You can find your own path, you can break cycles (and this is often not easy but can be so needed in order to step into the true version of yourself) and try to avoid falling into the cycle of perpetual comparison. Hello loves,
WELCOME back to
where we explore being, balance and business in motherhood.We are
and and we are both creatives and mentors. We are passionate about lifting the veil on how businesses can and do work within the intensity of motherhood. We both run businesses that work around family life and we share more of that on our podcast. You can listen right here.This week we have our 12th community GUEST post… as always we are so excited to share this with you. These posts are a joy to read and edit.
We hit 185 subscribers here last week and our podcast has 1600 downloads - we are so conscious of growing this space soulfully and steadily, and it feels so wonderful to be connecting with mums all over the world.
Hi! ✨
We’ve now had 20 people complete the short Google Form invitation. It’s the same 3 questions you’ll find here below. We are gently working through them and will post the responses in order of their arrival!
We’d love to invite you to write for us too. We are keen to encourage a diverse range of mothers and experiences here and have made it very easy for you to contribute. If you would like to write a guest post for us here at head here to answer just three simple questions.
If you’d like to write us a longer piece on the topic of being, balance and/ or business in motherhood, record audio or a video you can email us on companyoftwouk@gmail.com If you are interested appearing in future podcast episodes please use the same email address to reach out.
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Company of Two and You with Caroline Evans
My name is Caroline and I am a mama and parenting consultant living in rural France but supporting families worldwide. Parenting can be really tough and I love being able to support and guide families, and I have the privilege of learning so much from children every day!
When did you become a mum and how long have you had a company of one and what do you do within it?
I think I first became a mum in my first pregnancy, from the moment I found out I was pregnant that nurturing side of me that had always been shared with others turned inwards to nurture the little spark of life that had ignited. That pregnancy was not meant to be and my rainbow baby came along just under a year later - which is nearly 11 years ago.
I have had a company of 1 for 25 years, I support families in so many different ways. It may be that a family would like my support and guidance from the start of their journey as a parent, or they may reach out when they have a glitch along the way!
Since my son was born I have primarily worked remotely although I still love the hands on work that I occasionally do, babies and children inspire me immeasurably!
How has having children impacted your work flow, creativity, your inspiration and your ability to manage your work?
Having a child has inspired me so much, I have always been inspired by children so to have one around 24/7 is a real gift (and lets me honest bloomin’ exhausting at times too, and A has soooo much energy!) Juggling working from home and being a full time mum has had it's challenges but I chose to set up my life in this way and I think it is important to acknowledge that we usually have a choice - it may not be an easy choice but the choice is there.
We chose not to use any childcare for my son, we wanted to be the ones caring and nurturing him as he grew and so both my husband (also a company of 1... although I would argue that he has a pretty good live in admin assistant/secretary/accountant!) juggles our work schedules in order to facilitate this which was not always easy and I would pray that his naps would continue so that I could have those pockets of time to work during the day! I think having
I really increased my desire to know more and more about emotional and cognitive development of humans (even though it was already an area that interested me) and his health issues also saw me grow some of my professional practice into the area of reflux and early allergy, which I already had a lot of professional experience with but I then because obsessed with learning more and more! When my son was 4, I had some fairly serious health issues which with hindsight were probably triggered by some pretty serious stress and exhaustion.
Juggling both being a stay at home and working mum alongside having a child with health issues (with a significant impact on his sleep) took their toll . It was a very, very difficult period for me I felt like I was on a motorway speeding along with no exit in sight so I had to just keep on going, eventually the car broke down!
But out of this came a re-evaluation and an acknowledgement that I also had needs and these ALSO needed taking into consideration. It changed my flow and my focus and once again we made a choices to help take the weight of the world from my shoulders and I learned that it was ok to sometimes say no!
What advice would you give to a mum just about to start their journey with balance, being and business in motherhood?
I would really say remember that you have needs too and that there is always a choice.
You can find your own path, you can break cycles (and this is often not easy but can be so needed in order to step into the true version of yourself) and try to avoid falling into the cycle of perpetual comparison.
Social media is terrible for this, find spaces in which you feel safe an nurtured and championed (like Laura's Simplicity Unlocked group!) and move away from any that do not do this for you.
Remember that searching for perfection, to get it right 100% of the time is impossible and only settling yourself up for perpetual failure, so accept that those times when you don't get it right, whether in your business or as mother will become a learning experience, will help you become stronger and will help you teach repair to those precious to you.
I also would say remember to find pockets of time to focus wholly and un distractedly with your child - go all in with them, whether this is jumping in puddles or dressing up, or crawling on the floor pretending to be a lion.
Put the tech away, forget about the washing up and immerse yourself in their world from time to time. You may enjoy it more than you think - the power of play is huge!
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Working for yourself can be a lonely place to be, I thank Laura and Claire for creating a space for like minded mothers with company of 1's to make connections and to feel part of something bigger. Connections in the real world are also super important so striking a balance is important. Thank you for sharing so many wonderful women on your blog!
Please don’t do that society-induced thing expected of women (and mothers) and think “who wants to hear what I have to say?” WE DO.
You are not meant to do this alone. Those feelings you have: we’ve had them too. In the thick of it right now? We see you and we send support, love and a gentle sunshine energy your way. Get outside today if you can. Drink the water.
Call a friend, or do comment here. We’d love to chat more about you stepping into the vision for your life, business and motherhood.
With love as ever,
Laura and Claire
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Another lovely interview article! Especially love the reminder that we all have a choice even if the day to day is exhausting, we CHOSE to be here and wouldn’t want it any other way. To remind myself of this (when in the thick of it or utterly frustrated for not having been able to work for 2 weeks and the to-do-list exhausts me), helps to keep me grounded, grateful and put some distance to all the external shoulds which in the greater scheme of things doesn’t really matter anyway!