work-at-home mom - Boston Moms Blog

“I have something to tell you,” I said to my husband in our kitchen as we sat eating dinner. I felt my heart banging in my chest and took a deep breath in a failed attempt to calm my nerves. “I think I want to continue working on my business instead of getting a full-time job.”

It was the fall of 2012. My husband and I had just celebrated our one-year anniversary. We were finally settled back into normal life after a whirlwind five-month trip backpacking around South America, followed by weddings nearly every weekend that summer. My time temping at my old job was winding down. I was feeling frustrated by numerous failed attempts applying for full-time employment.

The year before, I had opened an Etsy shop thinking it would be a fun side project. But as I spent the summer growing my business while applying for jobs, I felt a pull to focus on my business. At the time, my husband and I were just beginning to talk about having children. And I surprised myself by deciding I’d want to be home with my future children.

I knew it was now or never if I was going to make my little Etsy shop a real business. 

Before that, I would have never imagined I would be an entrepreneur. But fast forward more than four years, and I am now the proud mama of an ever-growing child AND business.

Many times, I feel like I have the best of both worlds. I get to spend my days with my daughter and challenge my intellectual and creative sides. I love the flexibility to meet up with other stay-at-home parents, go to museums during the week, and get our grocery shopping done in the middle of the day when stores are practically empty. 

work-at-home mom - Boston Moms Blog
Wearing Eve as a baby while I did my work.

Of course, it’s not all rainbows and lollipops. There are periods when I feel like I’m failing at my role as mom, business owner, or both. There are days when I am in the middle of a big project and my daughter decides to boycott her nap, or when I have finally hit my stride and she wakes up from it. There are afternoons where I am drained emotionally and I don’t have her nap time as a reprieve because there is work to be done. There are days when I forgo work time for a day of fun and a stroller nap. There are afternoons where I hand my daughter the tablet and let her binge-watch several episodes of “Daniel Tiger” so I can finish something that so desperately needs to be completed. 

There are times when I feel so overwhelmed trying to run a business and being there for my daughter and like I just truly suck at both. There are weeks where I proudly wear my mompreneur badge. 

For me, motherhood and entrepreneurship are very much intertwined

I found out I was pregnant with my daughter four months after I began working on my business full time. And for as long as I have been a mom, I have also worked for myself. 

While I often feel the pull between these two roles, I’m also amazed at how well they work in harmony. I may have my periods of doubt within each role, but I truly cannot imagine my life any other way and know that I made the right decision for me.