Yin and Yang: How do you balance work and family?
I’m a full-time single mum with no family in the country, we live rural and it’s been a challenge navigating having a child and a full-time business. I am so grateful that I am able to have my daughter with me 24/7. Fortunately for me, I have been working for myself for half my life and I really thrive off of the lifestyle that running a business offers me.
My keys to balance would be attachment parenting, following my daughter, setting up play spaces in my office and studio, and offering opportunities for her to be a part of what I’m doing. She has her own sewing machine and helps with everything, including designing, pinning, packing and posting orders. We make sure that we have lots of together time and fun during the day. We like to swim, go to the beach, dance, cook, sing, play guitar and piano, paint and read.
Of course, my favourite moment of every day is right at the end when we breastfeed to sleep in our king-sized bed and she asks me “what was your rubbish thing today?” and “what was your favourite thing today?”
The drive: What challenges have you overcome?
The past two years have probably been some of the hardest of my life. Some of the major things have been the breakdown of my relationship with my daughter’s father which led to me becoming a single mum to a 9-month-old, and having to stop working/creating at this time because my mental health had deteriorated so much that I was barely surviving. We moved five hours north back to where I felt at home and then moved house four times in six months. Having no family in the country, I then lost four grandparents who were all overseas.
This year has seen some big challenges too, including experiencing a surgical pregnancy termination for a wanted baby, being diagnosed with fibromyalgia and my business taking off to a point where I’m trying to navigate working seven days a week.
So here we are, closing off 2020 as me and my daughter move into the house we just bought with a business that is thriving. We are spending more time camping and being out in nature as we build up the charity that I’m grateful to be a director of, which is centered around getting youth out on Country with Elders for healing. I’ll be heading back into study mode so that I can up-skill for the 2021 launch of my support services for conscious conception, empowered pregnancy, birth and beyond. I’ll be combining menstrual cycle flow, biological parenting, conscious parenting, non-violent communication and holistic mental health work to support you and your families to transform your lives and health.
For better or worse: What are the pros and cons of running your own business?
The pros would be the ability to live and work in flow and to be able to rest and eat and get outside when I need or want to. Of course, the biggest pro is having my daughter with me and being able to play with her and watch her grow. I absolutely love supporting families on their journeys and seeing photos and hearing feedback about people’s journeys and how much impact Conscious Parenting Movement is having on their lives, relationships, children, wallets and the environment.
The cons would be living in the same space that I work, not always being able to focus and not really being able to switch off from the work.
Hopes and dreams: What next?
2021 will see the launch of my new services section on the website and I’ll be opening up spaces for new clients for holistic mental health and parenting support. There will be an eBook coming as well.
There will be plenty more products lined up as well as some new artists and several ranges with unique and exclusive prints designed by young Australian artists.
Visit the Conscious Parenting Movement website to find out more and join their supportive online communities on Facebook and Instagram.
