Hi friend,
When my daughter was born, I didn't get maternity leave.
I'm a solopreneur. There's no HR, no leave policy, nobody covering for me.
But I also didn't have a job to rush back to, or a designation to chase.
People ask me how I run a business with a baby at home. The real answer: the work started 5 years before she did 😜
The goal has always been owning my time!
1. Thank god I quit 5 years ago
I resigned from my 9-5 in 2021. For the years after that, I focused on three things:
- High outcomes and income over hours
- Active and passive income
- Investing aggressively
Freedom while working, to do what I want. Freedom during time off, to not worry about anything. And freedom to get back to work at my own pace.
The freedom you want later is built by the choices you make NOW.
Which is why SO much of my content emphasises bias for action and consistency. Because I'm living those results.
2. I paused
I paused the Authentic Influence earlier this year.
I paused 'making money' by trading my time in any way, for a while. I still wanted to write and work out, because those make me happy.
I just didn't want to be in sales and teaching mode, as that's exhausting, and a baby is exhausting enough anyway.
3. Compare that to corporate
Three sad horror stories:
- A friend who had her baby a few days after mine was a top performer. Now she has a low appraisal rating because she was away :/
- A family member who delivered a month before me hadn't been paid for 3 months of her maternity leave.
- Another friend's wife got laid off at 28 weeks pregnant!
And I live in a city with crazy traffic. A job would have meant 2 hours of commuting, which automatically makes it an 11-hour workday.
HR saves the organisation, not the employee.
This is why I keep saying you need multiple sources of income, and why it's SO important for women to be financially independent.
4. I don't do it alone
My husband helps me a lot; I have an excellent nanny, my mom comes every week, and I am NOT doing it all on my own.
No superwoman badge for me 🥵
I've realised that building a business is easier than being a mum.
5. The short workday is paying me back!
I haven't worked more than 3 hours a day for the past 2 years.
A business that needed 8 hours of me every day wouldn't have survived right now.
A short workday isn't lazy. It's... intentional.
What I aspired to do out of laziness started paying me off because it's a system that is sustainable right now as she's 10 months old.
6. I'm trying to be less rigid
I was SO hardcore into productivity and routines. I did everything by the clock.
Not having a routine has been my biggest challenge as a new mum. It still makes me uncomfortable!
My workouts happen when she naps or is settled somewhere. In the early weeks, most of my writing happened while she slept on my tummy.
Another mum of a newborn DMed me saying she does her client work during tummy time too. I felt less alone (and less weird).
It's much easier to show up for anything when you enjoy it.
To be very honest, I'm still learning to not get agitated when things don't go according to the plan and go around baby's plan.
7. Mornings are hers
My morning routine is playing with the baby. I wouldn't trade that for a work commute or any meeting.
I have never seen anyone say they wish they'd worked a bit more.
Family time isn't restricted to weekends. That's the whole point for me to do what I do.
8. High outcome, low hours
This has been my mantra since I became a solopreneur in 2022. I don't want to take a consultation call every week, but I'm happy to do it once in a while.
I run Authentic Influence once a quarter.
In short, I do what takes less time on my end but delivers value to my clients. That helps both of us :))
9. It's a mess! But it moves
Progress > Perfection
I'm not as productive as I'd like to be. On some days, I sleep terribly and feel fuzzy in my head to even operate.
Sometimes my back pain flares up with sleep deprivation and constant baby-carrying.
So I'm trying to keep showing up, even though it's imperfect. Just like what I'm doing on my YouTube channel where I've challenged myself to post every day for Q4 2026.
Finally
Do this by the end of the month:
- Budget for help: At home or at work, outsource so you can use your time to be more productive.
- High outcome low hours: see where you can add value and pursue those tasks.
- Self-awareness: this lifestyle isn't for all, and I'm not asking you to pursue the same path. Think about it - where do you see yourself? What is ideal living for you? This will help you find your own definition of success and happiness.
All the best!
Love,
N