Hi friend! Let's just get this out of the way: I'm typing this with one ear listening for the baby monitor and a half-eaten snack sitting next to my laptop. If you're reading it in the carpool line, during nap time, or at 10pm after the kids are finally down, you're in good company.
I'm a mama of two littles - (like toddler and baby littles - iykyk). My sweet baby girl joined our family last December, and I picked client work back up in March. And somewhere between the diaper changes and the website launches, I've learned a lot about what running a small business in this season actually looks like. Not the highlight-reel version, the real life one.
So pull up a chair (or the floor next to the toy bin). Here's what I've found to be realistic, what I've had to let go of, and what keeps me grounded when it all feels like too much.
What's actually realistic right now
Working in pockets, not blocks.
Remember those dreamy four-hour “focus” sessions? Yeah, me neither. These days I work in 20, 45, or (if the good Lord keeps my baby peacefully napping) 90-minute pockets. I've stopped waiting for the perfect stretch of time and started asking, "What's the one thing I can finish right now?" Now let me be frank, Jesus is at the center of my business so truthfully, I pray. I pray for the time, the strength, the focus, to do what God needs me to that day. And He provides. Sometimes that’s in naps, in my babies independently playing, or whatever it looks like that day.
A shorter list with bigger wins.
My to-do list used to have 15+ things on it. Now I pick 1-3 things that actually move the needle: answer the client who's waiting, finish the homepage draft, post one thing on social. If that's all that happens, it was a good day!
Slower timelines (on purpose).
As you may have noticed on our services page, most projects have a MINUMUM of 2 weeks, that’s on purpose. I’m a mama first - sickness happens! Chaos piles up, and every day tends to look a bit different. Therefore- I build a little extra cushion into every project now! Clients are so much more gracious than we give them credit for, especially when you tell them up front what to expect instead of apologizing later. Best part, I get to deliver their project early almost every time! (& don’t have to stress if one project takes longer.)
Systems that do the remembering for me.
My mama brain is holding nap schedules, doctor appointments, and what's in the fridge. It doesn't have room for every client deadline too. Templates, a simple project tracker, and scheduled posts carry the load so I don't have to! (Plus having an amazing team helps.)
Growth that looks a little slower.
I'm still growing… I'm just growing at a pace that doesn't cost me the little moments and bedtime snuggles. And honestly? That's a trade I'll take every single time. The Lord has blessed me ten fold with such amazing clients, referrals and a business that is growing.. on God’s timeline. Just how it should be! Ecclesiastes 3:11 (ESV): "He has made everything beautiful in its time!
What I've let go of
This is the part nobody really talks about. Saying yes to this season meant saying no (or "not right now") to a few things.
Posting every single day.
Listen, don’t get me wrong! Consistency matters, but consistent doesn't have to mean constant!!! A few intentional posts a week beats burnout every time. One of the reasons I started the Creative Mamas Club was to help the mamas struggling on Canva or using Chat GBT out. So you can just swap the text, swap the colors & post!
Replying instantly.
I used to answer emails within minutes, and let that take over what I was doing in that present moment in my home or with my kiddos. Now I set expectations for myself and clients, check messages at set times, and trust that a same-day or next-day reply is still great service. (Plus, scheduled sends are a God sent for me, so I can reply after bed time.)
The picture-perfect workspace.
My "office" is sometimes the kitchen table, sometimes the couch, and sometimes the car in the driveway while someone naps in the back seat (this is my usual spot haha!) It does not have to be perfectly aesthetic, or the right “vibe” - I love what I do & it’s a joy doing it! I LOVE being with my babies and helping mamas & small bizz owners build their businesses - & yes, I still love a lit candle, sitting at my desk, with music playing - but most days just don’t look like that for me!
Comparing my pace to everyone else's.
Her business might be doubling this year. Mine might be holding steady while I raise tiny humans. Both are okay.
Doing it all myself.
This one was hard for me. But asking for help, whether that's family, a babysitter for a few hours, or outsourcing the stuff that drains you, isn't failure. It's wisdom.
Letting go felt like losing at first. Now it feels like making room.
What I'm holding onto
Here's the truth that steadies me on the messy days: this season wasn't a mistake, and neither was this business.
Trusting the Lord
The same God who gave me these sweet precious babies also gave me a love for design and a heart for cheering on small business owners. Those gifts aren't competing with each other. They're both part of the story He's writing, and He's not asking me to carry it all perfectly. He's asking me to be faithful with what's in front of me today!
Some days, faithfulness looks like launching a client's brand-new website. Other days, it looks like closing the laptop after one proposal sent out, because a little one needs me more. Both count, both are blessings.
I keep coming back to the reminder that there's a time for everything (Ecclesiastes 3). This is the season of littles. It won't last forever, and I don't want to rush through it wishing I had more time to work. The business will still be here. These years won't, the first milestones won’t. The time raising my babies won’t.
To the mama building something during nap time
You're not behind. You're not doing it wrong. You're doing two beautiful, hard things at once, and that takes so much heart.
Lean in & listen,
Friend, remember to give grace for the slow weeks. Celebrate the small wins. And if the digital side of your business (your website, your branding, your social media, oh the list goes on) is the thing that keeps falling to the bottom of the list, that's exactly where we love to step in. We're a team of mamas who get it, and we'd be honored to be your right-hand mama so you can pour into the parts of your business (and your home) that only you can.
Whatever season you're in, I'm cheering you on!