We’ve been hitting up moms who are entrepreneurs and businesswomen and finding out what it’s like for them to start and run a company. Now that we’re gearing up for Father’s Day, we thought why not get the behind-the-scenes scoop from a dad who’s similarly juggling career and family? And what better person to talk to than Neil Grimmer, whose company, Plum Organics was — and still  is – inspired by his two daughters.

The Bump: What inspired you start Plum Organics?

Neil Grimmer: I was a designer before this. Back in early 2000′s, I also was an Iron Man triathlete and distance runner, and I was making these crazy concoctions for myself so I could do these races. Everyone at work knew this, so one of the assignments I was given was to work with a food company that wanted to realize the future of food. What we came up with was that is was about healthy, more sustainable foods and that it was about healthy, sustainable businesses. It was a unique opportunity to not only create better food, but also a better company. Life changed, and I went from being a designer to being a dad.

When my kids were 1 and 3, my wife and I were packing healthy lunch boxes for my eldest, Paxton, in the morning, and making my youngest, Izzy, squash at 10:00 at night because we were working parents. We thought, there has got to be a better way to offer healthy food to our little ones. We had this idea that active parents needed to find ways not to compromise their values, even if they had crazy, hectic lifestyles. That’s where the food pouch came in. We needed to find packaging that would let us bring kids the healthiest food we could find. It had to be super convenient and as flexible as young parents needed it to be.

TB: So you were the first baby food company to use food pouches?

NG: Yes. That innovation has transformed the category. There wasn’t a whole lot of innovation happening, and baby food companies weren’t engaging young, modern parents who had very busy lives. So the innovation hit at right time. I think we were successful because we were a young, smart brand. We didn’t take it too seriously and knew all the follies of being parent. We wanted to be a brand for those young parents because we are our core consumer, in a way. Bringing that packing to the market meant we could make a product with Greek yogurt and quinoa, that’s jam-packed full of health and nutrition that never really had been a part of that category before.

TB: What are your top three pieces of advice for people looking to start their own business?

NG: Make it personal. There are some great brands that I admire, and they all started with very personal connections to what they were doing. For me, it was being inspired by my two daughters and, quite frankly, by the challenge of being a young modern, parent. Everyone in our company has some connection to it, whether they’re parents themselves or they care about healthy eating.

Define the purpose of your business around a mission. How will you change the lives of who you serve? We talked about being advocates for tiny taste buds. Make sure everyone in your business knows that mission.

Take the leap. It can be really scary experience to start a company. There are often super talented people interested in starting companies, but they’re already well employed and have income that’s hard to step away from. You have to step out of that comfort zone to start a business and take a risk. If you get the first two things right — making it personal and having a mission — that will give you the confidence to take the leap.

TB: What was your biggest challenge in starting the company?

NG: In the early days, the tough part was getting retailers to embrace the pouch. They already had their shelves stocked with jars, and jarred baby food companies were telling them it was a bad idea. We had to sell the vision. After that, when they started seeing sales and seeing that the consumer was interested, then it was easier. Later, it was the scaling of the business. We’ve had rapid growth in the past six years. We’ve had to match that with the size of the team and the production capacity, and that has been a challenge. Now we have 90 employees and three offices — Bay Area, New York and outside of London.

TB: What has been your biggest joy?

NG: For me personally, bringing home a product that just launched and having my girls freak out about it is the best thing out there. Or if they say, “Hey, my friends want some fruit Shredz. Can you hook us up?” As a dad, I think we want to not only raise great kids but to also please our kids, and I get a ton of pleasure out of that.

TB: Looking back, is there anything you’d do differently?

NG: There have been tons of lessons learned. It’s important for young companies to be really nimble and flexible. As a designer, I worked with rapid prototyping. That meant getting an idea out there quickly by mocking it up with duct tape and hot glue to look at, learn from and iterate on. I’ve used that concept to help build a business. Last year, we launched 45 products. Some worked better than others. You have to make sure you always have a foot forward and you’re always flexible to get something off the table if it doesn’t work out, and to try the next thing.

TB: Would you say that being a father make you a better businessman?

NG: I would! We talk about this company being inspired by love. We have empathy at the core of what we do. I’m a huge advocate of that being our way of doing business. We’re about hugging it out, as opposed to fighting it out. We take a personal approach to everything we do in business.

TB: Plum is doing some exciting things to help children in need. Tell us about them!

NG: We started our company to change the way kids eat in America. Our goal was to bring them the best food from their first bite. Once we became successful and gained a toehold in getting healthier foods to kids across the country, we became increasingly aware that there were 16 million kids we were not servicing. 1 in 5 kids in the US go hungry, even though it’s known as the land of plenty. I think it’s a travesty. We saw a pre-screening of A Place At the Table and were inspired to do something about that issue. We wanted to figure out what we could do to really solve the problem. At the end of the day, we designed The Super Smoothie, a product with the nutritional content to help hungry kids thrive to their full potential. We developed it with Dr. Alan Greene and it has spinach, white beans, carrots and chia. The product was designed to be donated, and along with our partners, we’ve donated a half million this year to be given out to little ones in need.

We believe that when little ones are full of the right nutrients, they have the potential to affect the world. I think the next phase of this is to figure out how to get consumers to really care about this issue and get them involved. We’d like to create a broader network to get this thing to scale bigger.

Plus, more from The Bump:

5 Amazing Inspiring Dads

Best (and Worst) Foods for Baby

More Inspiring Entrepreneur Stories

We’re getting up close and personal with mothers who are savvy innovators and businesswomen and finding out their secrets to success. This time, we got the scoop from Jennifer Fleiss, Co-Founder and Head of Business Development for Rent the Runway.

You have a 17-month-old daughter. How do you balance motherhood and running a business?

I think one way is cutting yourself a little slack and realizing that you’re probably not going to have a perfect balance. No one is perfect, and you might need to shave a little bit off each end, but you have to do your own personal best.

I live close to the office, so it saves me a good hour of time commuting each day, and that’s time I get to spend with my daughter. It also means that my nanny can stop by from time to time and bring her into the office, which we’re lucky enough to be able do. The company really supports that, and it brings in an extra, fun part of the day for everyone in the office. It lets me feel like my mommy self is in the office as well as my business self, so they kind of merge!

What inspired you to start the business?

I started the company with my co-founder Jen Hyman out of Harvard Business School. In November 2008, we both observed that there was a lot change in the retail industry. Department stores were slashing prices because of the recession, and women were being more conscious of the cost per wear. They were being thoughtful, savvy shoppers. We realized that women still loved shopping despite the economy, so we wanted to enable them to still have fun with fashion, and solve this “closet full of clothes but nothing to wear” dilemma. We brainstormed different ways for us to tap in, and Rent the Runway emerged as a fun way to enjoy all the Cinderella moments in life in a financially smart way.

How did you test out the concept?

We  did some initial tests on college campuses, which was very helpful in proofing out the concept. We saw the social environments the college students were in and how much these girls were going to events. They were with the same groups of people, and were already in the habit of sharing clothes with one another. They were using social media. We heard Facebook killed outfits; they were posting photos on Facebook and then their friends saw it, and they didn’t want to wear it again.

So we said, this is a very ripe environment for Rent the Runway. These are women who will start to use us at an early age and keep on using us. They’ll have sorority parties and formals, and then they’ll graduate and they’ll have weddings, and benefits and work events. Then they’ll be in different cities and will be able to spread the word. So it organically revealed itself as an opportunity, and we built an entire program where we have Runway Representatives, so there are over 1,500 women now on 200 campuses across the US that represent our brand. These are all girls who love high-end luxury fashion, and Rent the Runway is the only way to make that accessible to them and to make it a part of their lives.

What would you say are your top three pieces of advice for women looking to start their own businesses?

The first is that no doesn’t mean no, it just means not right now, which is something that my co-founder and I say very frequently. Have the persistence and the fortitude to approach things in a different way and to not get demoralized when things are not going exactly as you dreamed they would.

The second is to test things out with consumers as soon as you possibly can. Whenever you have a concept, it’s great to be able to see if consumers like it and will put their money where their mouth is. So for us, that meant purchasing dresses, putting a couple thousand dollars of our own money towards buying them and actually renting them out. You really learn so much that way.

The third is that you’re never in the perfect time. A lot of people try to time entrepreneurship, and build their concept around where they are in their own life. But there’s just never going to be that perfect timing. I think that if you wait and try to plan everything perfectly in life, nothing will really happen. So, just go for it!

What was your biggest challenge in launching the company? What has been your biggest reward?

One of the biggest challenges is that we didn’t have technical backgrounds, and we have a company that is very technically intense. That’s an important part of what we do, so building up that skill set and being able build an engineering team was definitely a challenge early on. I think it’s very rewarding that now it’s a team of 35 people within our company that are doing amazing things.

I’m very proud of the whole team and the culture we’ve built and have been able to maintain. We have about 180 people at Rent the Runway now, and it’s a group of people who are very passionate about the company and its mission. They’re still empowered and feeling entrepreneur-y today. I think being able to keep that culture alive is important.

Do you think that being a mom has made you a better businesswoman?

I do. I think that in a weird way, it makes everything a little less stressful because it puts things in perspective. Life gets so crazy that you learn not to sweat the small stuff. I don’t get as flustered as easily as I used to, and I think I’m more thoughtful about my responses. I’m able to decipher between things that are a big deal and really important and things that are smaller deals and less important.

I also feel that the way I interact with and managing people has grown since I’ve been a mother. And I love the ability it has given me to relate to other moms in the company who balance this part of their life. They are very bright, talented women who we want to succeed and continue to have careers.

What are you working on right now that you’re excited about?

We’re actually heading out for a prom styling party. We’ve long believed that part of the mission of Rent the Runway is to enable women to have Cinderella moments and democratizing luxury, and the more women we can reach with that mission the better. So we are outfitting a high school for their prom, and hosting the event. It’s a school that was impacted by Hurricane Sandy, so it’s a big passion point for my co-founder and me. Since the beginning of the company, we’ve dreamed of being able to put some of our dresses to work in a philanthropic way. I think especially now that I have a daughter – and seeing how their self-esteem and their personalities can become so much more magical when they feel special, pretty and dressed up — I’m happy to give people who have been through so much this year that opportunity.

Plus, more from The Bump:

Read More Inspiring Mompreneur Stories

Finding Work-Life Balance

18 Worst Things to Say to Working Moms

We’re getting up close and personal with mothers who are savvy innovators and businesswomen and finding out their secrets to success. This time, we got the scoop from Shazi Visram, Founder and CEO of Happy Family.

The Bump: Shazi, why did you start Happy Family?

Shazi Visram: I saw an opportunity to change what children are eating. I thought you could give a baby a fresh start by providing whole foods that taste great and offer nutritional value. The concept was to create nutritious, organic super foods that parents could feel really good about giving their children, knowing they were giving them the very best. I started working on it about 10 years ago, when I was in business school, before I was a mom. I had a lot of friends who were parents that I consulted for advice and testing. Now, I have my own personal source of inspiration. My son is three and he can be a picky eater! So I struggle with a lot of the things that all moms do.

TB: What are your top three pieces of advice for women looking to start their own business?

SV: Make sure you’re totally in love with and passionate about what you’re doing. You’re going to have to put in long, crazy hours, and a lot of heart and soul to make your dream a reality.

Never give up. We all have great ideas that seem meaningful but they’re even more powerful when you see your business as changing the world. Literally never, ever give up.

Enjoy the ride. For me, its been a roller coaster — a lot of stress, doubt and fear, but there have been exciting times too! Looking back, it’s been a great learning experience. I appreciate challenges in retrospect and see how they helped me continue to grow.

TB: What was your biggest challenge?

SV: I think it was making sure we had enough capital and support behind our business while staying true to our original mission of purity and service. With every one of our products that you buy, a proceed helps a starving child in Africa. We wanted it to be something that changes the world. We also spend a lot of money on ingredients. It was important to offer functional, organic nutrition. We were the first baby food to supplement with probiotics, DHA and salba — one of the most nutritious baby foods on the planet. We wanted our foods to do something for a baby’s growing body. The other goal was to be accessible to everybody, not just children of parents with high incomes. To do all that and have a price point that’s more accessible is tough. I’ve been very lucky to find people who wanted to invest in that bigger vision knowing they’d get a financial return but not focusing on the bottom line as much as the triple bottom line. That’s been a challenge and we’ve really overcome it.

TB: Looking back, is there anything you’d do differently?

SV: No, I don’t think so. I think if you can end the day thinking, I did very best I could today, you shouldn’t have regrets. I’m proud of where it’s gone and the challenges I’ve overcome. There were times I was worried I wouldn’t have enough money to pay my employees, or that I wouldn’t have enough to buy groceries or take the subway home. But I appreciate that journey and it kept me humble. I do think I let the stress get to me physically, so the one thing I’d do differently is to have a better plan for stress management. I’ve had a couple herniated disks and muscular problems. I was so busy and frantic for a while that I didn’t have time to focus on myself.

TB: What’s a typical day in your life like?

SV: It’s pretty crazy. My son, Zane, has autism and we’ve had a lot of late nights when he’s up at 11 p.m. and 4:30 a.m. I have meetings and calls as early as 8 a.m. or even 7:30, and I tend to work until 6 p.m. or 7 p.m. I try to work from home a couple days a week be with him. It’s a challenge to find balance because you want to be there for work. And I make sure every one of Zane’s needs are met before mine. He’s the most important thing in my life. So business can be draining and it’s hard to keep it in balance, but at the end of night, I’m happy. That comes from celebrating all the little victories along the way.

TB: Would you say that being a mother makes you a better businesswoman?

SV: Absolutely. I think being a mom makes you more focused on what’s important. Moms are very, very efficient. My efficiency levels have definitely risen. I focus on what I need to and I get it done.

But also, being a CEO has made me better mom. Zane was diagnosed with autism a year ago. Before that, he was very happy and healthy and made every milestone, but around age two, he started regressing. I put together a group of doctors and experts to help him. Being a CEO gave me the skills to figure out who would make the best impact on his life. We set up meetings. We set goals and we make sure we’re meeting them for him. I think running a business helps motherhood in that way. It’s interesting to see the two coincide.

TB: And how important are moms to your business?

SV: Very important! We employ 75 moms around the country as health and wellness ambassadors called Happy Mamas. They teach other parents how to cook baby food and host mommy and me yoga classes. They’re really involved resources for new families for living healthy, happy lives. The products are just part of it — we want people to have all the information they need. These moms care about children’s nutrition and healthy living.

Plus, more from The Bump:

Read More Inspiring Mompreneur Stories

Confessions of a Working Mom

Baby Nutrition Advice

We’re getting up close and personal with mothers who are savvy innovators and businesswomen and finding out their secrets to success. This time, we got the scoop from Romy Taormina, co-founder and chief of nausea relieve for Psi Bands.

The Bump: Romy, what inspired you to start Psi Bands?

Romy Taormina: I suffered from terrible morning sickness during my pregnancies, and I found nausea relief using acupressure wrist bands. But I was dissatisfied with existing products on the market. They were drab and uncomfortable. So I hatched the idea for Psi Bands, a drug-free, stylish and functional alternative for nausea relief. They’re available in several fun designs; uniquely adjustable at two areas (around the wrist like a watch and at the acupressure point for personalized comfort and fit); waterproof; reusable; and affordable.

TB: What are your top three pieces of advice for women looking to start their own business?

RT: 1) Don’t let fear or doubt get the best of you. 2) Stay true to yourself and your business. 3) The only way to score is to take a shot.

TB: What has been your biggest challenge? Biggest joy?

RT: Our biggest challenge has been cash flow. We have turned away business because of it. This past fall, we secured a line of credit which allowed us to move forward with a national rollout.

There have been many joys. Some of my favorites include: seeing our product on the retail shelf for the first time; landing key national accounts; having a feature in O, the Oprah Magazine; winning the Huggies MomInspired Award; and getting an offsite office, which allows me to better separate between work and family time than my former home office did.

TB: Looking back, is there anything you’d do differently?

RT: Yes, I’ve made my share of mistakes. But those mistakes were learning opportunities. I think Jessica Herrin of Stella and Dot said it well: “You have to fail your way to success.”

TB: What has been the most rewarding aspect of starting your own business?

RT: Bringing a product to market that makes a measurable improvement in the lives of those who suffer from nausea is, by far, the most rewarding part of my business. It is also fulfilling to know that I’m a role model for my children. I’ve shown them that hard work results in tangible positive outcomes. I take pride in financially supporting my family, and in providing meaningful jobs for others.

TB: What inside scoop do you have that entrepreneurs never tell you about starting a business?

RT: Running a business is like raising a child in that there are no books or resources out there that will completely prepare you for the experience. There are road maps, but until you’ve done it, you haven’t done it. And, no two experiences are alike. Because we can’t live life fully prepared, we sometimes just have to jump in with two feet and take the plunge. Sometimes it’s best just not to know what lies ahead. So, if you have a great idea that has legs — you’ve researched the marketplace and determined that there’s a need for it — and have the resources, drive and courage to turn that idea into a reality, then go for it!

TB: What’s a typical day in your life like?

RT: Go, go, go. Just like every mom I know! I’m fully immersed in what I do, whether I’m at home or at the office. Because I love what I do, I remain steadfast in my commitments, even during the hurdles. Those are the truest tests.

TB: Would you say that being a mother makes you a better businesswoman?

RT: Yes! Moms have an understanding that the only thing you can truly count on is change. It’s about the journey. Savor it.

TB: What’s the best part about having your own business?

RT: I’m invested 100 percent — emotionally, physically and financially — in my business. My husband and I have reversed roles — he’s now a stay-at-home dad and I’m the sole financial provider for my family. I have a responsibility not only to my employees and business partner to make this business a success, but I have the large responsibility to provide for my family. As one might imagine, there are aspects of this that are rewarding and some that are, at times, stressful. Working for myself definitely provides flexibility, and for that I am most grateful.

TB: Is there anything new and exciting you’re working on that you’d like to share?

RT: By June 2013, Psi Bands will be rolled out into all 7,500 CVS Pharmacy locations in the nation, which brings our total US retail store count to more than 13,000 locations, including Rite Aid, Babies “R” Us, Whole Foods, REI and more. We’re also  working on a new additional unisex design for Psi Bands which we will release within the next few months.

Plus, more from The Bump:

Finding Work-Life Balance

The Truth About Being a Working Mom

Advice for Morning Sickness

Moms are amazing! And not just at being moms. We know plenty of mothers who are also savvy innovators and businesswomen, and we’re in awe of what they do! We’re getting up close and personal with them and finding out their secrets to success in our new Inspiring Mompreneur series. First up, Julie Pickens, CEO and founder of Boogie Wipes.

The Bump: Julie, how was your business born?

Julie Pickens: My business partner at the time, who was also a mom, put baby nose drops onto a wipe to get them into her daughter’s nose. She realized that if she did it that way, she didn’t have to hold her down while she was kicking and screaming! That’s where the idea was born. It worked and we took the concept, named it and quickly went to work on formulating it. That was in May 2008, and we hired a chemist, since we didn’t have that technical background but we knew how we wanted it to perform and work. We developed the product and by October that same year, we had our first shipment of wipes and started selling them online. By January 2009 we were selling in retail stores. It happened really fast, and it’s been wild since then! I keep thinking, “Okay, when it calms down, when it calms down…” but it doesn’t calm down!

TB: Did your kids play a role in the creation of the product?

JP: At the time my kids were aged 13, 9 and 2. (Now they’re 18, 14 and 8.) We tested the product on them! Boogie Wipes were very helpful for my 2 year old. My older girls use them to this day use it take their makeup off. We stumbled on all kinds of uses we didn’t expect when we were developing because of trying our products on our own kids.

TB: Was it challenging juggling motherhood and starting a business?

JP: Yes, it has been a struggle. Being a mom is a demanding job, and it’s a challenge to be there for your kids and also make sure you have everything covered at work. When the business started, I thought, “This is great, I can bring the kids to the office with me,” and I really instilled a friendly workplace that embraced that. We hired other moms, we have flexible work schedules and people work around their kids’ activities. It was super important to us to create a fun working environment and everyone got their job done because the flexibility allowed them to work harder and get their job done.

But for me, personally, it was hard. I took on the role of CEO, did the capital raises and sales and distribution, and it became demanding very quickly. So I did have to learn how to balance all of that. At times I did it relatively well, and other times it broke my heart. I had to, at times, miss things because the business was growing and it got demanding. One night, I stayed at the office until 3 a.m. When I got home, there was a note on the stairs from one of my daughters. It was about how I was an inspiration to my girls to follow their dreams and to do what they wanted to do. She said she knew that it was hard for me and that I was tired. She thanked me for going to as many of their events and activities as I could. She also said she wanted to be like me when she got older. I’ll keep that note always.

Really, I think it’s a trade off. You do the best job you can. It’s not going to be easy; you can’t have it all. Sometimes you do feel like you let things slip, but in the end if you do your best, your kids really do see it.

TB: What three pieces of advice do you have for women wanting to start their own business?

JP: Number one, make sure the product or service that you’re putting out is something that really fills a need. Something that isn’t a “me too” product or service. Try to be unique and innovative.

Number two, always test your products. Run a focus group, do  consumer testing. Talk to other experienced (and brutally honest!) people for feedback on what you’re doing and to validate your concepts.

And last — the advice that saved us: Take a step back and write a business plan. You need a plan, so you know what it’s going to take to make this business a success financially. That will allow you to make smart strategic decisions about how to move it forward. Ideas are great, and there are a million of them, but planning and making sure you have the back end capital and resources to make this idea work are so important. Sometimes people miss that boat.

TB: What has been your biggest challenge throughout the process of starting your company?

JP: My biggest challenge really has been keeping up with the growth of our company. It took off fast in the first three years. And keeping up with that growth can give you some sleepless nights. When you have the growth, you have to fund the growth and it can be really stressful! We’re in year six and we’re finally profitable and to a point where I’m not losing sleep every night. It’s a very long road.

TB: Biggest reward?

Learning! I started with what I thought was pretty good knowledge and background on business. But to get to where I am now, running this company has provided me with so much learning about how to work with people and how to give back to the community. That has been so rewarding.

TB: Looking back, is there anything you’d do differently?

JP: There’s a million things I’d do differently! But I wouldn’t go back and change it because the mistakes provided great learning experiences for us.

TB: What’s a typical day in your life like?

JP: Disorganized chaos! I leave at 6:30 a.m. to take my high schooler to school, and I’m at the office until 5:30 or 6 p.m. two or three times per week. The other days I leave at 3 p.m. Both of my daughters are competitive cheerleaders and gymnasts, so they spend four hours in the gym a night. So I leave work, grab dinner at home or takeout. (We sometimes eat in the car or at the gym!) Once we’re at the gym, I get my computer back out and work while they’re practicing. My life is work and their activities, and I think most parents can identify with that for older kids — your life is ruled by their activities. We get home at 8:30 p.m., they finish up their homework, have a snack and then it’s off to bed by 10 or 10:30. I usually work again until 12:30 a.m. The weekends are different. I might answer a few emails, but I really try to focus the weekends on the family.

TB: How do you think being a mother makes you a better businesswoman?

JP: You have employees that need you because they need a job and an income. And they may come to you with personal issues. Being a mom, I have compassion and care for people and care about making my company a family. But truthfully, all those things have made me a better mom because I can model those work situations to the girls now. When they come home and tell me they’re mad at someone I can say, “Well what was their perspective and how can you work with them?” I have a lot more patience. As moms, sometimes we’re, like, Patience, where is that?  That’s what has helped me.

Plus, more from The Bump:

The Truth About Being a Working Mom

A Day in the Life or a Work-at-Home Mom

18 Worst Things to Say to Working Moms

“I will ALWAYS want to work full-time!  I’ll NEVER stay at home with children!”

Yep. I said that prior to children. And now?  I’m eating my words.

Recently, my husband and I made the very significant decision that I would be quitting my job after having baby number two due at the end of December.

This decision came after much thought, postulating, and planning how we would make things work relying on only one income, even with my ability to supplement our income somewhat unreliably with small side-jobs. It came with sacrifice, in many areas. We don’t have cable television, and haven’t for over a year. We don’t buy each other or ourselves expensive gifts. We rarely eat out or go to movies. We buy most of what we own gently used and are very thrifty in what we do have to purchase new. The sacrifices, however, have been completely worth it for our family. To be candid — they really don’t even seem like sacrifices to either myself or my husband.

When I initially returned to work after having my first child, everyone said that it would get easier. The constant worrying about him, the sadness of missing out on what he was doing all day long, the little smiles I wouldn’t see throughout the day — it never got better for me. I found myself wishing I was home even more as he began to grow older, become more interactive, and gain the ability to recognize and verbalize his displeasure that I was gone for so long each day.

On my days off at home, it was easy to recognize that as a family we were all happier. No matter how tough the day could be with my small child at home, I was much happier being at home with him. Whether there were tears, food thrown on the floor, nap strikes, or any other events that make your day extremely tough as a stay at home parent, I always knew in my heart I’d choose the worst day with my son over the best day at work. On the great days at home, I realized that I would never grow tired of reading to my child, playing games with him, teaching him as much as I possibly could. While every mother needs adult time — I didn’t feel like I had to have a daily break from my child to be happy or successful. I completely understand the mothers that do, because some days staying at home with your child or children can be tough. But I just never felt that I needed that.

After six years of university and a master’s degree, I never thought I’d be in this place — but, here we are. I’ve always loved my job. Working in healthcare has been amazing for me, in that I love to help my patients and clients change their lives. My job as a speech pathologist has been extremely rewarding and fulfilling, in many ways. But, for me, it will never be able to make up for what I felt I was missing out on with my child during those times.

I’m extremely lucky to have the opportunity to be at home with my children more frequently than I was previously. I’m so lucky to have a spouse that supports my desires to do so. And I’m so lucky that I know what works for me and I’ve learned my path as a parent.

As mentioned above, as a parent, I’ve learned to never say never.

Because, most times, you end up eating your words.

How did you decide whether to work or to stay home?

Many women have asked me how I was able to work part-time. Maybe they want to see if such an arrangement would work for them. Maybe they’re just curious. Today, I’ll share how I went about getting this arrangement.

Financially feasible
The first step in this process was determining that it was financially feasible for us to do this. That meant determining if my husband and I could live with a reduced income — especially when you factor in the expenses of adding a child. We could.

Finding childcare
Even before the pregnancy test turned positive, I knew that I wanted my sister to watch my son while I was working. She’s a fabulous mother (one of the best that I know!) and I thought that there is no one better to step in while I was working. So I asked her if she’d be willing, knowing that my goal was to go to part-time hours. She was.

Do the research
My company has benefits policies on their Intranet, so I was able to know in general what my company’s policy was. But I also knew that working part-time isn’t typical and certainly isn’t guaranteed. Through their written policies, if I was able to go part-time, I knew that I’d still get full medical benefits and 401(k) matches. My vacation time would be pro-rated depending on how much I worked. That was fine by me as I wouldn’t need to take a full eight hours of accrued vacation time to take a day off anyway. We’re also on my husband’s insurance, so that also wasn’t a major factor, but it was good to know.

Announcing the news
I told my manager that I was expecting when I was about 17 weeks along. It wasn’t a serious conversation where we discussed if I was coming back after baby (although I told her that I was) — it was more of a “I’m pregnant! Yay!” conversation. Being a working mom herself (her children are in their early 20s), she was happy for me! I waited until later to have the part-time conversation.

Deciding what I wanted
In the meantime, my husband and I talked about what we ideally wanted. Truth be told, he didn’t have much of an opinion, so really this was me thinking about what I really wanted. How many hours a week did I want to work? How many days each week did I want to work? I decided that my Plan A was to work each day, but only work a partial day rather than work all day, a few days a week. I figured that way, I’d be able to stay on top of things at work, I’d be able to support my organization well, my daily routine wouldn’t fluctuate too much and my team at work would know what to expect. In addition, I thought of a few other schedules that I’d find acceptable, even if they weren’t my preference.

Putting together a proposal
Then I wrote it all down in a simple Microsoft Word document. I gave it a title like ‘Part-Time Proposal’. Fancy, eh?  Included in the document was:

• A timeline
• My goals
• A promise to be flexible
• Different schedule options
• Job responsibilities

The timeline was of when the baby was due, how much maternity leave I was taking, and when I thought I’d return to work. My goal was to work between 20 and 24 hours/week, depending on which schedule we worked out. I also wanted in writing that I knew I’d need to be flexible. Just as someone who works full-time might need to work overtime or the occasional evening or weekend, I knew that there would be times that I’d have to do the same — sometimes I can work from home and sometimes I knew I’d need to physically be there in the office.

In the different schedule options, I gave her the different pros and cons to each. At my company, we have regularly scheduled meetings, so I built the schedules around still being able to make as many of those as possible. I also asked for a trial period of three months to allow kinks to be worked out, so that either party could re-visit the plan after that time.

I knew one of the first questions that my manager would ask is “If it takes you about 40 hours/week to do your job now, what makes you think you can do it in 20-24 hours/week?” The answer: I can’t. There were things that I was doing before in my job that weren’t part of my job description (and were beyond the typical ‘other duties as assigned’), so that’s what I targeted to be dropped. It was time for those duties to be covered by other teams anyway.

Talking it over
Then I scheduled a meeting with my boss and gave her a head’s up on what I wanted to speak about. That allowed her to do some research of her own. When we met, I gave her my proposal and talked it over. We didn’t go over the schedules in detail, but she agreed to take it to the next level.

Over the next month or so, she did the legwork that she needed to get the ball rolling. She received approval from her management. She collected information from Human Resources and Payroll. I needed to negotiate my schedule with my development team (I’m in software design) since my manager didn’t care very strongly which schedule option I chose. That was up to the organization that I support — they needed to be happy with the level of support that I’d provide. I met with that management staff, and they thought my Plan A was best for them too. We had everything worked out six to eight weeks before my maternity leave started.

The results
I love it! In fact, it’s now been close to six months, and we never did the check-up to see if it’s still working out for me and the company — it’s going that well! My company pays me 40 percent less, but I work 40 percent less. I’m still completing my job requirements. For the most part, people respect my schedule. I do occasionally work from home to make an important afternoon meeting, but my company is very technology-savvy, and I can work from home almost as well as I can from in the office. My team knows that if they need an answer the same day, they have to get me the question by 11:00 a.m., otherwise, I’ll get to it the next day. They can always call me at home if something urgent happens (but it hasn’t happened yet!)

There are times decisions are made without me. It just happens when an issue comes up, and immediate direction is needed. But my team is great about informing me of the decision and being willing to reverse it if needed. I’ve been in my position almost three years now, so they’ve gotten to the point where they can usually predict what I’m going to want to do anyway!

Working part-time probably limits me. I’m not likely to be promoted to be a manager of a team. That’s okay — I don’t want that role anyway. They might hesitate to give me more responsibility. That’s okay — I made the intentional decision to hold steady on my career at this time to focus on my family a little more. It’s been well worth the cost. I think it’s perfectly understandable that a company would need someone full-time to take on those kinds of job functions. At this point in my life, that just isn’t me.

It really is working out beautifully and I’m very fortunate to work for a great company and with a great team!

Did you change your work situation when you became a parent? How did it work out?

For most couples, one of the first conversations they have when they start talking about babies is about money. Financially speaking, they wonder, what will life after baby look like? Can we afford it? What will it really cost?

My husband and I got married a little later in life than your average just-graduated-from-college-now-time-to-get-married couple. By the time we met, married and got the positive pregnancy test, we were in a great financial position. We’d both been in the workforce for at least a decade and in professional careers. The financial aspects of having a baby didn’t scare us like it would for other couples.

But the question still came up as to whether I’d continue to work once the baby was born. Growing up, I’d always thought I would be a stay-at-home someday. I have huge admiration for stay-at-home moms; they do great work by spending the majority of their hours shaping their children. Most of the stay-at-home moms that I know are super impressive women. I have a great respect for that!

We’d prepared financially for me to stay-at-home, but I decided to keep working after our son was born. Why? There are probably many reasons, but it boiled down to a few big ones:

1. I enjoy my job. If I didn’t, it would’ve been a no-brainer to stay at home.
2. We’re committed to a debt-free life.  Including mortgages. And I want a bigger house someday in a different school district. My income allows us to save up for that.
3. It’ll never be easier than now to work. Right now, I just have one child and he’s still really little. He likes it when other people hold him. He doesn’t mind being packed up in the morning to go to the babysitter’s. In a few years, that might not be the case.
4. It seems that most moms do earn an income of some kind. Not all stay-at-home moms do this, but quite a lot of them do. Maybe it’s working at home or teaching piano lessons or running a blog or selling make-up or doing bookkeeping for a small business, but many a mother does contribute to the household financially. I could do some of those things, sure, but they wouldn’t pay what my current job pays.
5. Most of all, my company let me step down to part-time hours. It’s a rare company that will let you do this and I know it would be difficult to find a company that would hire someone for just part-time.

At this stage in my life, working part-time is perfect for me! I’m able to spend more time with my son than I would otherwise. My son gets to take most of his naps in his own crib. When he gets older, I’ll be there to do most of the discipline and teaching. When he’s in school, I’ll be able to greet him at home with a juice box. I don’t feel rushed or stressed with home responsibilities. The house isn’t always spotless, but I’m comfortable with it. It isn’t a hardship to plan meals or do the grocery shopping. Our evenings and weekends aren’t spent catching up on chores and errands. And yet, I’m still able to contribute to my family’s financial well-being.

Will I always be a working mom? I don’t know! Right now, the trade-off is worth it. Working 24 hours a week for the pay that I receive is worth it. I honestly love my job, I have fantastic co-workers and a hugely flexible company, but being the best mother that I can be is of the utmost importance. I only get one chance to do this mothering thing. I don’t want to look back on my life and think “I wish I would have done something different.”

I know not all women have the same choice that I do. For their families, working full-time is a necessity. For other women, their careers are very gratifying to them and they can’t imagine not working full-time. And even if women do have a choice like I do, they make different choices than I do. And that’s great! For some women, they have no desire to work outside of the home. For others, they wouldn’t trade any time at home for any amount of money. Each family gets to make their own choice and this is ours. I want to live my life with no regrets and right now, working part-time is a decision that I don’t regret. To me, it seems the best of both worlds. And I love it!

How did you decide to stay-at-home, work full-time or work part-time post-baby?

Photo: Public Domain Pictures

When I get together with my working mom friends, we don’t always talk shop — especially if we work in different fields. So I was really intrigued at a recent press event when five moms, who all work on cars for Chevy, gave me a glimpse into exactly what they do for a living.

There was Suzy Cody, an aerodynamics engineer, who works with clay models of cars in a wind tunnel, figuring out how to make them more aerodynamic (read: fuel efficient). She’s a single mom of two boys, has blue hair and even skates roller derby — so fun!

Julie Kleinert, the child safety technical lead — and mom and grandma — makes sure the cars are safe for kids, and she even volunteers at car seat safety checks to help parents be sure their children’s car seats are installed correctly (what’s scary, she says, is three-fourths of them aren’t!).

Kara Gordon, lead acoustic noise engineer has a job that I never even knew existed. She works on blocking and absorbing noise inside the car (so you can actually hear what your kid is saying from the back seat and so you don’t have to crank your radio just to make out the lyrics). She’s the yogi of the bunch (and no, I didn’t make the early morning yoga session she invited me to, but it sounded awesome).

Tracy Mack-Askew, the vehicle line manager, basically runs the show, making sure the new car line is developed and launched on time. On top of all the travel for her job — over 40,000 miles in less than a year — she’s getting a master’s degree from Harvard and she makes it a rule to always pick up her two kids from school on Fridays, no matter what’s going on at work.

All these moms designed the new Chevy Malibu (which I also got to drive to the event– a pretty sweet ride!). And I’m so glad I got to know them. Go working moms!

Do you “talk shop” with your working mom friends? Do you ever wish you had one of their jobs instead of yours?

Plus, more from The Bump:

The Truth About Being a Working Mom

The Back-to-Work Guide for New Moms

Here’s to Having It All

These days, the career decisions women make when they’re pregnant go way beyond going back to work after baby or staying at home. In fact, some successful women are launching lucrative businesses while they’re expecting. And even though a baby on the way can put a few extra, um, bumps in the road, they’re doing it and doing it well.

Check out this article from The New York Times about a few of these business-savvy moms — one of of them is the co-founder of our company (the main photo was taken just steps away from our desks!). You may be inspired to start your own company too!

Did you make any big career decisions while you were pregnant? How much of it was influenced by your pregnancy?

Plus, more from The Bump:

The Back-to-Work Guide for New Moms

How to Find a Flexible Work Situation

Maternity Leave Checklist