What if the question you've been asking about ambition and motherhood is the wrong one entirely? In this episode, Emily plants her flag for 2026 and shares the message she is going all in on. You can be both a present mom and an ambitious woman, and the conversation worth having is no longer whether it's possible, but what it actually takes.

This episode is for the entrepreneur mom who is tired of quietly shrinking in the name of being realistic. Emily speaks directly to the cultural messages that convince capable women to want less, names the moments where those beliefs sneak in, and shares what self-leadership and intentional life design look like in real life as a mom of five running two businesses. If you've been stuck in the loop of debating whether you can have both, this episode will change the question you're asking.

Questions Answered in This Episode:

• What is the message Emily is going all in on for 2026 and why does it matter for entrepreneur moms?
• Why does the question "is it possible to be a present mom and an ambitious woman" keep CEO moms stuck in a loop?
• What are the cultural messages that quietly convince ambitious women to shrink and call it realistic?
• How do hard seasons turn into limiting beliefs about your capacity, your worth, and your season of life?
• What does it actually take to build a business as a mom without losing yourself in the process?
• Why is self-leadership for women the non-negotiable foundation of life and business design?
• How do you design a life that holds both present motherhood and CEO-level ambition?

Mentioned in this episode:

Episode 55: You Can Be a Present Mom and an Ambitious Woman — But It’s Not Accidental

THE CEO BESTIES MEMBERSHIP:

A Membership For Ambitious Women Building Profitable Businesses Alongside CEO Besties Who Get It.

Join the membership: https://theceobesties.com/membership/

CONNECT WITH EMILY:

1. ✨ Website: www.emilycollins.com
2. ✨ Instagram: @heyemilycollins

It started with a hard day. Everyone was fighting, nobody was listening, and Emily was at her limit. So she took her boys outside for a calm conversation and asked a simple question: what do you need right now? The answer was special time. And when she asked them to rate her on a scale of one to ten, her oldest said 0.5. That moment became the catalyst for bringing back something their family had let slip the family meeting.

This episode is for moms who feel like they're constantly managing their kids instead of leading their family. Emily shares exactly what happened when she asked her kids for feedback, why she didn't get defensive, and how that one conversation changed the entire energy of their week. She also walks through the full family meeting agenda she's now using on Saturday mornings and explains why family culture is either created by default or with intention. If your mornings feel chaotic, your kids feel disconnected, or you're wondering how to build more trust with your kids before the teenage years hit, this episode will give you a simple framework to start.

Questions answered in this episode:

• What happens when you ask your kids to rate you as a parent?
• How do you receive feedback from your kids without getting defensive?
• What should a family meeting actually include and how long should it take?
• How do you get even young kids engaged in a family meeting?
• Why does giving your kids a voice build trust that compounds over time?
• What is the difference between managing your kids and leading your family?

THE CEO BESTIES MEMBERSHIP:

A Membership For Ambitious Women Building Profitable Businesses Alongside CEO Besties Who Get It.

Join the membership: https://theceobesties.com/membership/

CONNECT WITH EMILY:

1. ✨ Website: www.emilycollins.com
2. ✨ Instagram: @heyemilycollins

Emily is four months postpartum, running on broken sleep, and holding more than ever. In this episode, she gets real about where she's at and shares the five changes she's making to her business right now, not from a place of having it all figured out, but from necessity. When you're pushed to max capacity, you don't have time to stay behind or avoid decisions. You have to get clear and lead.

This episode is for moms who feel like they're constantly catching up, squeezing work into every spare minute, and wondering how to build something sustainable while raising kids. Emily walks through how she's restructuring her weeks, protecting her calendar, and getting out of the backend so she can show up where she actually comes alive. If you've been waiting for permission to simplify, set boundaries, and run your business differently, this is it.

Questions answered in this episode:

• What does it look like to plan a month ahead and why does it change everything?
• Why is Emily walking away from one-to-one coaching as her core offer?
• How do you turn a time goal into a boundary and actually hold it?
• What's the difference between squeezing in work and structuring your hours intentionally?
• How do you fill your cup as a mom so you can show up resourced for the week?
• What does it mean to get out of the backend and show up where you come alive?

THE CEO BESTIES MEMBERSHIP:

A Membership For Ambitious Women Building Profitable Businesses Alongside CEO Besties Who Get It.

Join the membership: https://theceobesties.com/membership/

CONNECT WITH EMILY:

1. ✨ Website: www.emilycollins.com
2. ✨ Instagram: @heyemilycollins

Last week was one of those weeks. Darren was traveling for the second week in a row, Emma was up every two hours, and Emily found herself in full reaction mode — snappy, depleted, and wondering if maybe this whole "present mom and ambitious woman" thing was actually impossible. In this episode, Emily gets honest about what that week looked like and why she didn't let it spiral into shame or self-attack. Instead, she looked at it through the lens of a CEO and asked a different question: what is this showing me about the system?

This episode is for women who feel like they're failing at everything — motherhood, business, taking care of themselves — and are starting to wonder if maybe they just need to want less. Emily breaks down her CEO framework (vision, strategy, structure, support, and self-leadership) and explains why most women aren't actually failing. They're just trying to run a CEO-level life with no CEO-level structure or support. If you've been living in reaction mode and you're ready to start designing your life instead of just surviving it, this conversation will change how you think about what's actually possible.

Questions answered in this episode:

• What does it actually take to be a present mom and an ambitious woman at the same time?
• Why do so many women feel like they're failing when really it's a structure problem?
• What is the difference between running your home by default versus by design?
• How do you lead your family like a CEO without it feeling cold or corporate?
• What are the five things every CEO does and how do they apply to your life?
• How do you stop making a bad week mean something about who you are?

THE CEO BESTIES MEMBERSHIP:

A Membership For Ambitious Women Building Profitable Businesses Alongside CEO Besties Who Get It.

Join the membership: https://theceobesties.com/membership/

CONNECT WITH EMILY:

1. ✨ Website: www.emilycollins.com
2. ✨ Instagram: @heyemilycollins

You don't have to feel ready before you take the next step — you just have to take it. In this conversation, Emily sits down with Lindsay Cloud, a vocal coach and business coach who has sold over 100,000 sessions and built her business by doing what she couldn't not do. Lindsay shares what shifted when she stopped waiting for confidence and started taking action anyway, why sales is really about connection and belief, and how regulating her nervous system became the foundation for explosive growth.

This conversation is for women who feel stuck, waiting for the fear to pass before they make a move. Lindsay and Emily get into why agency is a decision not a feeling, what it actually looks like to build an empire while raising kids, and how your life expands to match what you're willing to claim out loud. If you've been playing small or hiding your big vision, this episode is going to change how you think about confidence, action, and what you're capable of.

Questions answered in this episode:

1. What does it mean to have agency, and why is it a decision not a feeling?
2. Why do so many people resist sales, and what shifts when you truly believe in what you're offering?
3. How do you regulate your nervous system so you can actually show up and be creative?
4. What's the difference between building a business and building an empire?
5. How do you celebrate your wins so your brain doesn't trick you into thinking it was easy all along?
6. What would you tell a woman who feels like she's waiting to feel confident before she makes a move?

THE CEO BESTIES MEMBERSHIP:

A Membership For Ambitious Women Building Profitable Businesses Alongside CEO Besties Who Get It.

Join the membership: https://theceobesties.com/membership/

Connect with Lindsay:

So Much More Than Sales

Text Lindsay's Assistant: 424-383-7811

CONNECT WITH EMILY:

1. ✨ Website: www.emilycollins.com
2. ✨ Instagram: @heyemilycollins

Something shifted after baby number five that Emily didn't expect. It wasn't the logistics — she had prepared for that. It was the internal stretch that came from holding more in life and business than ever before. In this episode, Emily shares what the fourth trimester revealed about how she had been showing up online, why social media started feeling draining, and the moment she realized she had been performing without even knowing it.

This conversation is for women who have ever felt like showing up online takes more energy than it should. Emily gets honest about what it looks like to stop polishing everything, to own your authority without shrinking, and to figure out what you actually believe — not what you think will land well. If you're craving more alignment and less performance in how you show up, this episode is for you.

Questions answered in this episode:

1. What does life actually look like with five kids, two businesses, and a newborn?
2. Why did showing up on social media start feeling so draining after baby number five?
3. What is the difference between showing up authentically and still performing without realizing it?
4. How do you figure out what you actually believe and what hills you're willing to die on?
5. What does discomfort in authority look like and how do you move through it?
6. How do you refine your life and business in real time instead of waiting until you have it all figured out?

THE CEO BESTIES MEMBERSHIP:

A Membership For Ambitious Women Building Profitable Businesses Alongside CEO Besties Who Get It.

Join the membership: https://theceobesties.com/membership/

CONNECT WITH EMILY:

1. ✨ Website: www.emilycollins.com
2. ✨ Instagram: @heyemilycollins

Growth doesn't always come from the seasons you plan for... sometimes it comes from the ones you never would have chosen. In this conversation, Emily sits down with Michelle Hooey, a coach, speaker, and bestselling author of The Goldie Effect. Michelle shares the deeply personal story behind her book, including the journey with her daughter Goldie, how that season completely changed the way she thinks about success, and what it looks like to rebuild your life without burning it all down.

This conversation is for anyone who has ever found themselves trying to hold it all together, wondering how to keep rising in a season they never would have chosen. Michelle and Emily talk about presence, surrender, motherhood, marriage, community, and the small choices that help you keep going when life feels really heavy. If you've been through your own "before and after" moment, this one is going to stay with you.

Questions answered in this episode:

1. What does it look like to rewrite your life without burning it all down?
2. How do you find presence and surrender when life feels completely out of control?
3. What is the 15 Minute Rewrite and how can it help busy moms reclaim their energy?
4. How do you protect your marriage and family through seasons of intense uncertainty?
5. Why is community so essential when you're navigating something hard?
6. What does it mean to turn your hardest season into something that helps others?

THE CEO BESTIES MEMBERSHIP:

A Membership For Ambitious Women Building Profitable Businesses Alongside CEO Besties Who Get It.

Join the membership: https://theceobesties.com/membership/

Connect With Michelle:

Instagram: @michellehooey

Website: anchorlistcoaching.com

Book: The Goldie Effect (available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble)

CONNECT WITH EMILY:

1. ✨ Website: www.emilycollins.com
2. ✨ Instagram: @heyemilycollins

For years, Emily called herself a stay-at-home mom — even though that label barely touched her actual life. She was running a home, managing properties, handling investments, and raising four kids, all while feeling a steady pull toward something of her own. In this episode, she shares the three identity shifts that finally allowed her marriage, motherhood, and ambition to stop competing and start working together.

This conversation is for women who are tired of feeling like they have to shrink one part of themselves to make room for the others. If you've been carrying everything alone, disappearing inside motherhood, or treating your dreams like they belong in the leftover corners of your life, these shifts will show you another way.

Questions answered in this episode:

1. What does it actually look like to go from carrying it all to co-leading your life with your partner?
2. How do you reclaim your identity when motherhood has quietly become all of you?
3. What happens when you stop treating your business like a hobby and start building something real?
4. Why does letting go of control actually strengthen your marriage and your capacity for ambition?
5. How do these three identity shifts allow marriage, motherhood, and ambition to support each other instead of compete?
6. What's the first shift you can make this week to start building a life where the pieces actually fit?

THE CEO BESTIES MEMBERSHIP:

A Membership For Ambitious Women Building Profitable Businesses Alongside CEO Besties Who Get It.

Join the membership: https://theceobesties.com/membership/

CONNECT WITH EMILY:

1. ✨ Website: www.emilycollins.com
2. ✨ Instagram: @heyemilycollins