How One Mom Left the Corporate World Behind - My Decision to be a Mom Entrepreneur
If you had told me 10 or 15 years ago that I would want to give up the corporate world to spend more time with my kids I would have said you were crazy. I grew up wanting to conquer the world, to take over the male dominated corporate boardrooms and rise to the top.
Fast forward to my first pregnancy…I actually told my employer that I would be back to work within months…lucky for me he did not hold me to that statement.
To my complete surprise I discovered that being a mom was a rewarding and fulfilling career choice. Pretty soon the time ticked away on my maternity leave and I dreaded going back. Paying the mortgage was my primary reason for returning. So back to work I went, just like millions of other mothers out there.
Pretty soon I was back in a routine, but every day I left part of myself behind. The comments of …mommy do not go, and …mommy you love work more than me, broke my heart.
In the end after the emotions settled down, I started to enjoy parts of my job again. I discovered I liked using my brain to solve non-toddler related problems. However my ambition for the corporate world was gone; in my daughter’s eyes I was everything, so after that there was not anything left to accomplish. I had found satisfaction in being who I was.
The second time around I knew and my employer knew I would take every day off that was allowed to me. I found being a mom to two rug rats chaotic and wonderful.
The time at home also allowed me to bond with my daughter again. She was not used to me being at home full time and while at daycare she was her own independent person. I felt like there were a million new things that we had to learn about each other.
However once again the clock ran out on my leave, and this time I was not dreading my return because I assumed I would find the same job satisfaction …boy was I wrong!
It might have been them or it might have been me; regardless something had changed in my employer/employee relationship. I found I was simply putting the hours in on my job but I was not feeling productive, I was feeling bored, this was not where I wanted to be. I felt I was failing at everything - I was one unhappy Mommy.
In hindsight that was my perception not the reality, but regardless I soon saw the need to address the problem. I loved the business world, but I no longer wanted to be part of the corporate business world; I wanted to be at home with my kids but I still felt I needed an outlet to challenge myself. After some internet surfing and some soul searching I found what I wanted to do and I started my own company, an online childrens clothing store called Growing Growing Gone.
My motivation for becoming a mom-preneur was a personal decision that I needed to make for me. I knew there had to be a middle ground between the corporate career woman and absolutely no income. This transition is not easy and it has come with a whole new set of challenges both personal and income wise. However, at the end of the day I feel satisfied and I fully believe that a happy mommy is a better mommy.