to maternity leave or to entrepreneur❔ THAT is the question.
chapters:
short intro (skip me if not interested)
month 3 and counting
girl math
my options
why am I thinking about this in early pregnancy?
taking action
how I plan to escalate my Blog
the verdict
An insider scoop into one of the many things my brain has been storming up!
short intro (skip me if not interested)
If you don't know me, short introduction: girly in my 20s, London-based, who aspires and WILL BE an entrepreneur and make my dream life come true, whilst making sure I am enjoying life in the present with wellness, FUN, and fulfilment, whilst ALSO going through all the relatable life things us girlies do, specially throughout our 20s, but also beyond.
A LOT, I know, but I'm here to be relatable, and seek connection with other girlies like me in hopes of building a super cute community!
The additional context (if you would like) would be that I never wanted to have children, but had an unexpected, UNWANTED, and (of course) unplanned pregnancy recently, at 25. Pregnant as I'm chatting with you all right now, in fact!
I decided to continue the pregnancy due to my religious beliefs and choice (after A LOT of deliberation - more on it here), and I am SET on still living my dream life, even if it is different to what I originally envisioned it to be. There are many other girlies like me, who go through these situations, but it's not spoken of ENOUGH.
I'm here to be that for you.
No judgment, just girl things.
month 3 and counting
So, I am currently just passed my 3-month mark in my pregnancy, and I can't even imagine how the next 6 will be; both emotionally and physically.
But ONE THING is certain: I NEED to set myself up well now, for after pregnancy.
Here, I am mostly talking about my PATH; my entrepreneurial path vs my current 9-to-5 job path.
Yes, I also mean in the frozen meal prepping kind-of-way, we all see on the gram; the body creams, the body changes, the outfits, the self-care, the LABOUR (oh my gosh, don't even), but the more pressing thought is actually about how I will still set-out to make my dreams a reality!
In the UK, most women I know tend to have about 6 months to 1 year maternity leave, which is not always paid for the full time. (Sometimes, you go onto benefits from the government for the remaining time).
girl math
Regardless, some quick girl math will tell us that I have about 6 months until baby is here + about 12 months until I am back again to my 9-to-5 (WITH A WHOLE LOT MORE RESPONSIBILITY and PRESSURES).
Total: 18 months to set myself for success.
All-in-all, the entrepreneurial journey has been generally started from April 2023, but in Blogging (and with more focused vision into my current brand "in her Full Effect") only this year in April 2024 (but not consistent and with A LOT of room for improvement and learning; humbly-speaking).
Also, something to take into consideration, is the fact that I won't necessarily have the same capacity across these next full 18 months. I can only predict some reasons may be:
third trimester-related: might be mentally and physically struggling towards the last month of pregnancy
labor-recovery: not having the energy or capability to be able to do basic things, let alone have the mental capacity to create content with quality, since it will be a phase I can't even imagine what sort of things I will be going through (I just know it will be a lot)
post-partum: both as a woman dealing with a different chapter of life I was never mentalized for, as well as diving into motherhood and having to raise a human
So, even though it is 18 months, I will guess about 4 (or more) months will need to be accounted for in-advance (maybe batch create content ahead if possible?).
Comment on this post if you are a blogger or content creator who has had a child, and how it's been for you to navigate both motherhood and life, with your entrepreneurial path and online business whilst being just a girl!
my options
My options are the same as many other girlies who are, or have been, in the same situation as me:
working 9-to-5
in your 20s
working on your online business or Blog
not at monetization-level yet
Here, our options are very clear post-pregnancy:
to maternity leave and go back to the 9-to-5, once that's over
to entrepreneur: do my best to kick-off my online business as much as possible in hopes that by the time my maternity leave is over, I don't NEED to go back to the 9-to-5; I will have some money coming in from my online business and will have the chance to keep it growing
why am I thinking about this in early pregnancy?
Well, now that the emotional rollercoaster of finding out I was pregnant, has simmered down to a somewhat new "normal", I have more capacity to be logical.
BUT ALSO: thinking ahead and having a plan is what I am all for, in as much of what I can as possible!
Just imagine, being off-work for 1-week or even 1-day for annual leave. Remember what THAT FEELING is like of GOING BACK TO WORK?!
It actually aches even more than usual to have to go to the dullness of the 9-to-5...so now IMAGINE 12 MONTHS OF THAT.
I can foresee myself absolutely dreading going back to the 9-to-5 world, specially after 1 whole year off, AND a baby to look after, ALONGSIDE running my online business.
This is the main drive pushing me to figure it out and make it happen from now.
taking action
How do I plan to make it happen for my Blog and online business?
Well, my goal (and reality will be) is to monetize my Blog with Ads, and build a community that can go beyond the Blog, and into events and possibly podcasting.
There is no blueprint of how long or how much work it may take to finally monetize or have your business become successful, even if others show you their journeys, you never know if it will be the same, and that's okay.
But KNOWING THIS makes me very aware that all I can do is:
have a goal
show-up online every week in the way that I can
not stopping
For me, right now, this looks like:
goal to start earning money from Ad agency on my Blog to monetize my content
post 1 blog post every week and go HEAVY on the marketing (on Pinterest alone for now)
planning content ahead so I don't stop even when I can't physically post (those 4 months or so we mentioned)
More on the specifics will come in future posts so I can show you EXACTLY HOW I am making it happen for myself.
A part of this is also simply not letting self-doubt or imposter syndrome stop me!
Many times it feels like "but how will I do it?" or "why would I make it in less than 18 months?"
"Why now?"
Well, you know what, those thoughts are useless and serve no actionable purpose so ignore them, or defy them in whichever way you can!
You are a strong woman, who constantly evolves and grows. Our time may not come when we expected it to but we are constantly becoming the person who will make it happen, so don't let that deter you.
So far, I have been consistent on my Blog and Pinterest for 4 weeks, and I am super proud of myself. I'm keeping it realistic (1 post per week), high quality (relatable and content I would have loved to see), and making sure I am marketing (daily Pins on Pinterest, 2 posts per day).
how I plan to escalate my Blog
make it more aesthetic: change of brand theme, website platform (more versatile and easier-to-use than WordPress - more on this once it happens!)
have photos in my content: we all know photos make everything more aesthetic and that is something I will start including more of (stock-free to start with, until I do a content photoshoot)
diversify my social media: as much as I love Pinterest and its capacity for engagement, I know I need to be on more 'mainstream' social medias like Instagram (maybe not Tiktok since my brand is faceless and not sure how I'd create video formats for this platform)
start email marketing: not quite sure how this one will become but I will try to start as simple as possible, just to start building a mailing list for exciting events and events in the future.
The main plan for this to work is for me to STAND OUT. + knowing what that is.
What I think my STAND OUT feature is:
being social proof that the perceived impossible is possible : showing myself becoming that person even though I am in similar or same circumstances than you girls! (which I know isn't AS special but is still remarkable when you witness that journey as an outsider wanting the same thing).
unwanted pregnancy : not very common in my experience. EVERY girl I know wanted or wants kids at some point and I never wanted to have kids AT ALL in my life, so I show that transition to now BEING IN the situation
not centering my self-identity around motherhood: I am here to shift the narrative, take control of my dream life, be a woman, be a wife, be a daughter, be a friend, be my own bestfriend, be a boss babe.
My ultimate goal is to be self-employed and to inspire hope that we can all make it, and turn our lives around no matter the circumstances.
I will keep you all updated on my weekly blog posts, every Friday 1pm release, so keep-up here to see how you can also make it as a Blogger/self-employed entrepreneurial girlie no matter how life changes for you!
the verdict
I just shared my plan and logic-train so you can see not only my aspiration, which is clearly TO ENTREPRENEUR after pregnancy, but how I am GOING to get there in the daily steps on the way.
The journey can't be made with the end-result alone, we have to visually map out the baby steps that form the PATH.
We CREATE the PATH.
Follow along mine, an let's see just how much power we truly have!
Own your Womanhood. Own your Time.
♡
I’ll be logging updates throughout this whole journey as a mother-to-be, working to be an entrepreneur, but to also still preserve the girlhood within, to try and be her best self, and live her happiest life, so keep-up with me through the blog!
I release a new blog post every Friday at 1pm! (UK-time)
Let me know if you’re in a similar headspace (pregnant or not), being in our 20s is confusing, and taking control of our story is the only way we can take ownership of our happiness and live out our dream life.
I document my unwanted pregnancy journey at 25, taking control of my narrative, figuring out being a girl in my 20s, chasing my dream life, and conquering my boss babe dream of becoming a self-employed, entrepreneur / Blogger!