Three Things Motherhood Has Taught Me About Running A Business

Two and a half years ago, my first baby boy was swaddled and placed in my arms along with a smile, congratulations, and a lighthearted note:

“Oh, and I’m pretty sure he needs a diaper change.” The nurse gave me a playful wink and walked away, but I can remember thinking, “...am I supposed to do that, or… 👀👀” Lol! I was totally clueless when it came to my first kid, having had no prior baby experience, and it brought a whole new meaning to “sink or swim.” I was literally DROWNING!!

Besides the fact that my firstborn, Russell, was colicky as all GET OUT, I was emotionally and mentally in a downward spiral, struggling to adapt to the demands of motherhood.

Weekly emails from Babylist were a lifeline (and that’s saying something 😆) which were packed with tips on baby milestones, developmental leaps, gear essentials, and more. One email in particular entitled, “How to Feel Human as a New Mom,” put every feeling into words: “Between recovering from birth, breastfeeding, and this clinging new amazing creature, it’s hard to feel like your own person.” This struck me in a deep way, as I truly felt like I was starting at square one. I was learning - just like my newborn - how to adjust to this strange new world, and the learning curve felt insurmountable.

It wasn’t until my second baby boy, Brady, where I was able to look back at that season with a deep appreciation.

With 20/20 vision, I was able to recognize just how much growth was realized during such a time of difficult transformation. I was pushed to my limits as a first time Mama, and in the process, I was refined with an inner strength, a sense of grit, and an ability to adapt to whatever was thrown at me. I had become tough, which made me not only a better Mama, but a better business owner, too.

Two and a half years later from that worldchanging moment of holding my firstborn for the very first time, I’m infinitely better equipped to embrace the unknowns, the obstacles, and the curveballs of life, all because I was held to the fire.

Motherhood produced a resilience and passion within me that yielded results far beyond the realm of raising littles. It served to heighten my love of photography and my obsession with running a business.

Honestly, what I never expected was one of the most beautiful realizations of all… motherhood equipped me with a toolbox so versatile and so comprehensive that it overflowed into all the ways I run my business.

Here are the three things motherhood taught about running a business:

1. I can do hard things

When giving birth to Brady, I was standing at our bathroom counter, doubled over from a powerful contraction, and I turned to Jon in agony, “I don’t think I can do this anymore.” The contraction intensified, and I moved from the countertop into his arms, clinging to his neck and steadying my breath against him.

The finish line was close, but all I could register was agony. The process of getting to my sweet reward, my precious baby boy, required more grit, resilience, and endurance than I ever thought possible, but just when I thought I had “hit my wall,” my arms were greeted with a chunky baby boy. I looked at the precious human now resting against my chest, and an indescribable feeling of love swept over me. But then looked at my reflection in the mirror with an equally indescribable feeling of appreciation and accomplishment. The woman I saw was a superhero. My super power? Perservering

Giving birth taught me that I👏🏼can👏🏼do👏🏼hard👏🏼things. From a business perspective, this has taught me that I am capable of way more than I could ever imagine. That I can tackle and conquer challenges that seem impossible. With a little hustle, a dash of gumption, and a heck of a lot of endurance, goals that feel out of reach are 100% doable with a little bit of perseverance. This can even apply to smaller tasks like disciplining myself with a 5 a.m. wakeup time to get uninterrupted work time (after a sleepless night with an infant 🫠) or pushing myself outside my comfort zone by passing out a business card to a stranger.

No matter the hurdle, motherhood has taught me that challenges are disguised opportunities. That I can either rise to the occasion or fall to self-doubt. Giving birth changed my life in so many ways, yet one of the most powerful lessons that I learned was that I am capable of doing hard things. Whatever fears may be present, when I remember that perseverance and resilience can carry me to the finish line, I put my shoulder to the wheel, and I push.

2. Consistency is key

Speaking of hard work… 👀😭 Consistency is something especially difficult for me to maintain in this season. I have so many balls in the air, yet motherhood is teaching me just how crucial it is to be consistent in business as well. There are a million different tasks that come along with managing littles, while simultaneously running a home, including caring for littles, cooking, cleaning, changing diapers, potty-training, picking up toys (for the millionth time 🙃) and more. Yet, I choose to show up not just for my kids, not just for my husband, but also for me. Even when it gets overwhelming, exhausting, or horribly mundane, I consistently put my best foot forward! My routine as a Mama is teaching me that it’s the simple act of putting in the work, regardless of the outcome, that is especially meaningful.

I’m currently in the process of reading Atomic Habits by James Cleary (which is changing my life, and you should 1,000% buy your own copy here!) and he puts it like this: “The same way that money multiplies through compound interest, the effects of your habits multiply as you repeat them. They seem to make little difference on any given day, and yet the impact they deliver over the months and years can be enormous.” This basic concept is mindblowing!

Every day when I show up for my family, I am making small, yet significant contributions to my kids’ budding sense of self. a.k.a. It’s my own consistency that fosters my children’s character, confidence, happiness, and health! I carry the unique and sacred responsibility of nurturing my little boys, and while I certainly don’t do it perfectly, I still show up consistently and aim to cultivate a stable, joyful ecosystem for my sweet boys.

It’s this same consistency, reliability, and intentionality as a Mom that has dripped into my business as an entrepreneur. Creating good habits and dependable systems are the building blocks for a robust business, and I’m now building off this foundation in my photography brand. When I choose to show up for my business and clients, I’m also making small, but substantial deposits into the future health of my business. This simple act of consistency, no matter how small the task, will only pave the way to sustainable results.

For any Mama who prioritizes consistency, whether it be in her home, at work, or both, here is the perfect metaphor: “I look at the stonecutter hammering away at his rock, perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not the last blow that did it — but all that had gone before.” (Atomic Habits, Chapter 1)

Consistency is key. If you’re a Mom, be there for your kids… even amidst the throes (and throws) of the everyday humdrum. Your kids will invariably learn to love the home as a safe haven. If you’re a business owner, show up not just for your clients, but also for yourself! In the same way that you may not see the fruits of your labor today, or even tomorrow, you can rest assured that you will see the yields in time!

3. Focus on just one thing at a time

Funnily enough, I was recently reading that women have a larger corpus callosum than men. Apparently that is the thick bundle of nerves connecting the two brain hemispheres, and it enables women to multitask and switch gears seamlessly? Well, this is an especially apt description of me because Jon constantly teases me that I can’t complete one single task before moving on to another, then another, then another. (I blame Mommy brain 🤷‍♀️😆) I always seem to be multitasking, tackling a million different projects all at once, and more often than not, I’m not actually completing any single one of them.

After two kids (and endless bantering from Jon 😂), I feel like I’m finally mastering the art of focusing on just one thing at a time. Motherhood has equipped me with the gift of tunnel vision. Rather than bopping from half the dishes in the sink, to the syrup that just spilled on the couch, to my unanswered texts, to the baby fussing in his activity saucer, I try to pick just one thing that I can start and complete in any given window of time. For example, I might publish my Instagram story before toggling to my inbox, wait to grab the mail until I finish sweeping the floor, or dismiss a phone call until I’ve completed my breakfast.

I’ve learned that there’s a certain beauty in starting and completing a task in a specific time span. Rather than allocating all my mental energy to half-done tasks (“Must come back to this… Don’t forget to do that…”), laser focus has allowed me to hang my hat at least one completed activity. And while as a Mom, this may be as simple as making the bed, I can at least take satisfaction in that little win.

This mentality has very much so cascaded into my business, and is my current strategy for tackling my business to-do list. As a stay-at-home Mom, business hours are few and far between. Time to myself is unpredictable and unreliable. In fact, 1-2 hours per day may be the only time throughout the day that I have to myself without a kid pulling on my shirt, screaming my name at the top of their lungs, or using a Sharpie to redecorate my refrigerator. 🙃 That is why it is imperative that I focus on just one thing at a time during those sacred windows of time.

This often requires that I put on blinders. I need to block out any and all distractions, and I personally do this by switching my phone to “Do Not Disturb,” shutting off the TV (or moving to a space with no distractions), and if I’m at a coffee shop, toggling my AirPods to Noise Cancellation. I use my working hours to tackle one task at a time, and I will not move to a new task until the previous one is done. (When it comes to managing time, I know many photographers have also benefited from a planner like this!)

Motherhood has proven to be a tapestry woven together by threads of beauty, intensity, flexibility, and sometimes downright survival, but the skills it has equipped me with have transformed the way I run my business.

When inundated with a million different demands and struggling to keep my head above water, my unique role of Mama has enabled me to be a stronger, more efficient, more effective entrepreneur. I have learned that I can do hard things, show up consistently, and focus on one thing at a time – all while being an intentional Mama and thoughtful homemaker..

I believe that these special tools – resilience, grit, grace, adaptability – are developed in the toolbox of every MAMA.

Motherhood isn’t guaranteed to be easy, but it is an oh-so powerful journey. No matter the season you find yourself in, I’m praying that you, sweet Mama, may see the beauty in your season. Whether tired, burnt out, floundering, or adjusting to the steep learning curve, I hope you can appreciate your wild, wonderful life. You were made for this, friend!