Boss Mama CEO Story: Balancing Motherhood and Momentum

I first have to say, I really admire Renee. As a single mama, I know what it looks like to juggle priorities and be intentional about protecting family time with our daughters while still showing up fully in our careers. And she’s doing just that… and absolutely thriving while figuring it out along the way (with some trial and error, as we all do).

Renee’s story is a little different from what I usually share here, which is exactly why I’m excited about it. She didn’t start a traditional business, but she has built and “owns” her lane inside a larger firm, which is another powerful side of entrepreneurship that often goes unspoken.

Her journey is rooted in grit, consistency, and showing up even when it’s hard. She’s modeling for her daughter, in real time, what it looks like to chase big goals, stumble, and still keep going. She’s unknowingly modeling so many invaluable life lessons for her daughter, something I didn’t fully grasp at first while I was in the thick of working full time from home and raising my daughter at the same time. Now I see just how impactful it is to let our kids witness both the wins and the messy middle.

Renee leads with authenticity, supports other women with so much grace, and I’m genuinely excited to share her story with you.

Before you dive in, go show her some love and give her a follow over on her socials.

YOUR STORY

Tell us who you are!

My name is Renee Menzel and I’m a Financial Representative for women.

We love a good origin story, but first, give us your short + sweet intro!

I help close the financial literacy gap for women through educational events. When they’re ready for a more individual strategy, I match them with a financial advisor who fits their personality and specializes in their unique needs.

Every boss mama has a ‘day one.’ What was yours?

Mine started at a bank in 2025. I’d separated from my husband the day before, moved four states away, and walked in to open an account that was entirely my own. The woman across the desk told me they had an opening she thought I’d be suited for, nurturing customer relationships and warming them up to working with their in-house financial advisor. I laughed it off. No finance background, I told her. She said that didn’t matter. The technical stuff can be learned. What can’t be taught is how to connect with people. I went home, researched it, and applied. I ended up joining a firm where I happened to share an alma mater with the CEO. 

Which came first—the business or the babies? Tell us how your family + business journeys intersected.

It began after I started my family.

We know it’s a wild ride—tell us how you’ve balanced building your dream biz while raising your crew. The good, the tough, the real.

This career forces me to grow as an individual, and in return, makes me a better mother. The confidence I’ve built can’t be manufactured; it can only be earned by consistently doing hard things. I hope my daughter watches me struggle to earn it and that becomes her model too. Recently I hosted a private dinner for 24 women dentists, surgeons, practice owners, and partners, and opened with a speech I wrote specifically for them. I didn’t want to lead with numbers. I wanted them to feel seen. A few said it almost made them cry. What they didn’t know is that I rehearsed it at bedtime, lights off, just me and my daughter. For three nights after, she’d lean in and say: “Mommy, read your speech.” That’s the high. The hard part is that there’s no room for error or emotion in this work; you have to be the steady one, always, regardless of what’s happening at home. Doing that as the only woman in the room, with a toddler and no co-parent backup, means the margins are thin. But I’ve learned to work within them.

What’s one obstacle you’ve overcome?

I passed my Securities Industry Essentials exam on the first attempt while simultaneously preparing for a major client event, managing a cross-state move back to Virginia, and raising my daughter largely on my own. There were no ideal conditions, just a decision to get it done.

YOUR BUSINESS

Tell us your superpower—what’s your product, service, or special offering?

My superpower is building trust. I create intimate dinners, seminars, and community events designed to make financial literacy accessible and approachable for women navigating demanding careers and lives. I’m not leading with products or pitches; I’m creating spaces where women feel seen, understood, and informed.

What’s the magic that sets you apart?

First, I don’t prospect. I build community. My clients come to me through trust that was established long before any financial conversation takes place. I create intentional, intimate events within niche communities of high-achieving women, and I let the relationship do the work. That is a fundamentally different model than cold outreach or traditional financial services marketing.

Second, I specialize in women who carry a high degree of professional responsibility. These women who are exceptional at what they do and have historically been underserved or overlooked by an industry that was not built with them in mind.

Third, I am not just a referral source. I stay in the room. I sit in on every client meeting, help bridge the conversation between the client and the advisor, and remain a consistent presence throughout the relationship. The trust was built with me first, and I honor that at every stage.

And lastly, I am my client. I am a mother building wealth, navigating a male-dominant industry, and doing it on my own terms. I don’t have to imagine what my clients are carrying because I already know.

Spill the tea — any big milestones, press shoutouts, or launches on the horizon? 

The thing I’m most excited about right now is a financial education event I’m hosting on July 8th at Treehouse Pediatric Dentistry in Chantilly. It’s a low pressure, in person workshop designed for parents who want to understand their financial picture better but have never had a space to ask the basic questions out loud.

I’ve noticed that even the most accomplished mothers, the ones with the degrees and the careers and the titles, were never actually taught this stuff. Between work, kids, and everything else, there’s rarely time to sit down and learn it properly. This event exists to close that gap, in a room that feels more like a conversation than a lecture.

I handle the community side, which is what I do best, and Kelsey Murphy, our Senior Advanced Planner and Financial Advisor, will lead the workshop and be there for anyone who wants a more personalized conversation afterward. Click the button below to register!

Give us a Day in the Life of being both Mom and CEO!

There is no such thing as a perfect morning in my house and I’m making peace with that. Some days I wake up before Josephina, make my coffee, and ease into the day with a solid morning routine. Other days I’m drinking that same coffee watching reruns of old Real Housewives episodes because I find them endearing and comical and sometimes that’s exactly what I need before the day begins.

Once Josephina is up, we do our morning routine together and I drop her off. Then the professional part of my day begins. I start by reading through several newsletters from financial journalists to get a pulse on the economy and the markets. From there it’s either meetings or studying for my Series 7 exam. That carries me through the morning and into the early afternoon. Lunch is a working one. I use that time to follow up on notes and emails and tie up anything that needs a response. Then I shift gears entirely.

The afternoon is for relationships: calling people, texting, meeting someone for coffee or lunch, or working on the back end of my community or planning the next event I’m hosting. That relationship-building block is the heart of what I do, and I protect it. Then it’s pickup. And from that moment on, the day belongs to Josephina.

Dinner in our house is simple and predictable by design. I don’t have the energy or bandwidth to cook anything that takes more than 10 minutes, and I’ve stopped apologizing for that. We’ll usually watch a little TV together, she fights me on it and I almost always give in. Then it’s her bath, which is when I do my skincare, then books, and then we go to sleep at the same time. We co-sleep, so that’s just our rhythm.

Monday through Friday looks almost exactly the same every single day, and I’ve come to love that. Friday night is my collapse day: extra TV, zero obligations, just Josephina and me on the couch. Saturday is sacred. We explore new parks, go on playdates, try out new restaurants. That day is entirely ours. Sunday is for resetting: laundry, food shopping, and preparing for the week ahead. It’s not glamorous. But it works.

ADVICE FOR MOMPRENEURS

What’s the single best piece of advice or favorite tool you’d share with other mamas building their businesses?

Break everything down into small, digestible steps and acknowledge your progress along the way, even the smallest wins. Especially the smallest wins. When you’re doing as much as most of us are doing, it’s easy to only see how far you have left to go. But if you don’t stop to recognize how far you’ve already come, you’ll run out of fuel before you get there. Progress is progress. Honor it.

What’s been your biggest challenge juggling motherhood and running a business?

The hardest thing is managing my own internal state at the end of a long day. This career asks a lot of me emotionally and mentally, and by the time I pick my daughter up, I have to make a conscious shift. The last thing I ever want is for my stress to dissipate onto her. She didn’t sign up for any of this, she just wants her mom. So the hardest thing, and the thing I work on every single day, is making sure that when I walk through that door, I am fully hers. I don’t always get it perfectly right. But I am always trying.

What’s your approach to balancing business and family? We love the real, unfiltered stories!

Honestly, I’m not sure balance is the right word for what I do. I think the more accurate word is focus. During my working hours I am as focused and intentional as I can possibly be, so that when my daughter needs me, I am fully present for her. I don’t try to do both at the same time. I try to do each one completely, in its own window. Some days that works beautifully. Some days it doesn’t.

Looking back, what’s something you wish you had known before starting your business?

I wish someone had told me just how long trust takes to build and how much patience the process requires. When your entire model is built on genuine relationships, there are no shortcuts. You can’t rush it, you can’t manufacture it, and there will be stretches where you feel like you’re putting in a tremendous amount of work without seeing an immediate return. What I know now is that the work is never wasted. Every conversation, every event, every follow up is a deposit. The return just comes on its own timeline, not yours. If I had known that going in, I think I would have spent a lot less time feeling anxious and a lot more time trusting the process.

What tool, resource, or habit has completely changed the game for you?

Brain dumping. Whenever I feel overwhelmed, I get everything out of my head and onto paper, then categorize it by importance and urgency. It takes what feels like chaos and turns it into a manageable list of actual next steps. 

What mindset shifts have helped you keep going during hard seasons?

Nothing will ever be as difficult as giving birth to my daughter. I went into labor on a Wednesday night and didn’t have her until Saturday afternoon. I pushed for three hours. She was stuck, and she came into the world with a broken clavicle and a dislocated shoulder. When things feel hard, and they often do, I come back to that. Nothing I will face in business or in life will ever be as difficult as what I went through in that delivery room. And since I got through that, I can get through this too.

What words of encouragement would you give a Mom tempted to give up on her business

You need to keep going in order to know what you’re capable of. Stopping guarantees one outcome. Persisting through leaves the door open. The version of you that exists on the other side of this hard season is worth fighting for. Keep going and keep believing in yourself. ❤️

Also, if you need to pivot, do so! I’ve changed my business model (how I acquire clients) a few times until I found what works authentically for me. Pivoting isn’t giving up, it’s just changing how you’re getting to your destination.

One of the best pieces of advice I took from Renee’s story is “walk before you run.” Simple, but so powerful.

She’s stepping into an incredible opportunity for women, and what stands out most is her humility, knowing that starting small and keeping things simple isn’t a setback, it’s the strategy. That kind of patience is a real strength.

All good things take time, and she’s building hers the right way.

I’d love to feature more Boss Mamas like Renee. If you know someone who deserves the spotlight, please reach out and send me their info at ashley@bossmamaceo.com or via my contact page here. And hey, if that’s you, I love a little self-brag too! Send me your details so we can shine the spotlight on you as well.

Here’s to all the incredible Moms juggling a million things—keep shining bright, cheering each other on, and building the life you love!

Ashley

Friendly Note: I’m simply sharing my journey, experiences, and lessons learned as a Mom in business. This isn’t legal, financial, or professional advice. Always check with a qualified pro for guidance tailored to you.