How to Finish Your PhD and Launch Your Editing Business (with a Toddler at Home)

Thousands of moms around the world are getting their PhD while juggling many (or all) of the parenting responsibilities.In this week's episode, I spoke with Laura Vasquez Bass, of Atlantic Editorial, about how she defended her dissertation and launched her editing business--while being a toddler mom AND an international student.Laura is a September 2025 BAE grad who came to the US as an international PhD student, spent years as a managing editor at a peer-reviewed journal, and eventually realized that "an intellectual is who I am, not where I am." That reframe changed everything.Here's what we cover:🤱 How Laura turned her research background in race, gender, and postcolonial studies into a niche that lets her charge for expertise, not just proofreading🤱 How to find your coaching niche by drawing on your own life experiences🤱 Why the real value editors provide has almost nothing to do with fixing commas—and why that's exactly why AI won't replace you🤱 Why you don't need to be an "expert" to coach—you just need to be a few steps aheadIf you're burnt out, underpaid, and wondering whether there's a version of academic life that will give you the life you actually want to have—this conversation is for you.▶️ Watch, then subscribe for a new episode every week.Resources Mentioned:Laura Vasquez Bass — AtlanticEditorial.com Instagram: @atlanticeditorial LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-vasquez-bass-phd/Want to get my free training and find out how to become an academic editor or coach? Go to AcadiaEditing.com/live1:49 Meet Laura Vasquez Bass, PhD2:41 From London to a US PhD program5:27 When academia stopped being the plan6:53 Discovering editing through an academic journal9:20 An intellectual is who I am, not where I am10:31 Rethinking what it means to be an academic11:08 Building a niche around social justice scholarship14:38 Why editing isn't about fixing commas (and why AI won't replace you)16:09 Two client stories: expertise and emotional labor19:58 Launching a coaching practice for academic moms25:58 The loneliness of mothering in academia32:44 You don't need to be an expert to coach35:04 Being realistic: business is an iterative process37:35 The marketing lesson: content vs cold email46:07 Delayed gratification and the 3.5-year cold email48:17 Where to find Laura + outro Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.