When I first started my small business, I thought it would be something I did — a separate little world that belonged just to me. What I didn’t realize then is that my business journey would become deeply woven into my family’s story too.

Being a mom while building a business is hard to describe because it’s so many things at once. It’s empowering and exhausting. It’s freeing and overwhelming. Some days, it feels like I’m barely holding it all together, answering emails with a toddler on my lap or packing orders late at night while everyone else sleeps. Other days, it feels like the most natural thing in the world, like this is exactly where I’m meant to be.

Balancing motherhood and entrepreneurship is a daily dance of priorities, patience, and grace. There are moments of guilt when I can’t give my kids my full attention, and moments of doubt when business challenges feel too heavy. But there are also countless moments of pride when I see my children watching me chase my dreams, learning by example what it means to work hard, adapt, and create something from nothing.

What’s been most surprising, and beautiful, is how building this business has helped me discover parts of myself I didn’t know existed. I’ve found a confidence in making decisions, a creativity in problem-solving, and a resilience I didn’t know I had. This journey has given me an identity outside of “just mom”. It’s a reminder that I’m still growing too and learning who I am as an individual.

My kids have seen the behind-the-scenes: the messy, imperfect parts as well as the small victories we celebrate together. They’ve helped label products, unpack shipments, and brainstorm ideas. They’ve come with me to local markets, learning firsthand about hard work, responsibility, and the courage it takes to share something you’ve made with the world.

At the end of the day, my business isn’t just about products or sales. It’s about building something meaningful for myself and for my family. It’s about teaching my children that it’s okay to dream big, to make mistakes, and to keep going anyway. It’s about showing them, through every late night and early morning, that growth often happens outside our comfort zones. It would be easier to pause the dream, but it’s been so much more rewarding to bring my kids along.