Why I Hustle the Way I Do (And What It's Actually For)
Today I'm on a field trip with Lennon.
Not catching up on emails during it. Not sneaking away to take a call. Not mentally somewhere else while physically standing next to her. I am just... there. Fully. Present.
And I want to talk about how that's possible — because it didn't happen by accident.
The Version of Me That Couldn't Do This
There was a version of me that would have had to choose. Show up for Lennon and fall behind at work. Or stay caught up at work and miss the moment.
That trade-off is real for so many moms and I don't want to minimize it. I lived it. The guilt of being at work when you want to be with your kid, or being with your kid and feeling the weight of everything piling up while you're gone — it's exhausting in a way that's hard to describe unless you've felt it.
I got tired of that weight.
Why I Added Olive Tree People to My Life
I'm a travel agent. I love what I do and I'm building something real there. But I also made a deliberate decision to add another income stream — one that works even when I'm not actively working it.
That's Olive Tree People. It's a clean skincare and wellness company, and I became a part of it not because I was looking for a side hustle, but because I was looking for freedom. Specifically, the freedom to say yes to field trips. To be the mom at the school event, not the mom who had to send a note saying she couldn't make it.
Residual income — money that keeps coming in from work you already did — changes the math of your life. It means a Tuesday afternoon can be for Lennon without it costing me financially.
What I Want You to Know
I'm not going to tell you it's easy or that it happens overnight. Building anything real takes time and consistency. I put in the work when Lennon's asleep, during nap times that don't exist anymore but used to, on Saturday mornings before the house wakes up.
But I do it because the payoff isn't a paycheck — it's this. A field trip. A morning where I get to be her mom, undivided.
People ask me why I do so many things. Why I run a travel business AND do skincare AND show up here consistently AND still somehow make it to school events.
The answer is: because I decided that being present for Lennon wasn't something I was willing to put on the "someday" list.
Everything I've built is in service of that.
If Any of This Resonates With You
If you're a mom who's tired of the trade-off — who wants to build something that gives you time back, not just money — I'd genuinely love to talk.
Olive Tree People is something I believe in. The products are clean, the mission is real, and the opportunity to build income around your actual life (not the other way around) is what drew me in.
You don't have to have it all figured out. I didn't when I started. I still don’t as I am continuing to learn.
Reach out. Let's talk about what it could look like for you.
And now I'm going to go be fully present on this field trip. 💛
xoxo,
Katie