When Mom Becomes the Breadwinner
I joined Clara on The Working Mum Show to talk honestly about surviving COVID as a brand new mom, and how that season eventually led me to launch my own agency.
What was it actually like when COVID hit right after my son was born?
My son was born on Valentine's Day 2020, and weeks later my entire business was wiped out. I spent months holding my baby, sitting on hold with airlines, and knowing I'd work harder than ever without making a single dollar. It was postpartum hormones colliding head-on with a global pandemic.
How did I get through that season mentally?
My mentors who'd lived through 9/11 told me the same thing over and over: stay the course. People would abandon the industry out of fear, but when travel came back, and it would, clients would need someone they already trusted still standing there.
What did going back to teaching for a year actually feel like?
I set a hard boundary with myself, this was temporary, one year, and I'd come back to travel the moment the industry recovered. I was burning the candle at both ends with a newborn, but knowing it was temporary made the hustle worth it.
Why did I finally leave to launch my own agency?
After nearly a decade with my previous agency, becoming pregnant with my daughter during the "revenge travel" boom forced me to build a team just to keep up, and I fell in love with leading them. Eventually I realized I had a vision authentic to me that deserved its own name, its own brand.
How do I set boundaries as a mom running a 24/7 business?
We have a literal list of promises on our fridge, including one that says we're done working by 5pm. My son can read the clock now, so he holds me accountable himself. No phones at the dinner table, no phone in their rooms, and a 15-minute driveway walk that became my "commute" between work mode and mom mode.