Juggling Motherhood and a New Business

When I was a first time mom at the age of 26 I would not have believed it if you told me I would be part of starting a new business within six months of my daughter, Jordan's, birth. The year was 2003 and this sweet angel came into our lives on a cold January morning. I was happily finding my way through being a new mom, while dealing with the challenges of feeding issues, figuring out what the different cries of a baby meant, and struggling with post-childbirth body issues. I also had a low stress job I enjoyed where I worked 30 hours a week or less. My husband earned most of the money for our family and I liked it that way. Little did I know what was coming.

After the arrival of a new baby, it was customary at that time to print and mail a birth announcement to friends and family. This was the year before Facebook was founded, so no social media existed yet to share our happy news. We took some cute photos of Jordan, as well as of her tiny fingers and tiny toes. I wrote up a message and Jason added his graphic design flair to create a pretty little card to share our news.

One of those announcements was mailed to the attention of a young married couple we attended church with. We had no idea at the time that she had been putting her efforts into writing a business plan for a new business she wanted to start. One of the first things she needed was a catalog to feature some products she had selected at Market in Atlanta. She approached us to meet with her to see if Jason could support her with a catalog layout. Being the constant negotiator he is, Jason said he would do the work for no charge if she would make me her business partner in her new venture. He saw a need for my detail-oriented skills for her new business. I was screaming inside - “Say no, please say no!”

Well, she said yes. And before I knew it, I agreed to the arrangement as well. She was clearly a big dreamer and I’m all about the details, so I figured I would help out so Jason would get through the catalog project and then we’d see what was next. If that conversation about starting a business had included the expectation of working many hours over the next two decades, moving our family two states away, hiring (and firing) friends and family over the years, I probably would have said “thanks, but no thanks”. But for more reasons than I can explain I was blessed to not have a window into the future and felt God leading us down this path with a confidence I cannot explain.

I was convinced I was in control of the situation and I could change course easily if it got to be too much. What I had not fully comprehended at the time was that God was guiding our steps into a grand adventure that we could have never dreamed up for ourselves. This is one of my favorite Bible verses: "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope."Jeremiah 29:11 ESV.

Just starting a business is hard. Having children is hard. Doing both at the same time presents challenges, but the amazing rewards of doing both and doing them well are beyond explanation. Since I personally experienced it and look back on those years and some of the fondest and most precious of all, I wanted to give you a few things to think about. If you have a new business idea burning in the back of your mind, a few considerations you’ll want to ponder are:

1. Are you financially prepared to go the first few years with little to no pay for your time while you invest everything into your business?

2. Do you have nearby family or friends to help with childcare when you have to handle business meetings or travel to places where your child cannot be with you?

3. Can you clearly articulate your business plan and what makes it a unique opportunity that is not already out in the marketplace?

4. Do you think about the business idea day and night and have a clear idea of where you want the business to be in the next 5-10 years?

5. Do you have a partner you plan to start the business with that has considered these same points I have shared above? I can say from experience that starting a business with a partner can motivate you to do the hard things (together) while you may not have been as successful on your own.

6. Are your dreams of running your own business mostly due to the fact you are not happy in some part of your life? (This is NOT a reason on its own to start a business, FYI).

Hint: starting a business will NOT make life easier or better or richer magically. You will have some hard years in the beginning and you have to wake up every day ready to handle challenges that you didn’t see coming just 24 hours ago. You have to approach things with a firm but flexible attitude.

Keep in mind where you are in life right now as you consider what the future may look like, not on how life might be in a few years. You may think you’ve got it all planned out, but I’ve always reminded myself “if you want to make God laugh, then tell Him your plans”. Planned or unplanned, there will be new challenges laid out in your path that you will have to navigate through. Less than three years into the new business I found out I was expecting baby #2 (surprise!).

Our small team of amazing ladies were working all hours of the day and some nights but these were some of my favorite moments of the 20-year journey. When my son arrived the day after Valentine’s Day (Jacob will always be my Valentine!), I took a weekend maternity leave and showed back up to the office with my precious newborn in tow. Jacob spent the first six months of his life going to work with me every day. Until the day he learned to stand on his own and it made it harder to keep an eye on him as he grabbed things off tables and picked up things he shouldn't. I am so grateful that my mom and mother-in-law were there to help with childcare when needed.

Being your own boss means you can do things differently, like take kids to work with you if you choose to. None of that was how I imagined motherhood was going to look, but I can say it made for some memorable moments I would have missed otherwise.

A final thought for you. Share your business idea with family and friends you trust to give honest feedback. Use them as your personal focus group and see how excited they are for you to bring the business to your community or the world! That is exactly what we did at the beginning of our journey and looking back 20 years we knew we had the support of so many loved ones because we shared first with them what our venture was looking like. I wish you all the best in whatever path your life takes you. I’d love to hear about it.