This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost Australia, which closed in 2021.

The Unexpected Reward in the Business vs Motherhood Juggle

The Unexpected Reward In The Business vs Motherhood Juggle
This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. If you need to flag this entry as abusive, send us an email.
young boy kissing her mum
Shutterstock
young boy kissing her mum

I love a good hearty conversation. As someone who spends way too much time hearing about what's going on through the windows in Play School, a rich and deep adult conversation can really make my day.

I was lucky enough to have such a conversation today with another mum who has a number of very successful businesses under her belt. At one point during our chat, she asked me what 'my story' was; what life events had led me down the difficult road of entrepreneurship and the even more difficult and tumultuous road of mumpreneurship.

While my story is absolutely significant for me, it is hardly original; former corporate, looking for a better way to work after children.

There it is in just over 10 words.

Obviously, if we were to sit down together over a glass of wine, you would uncover that my story runs a lot deeper than that, but everything always seems deeper when Pinot is involved.

The interesting thing about my talk with this other business mum was that afterwards, I was transported back to where I was before I started my business. All the feelings, the discomfort, the fears and the anticipation started to arise within me again and it got me thinking -- has the journey turned out as expected?

For the most part, yes, it has.

There were a lot of hard days in the beginning -- just like I thought there would be -- when I had no idea what I was doing and where I needed to start. There was also the excitement and pleasure around having a space where my intellectual side was stimulated, just as I had hoped. There have been good days and there have been bad days; no surprises there.

There is one thing though that I wasn't expecting. Something which if I'd been aware of it earlier, I may have started sooner.

Every day as I work on building the life that I have imagined for myself, there are three little pairs of eyes who watch me. My eldest not only asks me what I'm doing, he also asks why. He wants to know what is so important about my business and how come I have chosen this "work".

I had no idea when I decided to throw caution to the wind and start my business that I would be setting an example for my kids around chasing dreams and pursuing passions of the heart. I didn't think they would notice or care and the idea that I would be leading by example never dawned on me.

I love the feeling that I am indirectly teaching my children that their wishes, goals and ambitions deserve to be pursued. Hopefully, they are young enough to see this as the norm rather than the road less travelled. And while it is painfully hard at times, it's better than a life lived trying to fit into a rather ordinary and conventional box.

Be Brave, Live Fierce

For more, explore our website or connect with us on Facebook.

Close
This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost Australia. Certain site features have been disabled. If you have questions or concerns, please check our FAQ or contact support@huffpost.com.