Motherhood Prepares You to Build a Business

As the year wraps up, I’ve been taking stock of the work that truly counted.

I’m proud of the work I did as a mom.

Even when it was quiet. Even when it was invisible. Even when it didn’t come with a paycheck or public recognition.

I raised humans, shaped values, and carried the responsibility of showing up day after day in work that isn’t always measured, but absolutely matters.

Motherhood is not small work. It is society-shaping work. And so much of it happens behind the scenes, in the mental load, the planning, the emotional regulation, the follow-through no one sees.

This kind of work doesn’t just sustain families. It builds the same capability required to run projects, lead teams, and create income in the real world.

Here’s what I mean by that.

Last night, I navigated a 4-year-old meltdown over a lost stuffed animal, prepped dinner while on a work call, remembered we were out of milk before the store closed, and redirected a sibling fight, all while tracking three different timelines in my head to make sure pickup, bath time, and bedtime didn’t collapse into chaos.

That’s the same brain that scaled my manufacturing company with products in over 1,800 stores nationwide, including Petco and Petsmart. (You can read more about that business here.)

The difference? One gets measured. One doesn’t.

But they both require the same thing: operational thinking. The ability to hold multiple moving pieces, anticipate what breaks next, make decisions with incomplete information, and adjust in real time when plans inevitably shift.

Motherhood is strategic work. It’s resource management under constraint. It’s problem-solving on a loop. And most of us have been doing it so long we’ve stopped recognizing it as a skill set.

We call it “just getting through the day.”

But it’s not. It’s capability. And it’s exactly what’s required to build something that generates income.

The desire so many moms feel to create a side hustle, start a business, grow a project, or build something of our own isn’t random. It’s not escapism or a distraction from motherhood.

It’s a natural extension of what we’re already doing. We’re already running operations. We’re already managing complexity. We’re already showing up under pressure with no one watching.

The only difference is that now, we want to use those skills to build something that’s ours. Something that creates stability, options, and ownership.

And the stakes have never been higher.

Childcare costs are rising. Private school tuition isn’t getting cheaper. Inflation is making single incomes feel stretched in ways they didn’t five years ago. And for many of us, there’s a growing awareness that we can’t afford to wait anymore.

Not because motherhood isn’t enough. But because we’re capable of more than one thing at a time, and we’re watching the years slip by while telling ourselves “someday.”

This is the moment. Not when the kids are older. Not when life gets less chaotic. Not when we magically have more time.

Now. With the life we actually have.

As the new year approaches, I’m not setting vague resolutions. I’m setting focused intentions.

I’m choosing to build steadily in ways that fit into my real life.

That means clear goals, realistic timelines, and systems that work even on imperfect days. It means learning as I go, protecting small pockets of time, and taking myself seriously, not someday, but now.

This kind of progress isn’t loud. But it compounds over time.

And our kids notice more than we think.

They see a mother who follows through even when it isn’t perfect. Who sets goals, stumbles, adjusts, and keeps going. Who understands that progress isn’t linear, but consistency compounds. Who believes that responsibility and ambition can exist together.

This next year isn’t about doing everything. It’s about building what matters with intention, in a way that fits into real life, for my family, for myself, and for the future I’m actively creating.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing exactly how I’m building in the new year. The systems. The timeline. The real strategy behind turning capability into income.

And I’ll be opening up the work I’ve created to help you do the same.

This isn’t theory. It’s the framework I’m actually using. The same thinking that helped me get products into national retail chains, now applied to building something sustainable alongside motherhood.

Because if you’re a mom who’s been running invisible operations for years, you already have what it takes. You just need a plan that treats your capability like the asset it is.

Here’s to closing the year proud and stepping into the next one ready to build.