When my first son was born, I set my sleeping newborn in the hospital bassinet, opened my phone, and emailed my clients: “Baby’s here! I’ll be offline until Monday.”
It was Thursday morning.
I told myself it was commitment. Flexibility. Founder grit.
But in the quiet of that room, I knew I had chosen my business over my baby. Not because I wanted to — because I hadn’t built a business that could hold me.
If you’re an entrepreneur, you’ve likely been sold the myth that “business owners don’t get leave.” We get “freedom” instead. The freedom to work from anywhere, at any time… which too often becomes working everywhere, all the time.
Here’s the truth: you can take a real maternity leave when you work for yourself. You just need a different plan than traditional employment offers — one built for you.
The shift: full-on f*cking survival mode to a predictable business
Your business wasn’t designed to run on your adrenaline forever. With over a decade in operations experience, I’ve seen too many business owners try to keep the “start-up” energy through life-first seasons, year 5 of their businesses… it just ends in burnout.
We’ve all heard the saying “what do you here won’t get you there.” And I believe maternity leave is the season to do just that: realign and readjust your business to fit your life.
Instead of grinding 24/7.
The first step is choosing what kind of mother, partner, and leader you want to be — and allowing your business to support that identity.
Ask yourself:
- What do I want the newborn season to actually feel like?
- What would “enough” look like in revenue and delivery while I’m out?
- What’s the smallest, cleanest footprint we can operate with for 8–12 weeks?
Get honest. The postpartum season isn’t where you “push.” It’s where you receive — help, nourishment, sleep, and space to bond.
The framework: three tactical pillars for a real leave
I teach a simple structure that has held thousands of founder-moms and many other life breaks:
- Decisions
Where are you currently the decider? Marketing priorities, client escalations, spending approvals, discounts, refunds, hiring, scope changes.
- Front-load high-impact choices before leave (offers, pricing, promotions, blackout dates).
- Create decision guidelines for your team: core values, spending thresholds, and KPIs (more below) so they can decide like you would.
- Team
You don’t need a big team; you simply need a clear one.
- Document “who owns what” for sales, delivery, and customer care.
- Shift from delegating tasks to delegating outcomes.
- Appoint a point person (your “go to”) who filters decisions, protects your rest window, and brings only what truly needs you.
- Measurables
Feelings are valid in postpartum. They’re not a business dashboard.
- Choose the minimum viable metrics to keep momentum: revenue booked, cash collected, delivery satisfaction, response times, and lead flow.
- Tie these to rituals (e.g., a 15-minute weekly check-in your floor captain runs without you).
The leave blueprint (simple version)
- 90 to 60 days out: Pick the offer mix that won’t require you as the bottleneck. Set your leave dates. Create a blackout policy. Front-load big decisions.
- 60 to 30 days out: Finalize ownership map and decision guidelines. Reduce your footprint. Pre-write communications (client emails, OOO, social note).
- 30 to 7 days out: Run the system with you in the backseat. Team leads run point, you supervise. Patch gaps now, not with a baby in your arms.
- Leave: Your “go to” teammate sends you a short weekly pulse (metrics + one-line notes). You stay out unless there’s a true red flag.
- Return: A gentle, tiered re-entry. Think: listening week → 50% capacity → full time (if that’s your desire).
The story we’re rewriting
You don’t earn rest by doing more. I encourage you to believe that rest is a leadership practice.
You can hold your baby without holding onto everything about your current business model. And your business can hold you.
Warmly,
Aly
