Balancing Business and Baby: How Motherhood Transformed My Service-Based Business
Editor’s note (January 2026):
I originally wrote this post when my children were babies. Today, with a three‑ and four‑year‑old, a thriving studio and the perspective that comes from navigating a divorce, the core lessons remain the same. Motherhood is transformative—it reshapes your priorities, energy and capacity in ways that ripple into your business. In those early months I was juggling sleepless nights and the constant pull between caregiving, household and work. Now, as a solo parent rebuilding our life, the challenges have evolved but they’ve only reinforced the importance of robust systems, a reliable team and fiercely protecting my most valuable resources—my time and what I chose to focus on.
The strategies below—around boundaries, systems, flexibility, and support—became the foundation for how I built September Design Studio into what it is today.
What Changed Over Time
As my children grew, one thing became increasingly clear: relying on memory, late nights, or sheer willpower wasn’t sustainable. Motherhood was the catalyst that pushed me to build real systems—not just for productivity, but for longevity.
This is ultimately what led me to:
Build a team instead of trying to do everything myself
Document processes instead of holding them in my head
Create repeatable workflows that didn’t depend on me being available 24/7
It’s also what inspired my Squarespace talk on building systems are growing a team. The session focused on how creative businesses can move away from holding everything in their heads—and instead build clear processes, documentation, and workflows that support both growth and real life. I shared how project management, task delegation, and structured handoffs became essential once motherhood reshaped my capacity, and why sustainable studios are built on systems, not constant availability.
Motherhood made me more ambitious. It also made me more intentional.
What Changed Over Time
One of the biggest shifts has been accepting that I don’t have to do everything myself. Building a trusted team, both inside the studio and in my personal life (think nanny, and paying someone to do my laundry, along with a solid group of female friends) , is essential to sustainable growth. No amount of organisation can replace the support of capable colleagues, childcare providers, a great network of parents and friends and outsourced services. This is what allows me to focus on what I do best and to show up fully for my children. Trying to do it all alone is a recipe for resentment and burnout; delegating and outsourcing creates space for creativity, rest and joy.
Embrace Audacity
One of the most transformative lessons I’ve learned is the power of audacity. As creatives and entrepreneurs, we often downplay our worth or wait for the perfect moment or a large enough portfolio. Stepping into solo parenthood forced me to take bolder steps: doubling my rates when the work warranted it, submitting speaker proposals to industry conferences, and pitching rebrand concepts to C‑suite executives at multimillion‑dollar companies. Audacity isn’t recklessness—it’s trusting your expertise enough to ask for what you deserve and to put yourself in rooms where your voice can make an impact.
Looking Back (and Forward)
The baby phase taught me how to adapt.
The toddler years taught me how to structure.
Navigating divorce taught me something else entirely: how to build a resilient business that could support my life, protect my independence, and stand strong through uncertainty. It reinforced the importance of financial clarity, sustainable systems, and creating a business designed not just for growth—but for stability, autonomy, and long-term security.
If you’re in the early stages of motherhood—or simply navigating a season where capacity feels limited—know this: designing your business to support your life isn’t a compromise. It’s a strategy.
Motherhood changed how I work, how I lead, and how I define success.
