In Her Own Words

In Her Own Words

Stacy Fiske is a Certified Public Accountant, wife, and mother of five. After several years working as a successful CPA in Corporate America, the economy took a turn for the worse and Stacy lost her job. Recently divorced and a single mother at the time, Stacy was forced to reflect on what she wanted to do with the rest of her life. Determined to take back control, Stacy returned to the corporate world, but this time she wasn’t going to rely solely on her job. She joined Moms Making Six Figures, and went from making $44,000 in six months working part-time to well over $200,000 a year working full-time. That was 7 years ago. Stacy has made six figures ever since. How has she achieved such success on her own terms? Here’s Stacy’s story.

Life Before Moms Making Six Figures

A Certified Public Accountant, Stacy was always a hard worker, putting her heart and soul into Corporate America. She worked for various successful companies and eventually ended up as Vice President and Director of Product Management for HSBC Bank’s Auto Finance Division, originating billions of dollars in loans annually. But then 2008 came along, the economy collapsed, and Stacy lost the job to which she had dedicated so much.

This wasn’t the first setback Stacy had experienced around that time. She was also recently divorced, and her first daughter—Dyllan, now 10 years old—was only one year old when she was laid off. It was a lot to deal with in a short amount of time. However, looking back, she’s now positive about the whole experience. “I think it led me to where I am today, so it was all for the best—it really made me reflect on where I wanted to go with my career and what I wanted out of life overall. Somehow I just kept going back to the fact that I really wanted to control my schedule.”

“Being laid off is a little hard on your ego,” Stacy admitted. “You work for a company like that for several years, putting your heart and soul and your entire work-life balance on the line to help an organization be successful, and then you’re still let go. It’s the reality of the corporate world, but it hurts nonetheless.”

Unemployed for two months but determined to take matters into her own hands, Stacy went back into the corporate world. But this time she had bigger plans for herself.

Taking Back Control

At approximately the same time as she re-entered the corporate workforce, Stacy also joined Moms Making Six Figures. Introduced to the team by a friend, she saw it as the perfect opportunity to start building something for herself on the side. As a single mother with a full-time job, her transition was gradual. “I would say it was super gradual. In reality, I probably worked five hours a month for a while. Then in early 2010 I ramped up my hours and worked really hard on the side. I did that for the next several months, working about 10 to 15 hours a week.” In total, Stacy worked on Moms Making Six Figures part-time for a year and a half. In the final six months, she earned about $44,000 before finally quitting her corporate job and transitioning to Moms Making Six Figures full-time.

“I went at it full steam. I kept my nanny and continued working the same hours I did in the corporate world for about a year, knowing I needed to build up my income and to replace the salary I’d been making in the corporate world. I was able to grow extraordinarily fast, making well over $200,000 the next year. I’ve been able to consistently earn that since then, which has been a big deal.”

Living Life on Her Own Terms

Eight-and-a-half years after joining Moms Making Six Figures, Stacy continues to be successful and doesn’t miss the corporate world at all.

“In some ways I was successful as a corporate accountant. I made good money and was financially secure. However, that success came at a huge cost—it was almost impossible to be the mom I wanted to be. I worked at least 12 hours a day, and that meant I only saw my daughter for about an hour a day, because I was usually gone before she woke up in the morning and came home about an hour before she went to bed. I had no work-life balance.”

Now remarried to Rick, an active-duty Navy Seal, Stacy has gained 3 stepchildren: Mariah, 19, Megan, 16, and Joshua, 13. Plus, the couple now has a young son, Collin, who is three—which means that her home is now filled with five children. With such a big family, Stacy is grateful that she can continue to be the mother she always wanted to be.

“I can’t even imagine what my life would be like if I hadn’t joined Moms Making Six Figures. Now, instead of having someone else take care of my kids, I am able to wake them up, do school runs, and take them to extracurricular activities myself. I’ve never had to miss a school play or an event. I’ve always been able to volunteer in their classrooms. I can schedule work around my life instead of the other way around. It’s just a completely different lifestyle than I would have ever even dreamed was possible.”

Between working and being a busy mom of five, Stacy is still able to carve out a couple hours a week to exercise. “I try to make that happen pretty regularly. It’s as good as it gets.”

Although she’s proud of her achievements in the corporate world, Stacy now has a true sense of fulfillment. “What I do now is much more fulfilling and rewarding—not only for what I’m able to do for myself, but also for the other women I’ve been able to help. To enable them to be home with their kids and see that change in their lives is amazing. I’m even able to help stay-at-home moms have spending money and relieve the burden or guilt of not bringing in an income. It’s rewarding and fulfilling in a way that a corporate career could never be, because you’re helping people do it for themselves.”

When it comes to her team at Moms Making Six Figures, Stacy loves the camaraderie—something that was severely lacking in the cutthroat corporate world. “I think we all truly want each other to succeed as much as we want ourselves to succeed. Seeing people blossom and really come into their own and be successful business owners when they maybe never thought they would be, it’s a wonderful thing to be a part of.”

Stacy’s Advice for Other Corporate Women

“Only you can decide to take control of your life,” insists Stacy. “You have to make the decision and really commit. If you want something bad enough and are willing to do the work, you can’t really fail. No one is going to change your life for you—only you can do it.”