Balancing self-employment and maternity leave. How I've prepared for baby number 3.

I’ll be honest, having a business is a bit like having a baby.

My now four-year-old daughter Pandora was born while I was employed in a full time position with an agency. I took 6 months off for maternity leave and after returning to work part time, decided to itch the scratch of going it alone.

Conceiving the idea, growing it into something to launch and birthing it as a desirable profitable offer was a journey. And while it wasn’t quite nine months from conception to birth, it certainly took a while to make it happen in the way I desired.

And now, with my second baby girl in my arms, I’m reflecting on how different motherhood feels this time around as a self-employed creative with three babies to look after (and the dogs).

Aurora was born nearly a ago, five weeks sooner than planned (my birth story is certainly not one for the faint hearted and one for another day) and I’d probably say birthing a business is easier. Certainly compared with this baba. To say I had an easy pregnancy would be a million miles from the truth. A low lying placenta made it all quite frightening. And with decisions being made for me about what my birth would look like, it was far from my ideal birthing plan and left me feeling out of control. Not a feeling I enjoy.

The worry of a higher risk pregnancy coupled with the worry of completing existing projects while feeling so poorly, and not wanting to let clients down, the self-employment fear creeped in. The question of whether there’d be any work for me in six months time made me nervous, anxious and even more vulnerable than I already felt. And while I pride myself on my independence and organisation, Aurora taught me there’s nothing we can do to control nature. All we can do is surrender. So when my girl arrived safely after too many hours of panic to mention, my maternity leave began when nature decided. And I surrendered.

Juggling self-employment and motherhood isn’t easy, but I love it.

We’re of a generation that said you can have it all and I grew up surrounded by hardworking women who ran successful businesses. Seemingly having it all. But what that is for one woman is totally different for the next. And at this moment, my choice is to be with my girls, embrace my inner coastal Grandma stay-at-home vibe and take six months off from delivering client work.

That’s not to say I won’t be getting my creative on. In fact, my hope is this time will offer me the opportunity to create in other ways, doing things I used to love like writing, drawing and crocheting.

Thankfully, while Aurora’s arrival was earlier than expected, I was able to manage the calendar shift and get my out-of-office on, safe in the knowledge my clients (and my business) would be OK.

Here’s how I planned for my maternity leave as a self-employed creative:

Boundaries

While these are essential regardless of looming parental leave, because of the type of pregnancy I had, I was forced to put boundaries in place quite early on in terms of availability and expectations for new and current clients.

As complications increased, I put an automatic reply on for all emails in order to be open, transparent and manage expectations in terms of when they would get a reply.

This is something I’ll continue to use going forward as I think it’s important for us to encourage a more flexible culture and one not reliant on freelancers and business owners being accessible all the time.

Referrals

Turning down work is probably the hardest thing for any self employed person to do. Anticipating I’d probably not go to full term, I had to turn down work from early days in my pregnancy due to current client commitments and workload.

This in itself is hard to do, especially when it’s a project that really lights you up. My advice would be to have someone you trust that you can recommend work to, someone with a similar style and values, allowing you to pay it forward. I never like to leave clients without a solution - even if it’s to pass on their details to someone else.

Support

This time around, having grown my business over the past two years, I wanted to continue to nurture it while on leave. I wanted to gift myself the support to be able to continue to grow my business even though I’m not at my computer.

I’ve done this through the support of Stories from Home, booking a Content Party to help get clear on my content planning strategy and themes and content ideas I could use while on maternity leave. I’ve also continued with my monthly membership to their Copy Edit Club, supporting me with accountability to continue to serve my clients and audience with value added and behind the scenes content while I’m away from project delivery.

A waitlist

My winter for 2023 is now open, lining work up ready for work in the new year. When I return, alongside my signature brand identity package I’m also introducing a number of different services, including a one-hour brand consultancy (£111), brand roll-out support and semi-customisable brand kits. Because I believe in branding for every budget. So if you’d like to get your name on the list to work with me on projects from October 2023, you can get on the list here. I know how hard you work for your money and I’m passionate that you invest it in the right place.

If you’re interested in finding out more about these services when I return, join the wait list and I’ll be in touch soon.

And remember, it doesn’t always feel easy but with the right support, it can be.

With love,

Sam + baby Rori