Yin and Yang: How do you balance work and family?
Gosh, I don’t think I have that balance right yet. At the moment, it’s 95% family and 5% work. I find that automating some processes is super helpful. Better to spend $30 a month on a billing platform that does everything for you, rather than save a bit of money and spend hours of time. I think choosing the right care for younger children is important, so you feel joyful dropping them off and with what they will gain from their time away from you. We weren’t meant to do this alone; it takes a village. Choose your village wisely.
The drive: What challenges have you overcome?
Marketing was a huge challenge for me. With 21 years’ sales experience, I wasn’t used to having to market myself. Overcoming blocks around the feelings that marketing brings up as well as learning the ‘how to’s was a huge challenge for me. I am a quick study and happy to work at things but being in business alone often means there is no one to ask, so everything new took so long and was frustrating, but I could build a website in about an hour now so that’s a life skill!
For better or worse: What are the pros and cons of running your own business?
I think the biggest one for both is it’s all on you. So the benefits of it all being you are that you get to choose your hours, what everything looks like, how you market and where you spend money. The downside is that with just you, it can be hard to have objectivity on these things and you can get decision fatigue. Also, if it doesn’t work… well it’s all on you.
Hopes and dreams: What next?
2020 derailed my plans a bit but I’m grateful for that. I’ve had an extra year at home with my baby blossoming into a toddler (I make that sound beautiful but it’s more of a bull in a china shop situation). Next year I get to start working one on one with women in the post partum side of my business. I love working with expecting families and really hope some of them choose to continue that relationship with after birth care. I think those early weeks and months are so important, not just in baby’s development but in the making of a mama. It is time to start redefining the village and making it a modern possibility.
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