A CPSM Graduate Spotlight, with Brittany Montague

 

Brittany is a certified pediatric sleep consultant, mom of two, and former VP at a nonprofit. Brittany and her husband suffered a significant loss in April of 2023 after delivering her son, Gates, stillborn at 16 weeks. This was a pivotal moment in her life when she realized she wanted to be a stay-at-home mom with her two children. CPSM Graduate

While Brittany was on leave from her job recovering, she found CPSM and enrolled. Brittany’s background in nonprofit and strong desire for relationship building and sleep training drew her into this field. Brittany graduated from CPSM in June 2023, the same day she was laid off from her employer and became a stay-at-home mom. Brittany now works her business around her busy children and enjoys the rewarding work of changing lives for the better. CPSM Graduate

 

Links: CPSM Graduate

Website: Counting Sheep by Brittany Montague

Instagram: @countingsheepbybrittany

 

If you would like to learn more about the Becoming a Sleep Consultant, please join our free Facebook Group or check out our CPSM Website.

Book a free discovery call to learn how you can become a Certified Sleep Consultant here.

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Transcript:

Intro: Welcome to Becoming a Sleep Consultant! I’m your host Jayne Havens, a certified sleep consultant and founder of both Snooze Fest by Jayne Havens and Center for Pediatric Sleep Management.

On this podcast, I’ll be discussing the business side of sleep consulting. You’ll have an insider’s view on launching, growing, and even scaling a sleep consulting business. This is not a podcast about sleep training. This is a podcast about business building and entrepreneurship.

Brittany is a certified pediatric sleep consultant, mom of two, and former VP at a nonprofit. Brittany and her husband suffered a significant loss in April of 2023 after delivering her son, Gates, stillborn at 16 weeks. This was a pivotal moment in her life when she realized she wanted to be a stay-at-home mom with her two children. While Brittany was on leave from her job recovering, she found CPSM and enrolled.

Brittany’s background in nonprofit and strong desire for relationship building and sleep training drew her into this field. Brittany graduated from CPSM in June of 2023, the same day she was laid off from her employer and became a stay-at-home mom. Brittany now works her business around her busy children and enjoys the rewarding work of changing lives for the better everywhere.

Jayne Havens: Brittany, welcome to the Becoming a Sleep Consultant Podcast. I’m so excited to chat with you today.

Brittany Montague: Thank you so much for having me. I’m really excited for this conversation.

Jayne Havens: Me, too. So before we get started, why don’t you tell us a little bit about you? What were you doing professionally before you decided to get certified? And why did you feel like sleep consulting was the next right move for you?

Brittany Montague: Yeah, so I was at nonprofit for 12 years. Most recently, as a VP, doing corporate fundraising. I loved the work. I was very passionate about helping people. And nonprofit, for me, was indirectly helping people. I knew I was helping people, but I had never had a chance to meet them. I never had a chance to hear that feedback of, “You changed my life.” Sleep consulting is a different way of doing that for me. I am able to impact lives. I meet these families firsthand and work with them through the process. Then I hear on the other end of it, “You changed our lives.” And I love that.

The reason that I decided to do sleep consulting and kind of how I found out about it is, unfortunately, our son that we had last April was stillborn. I was out of work for 12 weeks after that, and I used that time to really heal. My husband and I went to Puerto Rico for what we call a little healing trip. And when we were there, I was on Facebook and I saw you commenting to moms in a peloton group, of all places, saying you’re a sleep consultant and that you have a business in CPSM where you train people. I looked at my husband, and I said this might be it.

So we always knew that this coming summer, I would not be working. And when my son goes to kindergarten, we wanted me to be home. So this was a journey that we knew we would be on. When I started looking into everything about sleep consulting, I got really interested in it, because stepping away from my career was something that I had a hard time processing. I worked really hard to get to where I was. I was very successful, and I loved it. But I knew that coming home would be something that I would love more.

When I would listen to your podcasts — I binged that on our trip to Puerto Rico — and really dove into what could this look like, I knew that this could be something that could give me a creative outlet, that I could make an impact, and that I could do while being home with my kids. And I just loved that. I sleep trained both of my kids. And I knew that it was really impactful for families. And so I decided to jump in. It’s been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

Ironically enough, a few weeks after I started the course and got through my last assignment, I texted my husband that one morning, and I said I don’t know how long I’ll be able to go back to work for. I don’t know that my heart is to go back. And keep in mind, this is a year ahead of schedule. He said okay, and that was at 7:30 that morning. I remember it specifically. Eight o’clock that morning, I got the email from you that I had passed my certification. And at nine o’clock that morning, I got a call from HR that I was being laid off of my job.

If you want to talk about the stars aligning and feeling like you are in the place that you are supposed to be, that happened that morning. It was a welcomed lay off. I was thrilled. Most people don’t react that way. But I also knew that I was going to be able to still have a creative outlet and still impact people. It was a wonderful morning. I know most people won’t say that would they get that call. But to know that I had sleep consulting as something I could do was just amazing.

Jayne Havens: I love that. I don’t think I ever knew that story. I mean, I knew about your lay off, but I don’t think I ever knew the sequence of events of you telling your husband you were done, getting the email from me that you passed, getting the notification that you were laid off. Literally, I don’t think you’ve ever told me that story. So that’s wild.

Brittany Montague: Yes, all within an hour and a half that morning. I will never forget it.

Jayne Havens: Yeah, I love that. And I do believe I’m not super woowoo. I’m not super spiritual, but I do believe that every once in a while, there’s a sign and you got to pay attention. And that sounds like it was one of them.

Brittany Montague: It was incredible.

Jayne Havens: So talk to me about the beginning stages of your journey. What has that looked like for you? I know you’ve already supported a solid handful of clients. Do you want to share a recent success story? Maybe a family that you’ve supported that feels really like a huge win and like a big smile to your heart. Give us a story.

Brittany Montague: Yeah, so when it comes to how I got started, I really just took a chance. I posted on my Facebook. I posted on LinkedIn. That was very out of my comfort zone. I don’t really post anything on social media, so that was kind of the first hurdle for me. I really had conversations with friends and family. “Here’s what I’m doing. Tell people about me.” That’s really kind of what got me started. Because my first client that I landed was a referral from a friend. That client, within just two days, had their seven month old sleeping through the night. From there, I was like, this is what I’m meant to do.

And so I posted in a mom’s group locally. I’m in Atlanta. I offered a discount. I said, “Hey, moms. This is what I’m doing. I’m offering you a discount. I’d love to help some of your families.” I had a lot of families take advantage. And in that first month, I made back what I had spent on the course. And that for me was the aha moment of, okay, the investment was worth it. Because I invested in myself. And that to me, if I’m betting on myself, I am the only person who is in charge of my success. And I love that. Not having been an entrepreneur before, I didn’t realize that I would get excited about those types of things.

One of my most recent success stories, I sleep trained twins. It was my first set of twins. What I’ve become really passionate about in this work is safe sleep. When I was on my discovery call with the mom, she mentioned that the twins were being swaddled and put on their bellies for sleep, and they were 16 weeks old. To me, in that moment, I didn’t care if she became a client or not. To me, what was important was that she knew about safe sleep. And so we were able to work on safe sleep, because she did become a client and worked on safe sleep.

These twins were sleeping through the night a week later. And this was a big deal. Because when you’re sleeping on your belly, as we do mostly as adults, you’re comfortable. It’s cozy, and that’s how you want to sleep. So it was something big that we had to overcome in the beginning. But I just love that story. Because now these twins are having safe sleep, and they’re sleeping all night. The parents are super happy. That’s just really important to me.

Jayne Havens: Yeah, that is an amazing story. And for those who are listening, Brittany came into our CPSM Facebook group for students and grads to share this story. I think you came in to ask our advice before you even got working on it. You sort of wanted to feel us all out. Like this definitely needs to be worked on top priority, right? And all of us chimed in 100%. Like, you were literally saving lives with that family.

And I agree with you. It didn’t even matter if they became a paying client or not. That needed to be rectified. Because that really, it feels really risky. Parents do what they need to do to survive. Sometimes their judgment is clouded by sleep deprivation. That’s why the work that we do as sleep consultants is so important. Because we can help them to realize that they can have safe sleep and a full night of sleep at the same time, that they don’t need to choose between those two. I also love what you said about entrepreneurship and that you’re betting on yourself. I want to go back to that.

Because people ask me all the time, like, “How long is it going to take me to get a return on investment if I enroll in your course,” or, “How many clients am I going to—” People ask me to fortune tell. Like, “How long is it going to take me to grow a successful business” What I always say is that this isn’t about me. It’s not about my course. It’s about you and taking the chance on yourself and trusting yourself to grow a successful business.

Some people do so really quickly, and other people take some time to gain traction. But really, you’re exactly right. You’re betting on yourself. And when you bet on yourself, I think that that’s the best bet in the world. Because you have entire control, right? Nobody is stopping you from achieving whatever goals you’ve set for yourself, except maybe yourself.

Brittany Montague: I completely agree with that. And like I said, I never thought I’d be an entrepreneur. I never thought that I would be betting on myself. But I knew from my 12 years in nonprofit that I was successful, and I was successful for the organization and for the people I impacted. To be successful, for me, is such a different feeling. I knew that I had the skills to do this, I knew that I could be successful. And I said, okay, I’m going to do this.

My husband was very supportive. He said, “Okay. If this is something you want to do, let’s do it.” He’s been watching me through this journey. He hears the story of every success with a client, and he shares in that joy with me. And my kids, if you ask them what does mommy do, they say, “She helps babies sleep.” And so it’s something that we’re talking about in our home too and explaining to our kids, who are three and five, that mommy is an entrepreneur. That is just another angle that we get to take with them as we’re raising them that they can learn about. And I love that. It’s done so much for us just from a family building aspect.

Jayne Havens: I bet your children are really, really proud of you. I know they’re young. But what I can tell you from starting my business when my children were young, and they’re a little bit older now, is I feel so lucky to have been able to give them the opportunity to watch me grow something that I’m proud of. Because it shows them that they can do anything that they want to do when they’re older. And I bet your kids just love having you home. I don’t know. It’s the best. You’re working, but you’re also present for your children.

Brittany Montague: Yes, and I am lucky to be in a position where this is a side hustle, a hobby. It’s something that I have just worked into our lives. Month of December is so busy for my family as it is for other families. I chose not to work my business in December. I needed to be present with my kids. I needed to be there for them in all of the various school activities and family gatherings. I just chose not to work my business in that month. Then I came back in January, and I went full force and landed a bunch of clients. That’s where I found success. So it’s just making it work for our family.

Jayne Havens: Yeah, where are your clients coming from now? Are you still connecting with families in local Facebook groups? Are you starting to see the referrals come in from happy past clients? What does that look like for your business?

Brittany Montague: All of the above. I am still active in Facebook groups, and I’m getting clients from there. I have clients now referring me out. There is no better referral than a mom who is sleeping through the night. They are passionate about their sleep once they get to it. That’s really where I found the most success.

But also, I know an influencer. And I decided to participate in her giveaways that she does at Christmas time. I said, okay, I will jump in. I’m going to offer sleep consulting package. Well, ironically enough, another influencer won. And so I worked with her. After, she talked about me for what felt like an entire month. Really, she has the trust already of her followers. They started following me and building a trust with me. There was one week where I landed five clients from that. That was an amazing connection. I felt like I got lucky in that sense. But reaching out, it doesn’t hurt to say, hey, will you talk about this? It’s been successful for me.

Jayne Havens: Yeah, and honestly, you should you should maintain that relationship. I’m sure you are.

Brittany Montague: Yes.

Jayne Havens: Because I know you. I’m sure you are maintaining that relationship. But definitely, maintain that relationship. See how you can collaborate in the future in new and interesting ways. Maybe that person can connect you with other influencers that they’re connected with so that you can have similar opportunities down the road. Super smart.

Brittany Montague: Absolutely.

Jayne Havens: We are in the beginning months of 2024. What are your goals for this coming year? Do you have plans for how you want to grow this year, or are you just going to sort of keep riding the train and enjoy what’s happening as it happens?

Brittany Montague: Yeah, so one of the things I really learned in my 12 years at nonprofit was that if you set your goals the right way, that the money will follow. And so, for me, my goals are focused on relationships. It’s focused on really mental health of moms. I myself have had postpartum depression and anxiety four times. And to think about how to use that for good, and to understand how sleep impacts mental health of moms and to really change those moms’ lives, that’s really where my goals are. To change those moms’ lives, change their family’s lives.

I spoke with a mom last week who shared with me that her marriage was struggling. It’s because they’re not getting sleep, because neither one of their children are. And so we’re going to start working together this week. And to me, that is what my goals are. It’s to help these families to really change their lives and to get them back to sleep. I never thought that this business would help me help marriages. But here we are. And I love that. I love that that is kind of a side thing that’s come from this.

Jayne Havens: Yeah, and while you’re out there sort of helping marriages improve for your clients and you’re helping relationships to thrive, I would guess that your own relationship is probably also thriving. When you’re happy in your work and you’re feeling fulfilled, it makes the whole family dynamic run more smoothly. At least, that’s been my experience. Before I started my business when I was stay at home momming and I was sort of burnt out and a little bored being home with my kids without having this project, I think there was some resentment in my marriage and the dynamic didn’t feel equal or fair.

Now that I have something that’s mine, I feel like we both are happier together. We respect one another on a higher level. We’re more interested in each other’s work. I never used to feel like I had anything interesting to talk about. And now I feel like I have something that I’m really passionate about. I hope that that’s all true for you as well in this new phase of life, leaving the nonprofit world and working on something that’s entirely your own.

Brittany Montague: Absolutely. I mean, just being able to see my husband in the way that he supports my career now and my passions is something that I wasn’t expecting to really love about our relationship. I wasn’t expecting that that would happen.

The conversations are wonderful. He gives me advice on, “Here’s what I think you could do. Here’s a great way to get more clients.” He helps me be creative. I am a better mom when I have a little bit of something for me and to know that I can turn this off when I need to during the day to be mom and to take my daughter to ballet, which I’m going to do today. And before, it would have been hard to get there. And to focus on her class.

Everything in every aspect of our family is better. It’s just allowed me so much creativity, which I wasn’t expecting either when I started, and really problem solving. Again, once you get to that, “You changed my life,” which I’ve heard so many times at this point. I love it. You can probably hear it in my smile when I’m talking.

Jayne Havens: Yeah, I have.

Brittany Montague: Yes, and it’s just so unexpected. For anybody who’s wanting to do this, bet on yourself. Think about how it could impact your own personal life and your family and your marriage. Because it really can bring so much more to you than just being a business.

Jayne Havens: Yeah, and then so much more to all the families that we help as well, as you already mentioned. Before we wrap up, do you want to share your website, social media? I’d love for you to have the opportunity to share whatever you’d like to share.

Brittany Montague: Yes, so my business is Counting Sheep by Brittany Montague. My website is countingsheepllc.com. My social media — really, I’m active on Instagram — is @countingsheepbybrittany. A little bit long there, but it works. And if anybody’s listening to this, would like to work with me, I can offer a 15% discount just saying you heard it on the podcast.

Jayne Havens: Perfect. Brittany, thank you so much for being willing to have this conversation. Congrats on all of your early success. I can’t wait to see where you are in the next year, 3 years, 5 years, 10 years. I’m really proud of everything that you’ve put together so far.

Brittany Montague: Thank you so much. I really appreciate it.

Outro: Thank you so much for listening to this episode of the Becoming a Sleep Consultant Podcast. If you enjoyed today’s episode, it would mean so much to me if you would rate, review, and subscribe. When you rate, review, and subscribe, this helps the podcast reach a greater audience. I am so grateful for your support.

If you would like to learn more about how you can become a certified sleep consultant, head over to my Facebook Group, Becoming a Sleep Consultant or to my website thecpsm.com. Thanks so much, and I hope you will tune in for the next episode.