Join host Brian Baulch for an inspiring conversation with serial entrepreneur and burnout prevention coach MJ Mitchell, who has transformed her 30+ years of business ownership experience into a mission to help women entrepreneurs thrive without sacrificing their health and joy.

In this episode, we explore the beautiful parallels between brewing the perfect cup of coffee and building a sustainable business. MJ shares why patience is the secret ingredient both coffee and entrepreneurship require, and how her morning coffee ritual on her back patio creates the calm foundation for everything that follows.

Discover why so many passionate business owners end up holding their ventures together with "band-aids and duct tape," and learn MJ's holistic approach that marries mindset, wellness, and business strategy. From her memorable "Frappuccino Friday" mastermind sessions to coaching clients during coffee walks, MJ demonstrates how the warmth and comfort of coffee can build trust and spark breakthrough moments.

Whether you're a corporate professional dreaming of entrepreneurship or a business owner feeling the weight of burnout, this conversation offers practical wisdom about creating rituals, embracing patience, and building businesses that enhance rather than exhaust your life.

Key Takeaways:

• Why "you can't read the label from inside the jar" and need an outside perspective
• How morning coffee rituals create clarity and prevent decision fatigue
• The importance of enjoying the business-building process, not just the destination
• Why seasonal thinking applies to both coffee flavours and business strategies
• How informal coffee meetings can lead to more authentic coaching breakthroughs

Perfect for: Women entrepreneurs, corporate professionals considering business ownership, anyone interested in sustainable success strategies, and coffee lovers who appreciate the ritual and mindfulness that comes with their daily brew.

Connect with Monica (MJ) Mitchell: Visit mjmitchell.com for free burnout prevention resources and to schedule a complimentary consultation. Mention Coffee, The Ultimate Treat, for special consideration!

Monica launched "From Hustle to Harmony," a 12-week transformational coaching program designed to help female entrepreneurs reclaim their energy, redefine success, and create sustainable businesses without sacrificing well-being. Her approach addresses burnout at its root by promoting mindset shifts, incorporating wellness practices, fostering leadership development, and implementing practical business strategies.

Connect with Monica MJ Mitchell:

• Website: www.mjmitchell.com

• Free consultation available for Coffee The Ultimate Treat listeners

Resources Mentioned

• Monica's website with free download: mjmitchell.com

• "From Hustle to Harmony" 12-week program

• Complimentary burnout consultation for listeners

Coffee Corner

Monica's favourite coffee style: Sweet with cream and sugar, particularly caramel vanilla blends with cinnamon (which she notes helps with metabolism!)

Next Steps

Suppose you're a career-oriented woman considering entrepreneurship or a current business owner feeling overwhelmed. In that case, Monica offers complimentary consultations to discuss burnout prevention and provides actionable steps regardless of whether you work with her long-term.

Coffee The Ultimate Treat is your go-to resource for transforming your daily coffee ritual into a powerful tool for business success and personal well-being. Whether you're an entrepreneur, startup founder, or digital creator, we help you elevate your wellness, master time management, and gain entrepreneurial insights through the lens of coffee culture.

This episode's content is based on an authentic conversation between Brian Baulch and Monica Mitchell, providing genuine insights into sustainable entrepreneurship and the powerful connection between mindful coffee consumption and business success.

Grab your favourite caramel vanilla blend, settle in, and let's explore how patience, rituals, and the proper support can transform both your morning coffee and your entrepreneurial journey.

Brian Baulch (00:01.31)
Welcome back everyone to Coffee the Ultimate Treat. We have a special guest today, Monique Mitchell. She has over 30 years experience owning and operating businesses. She helps small business, particularly women, to prevent burnouts and to thrive, which is very important in today's economy.

she has learned how to succeed without sacrificing her health and her joy, which is very important for every, woman out there. And, we'll deep dive with Monique, right now. And I'll just get back to them. Okay. So Monique, we'll just start off by you just sharing,

how did you get into coaching, a little bit about your background and we'll go from there if you don't mind.

Monica (MJ) Mitchell (01:07.457)
Yeah, well, I'm a serial entrepreneur. I started my first business. Actually, I started

probably in high school, my first business. over the past, yeah, yeah. Over the past few decades, I built multiple service-based businesses. I started in the fitness and wellness industry. I did that for about 20 years. Then I added life and business coaching to that, and then professional organizing and productivity consulting. And in each of those different industries, I...

Brian Baulch (01:17.362)
Alright, excellent.

Brian Baulch (01:27.571)
Mm-hmm.

Brian Baulch (01:39.188)
Mm-hmm.

Monica (MJ) Mitchell (01:40.744)
became a business coach for others in that industry because I was pretty driven and successful and liked to share my passion and my gifts and my experience to help others. And so that's kind of how I got into the coaching side of things. But what I noticed through the years was no matter what industry I was in, or who I was working with, whether it was a business owner or a client of my services,

Burnout was a common thread that so many of my clients, my colleagues and I, we were all experiencing. I think a lot of times business owners especially, we start our business because we have a passion and a gift for something that we want to share with others, but we're never taught how to run a business, especially not in a sustainable way.

Brian Baulch (02:15.688)
Mm-hmm, yes.

Brian Baulch (02:23.058)
Yes. Mm-hmm.

Monica (MJ) Mitchell (02:28.91)
And so we hold everything together with band-aids and duct tape. There we go. Band-aids and duct tape. We figure it all on the fly. And we are just waiting for the wheels to fall off. And so that's where my passion and my gifts are to share what I've learned through the years in my businesses and working with my clients. And I marry mindset, wellness, and business strategy from my background to help other businesses.

Brian Baulch (02:36.104)
Yeah, that sounds like it.

Brian Baulch (02:41.0)
Yep.

Monica (MJ) Mitchell (02:58.864)
business owners create happier and healthier lives and more sustainable businesses.

Brian Baulch (03:03.994)
Awesome. so how, you know, with the, do you have morning coffee breaks, do you? And morning coffee ritual, do you?

Monica (MJ) Mitchell (03:16.266)
do. love to, well, if I don't walk my dog and feed her before anything else, she'll bite my face off. So I have to do that. But other than that, first thing I do is grab a cup of coffee and just go sit out on my back patio and just enjoy a few minutes of calm before I dive into the chaos. It's just a good time to ground and prepare and process just mentally, physically, and of course the little caffeine kick helps as well.

Brian Baulch (03:44.996)
Awesome. And can you share a story about a client, don't, of course don't say names, over a cup of coffee and had breakthrough moments and transform their business and their personal life all in one type of thing.

Monica (MJ) Mitchell (04:04.462)
Yeah, it's so interesting. love this podcast for specifically that reason because a lot of my clients, I will meet them and we'll either go on a walk or we will meet over coffee just because it kind of takes them.

Brian Baulch (04:18.196)
Mm-hmm.

Monica (MJ) Mitchell (04:22.124)
the edge off of things as opposed to like sitting in a meeting room or a boardroom and just or just on a computer staring at each other. It's so nice to just be able to sit back, relax, have a cup of coffee, get some energy for what's going to happen after your cup of coffee. But I do do that a lot. And even on our walk sometimes we'll meet at a coffee shop, grab us a drink and then take it with us as we walk. And it's just, you know, specific conversations. It's so hard to pin down.

just one that I do have a client that even just recently I think last week we met up and we met at a coffee shop got our drinks went on a walk took them with us and we just sipped and talked and it helps to make things more

Brian Baulch (04:53.427)
Yeah, yeah.

Monica (MJ) Mitchell (05:08.15)
interactive and more personal. I feel like it just takes some of the edge off of some of our conversations when you're having coffee. It's more like a conversation with a friend than a coach or a coach and a client or a mentor mentee or whatever it is. I feel like just having that coffee makes it a little bit more personal sometimes.

Brian Baulch (05:11.056)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Brian Baulch (05:19.038)
Mm-hmm.

Brian Baulch (05:30.962)
Yes, definitely. So is there any sort of certain coffee flavor or blend that you particularly like to start out the day?

Monica (MJ) Mitchell (05:42.67)
I am a sweet girl. like cream and sugar just as much as I like coffee. So I'm like caramel vanilla kind of like any kind of smoky cinnamon or caramel vanilla. I like things kind of on that side of things.

Brian Baulch (05:46.535)
Okay.

Brian Baulch (05:50.449)
Okay.

Brian Baulch (06:02.898)
Okay, interesting cinnamon. I'll keep that in mind, definitely.

Monica (MJ) Mitchell (06:07.66)
Cinnamon actually helps with the metabolism as well. So it makes everything healthier.

Brian Baulch (06:11.706)
Yes indeed, yes.

What are the parallels do you see between the craft of brewing your perfect coffee and crafting a sustainable business without the burnout and to keep the free flowing passion within the entrepreneurial journey with these ladies that you're working with?

Monica (MJ) Mitchell (06:35.958)
gosh, that's such a great question. You know, the first word that comes to mind is patience. You can't rush a good cup of coffee. You gotta let it take its time. You can't just...

Brian Baulch (06:47.389)
Yep.

Monica (MJ) Mitchell (06:50.686)
make it happen quickly. So I think patience is the best parallel that I can draw. The same thing with your business or any entrepreneurial adventure, whatever it may be. I feel like just letting time and effort and letting things happen.

Brian Baulch (06:58.131)
Mm-hmm.

Monica (MJ) Mitchell (07:15.7)
as they should, not trying to force it, not trying to make it anything more or less than it is. And just enjoying, enjoy the ride, enjoy the sense as the coffee is brewing, enjoy your business as it's growing. And to really just take the time to be patient and let it do its thing. And enjoy it.

Brian Baulch (07:39.924)
Mm-hmm.

Yes, definitely. Very important.

What, how would you go about say starting with someone, it's a successful career lady working in a corporate business, you know, a medium sized corporate business or even a government business for that matter, who is maybe around 30 to 40 years of age or.

you know, even getting into the seniors, that's fine. But basically what I'm getting at is they're a career-orientated woman, but now they're starting to get towards where they want to venture out into the entrepreneurial world, but they don't know where to start, how to start, but they have a passion in that certain area, whatever the area may be.

And their gifts and talents and they want to start using it But they seem to be working around the clock, know, they're between the 40 and 50 hours a week And then on top of that, they may have children or may not have children They may have a husband partner And so they're trying to juggle all of that. So that's what I'm basically getting at How would you start them out?

Monica (MJ) Mitchell (09:15.269)
this is not a shameless plug, but I would encourage them to get a coach. I would encourage them to get a coach, whether it's me or somebody else, because, you can't see the label from inside the jar. And when you are inside the jar of your job and your, day to day, your family, your children, all of the things that are going on, trying to start your business, you.

Brian Baulch (09:20.104)
Yay, yeah.

Yes?

Brian Baulch (09:31.678)
Mm-hmm.

Brian Baulch (09:41.48)
Mm-hmm.

Monica (MJ) Mitchell (09:44.652)
you're kind of in your own little world and you can get caught up in that. Owning a business a lot of times is very lonely. That's why a lot of people hire coaches is because you get in your head and stuff spins and it spins and it spins and you get into that analysis paralysis where you've got all these ideas and all these different ways you could do things and all these options but you don't have the outside perspective to sort everything out and to make those decisions and you don't have the experience.

Brian Baulch (09:48.884)
Mmm.

Monica (MJ) Mitchell (10:14.576)
to... it says I'm trying to reconnect but I do not have a stable internet connection. Are you hearing me okay?

Brian Baulch (10:27.08)
was a little bit, you may wanna say that again, so then I can cut that bit out and if you can say it again in however you wanna say it, it's fine, I can cut that out, yeah. And we'll go again with that bit.

Monica (MJ) Mitchell (10:33.826)
Yeah.

Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Sorry. It just said you you're you've got a interconnect connection. Okay. so can you hear me now? Okay.

Brian Baulch (10:48.046)
I just... Yup.

Yeah, try, go again, yep.

Monica (MJ) Mitchell (10:54.262)
Okay, so

One of the phrases that I use a lot is you can't read the label from inside the jar. So I would strongly recommend somebody that's wanting to start a new business to hire a coach because when you're inside the jar, you're inside your own life with all of your work demands and your family and your regular day to day routine. You just don't have the perspective sometimes to be able to make educated decisions or to you don't have the

experience sometimes to make decisions. You've got all these ideas and all of these things you want to do and all of these options. How do I do my marketing? Do I do social media? If I'm going to do social media, do I do Facebook? Do I do Instagram? Do I do TikTok? What do I do? And it all starts to kind of spin and then we get into analysis paralysis and we're stuck there and everything is big and scary and unknown. And so the best advice I wish I had done

Brian Baulch (11:31.016)
Yes.

Brian Baulch (11:40.276)
Mmm.

Brian Baulch (11:51.848)
Mm-hmm.

Monica (MJ) Mitchell (11:58.54)
Way sooner and that I give my you know, anybody who will listen is hire a coach because they've got the Expertise they've got the outside perspective. They're not as attached to some of the decisions They can give you guidance and some clarity that you're not going to be able to have on your own so really, you know, not a shameless plug but You know whether it's me or somebody else. I would just say hire a coach and get that guidance and perspective

Brian Baulch (12:23.508)
Mm-hmm.

Monica (MJ) Mitchell (12:28.282)
Thank

Brian Baulch (12:30.408)
Yeah, I'll just finish it up with basically that, from my experience, is, yeah, you've been able to get to that passion quicker rather than, you know, that procrastination period, which can go on for years, maybe even decades, unfortunately, with some people. But to be able to get that clarity and to slow down everything.

It's very important to get that spark and that uniqueness out. So I totally agree with you there, Monica. So how do you use the warmth and the comfort of coffee to chat, to build trust? That's maybe with not, you know, clients already, but cold, you know, your target market and to spark a mindset shift.

with clients or prospects even,

Monica (MJ) Mitchell (13:29.228)
Yeah. so one of the things that I do a lot with my clients is I encourage them to embrace rituals and routines. And so just like with me, with my morning routine, where I get up, I walk and feed the dog and then I have my coffee before I get everything started. That's my time for the calm, the clarity. And that's the thing that we crave the most as business owners is everything tends to be go, go, go, go, go. And we're always on the run and we're always doing things for our clients and our business.

Brian Baulch (13:37.383)
Right, yep.

Brian Baulch (13:46.74)
Mm-hmm.

Monica (MJ) Mitchell (13:59.152)
We don't take a whole lot of time for ourselves. so in my work with, know, whether it's just a prospect on the phone or a colleague or a client, I really just encourage them to embrace some rituals of calm. And you mentioned the warm, definitely as we're coming into the fall and winter to be able to just wake up, have a nice warm cup of coffee. can be very soothing to the nerves, even though you're getting the energy from the caffeine. It can also having routines can

It help to funnel your ideas, it can help to funnel your time and energy and give you a specific time to process information that you're not going to have during the day when you're putting out fires and interacting with people and doing all of the other things. So I love a good morning ritual and a lot of times that does involve that cup of coffee.

Brian Baulch (14:35.187)
Mm-hmm.

Brian Baulch (14:53.736)
Mm, ritual definitely sounds important. So what's a personal coffee related memory that fueled your passion for helping women entrepreneurs reclaim their energy and purpose?

Monica (MJ) Mitchell (15:11.224)
gosh, proclaiming their energy and purpose.

This may not exactly answer your question, but when you said personal coffee related, the first thing that popped in my head was I used to have Frappuccino Friday and I would have some of my girlfriends come over. This was when I lived in Orlando. Some of my girlfriends who owned businesses, we would meet up on Friday morning for a Frappuccino and we would brainstorm and mastermind about our businesses. We'd each bring something we wanted to celebrate, a challenge that we wanted.

Brian Baulch (15:28.168)
Right?

Brian Baulch (15:33.67)
Okay. Yeah.

Monica (MJ) Mitchell (15:45.346)
to bounce around and have the others give us feedback or suggestions, any questions or concerns with just random stuff, all the stuff that we were talking about that spins around in your head, we just brought it to the group. So our Frappuccino Friday, even though it's not just a nice warm cup of pure coffee, it was a coffee related experience that we really enjoyed.

Brian Baulch (15:47.301)
Awesome.

Brian Baulch (15:56.86)
Mm-hmm.

Brian Baulch (16:11.486)
Hmm, sounds like a fun mini mastermind party type of thing, yeah.

Monica (MJ) Mitchell (16:19.906)
Yeah, it was fantastic.

Brian Baulch (16:24.064)
And how do you guide your clients to find clarity over a coffee break? And what's one memorable moment where your approach was led to a game-changing decision?

Monica (MJ) Mitchell (16:44.782)
game-changing decision.

Monica (MJ) Mitchell (16:50.006)
one of my clients, was a salon owner and she and I would regularly, she offered a nice, several different options for beverages, but coffee was one of them for her clients. But I always did a early morning appointment. We would meet up and have coffee. she would do my hair. We would talk about her business and, I.

Brian Baulch (16:57.096)
Okay.

Brian Baulch (17:08.05)
Yeah.

Monica (MJ) Mitchell (17:20.236)
I remember that fondly because again, we just had that personal connection as opposed to, you know, just being on a virtual call or being, you know, stuck in an office at a desk or, you know, just hashing stuff out. just having that cup of coffee with her.

just helped us to engage as human beings. And it helped me to give more perspective on her as a human being and not just a business and not just finances and not just her advertising and marketing and not just her software problems she was working on or.

Brian Baulch (17:53.149)
Mm-hmm.

Monica (MJ) Mitchell (18:00.993)
you know, whatever. I have a very holistic approach to my clients. I don't just focus on marketing or just on their numbers or just on sales or just on their business. I do bring that wellness into it and that mindset into it. And a lot of times we would even just stop and meditate. You know, we'd have chit chat over our coffee and then we'd, you know, have a couple of minutes to meditate and ground and focus. Again, it kind of brings back to that ritual and routine.

Brian Baulch (18:11.931)
Mm-hmm.

Brian Baulch (18:23.54)
Mm-hmm.

Brian Baulch (18:32.275)
Mm-hmm.

Monica (MJ) Mitchell (18:33.73)
you know, we just, would chat over like personal stuff, what's going on in our life. And so many times that would bring up topics that would carry over into the business. You know, if you're dating somebody or getting married or moving or your children are going off to school or, you know, your schedule has changed, that's going to change all of your rhythms and routines. That's going to change your energy level. And so having those personal conversations,

Brian Baulch (18:48.667)
Mm-hmm.

Monica (MJ) Mitchell (19:03.664)
really helped to finesse what we did and how we approached her business as well.

Brian Baulch (19:13.364)
Okay, awesome. That sounds wonderful tips you're giving there today, Monica, to share to our community should be very helpful. And hopefully, if someone is listening right now, is interested in connecting with Monica, you will find the links in the show notes. So no dramas about that. And okay, as a coffee lover, Monica,

How do you weave the energy and the creativity of culture into your coaching to empower women to optimize their time and success?

Monica (MJ) Mitchell (19:55.938)
I'm so sorry, ask that question one more time.

Brian Baulch (19:59.462)
Yeah, it is as a coffee lover yourself, how do you weave in the energy and the creativity of culture into your coaching and to empower women to optimize their time and success.

Monica (MJ) Mitchell (20:17.698)
Yeah, I mean, I think we've kind of alluded to this a little already is I start my day with my coffee and that helps me to bring my focus, my calm, my clarity.

Brian Baulch (20:27.464)
Mm-hmm.

Monica (MJ) Mitchell (20:28.352)
into my conversations with my clients. If I didn't have that time in the mornings, I would be more frazzled, more distracted, more just kind of putting out fires and trying to figure things out as I go. That time in the morning, that culture that I have, and that I tried to have them create for themselves as well in whatever their morning routine may be. But that's how I bring my energy, is just giving myself that ritual, that routine, that focus.

Brian Baulch (20:42.844)
Mm-hmm.

Monica (MJ) Mitchell (20:58.346)
to calm time, to really clear and prepare for the day and I encourage them to do the same.

Brian Baulch (21:07.092)
Awesome Monica and have you got any closing thoughts and a golden tip you know to give to our listeners who may be able to connect with you and feel connected something golden and closing moments please.

Monica (MJ) Mitchell (21:33.634)
Gosh,

Monica (MJ) Mitchell (21:39.342)
I'm going to circle back around to one of the things we've already said and that's just enjoy, just breathe, enjoy. What was the patience? Patience. And, you know, take the time while your coffee is brewing, while your business is brewing to enjoy.

Brian Baulch (21:45.074)
Yep.

Brian Baulch (21:48.572)
Yes. Yes.

Monica (MJ) Mitchell (21:58.7)
the scent, the smells, the taste, the texture, the rhythm and routine, the seasonality, know, different flavors of coffee for different seasons. Kind of, I love the parallel of that with the different flavors that your business is gonna be, or that your business is gonna have during different seasons. I talk a lot about seasonality, having different rituals, different routines. So really just embrace the...

Brian Baulch (22:08.627)
Mm-hmm.

Brian Baulch (22:17.212)
Mmm, yes.

Brian Baulch (22:22.149)
Awesome.

Monica (MJ) Mitchell (22:28.27)
you

Just embrace the patience or the time.

Brian Baulch (22:35.354)
Mm-hmm Awesome, this sounds awesome there Monica and so where can people? Find you on social media and angel and where is the best way?

Monica (MJ) Mitchell (22:50.082)
I'm not on social media a whole lot. am on LinkedIn at MJ, MJ Mitchell Coaching. But typically the best way to reach out to me is just on via my website, MJ.

Brian Baulch (22:53.341)
Okay.

Brian Baulch (22:57.864)
Yep.

Monica (MJ) Mitchell (23:04.274)
MJMJMichell.com if they mention them I've got a free download on my site and I'll give you a link that goes that's a direct link for you but if they use that link or if they mention you at all I love to have conversations about burnout. I love to whether somebody's gonna work with me or not. I love to learn about people learn about their what's going on in their world and just those conversations help me to enhance the work that I do with people.

Brian Baulch (23:07.933)
Yep, that's fine.

Monica (MJ) Mitchell (23:34.148)
And I always give people an actionable step or two, whether they choose to work with me or not. But I would love to have a complimentary consultation or a complimentary conversation with any of your audience that want to talk about burnout. If they're starting to feel burnout, if they're not sure if they're burned out, if they're not sure what to do about it, I'd love to just have a conversation, learn about what's going on in their world, offer them a couple of action items or some outside perspective and maybe give them some suggestions.

Brian Baulch (23:59.86)
Mm-hmm.

Monica (MJ) Mitchell (24:04.068)
for a ritual or routine that they can incorporate along with their coffee break to help with whatever's going on in their world. So I'd love to offer that as a complimentary gift to your clients.

Brian Baulch (24:16.328)
Well thank you Monica and so dear listeners if you want to connect with Monica or if you want to know more about coaching and how it works and how you can get out of your head and get more more balance in your life and like we mentioned if you're you know you're maybe working long hard hours but you have a passion of whatever kind of be it might be a coffee startup

of any kind or any type of business. Monica has over 20 years experience or more than that and I encourage you to go ahead and we'll put it into the show notes there so you can connect with Monica and like she said you can get some wonderful free resources even if you don't really want to be shy to maybe go ahead and connect.

She's got some wonderful resources I see over there. So thanks for your time today, Monica. It's been wonderful and hopefully it's been very helpful to the listeners to get more engaged in towards their passion and their wellness and of course brewing their favorite coffee and enjoying their coffee. So thanks, Monica, and have a wonderful day listeners.

And until next time, this is Brian signing off.

Monica (MJ) Mitchell (25:47.246)
Thanks