How motherhood can make your business better
I had my business baby years before I had my sweet, little human baby. I loved my business and felt really proud to watch it grow and change over time. When I was planning to come back to work after having my son, I was worried that my business wouldn’t thrive like it had been before I became pregnant. What happened instead was something a little bit magical.
I was able to shift into a new set of hours and a workload that was less than I’d had in years. I felt like I was balancing less, but what I was adding to the scales was more important and worthwhile. In other words, my business after baby became more aligned with what I wanted all along.
So with that, here are some unexpected ways I’ve seen how motherhood can make your business better.
It helps you prioritize your time.
People talk about this one often. You have fewer hours in the day because some of those hours have to go to your kiddo. But if you still want to work as much as before, you’re forced to be efficient with your time. I can now crank out the bulk of what I need to get done in just 4 or 5 hours a day. I probably could have been doing that since the very beginning, but instead would get distracted by what I like to call “pretty procrastination” like Pinterest or perfecting a blog post cover. Now, I simply don’t have time. My kid will win the battle over Pinterest scrolling time any day.
It allows you to connect and “network” with other mamas.
This one is one of the best ways that motherhood has made my business better. I’m now in a few “business mama” groups and I love it! We can connect on marketing strategies and sleeping strategies in the same breath. And while I join for the community aspect, I tend to see referrals because these women come to trust me and my expertise. And I genuinely want to help their businesses succeed! It’s a win-win-win.
It puts everything into perspective.
Sort of obvious and totally cliche. (But here’s the deal with cliches - they exist because they’re true! If enough people say it, it becomes cliche. But they’re all saying it because it’s a common experience! So let’s embrace the cliches, #amiright??) Motherhood makes you realize that the thing that matters MOST is your kiddo. Everything else becomes supplementary to that. So when there is a website emergency that happens at bedtime… well it’s not really an emergency at all. At least not one that can’t wait until I’m done reading Goodnight Moon (for the 126,937th time).
It reaffirms who you are.
The first year of motherhood is straight up crazy. Between the hormones, lack of sleep, new routines and suddenly having a new human around, it’s easy to lose yourself. I personally think that every new mama is effected by this differently. For some, not being able to get dressed up, put on makeup and feel fresh is super tough. For others, not having any autonomy or feeling overly depended upon is what shakes them up. For me, I lost myself in my business. I didn’t know who I was as both a designer and mama. A year in and I’ve settled back in even more firmly into who I am as a designer and business owner. I KNOW who I am, and it’s 98% of who I was before. But after becoming a mama, I’m unapologetically myself - in life and business.
