Life Lessons Learned as an Entrepreneur and Mom of Two

Personal growth is business growth.

Motherhood has offered me the most powerful lessons. Paired with running a business and celebrating 20 years of marriage this year, the life lessons keep coming. 

🙌 And I am here for the growth and expansion!  

Because business growth is personal growth, and vice versa, here are some insights I've gained from being a working mom. 

Side note: I will never call myself a "mompreneur," "fempreneur," "girl-boss," "boss-babe," or any other BS, ridiculous title.

You get good at saying “no.” 

I got so good at this after being so terrible at it. I used to say yes to all the things. I said yes to bake sales a bake sale (literally once), volunteering (twice, and I stopped when a teacher tried giving me ADHD meds for one of the boys — I am not qualified for this). 

I don't need to be the first one to raise my hand, or even raise my hand at all. Boundaries around my work time are important. And if a kid needs to talk — I close my laptop and look them in their faces. My kids — always loved, looked after, and fed. I prefer to be the one to feed them too with the junk that some parents try to pass off as food at sporting events. (Ummm… these are athletes. Why are we bringing donuts and chips?)

Involving the kids is fun.

My kids helped with updating links in Squarespace when I separated my writing school and author websites. They've taken photos of my branding and books for flat lays, and can even do video. I'm excited to teach them more so they can see behind the scenes of running an online business. Because they're cool and I am not, they're going to help me make Instagram reels next.

Beyond business tasks, they take on the household chores that they can handle too. I'm so grateful for their help (one kid is cleaning the house from top to bottom while I write this blog).

Here are some flat lays they made for me.

Asking for help — early and often.

Just like your clients and any service providers aren't mind readers, neither is your family. Ask for the support you need. And (and this is important), be okay with it not getting done the same way you'd do it. Let go of control. You'll feel much more peaceful, too.

Looking after myself first. 

I'm responsible for looking after myself. No one is going to do this for me. If I run myself ragged, I'll have little left to give my family. I'd also be modeling that it's okay for Mom to come last. When they become parents, I want them to look after themselves too. 

And, when they're tired, I want to encourage them to say no to friends if they don’t feel like going out. It's okay to rest and it’s okay to focus on your priorities first.

Playing more.

Dear God, this one might be one of my biggest lessons. I have a tendency to take everything way too seriously. Thankfully, kids are very good at playing and goofing off. “Mom, will you paint with me?” and “Wanna try my F1 racing game?” At first, I feel an inner, “But I’ve got work to do!” but I lean in as much as possible. I’m always happy I played more.

I’ve come a long way in navigating interruptions that happen while I'm working. This leads me to the next one…

Seeing interruptions as corrections in trajectory.

I believe this idea came from Julia Cameron, though I can't find the quote (I'll update this if I find it later). Interruptions are going to happen. Add kids to the equation, and the odds are significantly better than a Vegas blackjack table. 

Instead of getting annoyed at all the (inevitable) interruptions, seeing them as an edit in where I was heading helps me stay present, get curious, and get back on task faster.

What else would you add to this list?