What I Learned Starting a Part-Time Business as a Stay-at-Home Mom During My 2nd Pregnancy
The title says what I learned, but it should also say what am I still learning.
This is a throwback article from October 18, 2024. Since then, my family’s second kiddo came into the world and I have much more to say about trying to do this whole things called life with two young kids.
The title says what I learned, but it should also say what am I still learning.
But here are some lessons that stood out:
Time management. Gone are the days where I could spend hours, uninterrupted, on work. I used to get into a work “flow” and found such satisfaction with how much I could accomplish. That immediately went out the window. I’ve learned how to shift my productivity into smaller sprints and set very clear boundaries around my work time.
Parenting styles are personal and unique to your family. There is an abundance of noise and pressure around parenting styles: which ones are correct - or wrong, backed by research - or not, exceptionally marketed - or not, part of the status quo or culture - or not; it’s enough to drive a modern parent or primary caregiver mad. Every family needs to find what works for them and keep in mind the aggressive and lucrative businesses behind some of these pressures - the “new parent” market estimated at $46 billion in 2019 and the global baby products market estimated at $320.65 billion in 2023.
“Having it all” is an illusion. To piggyback off the parenting point, the “You can have it all!” idea feels like an illusion. One, what is having it all? And two, what is your success metric for hitting that point? I see this more as an ongoing series of trade-offs because you can’t be everywhere all at once. You can’t be 100% mom/parent/caregiver, or 100% worker, or 100% spouse, or 100% perfect home manager (a point that our culture has seemed to forget, that someone needs to take care of the home and it’s just as valuable and important as the other items listed above). You have to make trade-offs, find balance (through trial and error, sometimes), and call in support when needed. I have a new level of respect for companies who accommodate employees’ unique needs. Because parenting, caregiving, and life don’t always fit on a schedule - being flexible and accommodating is a huge benefit.
Find the right business, career, team, or business partner for you. This one isn’t easy because we all need to make decisions to survive in an increasingly expensive, modern world. Sometimes taking any job is better than no job. But there is hope that, in time, life can present an opportunity that maximally aligns with who you are and how you can best contribute to our world. I’m super stoked to have found a business partner who aligns so much with my values and how I want to grow professionally. We’ve treated our partnership like a professional “marriage,” of sorts, from the get-go - which means a deep level of honesty, transparency, and communication…even if it’s uncomfortable. But this is who we are and what we bring into our work, so it’s only natural and fair to be that way with each other. I’m sure we’ll have much more to learn as the company grows, and it’s not always going to be sunshine and roses. But proper alignment between the work you want to do with the people you want to work with seemingly makes the struggle worth it.
It’s difficult. I mean, life can be difficult. Starting a business can be difficult. Being a parent or caregiver can be difficult. For me, it’s been the physical demands of being pregnant and the physical demands of being a toddler mom that have really gotten to me. My first trimester was feeling like garbage (obviously) while I sifted through hours of IO Psych research papers for our Introductory Course (currently under a 2026 revamp), with the added difficulty of needing to wean my 16-month-old because I just couldn’t physically continue. Even just now, in my third trimester, I had to pause writing this paragraph to go throw up. Gross, I know, but also very real. (If the other articles you’re reading aren’t talking about vomiting while writing them, then are they even worth it?!??) The physical demands of pregnancy are no joke. I’m so grateful to have experienced this now – twice – so I can bring this perspective into my work. Not everyone’s pregnancies are the same (I’ll take mine any day over other stories I’ve heard) but the challenges of life, especially health, vary and look different from person-to-person. I have a lot more compassion and understanding for an individual’s journey now, and a lot more gratitude for the resources and support I do have.
These are just a few lessons I’ve learned, but all of this has been 100%, absolutely worth it. I’m so excited to see where our company goes, where my family goes, and where life will take us. I’m also excited to eat garlic and onions again, or eat after 6 pm, once our second child is born because pregnancy reflux is a fiery dragon of a beast.
What else have you learned in your career journey?