kirstie McLellan Day kirstie McLellan Day - The MOMpreneur

leadership
From Entrepreneur to Mompreneur...
Whatever stage of life you're in, S.E.T. yourself up with some solid support
By Teresia LaRocque, MCC
Mompreneurs are a unique breed of woman and they have
long held a special place in my heart. I have so much respect
for a woman who commits herself fully to living “the dream”:
a successful and fulfilling career, a vibrant family life and a
rich, balanced personal life. This represents ultimate success
in my mind – perhaps because I know it doesn’t come easily.
As a coach of entrepreneurial women trying to “do it all”,
I’ve had a front-row seat to the circus life can become when
you’re juggling the demands of career, family and self care.
Is that why I’m mildly terrified to be a business owner who’s
pregnant with her first child?
Mompreneurs are a
unique breed of woman …
I am 43 years old and have been an entrepreneur for 14 years.
I intentionally created a career that is fully aligned with my
values, a vehicle for many dreams and one that has allowed
me to be a catalyst for others to live their dreams.
At one point I realized I had a deeper dream: to be a
Mompreneur. It didn’t come as easily as I expected. After five
years of uncertainty and difficult fertility treatments, I am
delighted to report that our baby is due to arrive mid-July.
For years I’ve told women just like myself – ambitious,
established and full of vision – that they can have it all and
keep a firm grip on their sanity too. Every fiber of my being
believed it and every day I helped women to achieve it.
And yet today, as my belly swells bigger with every passing
moment, I must confess: making the move from entrepreneur
to Mompreneur looks like a tremendously daunting step!
Can I really do it all? Will I always be exhausted? Will the
stress of being a new mom with a thriving business destroy
my zest for life? Will I lose my passion for the work I do?
How will I balance the demands of my business “baby”
and my real-life, crying-in-the-next-room, needs-a-diaperchange-NOW
baby?
To tell the truth, I should have no reason to fear. As my
friends will tell you, I am a planner; a super-planner in fact.
I designed my nanny plan and postpartum workout plan over
a year ago. (I know our plans do not always get followed
when we become moms but it’s a good place to start!) So it
may come as no surprise that I’ve been working on strategies
to help me move from entrepreneur to Mompreneur.
10 MOMpreneur ® � July/August 2010