In this episode of Making It Happen, host Pauline Roth sits down with Riz Hakim, co-founder of Team Hakim (RE/MAX Premier Group) and founder of The Bay Network, to talk about entrepreneurship, mindset, and building meaningful community.

Riz shares how his and his wife Abby’s shared roots in real estate shaped their journey, how they turned networking into a genuine support system for local business owners, and what it takes to stay resilient through life’s challenges. From growing their business together to giving back through The Bay Network, this conversation is full of wisdom about balance, relationships, and staying grounded while growing.

If you’re a business owner, real-estate professional, or anyone looking to build authentic connections, this episode will inspire you to lead with heart and purpose — and keep making it happen.

Guest: Riz Hakim

Team Hakim Homes — teamhakimhomes.com
RE/MAX Premier Group | Serving the Greater Tampa Bay Area

The Bay Network — thebay.biz
A professional community designed to foster authentic connections and local business growth.

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• Topics Covered:

  • How childhood influences led Riz and Abby Hakim into real estate

  • The dynamics of Florida’s booming housing market

  • Creating The Bay Network and redefining what networking means

  • Building trust, relationships, and community among entrepreneurs

  • The challenges of time management and prioritization in business

  • The importance of mindset, physical activity, and balance

  • Staying resilient and grounded through personal loss and professional growth

  
  

  Key Quote:

  “Failure builds character. It’s part of the journey — what makes success that much sweeter.” — Riz Hakim

  
  

  Connect with Riz:
  📩 Email / Inquiry: via thebay.biz or teamhakimhomes.com
  🌐 Follow: The Bay Network on social media for upcoming events and membership details.

  
  

  Connect with Pauline:
  PaulineRoth.com | Follow Making It Happen on Spotify for new episodes each week.

Navigating Motherhood, Marriage, and Starting Over – with Cathie Stich

In this episode of Making It Happen, Pauline sits down with her friend Cathie Stich — a full-time working mom, wife, stepmom, homeschool parent, and founder of her home-based baking business, Whisk'd Away. Together, they dive into the unseen emotional labor of motherhood, the evolving seasons of marriage, and the courage it takes to follow a creative dream while balancing real life.

Cathie shares what it was like to grow up in a tight-knit Dominican-American family, become a stepmom unexpectedly, and raise her daughter Naya — who is now homeschooled after a difficult experience in traditional school. From her honest take on mom guilt to the mental juggling act of working full time while parenting, she opens up about the struggles, sacrifices, and small joys that define her journey.

They also discuss keeping a marriage strong through change, how faith shapes Cathie’s resilience, and what it really means to pursue passion without losing the love for it.

If you’ve ever wrestled with identity, felt the weight of invisible work, or wondered how to chase your goals while raising a family — this one’s for you.

Topics Covered:

• Cathie’s upbringing and family roots in the Dominican Republic

• What it was like becoming a stepmom and navigating blended family dynamics

• The decision to homeschool her daughter and what led up to it

• Letting go of outside opinions and trusting your parenting instincts

• How mom guilt shows up at every stage — and how she’s working through it

• Keeping her marriage strong through communication and realistic expectations

• Starting Whisk'd Away, her home bakery business, and what baking means to her

• The fear of turning passion into pressure — and finding peace in the process

• Her biggest lessons from failure and how faith keeps her grounded

  
  

🎧 Cathie’s Final Takeaway:

“It’s not a failure if you tried. If you trust God, even when it doesn’t feel okay — it eventually will be.”

💡 Learn more about Cathie’s baking journey:
Follow her on Instagram: @cathiem143
Coming soon to Facebook & local markets in Florida!

✨ Want more real talk and resources?
Visit PaulineRoth.com for free tools, career tips, family strategies, and to sign up for the newsletter. Get practical support sent straight to your inbox to help you thrive at home, in work, and beyond.

In this episode of Making It Happen, host Pauline Roth sits down with Alexa Ayala, co-owner of Apex Martial Arts in Wesley Chapel, FL. Alexa shares her incredible journey from working as a paralegal and nurse to running a thriving family business alongside her husband and son.

Alexa opens up about the wake-up call that pushed her to leave her corporate career and fully step into entrepreneurship—the medical emergency that reminded her to focus on what matters most: family, health, and purpose. She reflects on what it’s really like to work with her spouse every day, the challenges and rewards of blending marriage with business, and how her son Justin inspires her vision for the future of Apex Martial Arts.

Together, Alexa and Pauline dive into:

• The leap from a 9-to-5 career into full-time entrepreneurship.

• How a health scare reshaped Alexa’s priorities and perspective on life.

• The realities of working with your spouse—conflict, roles, and the surprising rewards.

• Lessons learned as a mom of an adult son and what she’d tell her younger self.

• Why believing in your family’s business and mission is essential for success.

• The importance of legacy, time freedom, and consistency in both business and life.

Alexa’s story is an inspiring reminder that success isn’t just about business growth—it’s about resilience, family, and building a legacy that lasts.

✨ Don’t miss this conversation filled with honesty, wisdom, and encouragement for anyone balancing family and entrepreneurship.

👉 For more resources and to join the Making It Happen community, visit PaulineRoth.com

Show Notes:

Guest: Alexa Ayala – Co-owner, Apex Martial Arts
Host: Pauline Roth

Key Topics Covered:

• [01:00] Alexa’s path from paralegal and nurse to martial arts business owner

• [02:30] The wake-up call that made her go “all in” on her family business

• [04:00] Experiencing a heart attack during a class—and how it changed everything

• [07:45] The rewards and challenges of working with her husband

• [13:00] Parenting insights: raising and guiding a 21-year-old son

• [16:30] Building a business legacy for the next generation

• [18:15] The hardest lessons (and biggest growth) as a business owner

• [20:00] Advice for moms considering joining their spouse’s business

• [22:00] Personal growth, perspective shifts, and defining success today

• [25:30] Stories of transformation from students and families at Apex Martial Arts

• [27:45] Alexa’s most valuable lessons from failure and how she applies them daily

• [31:00] Closing reflections: consistency, resilience, and making it happen

🎙️ Full-Time Nurse, Full-Time Wife & Raising a Child with ADHD

Hosted by Pauline Roth | Guest: April Laferriere

In this episode of Making It Happen, host Pauline Roth sits down with April Laferriere — a full-time nurse, devoted wife, and incredible mother navigating the unique challenges of raising a daughter with ADHD.

April opens up about the real, raw, and relentless balancing act of her life. From long hours at the hospital and teaching to returning home where the mental load continues, she shares what it’s like to constantly pour into others — while trying to keep her own cup from running empty.

This isn’t just a story of motherhood. It’s a story of resilience, advocacy, emotional strength, and the quiet heroism that so many women live out every single day.

If you’ve ever felt stretched thin between the needs of your career, your marriage, and your children — this conversation is for you.

💬 In This Episode, We Talk About:

• What it really looks like to juggle caregiving at work and at home
  April shares what a typical day looks like and how she tries (and sometimes fails) to find balance.

• Raising a neurodivergent child
  From diagnosis to daily routines, April opens up about the emotional, mental, and logistical challenges of parenting a child with ADHD — and what she's learned along the way.

• Marriage in the midst of chaos
  How April and her husband stay connected, support each other, and still find moments of joy and laughter in the middle of their messiest days.

• Mom guilt, identity, and emotional overload
  We dive deep into the invisible labor that mothers carry — and how April is learning to release the guilt and rewrite the narrative.

• Advocacy, patience, and progress
  April shares how she advocates for her daughter in school and life, and what every parent of a neurodivergent child needs to hear.

  
  

  🌟 Why This Episode Matters

  So many moms are quietly managing full-time careers, emotionally complex family dynamics, and children who require more than the world often understands. This episode is a reminder that you are not alone — and that your exhaustion, your love, and your effort matter more than you know.

  April’s vulnerability, humor, and wisdom will resonate with anyone who’s ever felt like they’re giving 200% in every area of life… and still wondering if it’s enough.

  
  

  💡 Key Takeaways:

• It’s okay to say, “I’m overwhelmed.”
• You’re allowed to ask for help — and still be a great mom.
• Marriage doesn’t have to be perfect to be supportive.
• Kids with ADHD need love, structure, and someone who sees their brilliance beyond the diagnosis.
• You’re doing better than you think.

Whether you’re a nurse, teacher, entrepreneur, stay-at-home parent, or something in between — this episode will leave you feeling seen, understood, and just a little more hopeful.

✨ Want more resources for working parents, advocates, and women trying to do it all (without falling apart)?

Visit PaulineRoth.com for helpful tools, behind-the-scenes extras, and to sign up for the newsletter. You’ll get real stories, real strategies, and a weekly dose of encouragement straight to your inbox — because you deserve support too.

🎙️ Episode 2: Working with Your Spouse: Love, Life, and Shared Hustles

Hosted by Pauline Roth, with guest Jim Roth

What really happens when you mix marriage and business? In this episode of Making It Happen, host Pauline Roth sits down with her husband, Jim Roth, for an honest, unfiltered conversation about the highs, lows, and lessons of building a life — and a business — together.

Whether you're already working with your spouse, thinking about it, or just curious how couples manage all the things, this episode pulls back the curtain on what it really looks like to blend love and hustle under one roof.

Pauline and Jim share how their working dynamic has evolved over the years — from messy beginnings and blurred boundaries to clearly defined roles and mutual respect. You'll hear how they learned (sometimes the hard way) to communicate better, divide responsibilities more intentionally, and support each other through the chaos of parenting, entrepreneurship, and everything in between.

💬 In This Episode, We Talk About:

How our work dynamic evolved: The shifts we made from casual collaboration to intentional partnership — and what we got wrong in the beginning.

The surprising benefits of building together: From shared wins to understanding each other’s stress — how working together made us stronger.

Challenges we didn’t expect: Yep, we went there — boundaries, burnout, and the nights we wanted to cancel each other’s meetings and marriage.

Communication tips that saved our sanity: How we check in, cool off, and keep business disagreements from spilling into bedtime.

Our roles at home vs. in business: Why “CEO at work” doesn’t always translate to “project manager of the dishwasher” — and how we balance it out.

💡 Key Takeaways:

• Working with your spouse can work — but it takes intention, trust, and a whole lot of grace.
• Boundaries aren't just helpful — they're necessary.
• Laughter really is a strategy (especially when you both forgot the calendar invite).
• Communication is a muscle. You build it by using it.
• And most importantly: your relationship comes first.

Whether you’re business partners or just trying to keep your household from burning down during a Zoom call, this episode is for every couple navigating the real-life blend of love, leadership, and laundry.

If you've ever asked yourself, “How do people make this work?” — you're not alone. We're figuring it out in real-time, too.

✨ Want more tools to help you grow in work, life, and love?

Visit ⁠PaulineRoth.com⁠ for free resources, podcast extras, and to sign up for the newsletter. You'll get exclusive updates, practical strategies, and first access to new content to help you keep Making It Happen — in business, in family, and in your own way.

Welcome to Making It Happen. I’m your host, Pauline Roth — mom of two, wife, business owner, and someone learning every day how to balance life, work, and love without losing myself in the process.

I created this podcast because I’ve lived the reality of trying to “do it all,” and I know how lonely, overwhelming, and exhausting it can be. But I also know this: you don’t have to be perfect, and you don’t have to do it alone.

This is a space for real conversations — about the stuff we don’t always say out loud. From career comebacks and burnout, to marriage, motherhood, and mindset — we’re covering it all.

You’ll hear solo episodes from me, behind-the-scenes stories from my life, practical tools from the world of recruiting and business, and honest talks with people who are making it work their own way.

So if you’re juggling a lot and still chasing growth, you’re in the right place.

Thanks for being here. Subscribe, share with a friend, and visit paulineroth.com for free resources to help you keep making it happen — in work, in life, and everywhere in between.