New Year's in September
My son turned 5 in September. That means my business is about to turn 4.
For the first year of his life I worked a full time remote job.
I remember clearly deciding to quit my job. It was a lot of little things that added up to a moment.
Like the time I was literally running out my front door at the end of a workday to rush to get my son from daycare in time for his 6 months doctor's appointment. Like, 50-yard dash running.
Or the times I got to my desk at 8:30 am and realized I'd already been doing work for 3 hours. Waking up, fitting in a quick workout, rushing home to breastfeed, getting him completely ready for the day, getting myself ready-ish for the day, walking the dog and my son over to doggy daycare so that the nanny didn't have to deal with the dog. (He bites.) And then hopping on my first conference call pretending like 8:30 was the start of my day.
Stuff like that happens now, too. Rushing is inevitable when you're managing your schedule and your kids'. But now when I'm running late to dropoff, it's a choice. It's not because the clock or the office culture says I need to stick around until a certain time.
A.J. was the catalyst for starting this business, in so many ways. I wanted him to have a mom who went after things. Also, after spending the first 12 months of his life trying to run my working life like I didn’t have a child, and my home life like I didn’t have career ambitions, I knew I had to try something else.
I knew I had to carve out a realm where I could reclaim my identity separate from that of “mother,” while also integrating just how important becoming a mother was to my sense of self.
Yes, both things. That’s what our culture's current version of working a job just doesn’t allow for. So, I set to carving out that space for myself. I quit my job and started my business. My business makes money that supports my family. My business allows me the flexibility to stay home with a sick kid or start work late so I can go to a parent meeting at school. I love that. But that’s not why I’m doing it. I’m doing it for the realm.
That's why I love talking to other mothers whose entrepreneurial ambitions are fueled by their drive to address a need they've experienced personally.
Today I shared one of those talks on Facebook Live. Jennifer Duann Fultz about her freelancing career and her new venture giving advice and support to other Asian American freelancers and creatives as Chief Executive Auntiepreneur.