From Certification to Success, with Sue Mcglinchey

In this episode, we chat about:

• How Sue’s business has evolved from the early days to today
• The mindset shifts and consistent action that helped her grow
• What inspired her to begin mentoring other consultants
• How she is continuing to expand her reach and impact

Whether you are just getting started or already a few years into business, Sue’s journey will inspire and remind you that when you stay consistent, lead with heart, and stay committed to the work, amazing things can happen.

Links:

Website: Tender Care Newborn Services
Instagram: @tendercarenewbornservices

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.

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.

Today on the Becoming a Sleep Consultant Podcast, I am joined once again by Sue Mcglinchey, one of our amazing CPSM grads who is celebrating three years certified through CPSM. If you’ve been a regular listener on the podcast, you’ve probably heard Sue share her story, but today’s episode feels really special. Over the past three years, Sue has stepped into her own confidence, built a thriving sleep consulting business, and, most recently, stepped into a new role as a mentor—guiding other sleep consultants as they grow their own businesses.

In this conversation, we’re reflecting on how Sue’s business has evolved from those early days to where it is now, what it took for her to get here, and the lessons she’s learned along the way. We’ll also talk about what inspired Sue to start supporting other coaches, what it looks like to help them kickstart their businesses, and how she’s continuing to expand her impact in this field. Whether you’re just getting started or you’re a few years in, I think you’ll find Sue’s story both inspiring and relatable. She’s proof that when you stay consistent, lead with heart, and stay committed to the work, amazing things can happen.

Jayne Havens: Sue, welcome back to the show. I’m so excited to chat with you today.

Sue McGlinchey: Thanks for having me back. I’m happy to be here.

Jayne Havens: Let’s start by looking back. Prior to enrolling in CPSM, you were running an overnight newborn care agency while also working as a newborn care specialist and doing sleep consulting as a bit of a side gig. What led you to want to get certified and work as a sleep consultant full time?

Sue McGlinchey: Well, really, it was at a point where I was burnt out on doing all the overnights. That’s actually what started the overnight newborn care agency—with the idea being that the caregivers would go out and do the overnights, I would be able to run the agency and do the sleep coaching thing as a side gig. But what I found was I didn’t enjoy that, because I wasn’t as hands-on, so to speak.

Also, managing adults wasn’t really my thing. As far as a team of people getting there at 10 o’clock at night—on their way in for their shift, their car dies, or they’re sick or whatever. Then they all started getting married. They’re all in their 20s. They started getting married and moving on. I just felt it was either time to train up a whole new team or to move on. I just thought that this side gig every year was growing. Why not just jump in and just do it and have more flexibility in my life and all of that? I’m just so grateful I did. It’s been amazing.

Jayne Havens: I assume, on some level, at least the sleep consulting side of your business was — I don’t want to say slow, but it was just less of what you were doing, right? You were supporting fewer families, but obviously, at some point, you started to gain some real traction. Are you able to pinpoint when you really started to gain some real momentum in your sleep consulting business?

Sue McGlinchey: I want to say that the real momentum started when I finished the course, I was about three to six months in, it just started really taking off. I think it just kind of — I don’t even know how to explain why that would happen. I wasn’t doing a whole lot. I did tweak my website. I did more stuff on social media, about sleep consulting, and then it just started taking off. I think when you just have more time for it, it just happens.

Jayne Havens: Yeah, you decided to make it a priority. I think maybe once you decided to make it a priority, it became the priority.

Sue McGlinchey: Well, it was all I had for my income at that point, so it was like it’s all or nothing. Once I dropped the agency and the overnights, it was a big leap of faith, honestly. But I guess in the back of my mind, I could have always gone back to overnights if I really had to, but I really did not. That wasn’t my desire. So, yeah, it took a few months. I remember when I was taking the course, even leading up to it, as I was fading out my overnight clients, I started getting busier and busier before even graduating. Graduating the course and everything I learned there, it just really made things so much easier and better.

Jayne Havens: Were there some things that you put into place in your business after completing the program through CPSM that positioned you really to grow?

Sue McGlinchey: I believe it was the comprehensive sleep plans. Prior to that, my sleep plans, the writing of the sleep plans, weren’t that great. I did more verbalizing and hand holding, which we still do a lot of that.

Putting those sleep plans together was a game changer for me. I remember my first couple of clients, they actually started without me and were successful and hardly texted me at all. It was amazing. I was just so excited about it. That hasn’t always been, because we’re dealing with really tired parents. You tell them something, and they forget. I get that—from doing overnights. But the comprehensive sleep plans—having different options for sleep training depending on the family—putting those in place were a game-changer for me. And streamlining everything. I just didn’t have a system prior to taking the course.

Jayne Havens: I think you know your sleep plans are really, really strong when families are putting it into place before they even book that first call with you. That’s how you know, right? That’s how you know your plans are really good. They don’t even really have any questions. They see the instructions, they get it, they understand it, and they just want to race with it.

Sue McGlinchey: Exactly. The nice thing, too, is if I’m in the middle of something and someone is texting a question, I can say, “Go back and look at page seven.” Then I’ll circle back in a little while. It’s just all there.

Jayne Havens: Would you say that having — whether it’s the really solid sleep plan, the systems that you’ve put into place, is that really what gave you the confidence to sort of accelerate your business and grow?

Sue McGlinchey: Yes, I think so, and having different options for the sleep training. Prior to taking the course, I really only did one or two. Now I have so many choices. I have them written out and easy to pop into a sleep plan. It’s just so much. Now I travel a lot, and I do whatever I want in my life. Everything is just kind of laid out. It’s so easy.

Jayne Havens: I love that. That just makes me so happy—the fact that you feel like your work is so easy, right? I mean, I know it takes time to get there. I feel that way in my business too. That doesn’t mean that every now and then somebody doesn’t throw a curve ball at us. I know it happens to you because you slide into my DMs when it does—and vice versa. I hear from you when you have one of those tricky situations. But really, to some degree, when you’re organized and you have a solid plan that you can sort of morph and make small changes to as needed, it just a little bit can run on autopilot.

Sue McGlinchey: Exactly. I mean, you still have your work. You’re texting with the clients and all of that but just not having to constantly re-explain things or just having that flow, right? Automated emails and just everything. It’s all set up, and then you can just text your clients from anywhere. It’s beautiful.

Jayne Havens: How would you say your approach to supporting families has evolved as you’ve gained more experience? You touched on the fact that you have more tools, as far as different sleep training methods or techniques. Is there anything else that you would say has been a little bit of an evolution from when you first started supporting families to now?

Sue McGlinchey: Yeah, I used to feel if a client was struggling and I was explaining everything and they still weren’t getting it, I always kind of felt like it was something I was doing wrong. Now what I’ve learned is that it’s just not true. Because you explain something the same way to one person as you do to another person, and what they do with it is up to them.

Plus, I’ve learned, over the years, you learn certain questions to ask over the years, as you learn, as you go. So there’ll be questions that I’ll ask now that I wouldn’t have thought of. Then you’re like, “Oh, now I understand why this isn’t working. Either mom didn’t want to do what I mentioned, or she didn’t understand what she was supposed to be doing.” I mean, sometimes when I slide in your DMS, I’m getting a little exasperated. Most of the time, I can shake it off and just say, “This isn’t about me.” I’m doing everything I can. Now it’s just, I’m going to set expectations, and I’m going to move on. I’m not going to beat myself up over something I can’t control.

Jayne Havens: I think adopting that mindset in your business of, “I’m putting forth a really well-written comprehensive plan. I’m getting onto a phone call to answer all of your questions and make sure you feel confident with the plan. I’m here to answer your questions,” at a certain point, the responsibility does shift to the parents to actually get it done.

Brand new sleep consultants often will carry all of the stress and the weight of the work that we do on our shoulders. And it really does take, I think, time and experience to really let that go and realize that there’s only so much that we can do. We can do a lot. We do do a lot. Then also, our families that we’re supporting have to put in work too.

Sue McGlinchey: Correct. Yeah, because I do. We do have certain clients that are a little more challenging that we really pour ourselves into, but then you just do get to a point where you know you’ve done everything you can.

Jayne Havens: Is there a success story or a recent case that you’ve supported that just really makes you smile?

Sue McGlinchey: Yeah, I have a favorite one I love talking about. The toddler was two and a half—sleeping in mom’s bed, going to daycare, taking naps perfectly. Of course, at daycare, always a red flag of what was happening with boundaries at home. So we talked about everything. I sent her the plan. She was one of those that just ran with it. She started doing all the prep work with him, all the talking, and talking to the teachers and the other kids at daycare that were in their cribs.

Before we even got on the kickoff call, he already was going in his room and wanted to sleep in his crib. That was amazing. Because I got on the call and then she said, “He’s been in his crib. The last two nights, he asked to go in on his own.” She wasn’t following the middle of the night exact. But the fact that he was going in, and he was in there all night long for two nights before we even technically started, was just, to me, proof of how capable these kids really are if we just give them the opportunity and we really teach them.

Toddlers are so fun because they really comprehend. Even at eight months old, they really comprehend a lot more than a lot of people give them credit for.

Jayne Havens: Yeah, I totally agree. I also love hearing — whenever I ask a newborn care specialist or a doula to share one of their favorite cases, and they share a toddler, that just always makes me so happy. Because I know that, at least from the community that I’m supporting, the doulas and NCS’ who come to train within CPSM, a lot of them will tell me, “I’m not really interested in working with big kids. I really want to work with infants. I’m going to work with kids one year and under,” or whatever they decide is their sort of threshold. Then somewhere along the lines, they take a toddler case.

Either they do it because it was a referral from somebody they really care about, or maybe that month is a little slow, and they feel like they should just take whatever is coming to them. I don’t know what the circumstances are that lead to somebody sort of bending on their boundaries there a little bit. Every single time it happens, they always just — they love it. I just think that’s so fun. Because when I think about you, and your business has evolved a lot over the years, you really built a career off of supporting families with newborns. And now you’re so confident even to work with toddlers and preschoolers, which just makes me so happy.

Sue McGlinchey: Yes, now it’s the same way. I wasn’t confident with toddlers either, but then after — obviously, they’re not all that easy. It’s fun. I just think it’s so different, but I really enjoy it.

Jayne Havens: Let’s talk about your stepping into mentorship a little bit. Tell me about that. Why did you decide to serve as a mentor, and what does that look like in your business now?

Sue McGlinchey: I just found, as I was mentoring in the Facebook group, that I was getting some people jumping into my DMs asking questions, asking if I could get on phone calls. I didn’t mind doing it, but it started becoming a lot of my time. I just thought this would be really my next side gig, right? So why not? I just thought through it a bit and kind of threw out some ideas and see if anybody was interested. It’s actually going quite well. I just see the need. I love getting on the phone and just talking sleep and business with people.

And so when you have somebody new that just has lots of questions, it’s just very enjoyable. I can, again, do it from anywhere, anytime. I think my favorite part of it is when they actually start giving clients, and they’re successful. They’re so amazed. Because I remember that feeling. You’re just in awe of how exciting it is. I still get excited about some of my own clients, but it’s just so fun watching and being a part of it with a new consultant.

Jayne Havens: Tell us a little bit about who it’s designed for. My understanding—correct me if I’m wrong—is you’re working with a lot of sleep consultants that are really brand new out of the gate, right? They finish the course, and they are maybe the type of person who benefits from accountability and support, the same way that parents benefit from accountability and support through sleep training. Would you say that’s accurate?

Sue McGlinchey: Yes, so I work with any — most of them are brand new, either finishing up their final assignment or just graduated. Some of them, exactly, they need some accountability to get through their last bit of the class and getting their websites up or starting to work on finding clients. Because it is easy to procrastinate, especially if you’re nervous and you’re not really sure what to do. So I’ll get on calls and start troubleshooting or just having them make a list of what they need to get done. Then they decide when they want to have it done by, and then they set up their next phone call.

Also, some of those students, I will also be working with them as they gain their first client. I help troubleshoot and brainstorm with them on how to find their first clients. Then there’s a lot of texting or phone calls that will go on soon as they onboard somebody. Because they just want that extra one on one with me to help. I’ll review sleep plans with them before they send them out. I give them my opinion, answer any questions.

Then as the parents start asking questions, they’ll start asking. Also, what I do with parents—I try to do the same thing with the consultants—is ask them what they think they should do. Because I don’t want people to be finished with me and then still be relying solely on me. I want to work myself out of the job, essentially.

Jayne Havens: I think that’s great. As somebody who you’re just getting started in this mentorship role, and for you to have already realized how important that is for your mentees to know how to answer their own questions — because a lot of it is just insecurity, lack of confidence because they’re brand new. It’s not that they don’t know. They do know. They just are nervous they don’t know.

Sue McGlinchey: Exactly. But even if you make a little mistake, it’s not a big deal. I just learned how to phrase things with parents while we try.

Jayne Havens: Would you say that confidence is sort of the biggest barrier to success for brand new sleep consultants?

Sue McGlinchey: Yeah, I think so. For me, it’s hard sometimes to think about what it’s like for people that I don’t really have any knowledge, except for the course. Because for me, I just worked with kids all my life, and so some of the sleep training things were coming naturally before I even thought of making it a profession.

But other people come in totally green, so to speak, right? They have no idea. Then they take the course and it’s like so brand new to them that they lack the confidence completely. And so they just want to run every little thing by me. I don’t mind. That’s what I’m here for. Then I just, you’ve got this. You’re right. You know what to do. You just have to just do it. You can do it.

Jayne Havens: Are any of your mentees not super coachable the way that sometimes our clients are? Is that a fair question?

Sue McGlinchey: Yeah, I’ve had a couple. Well, some, sadly, I never hear back from them after a couple phone calls. I don’t think they’re really pushing themselves to do the business and to get in there. I don’t know their life circumstances. Maybe there are some big things happening. But most of them are very coachable, as long as they’re putting the time in. Usually, the ones that aren’t are the ones that just don’t follow through and call me and set up calls.

Jayne Havens: I do think growing a business requires a certain level of discipline that not everybody is cut out for, you know?

Sue McGlinchey: That’s true. Right.

Jayne Havens: And so my guess is that, for some of these people that you’re supporting, sometimes you might want it more than they do. And you can’t, right? You can’t want it more than they do. Just like you’ve gotten good about loving and releasing when families are not following through with the plan—I would imagine you sort of have to take a similar approach—you can show up for your mentees and provide information, support, and accountability. But ultimately, they have to do the work.

Sue McGlinchey: Exactly. I mean, I don’t run a structured program, so it is more of a, “You do the work. I am here for you. I will work with you. I will do whatever I can for you.” But it’s not like, “This week, you need to do this. Next week…” I like it that way because then they have to be accountable. They have to be the ones digging in.

Jayne Havens: Yeah, I actually took on a business coaching client this week for, I think, only the second time ever. Somebody reached out to me who took another sleep consultant certification program. She’s not enrolled in CPSM. She’s having trouble getting her business off the ground. She reached out to me and asked if I would do some business coaching. And so I am. I’m having so much fun.

It’s not something that I thought I wanted to do in my business, and I probably won’t really ramp it up. It’ll just be something that I have if somebody asks me for it. If somebody reaches out and I have room in my schedule, I guess I would say yes. But it’s amazing what people are capable of when they just hold themselves accountable to do the work, or when I’m holding them accountable to do the work.

Because this person who I’ve been supporting, we’re five days in. Maybe I’m just spending a week with her. It’s sort of like a boot camp. She has made so many incredible strides in her business in five days that she was not making on her own. And so she just needed somebody to sort of ride her a little bit and sort of crack the whip and tell her it’s time to get to work. Like, “What are we doing today? Let’s spring into action.”

And she is. She’s had two discovery calls since we’ve spoken. She’s connecting with professionals. She’s connecting with influencers. She is in motion. Her confidence has increased. I can see it just in the fact that she’s making moves and seeing that it’s leading to something. It’s leading to something. Eventually, those clients will come. It may not happen in the one week that we’re working together, but she’s laying the foundation. She’s planting the seeds. She’s already seeing that when you do stuff, stuff comes back in return, which is really exciting.

Sue McGlinchey: Yes, I love when that happens, when I get the second call and they’re like, “Okay, I did this, this and this. This is what’s happening since we talked.” It’s so exciting. It really is.

Jayne Havens: Where do you see your business going from here? What do you want it to look like three years from now, five years from now?

Sue McGlinchey: I would love to be supporting more toddlers.

Jayne Havens: Love that.

Sue McGlinchey: I would love to do that. I have been trying to build a second website that’s focused more on toddlers. Because my business is Tender Care Newborn Services from being an NCS. So I’m working towards that. It’s just been a slow thing with the work I’m doing now and the stuff going on. Also, I’m thinking of expanding with the mentor gig. Again, I just haven’t sat down and really brainstormed and figured that out yet, but it’s in the back of my mind.

Jayne Havens: I love that you’re always thinking about it. When I think about where you started three years ago, when you enrolled in CPSM to where you are now, you’ve already had such massive, incredible growth.

Sue McGlinchey: Double.

Jayne Havens: You doubled your income.

Sue McGlinchey: Yep, from 2020 to 2023, it was doubled. Just sleep coaching. It was amazing, yeah.

Jayne Havens: That’s incredible. I still think even though I think of you as being so seasoned, you’re a veteran, but you’re also still very much in the beginning stages of your business. You can grow. This is only the beginning, if you want it to be.

Sue McGlinchey: Yes, the sky is the limit.

Jayne Havens: The sky is the limit. What would you say to anybody listening—brand new sleep consultants or people thinking about jumping into this field?

Sue McGlinchey: I would say, don’t give up. We all talk about how wonderful and great where we are, you and I especially, where we are. We can travel. We do family stuff. And it is. It’s great. But you got to work for that. It doesn’t just get handed to you. Even like you said, it’s still ever changing. When you own a business, you can’t be stagnant. You got to keep up on things, keep the referrals, and keep the connections, and love that as well. But I would say, if you’re new, anything is possible. Don’t give up. That’s the big thing. Put the work in, and you’ll get there.

Jayne Havens: Yeah, I’m a firm believer of that. Hard work pays off. I never pretend that growing a business is easy. I hate when people say that it is. It’s not. Growing a business is hard work, but it’s also thrilling, exciting, and rewarding. It just feels really good to get it going, right? Doesn’t it just feel like you feel so proud of yourself? The hard work does pay off. You’re proof of that. I’m proof of that. In time, you do get flexibility. You do get to work from vacation, or just take off while you’re on vacation. You get to decide what your business looks like for you.

Sue McGlinchey: Exactly.

Jayne Havens: Well, Sue, it was great checking in with you. Thank you so much for your time. I just can’t wait to see all the good things that you’re working on. Thank you so much for supporting our CPSM community. Everybody really values your support and your knowledge and your expertise.

Sue McGlinchey: Well, thank you. Thanks for having me on.

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