Not a SAHM (Stay-at-Home Mom)
When my daughter was about a year old, I joined a play group. We have a wonderful organization in San Diego called the Parent Connection. It’s sponsored by Scripps Hospital and provides many support services for parents. I found a play group through Parent Connection. A play group is typically a group of moms who all have babies around the same age and live in the same area. It’s a great way for moms and babies to socialize and to support each other.
My daughter and I both enjoyed the play group. We made new friends and found out about so many fun activities and opportunities for kids. But I was the only mom in the group who worked. So, although we had great conversations and shared experiences around babies, I didn’t have anyone to talk about work with. And I was sometimes envious of the time they got to spend doing fun things while I had to get to work.
It was similar when my daughter started school. I was there at drop-off and pick-up and plenty of volunteering in-between like all the stay-at-home moms. Most of the other moms had no idea I worked. I had to get all my household chores finished before school drop-off so I could rush home and get to work during the school day. I often watched longingly as other moms grouped up for lattes at the local coffee house or headed off to walk around Mission Bay.
Not a Corporate Mom
I left my corporate job and started my own consulting business before I had kids so I was no longer a corporate mom. Most of my work is done for corporations so the work is similar but I’m not the same as the moms who pack the babies off to day care and head to the office for an eight-hour day. I can relate to these moms working 9-to-5 but our daily struggles and celebrations are different.
Not a Typical WAHM (Work-at-Home Mom)
When I search on “WAHM”, my screen is immediately flooded with work-at-home opportunities and my scam alarm is on high alert. This makes me very reluctant to ever think of myself or refer to myself as a WAHM. I think there is also the perception that a lot of mom-owned businesses are based in arts and crafts rather than professional business services. When I started working from home 15 years ago, the term WAHM didn’t exist. Neither did mompreneur for that matter.
I Guess I’m a Hybrid Mom
Not really a SAHM, not quite a WAHM, I work full time and I mom full time. My business is much more than a side hustle. It’s working more than full time to replace the executive salary that our family of four needs to live in Southern California. The first few years with a new baby can be lonely and I was struggling to find my tribe.
When my daughter was two or three, one of my fellow Parent Connection moms started a professional parents group. Dads were welcome but it ended up being all moms. All of us had children under five and either were or had been professional corporate employees. Finally, I found some moms who seemed more like me. It was so interesting to hear from the corporate moms who were working and wished they could stay home. And the stay-at-home moms who would rather be working. The grass is always greener syndrome was alive and well. This was the first time in my life that I was mature enough to appreciate the power of like-minded people. The group lasted and few years and then faded away. I’m still friends with many of the moms I met in that group. Most of us have kids heading into high school by now.
You Can be Billable with Baby®
The mission of Billable with Baby® is to help you find the courage to start your own consulting business so you can have the freedom and flexibility to raise your children the way you wish. You can replace the full time pay your family needs. I am excited to meet all the new moms as we grow this Billable with Baby® community! Please join our free group of ambitious mothers starting and running successful consulting businesses, Billable with Baby® Community. Selfishly, I am hoping lots of you join me so I will be surrounded by even more like-minded moms.
Originally published at www.billablewithbaby.com