There’s No Maternity Leave When You’re the Boss

Send us your feedback about the episode!What does maternity leave actually look like when you're self-employed?In this episode of Beauty Behind the Brand, Nicole opens up about preparing for motherhood while running multiple businesses—and why her version of maternity leave looked very different from the traditional year away from work.Years before having James, Nicole knew that if she wanted the freedom to step away from the treatment room and eventually become a mom, she needed to build a business that didn't depend entirely on her being physically present.She shares how she transitioned clients to other technicians, built a team she trusted, automated systems, delegated responsibilities, prepared distributors and clients ahead of time, and created other streams of revenue that could continue even when she wasn't actively working.Nicole also talks candidly about something you can't completely prepare for: how becoming a mother changes what you actually want.From thinking she'd immediately use daycare or a nanny to realizing she wanted much more time at home with James, this episode explores the reality of balancing ambition, motherhood, mom guilt, childcare and entrepreneurship.Nicole shares practical ideas for anyone preparing for maternity leave while self-employed, including:Getting yourself out of the day-to-day operations of your businessBuilding a team before you actually need oneCreating systems and automationsPreparing clients, employees and business partners in advanceBuilding online or retail income that doesn't require your physical presenceSaving ahead and understanding your monthly expensesFinding ways to reduce overhead while you're awayPlanning for childcare earlyEasing back into work instead of expecting everything to immediately return to normalGiving yourself permission to change your plans once your baby arrivesMost importantly, this episode is a reminder that you can prepare as much as possible—but you won't fully know what motherhood will look or feel like until you're living it.Build the systems. Save the money. Prepare the business.And then give yourself the freedom to figure out the rest as you go. Subscribe for New Episodes Every Tuesday!Be sure to check us out on all our socials:Follow on Instagram: @beautybrandpodcasthttps://www.instagram.com/beautybrandpodcast/Subscribe on Youtube: @beautybehindthebrandpodcasthttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEl-qd38M4OgL8IghZ8ga9gWebsite:https://www.miskoka.com/beauty-behind-the-brandFollow our host on Instagram: @nicmanionhttps://www.instagram.com/nicmanion/