Phylicia Masonheimer x VB

For over a year now, we have been working behind the scenes thinking of ways to celebrate women who inspire us. We loved the idea of dedicating a blog series to showcase real, hardworking, smart women who wear multiple hats. Some are entrepreneurs, some are stay at home moms, some are saving lives, some are CEO's and some are all of the above. So, when we started to gather up all of the amazing women who inspire us, it was no surprise that Phylicia Masonheimer came to our minds first.

Now, before we dive into her interview I'd like to tell you a bit about my experience with Phylicia. About six years ago, I was searching for moms to become what we called "BLOOMERS" a.k.a. amazing women who would spread the VB LOVE with little or no pay other than receiving a free bag. At the time, I had just moved our small diaper bag company from our basement to a new space in town and let me tell ya...money was tight! A mutual friend had given me Phylicia's information and had suggested that I contact her to become a BLOOMER. She had relayed that Phylicia  was amazing, had a strong Christian background, a blog, was starting a podcast and was local to Northern Michigan. If my memory serves me right, I contacted her five minutes later, lol! Of course, just as my friend had said, she was amazing...and we set up a time to meet that very week. Phylicia came walking into my new "in town office" and it was like we had known each other forever.  We talked babies, kids and business and she even ignored the surrounding mess from the new move (seriously, it was a bomb!). She was all in when it came to helping VB grow. It was as if there was never a doubt in her mind. When she left my office that day, I was beaming! Not only did she believe in me as a designer but she believed in what I was trying to accomplish at Vilah Bloom. Fast forward six years and she is still a believer in everything we do, truly loves our bags and is one of our biggest cheer leaders to date. We are very blessed to know her. So today, we finally get to celebrate Phylicia by sharing a sneak peek into her day to day life and we are so inspired...but seriously, wait to you read what this women does!

I'm Phylicia Masonheimer, CEO of Every Woman a Theologian, a business and ministry creating resources to help Christian families understand theology and apply it to their everyday lives. I work with my husband, our Director of Operations, and together we have three kids: Adeline (6), Geneva (4) and Ivan (1). 

As CEO of Every Woman a Theologian, I oversee the vision for the company and ministry and also create the majority of our content. I am also a nonfiction author, so in between writing bible studies, e-books and blog posts I am also working on my latest book contract. I record content for my podcast, Verity with Phyicia Masonheimer, weekly and my husband and I take turns working and homeschooling our kids. He homeschools two days a week and I homeschool two days a week. 

It's been wonderful, albeit difficult at times- but all good things have hard moments! The most challenging parts are time management and also keeping business and homeschool "brains" separate. It's super easy to let work bleed into my day, so I have to be diligent to create a firm separation. Assigning days that are primarily homeschool or work helps with this, but I also work during my kids' quiet time in the afternoons after I school in the morning. I have a nanny come in once a week so both Josh and I can make it to interviews and meetings, so don't ever be ashamed to budget for help- it might pinch at first but it's often necessary when you are scaling your business and homeschooling at the same time. 

That is such great advice, being intentional with your time is key to success! So, you also live on a farm...jealous! When did you decide to raise your family on the farm?

I grew up on a horse farm north of Petoskey, Michigan so I have a little experience with animals and really loved growing up in the country. It was always a long term dream to move out of downtown Pestokey and find a place we could build something like this. When we found our house in 2019, it was everything I ever dreamed- I couldn't believe we actually ended up here! We only have three acres but we maximize it! I don't think we will ever have as many animals as I did growing up but the few we do have, bring us a lot of joy!

We all pitch in! We aren't a commercial farm. We only raise enough meat and eggs for our own family (chickens, rabbits and pigs) and next year our goats will be old enough to milk and we will work together on that as well. Some of our garden produce and eggs goes to friends when we have extra and when raise pigs, usually one is raised for my parents and one is kept for us. 

We are very close to town, so get the best of all worlds. We get the quietness of the country and have the sweetest neighbors but we are also only 10-15 minutes from downtown and all the major stores, and only seven minutes from Lake Michigan. It's such a blessing!

I carry the Cafe Crossover in black! I have used this diaper bags for four years and taken it to the beach, the farmer's market, many play dates and homeschool groups and even flying cross country alone with my babies. I love how versatile it is wear and also how it attaches to my stroller- this has been HUGE for me when flying alone! 

Yes, I have used it to carry my laptop and some work items on trips or when going to work at coffee shops locally!

I love the Cafe Crossover but I also love the crossbody bags (3-n-1 Belt Bags) in black. When I don't feel like taking the whole Crossover with me, the crossbody bags are perfect for date night!