gal that was presenting that night and said can I make? Like, is there an opportunity to make $800 to $1,000 a month? And she said, yeah, do you want me to zip over and show you? And I'm like sure so she did. And I'm thinking, everything in me is like this is ridiculous. This is just a home-based business. But I was desperate and I decided to be open-minded. I kept saying Dana Lombardi, if you keep doing what you're doing, you're going to have the same result that you have. And so I put all my disclaimers out there. I said don't count on me to make you a lot of money. I'm just going to get to where I can live comfortably. And I freaking rocked it. I just went to work.
Speaker 1:And what does that look like? When you said you know, I just went to work Because I think that when you're in a situation like that, um, you look at it very differently than than, maybe, a situation where you're comfortable. Yeah Right, oh yeah, yeah that that that need is so very, very present and in front of you that it changes the way that you look at work.
Speaker 3:Yeah Well, I, when I say I went to work, I went to work. That moment when she left, I picked up the phone and I called all my girlfriends and I'm like you can't believe what I just found, Like what I have my hands on, Like this thing is amazing, and will you just put five or six women in your living room and let me come explain it. And after every call I'm like I can't believe I'm doing this. But the reality is I was expecting everybody else's opinion about that industry, about network marketing, direct selling, they call it social selling, now whatever you want to call it, affiliate selling, that kind of thing. I was just assuming everybody else had that same opinion and that just wasn't true and I was pleasantly surprised and that was more of a party plan it was a party plan, which I had zero desire to do it.
Speaker 3:But being in a couple living rooms of some friends and seeing their reaction to what I was saying, the science made sense, all that stuff, right. I was like it became like okay, what do I have my hands on? But my attitude was I have nothing to lose and I have everything to lose, like I have to make a decision to do something different. And um, so, to be honest, when I say I went to work, I was doing meetings, one on a Tuesday night usually, uh, tuesday night, wednesday night, thursday night, friday night. I was doing three on a Saturday, like a 10 am, a 2 pm, 6 pm, and two on a Sunday.
Speaker 1:How long did it take you to hit six figures?
Speaker 3:Well, so that was in March of 2011. So, before hitting six figures, I was going to save my house. Yeah, I was going to save my house and that was my goal. So I always tell anybody I'm working with you've got to see the target, to hit the target. That was the only target I was focused on and it was going to be auctioned off or sold. June 6th of that year, june 1st, I called the bank. Between you and me and all the listeners, I didn't look for a rental, I was not leaving my home and I called and asked for an extension and they were gracious enough to give me an extension. So I went back to work harder, bigger, faster, invite more people like let's get eight to 12 people in your living room, that kind of stuff. And I was just what kind of time.
Speaker 1:Input is that on your part? Because you have your husband, you have four children.
Speaker 3:So what did that time look like Nooks and crannies time, I was probably honestly getting four to five hours of sleep, which I don't recommend doing that long-term. But for me it's like if I knew, if I could just put in so many hours in a short period of time, I would have all the freedom now. And here I am, 13 and a half years later complete freedom, financial freedom, freedom of time, freedom of choice, you know. So from June to July 1st I worked, worked, worked and I'm seeing the money come in and it's multiplying and I'm not just making a hundred percent off of my efforts Now, I'm making some off of many people's efforts. So my goal is more people, more people, and it's helping them and helping me. It's a win-win.
Speaker 3:So I called the bank and asked for another extension. And that was scary because they said look, Mrs Lombardi, we saw, we just we see that we did that for you last month. We're going to do it one more time, but that's it. If you're not out of your house by August 6th, we're going to have a sheriff come and escort you out with whatever you can carry out. Got punched, got punched. Still hadn't looked for a rental, I wasn't leaving my home, so I went to work. I just kept doing that. It was working. I kept doing that. I worked like it was up to me and I prayed like it was up to God. That's it. I don't even know now, looking back, how I did that. August 1st I called the bank and asked where do I wire the money?
Speaker 1:Save the house. Let's talk about that. So let's take it and add some application for people that are maybe in different types of positions. So you said something that I think is really important, and actually my last guest said this as well. You have to see it before it will happen. And I think a lot of times, um, many, many people men and women are too afraid to say what they want and then put a timeline on it. You were forced to put a timeline, I had no choice. Yeah, yeah, but they're afraid to say what they want and have it be something that's big and bold and scary. Um, do you think if that timeline had not been applied, you would have worked the same way?
Speaker 3:Probably not. Yeah, yeah, probably not. I think you get to a point where you just get sick and tired of being sick and tired, and you have you kind of are at a crossroad, like I need to make this decision or not. I'm a I'm not a toe dipper into the pool, I'm a cannonballer, like I'm going to do it. Um, and when I, when I commit to doing something, I really put my heart, soul and I do it. Well, that gave me the extra push. I believe I still would have done it, and I believe things had to get as bad as they were for me to see it. Sharing my story now, though, gives light to other people that might be headed in that direction going. I can wait until it's desperate to do something different, or I can do something different now.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think it's interesting, right Cause I've seen even my friends that um have small businesses that are very traditional businesses and I'll watch them, and that going all in um is scary, no matter what you're doing, because I think it's this fear of being a failure in front of people and if you don't go all in, then you know you held something back and I don't know what that is and how people navigate that.
Speaker 1:Everybody's going to navigate it differently, but it's interesting to watch stories like yours, where it's really there's force applied and the amazing things that come from it, because if people just made the choice, they can make those amazing things happen. And I think, given the situation that a lot of families unfortunately are in today, in the situation that a lot of families unfortunately are in today, people need to make a decision or it's going to get much worse, um, and I hate to see that, but I, I did during that time, watch people's homes, you know, go into foreclosure and it's such a it's a devastating thing to watch. So so talk to me about your children. So you, you built, you know, different companies. Really, you've always been an entrepreneur. Yeah, what has that done for your kids? I mean, you have four children and you have grandchildren, which I'm so jealous of oh, it's better being a grandma.
Speaker 3:So much, but they call me Lolly. Yeah, it's so good.
Speaker 1:Yeah, what? What have you seen for them? Because they obviously watch all of it probably the older ones more so than the younger ones, but Totally true.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, it's great We've, we sat down. Once we got to that point in August, I sat my husband down and I said, look, I can make more money than you in this, in this, in this economy. And he, I mean, listen, he had a thriving business, it was great, I wanted for nothing. I drove the best car, I had all the things. None of that mattered at the end of the day if I didn't have stability for my kids. And so I asked him. I said what do I have to make for us to revert? Like cause, I worked where I could be home, pick up my kids from school, be at all their games you know, I'd work when they were sleeping or at school, kind of thing. And so he slid the budget to me and he's like if you can make that per month, that's no mani-pedis, no Starbucks, no vacation planning and barely savings like $12,500 a month. If you can do that and this was back in 2011. Then I'll switch places with you and in that moment. So that's where personal development comes in, because I got a lot of no's and I had to go. Those no's aren't paying my bills, so I'm just going to go to the next person. And my husband was like this is a lot of money, can you do this? And I was like and then I thought, you know, actually, yeah, I mean my mentor's doing that. If she can do that, I can do that, having zero experience in this industry, right. And then I got excited and I go, and not only are we going to save the house, we're going to be debt free, we're going to vacation, we're going to, and I and he goes, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. It's just, it's just a small little at home business, it'll don't get too excited. And I was like, oh, that fueled the fire.
Speaker 3:So we sat the kids down and we set little goals with them. We said, look, mom's not going to be at some of the soccer games. Track beats, they were all doing baseball and volleyball and all the things. I'm going to miss a few now so that I don't have to miss anything later. Fast forward to now. My son is a world-ranked decathlete and we have followed them all over the country. Now we have the flexibility to do that. So it's very much of a contrast of where we were and where we are now. So we taught them to make a goal. If you do the dishwasher extra. You do the laundry. If we can all pitch in, this will be our family goal. Here's what my prize is. What's your prize goal? Here's what my prize is. What's your prize? What do you want?
Speaker 3:And so, I think we had like a now I'm really aging myself a Walkman or one of those little Nintendo games. But we gave the kids goals to work for and anytime there was complaining during mom being gone so much, I'd say remember what is our goal, and then they would get right back in. So I made it, we made it a family thing um 12th paycheck. So one year of working hard maybe not as hard as those first three months, but consistent and hard and my 12th paycheck posted and my husband's in the garage or something, and I just scream and it and it was twelve thousand eight hundred dollars, um800. And I can't even talk, I'm pointing, I'm like I did it, I did it, I did it.
Speaker 3:And then I got real cocky and I'm like finish your contract, don't sign another one. You're coming home and guess who's doing laundry? That's you. Guess who's cleaning toilets? Not me. And so we did this little role reversal and he's been home ever since and I couldn't do what I do if he didn't do what he did. So so it's really kind of a family Commitment, commitment, right. And so my kids have Anything is really it's true.
Speaker 1:Right yeah, whether they agree to it or not, the thing that's nice is that you had buy-in.
Speaker 3:Right. Yeah, that's not to say that I have always had buy-in, like there's times where, like mom, you're always on your phone and I'm like, yeah, maybe I am, so balance plays in.
Speaker 1:But yeah, well, and you learn, yeah yeah. I remember when I was in pharma and the travel for me was getting just, I was actually to that phase where I didn't want to ever travel again. And you know, you get out of college and you're like travel, it sounds like the greatest thing ever. Yeah, yeah. But the buy-in from your family is really, really important and I think it teaches them a lot. That's why I was asking about the kids.
Speaker 3:Yeah, my kids, they know the value of a dollar. My oldest two really remember that, more so than my younger two. Um, value of hard work, figure it out. Resiliency, tenacity. My kids have grit and um, that's a blessing. It's a blessing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think sometimes we want to protect them from so much and it actually ends up hurting them in the long run Right, a hundred percent, a hundred percent.
Speaker 3:I get to speak into other moms and other women that exact message.
Speaker 1:So favorite book podcast. Do you have something that you recommend a lot?
Speaker 3:Oh my golly, I have a ton of books Well in my industry. So when I first started I was really learning my company, my product, and at about that one year mark, when we finally went okay, then I really dove into the industry and so my industry is network marketing. So the first book that I recommend to my team to get is called your First Year in Network Marketing and it kind of covers, it shows you, you know, if you work hard for three to five years, I would move that needle and say maybe five to seven years, but it kind of tells you, it forecasts what you can experience, but it also then walks you through the pitfalls of personal development. I didn't read that book until my 11th month and I'm like why didn't I read this month one so that one's written by the Yarnells? Like why didn't I read this month one so that one's written by the Yarnells, mark Yarnell. I really love that one.
Speaker 3:Think and Grow Rich. That is just a good. Everybody should read that one. Yeah, eat that Frog is a good one. I've got a whole list of them.
Speaker 1:Do you have a favorite podcast that you listen to that helps you.
Speaker 3:You know I don't In fact that's how we met is I was looking for podcasts, but I'll find like some inspirational podcast or even before podcasting was a thing I would do, like YouTube and I would listen to the audio Anything that is really teaching you the power of thinking. I love the Strangest Secret. In fact, I lead my team every January. We call it the Shift Storm I have to say that slowly so I get that F in there the Shift Storm and it's called the Strangest Secret and it really talks about how you can control your thoughts and whatever you see you can have, whatever you want you can achieve, and it really helps get your mindset in. So I listen to that every January with my team and then I'll listen to that. I usually around June and July again to just kind of look at my goals and see what we've accomplished and what we need to do to get them accomplished by the by you know my year deadline or whatever.
Speaker 3:So, uh, personal development's a big thing. I'm a big um. Uh, dave Ramsey went obviously to learn finances. Um, I love the leadership summit. I. I do a lot of those uh, industry conferences, not just our company, so anywhere I can go and just walk away. Inspired.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, what about with your children? Do you have anything that you, as a mom, like? Mom tip? You have four children that are all very successful. So, other than the grit, do you have anything aside from that that you think, oh, this would be a good tip for a young mom.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you know, when we were raising our kids, even before this career change, we made sure that our kids knew that their job was to learn. Their job was to mess up, to learn. Part of that is to mess up so that we can teach and correct and then do better. When you know better, you do better. Right? That's what Anne oh, I just forgot her name, maya Angelou says, and so when my kids would make a mistake or mess up, you know we're very blessed to have really good kids. But I would start by saying you know what? I've never been a mom of a 12 year old boy and you've never been a 12 year old boy, and so together we're going to get through this here.
Speaker 3:Here's the choice you made, and sometimes proactively we've had these conversations too when they felt right was hey, you might be somebody might approach you with or you might experience this, and we want to give you my viewpoint and dad's viewpoint, which were different, and at the end of the day, it's your choice, and just know that whatever you choose, there's a consequence Could be a positive one, or it could be what can be conceived as a negative one, but that even turns into positive too. So I think give your kids permission to be kids, and we never pressured our kids into any of their sports. In fact, we kind of held them back because we didn't want a bunch of burned out kids too. We experienced other families that may have been a season ahead of us going. I don't want them to have that much pressure on them that they have to get that college scholarship or that they even have to go to college. We just want them happy. We want them successful in whatever makes them happy.
Speaker 1:Interesting. I love listening to the various mom tips, especially when you have children that are older and you've seen what it creates. I think one of the things that I've always loved with my girls is they love to negotiate, yes. Oh, my gosh, I have. One of the things that I've always loved with my girls is they love to negotiate, yes.
Speaker 3:Oh my gosh, I have a couple of those.
Speaker 1:And while I don't always love it, I had a really dear friend of mine say let them negotiate, it teaches them really great life skills. And I'm like I know, but sometimes I like I've done with the negotiation, right, right.
Speaker 3:Yes, yeah, yeah yeah.
Speaker 1:But, but I do see it in them now and I think, yeah, they're very logical in their thought process and the way they can articulate it.
Speaker 3:Well, negotiation skills lead to good leadership skills. Yeah, absolutely yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, anything, I didn't ask you that you think. Oh, this would be great for these younger moms that are listening.
Speaker 3:Oh gosh, just be present. The one thing that I think my biggest hurdle when I switched from you know, I shut down the t-shirt company, of course. I shut down my prima donna interiors. I shut all that down to really focus on what I'm doing now.
Speaker 3:And mom guilt comes in Like gosh, especially that first year. Really first two years, but really that first year I'm like, oh, I'd wake my son up. You know what'd you guys have for dinner? And he's like, well, you know, brett had macaroni and cheese and I had Lucky Charms. And I'm like, oh, my gosh, and I just kept saying this too will pass. It's not going to be that way forever and you know. So beat yourself up less. Like, don't beat yourself up, you're just doing the best you can do.
Speaker 3:And I had choices like I'm going to lose my kids' security. They're the only home they've really ever known all their childhood memories. If I don't do something different or don't do something different and lose that, either way, I'm going to have mom guilt. So I just learned to cut myself some slack and put a deadline on it, like a timeline, like okay, at this point I'm going to pull back and create some balance.
Speaker 3:I still struggle with that, especially now that we're empty nesters. I can go, go, go, go, go, and yet we did all of this so that we could have our empty nester years together, my husband and I, and do all the things we want to do, and so it never ends right. But, as a mama, cut yourself some slack. If you add guilt into parenting, you're not going to do that. Well, and there's know, there's conversations I've had with my now adult children Like they'll say remember when and I'm like I never said that, they're like you did, and it really impacted me and all I can say now is I'm so sorry, but look at the person you are. Maybe I'm glad I said that, not to hurt you, but to grow you, and so you get to resolve some of these things later.
Speaker 1:I also think balance is an illusion. I've been in situations where I get to see a lot of different people from a lot of different life situations, and I think that there are seasons. I think that balance is something that I don't know, that you ever truly find balance, because you're going through different things at different times. So I agree, I agree with the give yourself grace, because we all need it and we all need to give it. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:So yeah, yeah, yeah, you just do the best you can do. When it comes with my kids, I encourage them, do it Like, try it. If it's on your heart, do it, yeah. So what if you fail? Yeah, it's not a fail, it's a. It's a feeling forward, like you're going to learn what not to do next time or what, what you could do better. And I think giving our kids independence, like that, is really important too. Yeah, I agree with you.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Thank you for doing this with me. Thanks for having me.
Speaker 3:Yeah, this was really fun, thank you. What a.