It’s funny how you look back on your life and you never question things in the moment.

It’s when you reflect that you see key turning points, key moments.

And for me, those moments have all happened in recent years as I stepped into the path of motherhood.

It’s when I finally felt seen.

It wasn’t an easy journey all these years. The search for my soul mate.

And in reality, the search for myself.

Many lament the Covid lockdowns. As someone who lived in the most locked up city in the world, Melbourne Australia, I do.

But I’m also appreciative of the opportunity to go inward.

To journey within myself for myself.

And I found me.

I found my true soul. My true essence.

My calling.

My desires.

My hopes.

My dreams.

And with that came my soul mate, who thankfully lived within my 5km radius (back in 2020 we weren’t allowed to go more than 5kms from our homes!)

And soon after began my journey to motherhood.

And it wasn’t easy.

It involved fibroid surgery, a painful miscarriage and the challenging journey of trying to get pregnant.

But it was in this journey that I finally felt seen.

And I learnt to trust my intuition. My inner knowing.

To do things my way, to find my way to me…and to my little boy.

It was a long journey.

Filled with many setbacks.

Many moments of despair, frustration and sadness.

But I kept going. I kept trying…and I realised my dream to be pregnant…and finally to be a mother.

And as I’ve stepped into the most important role of my life, I prepared. I did so much research, reading, talking, asking questions.

And boy was I prepared.

Prepared for something that is hard to prepare for as so much can happen. So many variables. So much can change and so much to consider.

But I tuned into controlling what I could control and surrendering what I couldn’t.

And the result has been amazing.

I’ve had a great recovery from birth and beginning weeks into motherhood. Physically and mentally I feel great and I’m loving being my little boy’s mama.

When I reflect on my journey into this new role of mother, I reflected on my journey into running my own business. And there were many similarities.

It lead me to write about the 5 key lessons I’ve learnt from this experience. And how I’ll apply these into to my life and business going forward.

1. Shamelessly prioritise you
2. Trust your gut, always
3. Read, ask and learn
4. Build your support network
5. Lead from your heart, always

1. Shamelessly prioritise you

Put yourself first. If you don’t, who else will?

This is the number 1 thing I did as soon as I found out I was pregnant and it put me in good stead…

And I particularly focused on that mindset during postpartum.

Rather than having an open door philosophy with visitors after my son’s birth, I closed the door.

I said no, for now.

I followed the principles of Chinese Confinement and only immediate family visited me.

I prioritised what I needed from a healing perspective.

And, it paid off.

I didn’t feel overwhelmed.

I didn’t have to have awkward conversations with people wanting to visit.

I set expectations months beforehand and when it came to the time my son was born, everyone respected it.

And the same rule should apply to your business – set the boundaries around when you work, and who you work with.

The type of work you do and the times you work.

And the right clients will respect you for it and gravitate towards you. Those who don’t, won’t gravitate towards you.

It means you’ll be able to rock your zone of genius with the community of people who get you and whom you best serve!

And as a reminder, self care is so important in pregnancy and as an entrepreneur.

2. Trust your gut, always

This is a big one.

Trust your gut.

It is rarely (if ever!) wrong.

If something feels right, do it, if it doesn’t, don’t.

Throughout my pregnancy I followed this mindset and it paid off. I ate what I knew my body needed and often, what I felt like.

That was often chocolate, which I’m regretting right now as I need to lose the weight. During my pregnancy it’s what I needed so it is what it is!

I also had a lot of people giving me their opinion. And a lot of people trying to tell me to do this or that…or to sell me something.

I’ll be frank, I had a miscarriage the year prior following advice that didn’t feel right.

It wasn’t aligned to my mindset or the way I live my life and it was a mistake. And truth be known, it didn’t feel right if I did the gut test.

So when it came to getting pregnant and then carrying my little boy, I channelled my intuition.

I trusted my gut the whole way through and it paid off.

And when it comes to running your own business it’s the only way to do it.

Particularly if you’re the face of it or you are the brand, it’s the #1 thing you need to do.

Trust your gut.

You know what’s best for you.

You know what’s best for your brand.

You know what your clients want to know. And what they need.

Trusting your gut will never fail you.

3. Read, listen, ask questions and learn

Read books.

Read articles and blogs.

Listen to books.

Listen to podcasts.

Be. A. Sponge.

Read and listen to learn for your own development and that of your business.

During my pregnancy I read. Boy did I read.

Books, articles, blogs.

And I listened. To friends, family and Podcasts!

Also read to keep up with the latest trends.

What your customers are doing and wanting…and to find out what your competitors are doing.

Immerse yourself with what’s going on around you to expand your knowledge and grow as a person and a business owner.

Never stop learning, expanding and reaching higher levels of awareness and personal growth.

This will inevitably rub off on you as a business owner and how you show up for your clients and your business outcomes.

Ask questions, be a sponge. Get excited by new trends, new possibilities and what others are doing out there.

It’s an opportunity to elevate yourself and your business. Be excited!

4. Build a support network

Having a support network around you is a MUST.

And I can advocate for it from a business perspective as well as being a new (older) Mum.

It truly does take a village to build and grow a business.

And it definitely takes a village (and a lot of welcome and unwelcome) bits of advice to grow and keep a little human being alive!

As a business owner, it’y important you have other women running businesses in your world.

And these can be friends, past colleagues and people you meet in groups in a non paid capacity. These are super important.

But, you also need to invest in paid groups so you’re rubbing shoulders with other inspiring women doing amazing things.

Their energy will rub off on you. Their thought processes. Their ideas.

And you’re building relationships and referral partners for the future.

Non paid groups

From a non paid capacity, you want to find women who inspire you.

Business women you want to follow in their footsteps. Learning from their mistakes and the inspiration to think and do things differently.

You really want to have business besties who can look out for you. I have a few of these but with my main business bestie, it’s almost like we’re on the board of one another’s businesses.

We have a vested interest in one another’s success…and we’re there to hold each other accountable. If I see a social media post that doesn’t feel quite right or an email that has errors in it, I’m the first one to tell her. I’m not being critical – I’m looking out for her and being her second set of eyes. She appreciates it and so do I.

Paid groups

As the title suggests, paid groups are ones you pay for. And these are essential.

It’s great to be part of free groups but the rubber meets the road when you’re paying.

Investing your hard earned money into yourself and your business.

And it builds accountability.

It builds trust.

It builds your network.

It builds your business.

These can be in the form of memberships, networking groups and masterminds.

Personally, I’m a fan of Masterminds. And I’ve been in one since year one of my business.

Why? Because they’re often high ticket groups.

They’re worth the investment.

They move the needle in your business.

So what is a Mastermind?

It’s an intimate group that meets 2-3 times throughout the month.

Typically, you’ll have guest speakers cover a topic that’s relevant to growing your business (or yourself!)

Your coach will facilitate another session and you’ll actively connect with the other members throughout the month to build your business and your network.

In recent years, I’ve been part of some amazing online Masterminds.

The women I’ve connected with have upleveled my business and I so much…and I’ve fast tracked my business considerably.

If you’re yet to join one, please consider joining one now or in the future….if you’d like to be the first to find more about my exciting Mastermind launching in 2024, jump on my waitlist

5. Lead from your heart, always

Last but not least, follow your heart.

This is different to your gut.

Because following your gut is about intuition.

Following your heart is about what stirs your soul and relates to your passion in life and business.

What do you want your legacy to be? How do you want to be remembered?

I know this was a huge one for me when I was stuck (literally and figuratively) in my corporate 9-5 slog. And when I was looking down the lens of not experiencing the joy of motherhood.

I had my light bulb moment at a funeral of a former colleague. In his eulogy they spoke about how proud he was of his job working for a not for profit saving animals.

And it hit me like a freight truck.

I sat back and looked at my life and I didn’t want to be remembered as Emily May – the woman who “worked at XXX for 10+ years”.

It’s a moment I frequently reflect on.

It forms part of my why.

Why I quit the 9-5.

Why I quit corporate.

Why I started my own business.

Why I wanted to be a mother.

Why I work with the passion-led female entrepreneurs.

As you know, running your own business is not for the faint hearted…and it’s why leading from your heart is so important.

It’s related to your why.

Your legacy.

And that warm fuzzy feeling you have in your body. It’s directly located in your heart. It warms your mind, body and soul.

And it’s why it’s the final (and most important!) key lesson I have for you!

But not in isolation

All five of these key lessons have been instrumental in building my business. And my journey through pregnancy and growing my beautiful little boy.

They have boded well for me and I hope they will for you too.

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