I became a stay at home mom and quickly delved into entrepreneurship.
Even though I had left the workplace, I still wanted to hold onto things that would make me feel like me. So, in the name of entrepreneurship, I became a better beauty advocate by partnering with Beautycounter in November 2017. I love connecting with so many new people to help them switch to safer personal care products. I love the community and the passion it has added to my life. Plus, it feels good to contribute financially without having to work a standard 9 to 5. And then in December 2017, I launched Young Honest Mother. I felt compelled to open a dialogue around all things marriage, motherhood and modern home economics. In all honesty. And the vision I have for these two passion projects is grand and impactful.
Since I’d be trading bustling office life for the calm and quiet of my own home, I figured I’d be able to get so much done.
Honestly, I took on my new roles with the fervor of a woman trying to prove that she didn’t leave her career “just to sit around at home all day.” But with an active toddler to look after, everything was much more challenging. I quickly realized that I would have to drastically lower all of my standards, and then lower them a tad bit more just for good measure. And I resisted for a very long time. I’m a “to-doer” through and through.Give me a list with clear objectives and deadlines, and I’ll go above and beyond to make sure that everything gets done. So, an incomplete to-do list felt like a failure. I felt like I wasn’t making much progress in the entrepreneurship arena.
I realized that I had been holding onto so much judgment around what stay at home motherhood should look like.
“Stay at home mom” is the job title of a lifetime, right? Shouldn’t I want to be with my child all the time? Shouldn’t I be completely fulfilled by motherhood? Shouldn’t I press pause on entrepreneurship until Milo grows up? But the truth is, I have goals and desires outside of motherhood. By ignoring them, I am priming my subconscious to believe that what I want does not matter. That I don’t matter. And I don’t want to live that way anymore. I can now accept that I’ll need some help along the way in order to get to where I want to be.
Milo started a Montessori program on Wednesday, June 5th, and I’ll be dedicating that time to entrepreneurship.
During those two days, Milo will be living his best Montessori life. He’s most excited about learning how to write, dazzling his classmates with his hibachi skills and potty training! Meanwhile, I’ll be investing in the ideas that have been screaming at me to be made manifest. I am an entrepreneur. I am a mother. And I can be both. Dedicating time to pursue my entrepreneurial projects is an invaluable part of what helps me to continue being the best mother I can be. I don’t know if this will be the end all be all childcare solution for our family, but I know we’re all going to learn so much from the experience. Here’s to embracing entrepreneurship as a stay at home mom!
