Gender Reveal + Navigating Maternity Leave as an Entrepreneur

The Reveal

EEEEKKKKK. Honesty time.

I took the Sneak Peek Gender Reveal blood test around 14/15 weeks pregnant. I thought I was patient enough to wait until the 20 Week Anatomy scan, but obviously not 😜 We got the Boy result and I was SHOCKED. I’ve just always had this thought (for no realistic reason) that we would only have girls… so to say I was surprised was an understatement. So shocked that I ordered a second blood test hah! That one also said boy and it finally sank in! At this point, we were just a few weeks away from the anatomy scan and while I was anxious to share with EVERYONE - I waited because I needed that third and final confirmation LOL.

We weren’t looking to do a Gender Reveal party, but I wanted something simple and special to be able to document and share this stage of pregnancy and family life + announce in a fun way. I hired Hannah Turner Photo to do a mini family shoot and we brought a couple of blue powder cannons to shoot off for some cute photos. To say I am obsessed with these photos is an understatement!

My Plan for Maternity Leave as an Entrepreneur

I’ve been having conversations and getting asked this question a lot - What is my plan for Maternity Leave since I have my own business?!

This feels tricky to navigate as there is “textbook” way to go about doing this - but here are some things I am doing to prepare for when baby is due in October!

My Current Business Structure:

It feels appropriate to share what my current business structure and routine looks like prior to answering this question.

#1: I currently have 2 large retainer clients that I do regular marketing and admin work for. This includes:

  • answering emails

  • helping plan their content calendar

  • drafting up email campaigns and

  • assisting in prep for large launches.

As retainer clients, they pay me the same amount at the beginning of each month to work on a predetermined amount of work (to be transparent, these retainers total around $2000/month). This is where my “base salary” is determined.

#2: Outside of my retainer clients, I take on about 1-2 large Kajabi Launch & Design projects each month. These types of projects involve:

  • sales page design for course or product launches

  • strategy planning for online coaches (wellness, business, fitness)

  • email marketing campaigns for course or product launches

  • website redesign (moving a website from another platform to Kajabi)

These projects I consider my “bonus revenue” in my business and I do not pay myself on a monthly basis from these big projects, but rather use this “specialty” money to set into my savings and tax savings accounts. At the end of each quarter, after business expenses and taxes have been determined & taken out, I will give myself a “bonus” from these larger revenue streams. To be transparent again, these larger projects are specialty services and I can make anywhere from $2000-5000/month on these.

#3: It’s no secret that I have my own Virtual Assistant courses I have created:

These are what I call my “passive income streams” that allow me to put in the work up front to create the programs - and then be able to have minimal upkeep to keep them available and running. I host all of my courses on Kajabi & HIGHLY recommend this platform for anyone looking to create an online course.

Passive Income is amazing because it does allow for greater revenue streams with little extra time!


My Maternity Leave Plan

So what does all of this mean for my maternity leave? I wanted to explain the different areas of my business because it will make it easier to understand how I’ll be navigating taking time “off.”

As an entrepreneur, we don’t have the opportunity to just walk out the office door and say see you in 6 weeks or 3 months or whatever it is - but we DO have the flexibility to say no and to plan ahead. Here’s my plan:

  • I have already been telling clients that I am taking Quarter 4 (so 3 full months) OFF of any large design/launch projects. It times well because very few online coaches are looking to launch new programs in Q4 anyways (due to holidays). This will be HUGE in opening up my time and mental space.

  • I have a plan to work ahead for any content creation for my retainer clients so their campaigns and emails are prewritten, edited and scheduled for at least a few weeks surrounding my due date. Any daily admin work will be taken over by them for those few weeks and I will jump back in after my initial recovery. My retainer work only takes about 5-10 hours per week, so it will be minimal (and quite easy!) for me to maintain with a newborn at home!

  • Lastly, I absolutely love sharing on social media and will continue to do so however I want to through Quarter 4. Because this is my main form of marketing for my passive income, I can anticipate my passive income to potentially decline slightly during this time - but the great thing about this is that it is simply EXTRA! 🙌

So while I can’t totally shut down my business for a set period of time, I can work ahead, have flexibility in retainer work & say no to large projects. I’m already looking forward to such a slow and AMAZING new season when baby boy arrives in October!

Are you an entrepreneur? How did you navigate maternity leave? I’d love to hear in the comments!

Thanks for following along and being so happy for our family, truly grateful for each and every one of you!

xo Helen

Helen PetersonComment