Mom and Business
Kimberly and I are both moms. We are actually both girl families, (Woop!! We love girl families!!). I have three girls and my youngest daughter has started Kindergarten. I know what you are thinking, how did Do-Dah grow up so fast? Oh, just me? Well, anyway, it did go fast. She is off and I am a lonely nester. That means I have 7 hours a day with no kids. I have been a stay-at-home mom since my oldest daughter was born almost 10 years ago – don’t worry, I won’t start talking about the passage of time again, (although that did go by fast too…). I have known that I wanted to take on some kind of project when my kids were in school, whether it was a job or volunteering, I wanted to let my cooped-up creative juices start to flow again. This was something I was starting to research and look into prior to the infamous, BOOT CONVO – please see previous post. When Kimberly and I decided to start Brookes Collective, part of the reason for the spontaneous, “jump right in” mentality was the timing of everything. I knew my time was going to become more open and I would be able to give so much more of myself.
Kimberly and my day look very different at this time in the business. Kimberly is all-hands-on-deck in the design process. She is working closely with the designer and manufacturer during her days, (She is going to be giving a little insight into, “mommy-ing and starting a business” shortly as well). At this point in time I am able to work around my kid’s schedule which is so ideal for our family’s lifestyle. When Kimberly and I video chat, it is generally before anyone wakes up in the morning or after I send kids off to school. When I am writing or working on marketing or doing videos for Instagram, I am able to do that when kids are at school; although, they do like to make an appearance in those videos from time to time.
My desire is to let my children in on the inspiration of Brookes Collective – the value of human life. I want them to experience what I’m doing while maintaining a work/family balance. I know this is a hard process that every family has to tweak and rework and reprocess as family dynamics change. It is new to us as I re-enter the work force and it’s as exciting as it is challenging as it is rewarding. I love that my daughters can see first-hand how two strong women can decide to make a difference in this world and step out and take action. I want to work around their schedule so I am there for them when they are home from school, but it is also so important for me to show them what I am doing – because I believe it’s that important. And I believe if they can see their aunt and mom giving it their all to do something we believe in, they are more likely to make a change in a broken system as well! And growing strong women gives me goosebumps because imagine what our world would look like if all of our daughters were able to stand up and change the injustices we see in this world?
Left to Right: Fin-a-lyn, San-banan, Do-dah
*future world changers*