Motherhood and entrepreneurship: The fire that fuels both
In my first year as a full-time entrepreneur, I began to see the parallels between being a mother and being a business owner. Both require a deeper, more intense version of yourself. Both demand growth — the kind that stretches you beyond what you thought was possible.
When my daughter was born, I found myself gravitating toward other mothers. The ones in the cavernous cave of the fourth trimester with me, awake in the middle of the night, feeding their babies around the clock. But also, the mothers ahead of me, the ones with older children, more experience, more perspective.
They held space for me and helped me pace myself. They offered me grace when I struggled to offer it to myself.
And now, I find myself looking for the mothers who come after me — the ones I want to pour into and hold space for. The ones I want to remind to slow down, encouraging them to give themselves care and compassion just as they do their infants. To help them see that the strength they’re searching for has been within them all along…just waiting to be nurtured and heard.
Entrepreneurship is like that too.
You need the people who came before you and the ones walking alongside you in the thick of it. The ones who understand the courage and vulnerability it takes to leap into entrepreneurship, unsure of where you’ll land.
As I write this, I hear my daughter’s giggles and squeals in the background. Serving as a reminder that at this very moment, this very life — is what I had been dreaming about for so long.
I am creating the life I’ve always wanted to live. Not the one others expect of me — but the one I choose.
The role of vulnerability
To be successful, you must be vulnerable. Vulnerability by definition is positioning yourself in a state of potentially being harmed, whether that be physically or emotionally.
At first glance, this might be turning heads, what does vulnerability have to do with business? In my opinion…everything.
To live authentically, especially in entrepreneurship, requires an element of surrender. And to do that requires vulnerability. Not the kind that demands oversharing or constant emotional exposure, but the kind that allows you to be seen as you are. An imperfect being, who’s learning and growing “warts and all,” as a mentor once told me.
It’s the vulnerability to admit you don’t know something. To ask for help.
To remain open. That, right there is where growth lives.
No one knows everything. And if you step into entrepreneurship believing you should, you’re setting yourself up for an exhausting and humbling journey. Now, if you approach it with curiosity, with an open mind and heart, you’re already halfway there.
Two roles, one heart
Motherhood mirrors this too. There are no perfect mothers. There are no perfect entrepreneurs.
Only ones that are driven by a desire to create something meaningful. To leave the world a little better than they found it.
Over the past year, I’ve had many conversations with people who ask why I left corporate to start my own business. And when I tell them it was born out of a mother’s love, a need for more presence and more balance, they often respond: “It’s like you have two babies at home.”
At first, I would laugh it off. Of course not, I only have one. Now, I understand what they mean.
Building a business from nothing requires nurturing, patience, attention and care — just like raising a child. I am growing a business while raising my daughter. And that by itself is something remarkable.
Even on the days when she’s sick and I feel pulled in two directions; I come back to this truth: I am a mother first. An entrepreneur second. And what a gift that is.
The common thread
Motherhood is the most rewarding and most demanding role I’ve ever held.
Let this be your reminder to hug your mom a little tighter. To thank her for the strength she carries, often unseen.
And maybe, just maybe, the reason so many mothers are turning to entrepreneurship isn’t only because corporate systems have failed them.
Maybe it’s because mothers and entrepreneurs share something deeply powerful: They are bold enough…or maybe brave enough to believe they can build something meaningful.
Grit.
Tenacity.
Courage.
Resilience.
Adaptability.
Empathy.
Kindness.
Grace.
These aren’t just qualities.
They’re requirements.
And I’ve found that they live at the intersection of motherhood and entrepreneurship.
If this resonated with you, I’d love to hear your story.
Where are you being called to grow right now?
However this season is stretching you, remember, you’re allowed to grow into it.
And tomorrow? It’s a brand new day to begin again.
