Having said this, if I do have a lot of work on and just need a day to catch up, I’m fortunate enough to have my in-laws who are willing to take Oscar off my hands for a few hours so I take advantage of that from time to time.
My husband works long hours during the week so I like to keep the weekends as family time. This works for me because it forces me to get it done during the week – I like to think of it as if I was going into the office and don’t ‘bring work home with me’.
I’m also a big fan of the ‘touch it once’ rule in both business and home life. If I read an email, I deal with it straight away. If I make dinner, I clean up straight away. If I am tidying up toys and rooms, I do one whole room before I leave it. I find this saves me a lot of mental exhaustion rather than having things hanging over my head.
Lastly, I’m a big believer in balance and listening to my body. Sometimes it’s saying watch a movie in bed with Oscar in the morning. Sometimes it’s saying to go on a big bush walk and get out in nature. Sometimes it’s saying go to bed at 8pm (I’m currently 8 months pregnant so that’s pretty common at the moment!).
The drive: What challenges have you overcome?
Believing in myself
When I first started my business, I had left my PT business knowing that I wouldn’t go back because the hours were long, and they wouldn’t give me a part-time contract. I also didn’t like the idea of someone else being around for my kids’ milestones like the first time they rolled over or stood up. So, I gave myself the first 12 weeks just to be a mum and then work on what I was going to do. I guess I always knew it was going to be something in fitness, but I wasn’t sure and then I started exploring the option of online training. There were so many moments where I thought I’d just go back because it was hard, or I felt guilty for not making much money, but I am glad I pushed through this period.
Mum guilt
I found it hard, especially when I was starting out, to separate being mum and coach. I would organise someone to look after Oscar for a few hours just so I could get something done and then when I went to go in my office, I would feel guilty because I wasn’t going to a ‘real’ job. Even now when I have a day with a bit more on, I can feel guilty that I’m not paying as much attention to Oscar.
Learning the tech world
The online world is like a whole other language!
I did everything myself in the beginning – which was slow and hard but I’m glad now because I know how to do everything in my business. I also found It hard to motivate and connect with my clients in an online environment because I was used to doing it in person!
For better or worse: What are the pros and cons of running your own business?
I love the flexibility that running my own business brings. I love that I am the one to get my son up in the morning and put him to bed at night. This is one of my non-negotiables. I once read an article that young children remember the first 10 minutes when they get up and 10 minutes before they go to sleep the most and it just stuck with me that I wanted to be there.
It can be hard switching from mum mode to business mode but I honestly feel like this is just what being a mum is… and we all wear so many hats so I think my clients appreciate my honestly when I say ‘sorry going to be 5 minutes late – toddler meltdown!’, because we’ve all been there!
I love that I have created a business that works for me and my family. It can be hard to be self-motivated but all it takes is practice and a good system.
I think the overwhelming pro is that I get to interact and help so many different mamas and it doesn’t matter if we’re not in the same place!
Hopes and dreams: What next?
There is a big stigma around mums exercising and societal pressure to get your ‘body back’ but my aim is to continue to educate and change the views around exercising to make it less about aesthetics and more about feeling good, moving well and having a strong & functioning body that will serve you through pregnancy, postpartum and beyond.
I’m currently in the process of overhauling my pregnancy and postpartum programme to make it more user-friendly and have heaps more resources which I am very excited about. I have used my second pregnancy to really draw on my personal experiences through 2 pregnancies to help mums have more information and safer pregnancies with faster recoveries.
I’m also working on doing events for mamas so that we can all get to know each other more, catch up, do a workout and have a coffee! I think we all feel pretty isolated as mums so if I can make a platform for mums to connect more, I would love that!
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