Today we’d like to introduce you to Dana Malstaff.
Hi Dana, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Conceiving
When I became a mom, back in 2013, I knew almost immediately that “being a mom” wasn’t going to be enough for me—and I felt deeply guilty. I had just started my own business then found out I was expecting and was excited about building a business.
When my son was 5 months old, we moved to San Diego to be closer to my parents (they were both born and raised in Vista). San Diego was full of other women and moms starting and running online businesses of all sizes.
I decided to write a book when my son was 2 and I was 7 months pregnant with my daughter. I didn’t have a following or consistent income. I had tried a lot of things that didn’t really work. A lot of people said writing a book was just another thing that would fail, but I knew I had to do it. In 2015 I self-published BossMom and it hit #1 New Release in 3 different categories.
At the same time, we launched the BossMoms Facebook Group and BossMom Podcast. It was a lot at once, but it felt right.
What I didn’t realize was how many of us were out there, feeling that same pull and that same guilt.
Once the BossMom book was out, it took off. We secured the registered trademark, turned it into a business, and hit six figures within 8 months
My big lesson at the time was that craving more isn’t about being unfulfilled by motherhood—it’s human nature to seek impact, respect, and growth. Just keep trying, don’t stop, and one day it will all start working.
The Toddler Years
Once Boss Mom started seeing success, I made it a point to show up consistently in the Facebook group. The first person I hired was a member of the group who pitched me for podcast appearances—just two hours a week—but it made a huge difference. For that first year, I was featured on one podcast a week.
Consistency, along with having my own show to establish authority, was key to the group’s growth. I listened to what my audience needed and created small products to meet those needs.
I’ll never forget the moment I realized the potential of an online business. The group had grown to 8,000 members, and during a birthday sale, I went rock climbing with my husband. When I came home, we had made $10,000 on a $47 product. That moment changed everything.
Soon after, I launched the Boss Mom Academy and Raising Your Business course (both now retired). Those early years taught me the power of online business, and eventually, I grew to $30,000 months—mind-blowing at the time.
I really learned that constant disruptions are a part of being a mom. When you accept them, you’ll realize just how much you can get done in those in-between moments and still reach your goals.
The Tween Years
While the BossMom brand was growing, life threw some serious challenges my way. In 2018, I went through a divorce, and my dad passed away after a long illness. BossMom struggled, and so did I.
I sabotaged sales, missed opportunities, kept spending the same, and BossMom fell into a deficit because I wasn’t ready to face my grief. This time in my life made me realize how much BossMom depended on me. It took us over a year to climb BossMom out of that hole.
Once I finally allowed myself to grieve, new opportunities began to emerge.
In 2020, we launched Nurture to Convert, a proprietary marketing system, along with the Nurture to Convert Society/Accelerator (NTCA), a membership and group coaching program.
After running NTCA successfully for four years, we decided to shut everything down and completely change BossMom’s business model.
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My big takeaway was that as both your family and business grow, it’s natural for your priorities to change. Embrace the evolution and don’t be afraid to make big shifts that align with your new desires and needs.
This April we made one of the biggest decisions in BossMom’s history—we shut down the free Facebook group with over 75,000 members and launched BossMom+, a dedicated social networking app for moms.
It was a bold move, and not everyone understood what I was trying to accomplish, but we stuck with the plan. I have a big vision for how we can truly support BossMoms on a big scale during this time, and offering group coaching programs just wasn’t it anymore.
We officially launched the Nurture to Convert Business Coach Certification so that others can carry on our coaching method.
We built a new BossMom site so that we can work to be a launchpad for BossMoms.
By shifting BossMom from a coaching brand to a media outlet, we’re empowering more moms, driving traffic to their businesses, and giving them the visibility they need to thrive by allowing them to contribute content (think Forbes for moms)
My biggest shift during this time was giving myself permission to let go of what was ‘good’ so that we could build something ‘great’.
At this stage in my business, a decade in, I have realized that the only limit is your mind. Once you’ve been in business long enough, it’s not about learning new skills—it’s about breaking the habits that are keeping you from reaching your goals.
BossMom isn’t just about having business & babies, it’s about embracing the complexity of our lives and not feeling guilty that we not only want to be amazing parents but amazing entrepreneurs and leaders (among other things).
BossMom is about coming together to help each other rise-up and become who we want to be and achieve anything we can dream up.
We belive that now more than ever moms need support. And we want to live in a world where EVERY MOM has a business, positively impacts people, AND makes money. A world where she PROUDLY runs her business differently because our needs are different this is my new mission and I am really excited to see it come to life.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
There are millions of moms out there with big beautiful brains that can’t help but create businesses.
There’s a spark inside of us all that wants to create an impact in this world, and at BossMom, we want to fan that flame.
I started this business while pregnant with my son (now 11) and wrote the original Boss Mom book while pregnant with my daughter (now 9).
Over the years, I’ve navigated it all: a divorce, losing a parent, a pandemic, illness (both my own and of those close to me), and a million smaller but still significant life moments. Through it all, this community has been my anchor.
I’ve coached over 1,000 women and taught over 30,000, and I can tell you without a doubt—running a business as a mom has layers of complexity that only another mom can truly understand. BossMom was born because I needed to find my village, and over the past decade, it has grown into a movement that fills my heart.
I want BossMom to be the new home base for every mom with a business —a place where you feel seen, valued, and valuable.
This is our promise
Motherhood and business can feel overwhelming and isolating, but it doesn’t have to be. Join our community and get the tools, support, and connections to build your dreams, find your village, and never feel alone on this journey again.
You can get support from our BossMom Podcast, our articles curated for moms on all areas of life and business, as well as BossMom+ a dedicated social networking platform for moms with businesses.
Contact Info:
- Website: bossmom.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danamalstaff/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@bossmomofficial
Image Credits
Sarah Ford – for the image of me with my daughter at desk, image of me on the BossMomPodcast cover
