SPEAKER_01: 0:00

Maternity leave brings this really, really unique space for moms to become creative again in their business. We're not going to launch a brand new thing during maternity leave. Map it out. What can be manual? What can be automated? What can be paused and what can be scheduled? What do you want? Not what the world wants of you, not what you feel like you should want, but like what do you

SPEAKER_00: 0:21

want for your maternity leave? Welcome back to the Be Her Village podcast. I'm your host, Caitlin Magreas. I'm a doula, a mom of three, and I'm the founder of Be Her This is the podcast where we talk about the real cost of having a baby, not just the dollars and cents, but the emotional, physical, and logistical support it takes to truly thrive in pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. Today's episode is part two of my conversation with Hannah Vasquez, founder of Your Favorite VA. We're diving into something so many entrepreneurs struggle with. How do you take a real maternity leave when you run your own business? We talk about preparing your business for maternity leave and how it can be a lot like nesting in your home, cleaning out what no longer serves you and preparing yourself for life with baby. Make sure you subscribe to our podcast so you don't miss any episodes. And if you're a parent or parent-to-be, I want to make sure to mention Be Her Village. It's a free gift registry tool that helps you build a maternity leave fund or funds for the other supports you need in the postpartum time. for things like doulas, postpartum care, meals, and more. Instead of more baby stuff at your baby shower, you can ask your people to give you what you actually need to thrive. Check it out in the show notes. Enjoy this conversation with Hannah.

SPEAKER_01: 1:51

I feel selfish. I can't take a maternity leave. I'm bringing in income, and so why would I pay for a maternity leave? Or it's even... I can pop on, like I work from home and the baby's just going to be sleeping anyways. So I can do that. And it's like, well, you could, but should you? Like, is that serving you best? Is that serving your family best? Is that even serving your business best? Because you may be sending an email at 2 a.m. And the next morning you're like, why did I agree to that? Like, that was 2 a.m., Hannah. That is not... 9 a.m. I've had a cup of coffee, Hannah. Like, so I think that's a big part of the entrepreneur gets in her own head

SPEAKER_00: 2:37

and

SPEAKER_01: 2:38

allows like some of those. Just again, like some of those pressures and unrealistic expectations to kind of compound. So I would say that's a big thing. But then from there, if you can move past that. it's actually really, really doable. Because if you look at a lot of our businesses, a lot of them are like task oriented in a way. And it's like, we're going to let you have your maternity leave. We're going to come up with the plan even before you go. So we can batch things. We can automate things. We can schedule things out. And like the parts of your business, like if you're a coach, yeah, there's like that personal touch of you that But let's get creative and think through different ways that we can just have your maternity leave, like have it coast. You know, we're not going to launch a brand new thing during maternity leave because we do need you for that. Like, you are your business. But like, We can bring people in to make sure they're checking in on your clients. We can bring people in to make sure that that social media post that was scheduled before you left actually went out. We can follow up on emails and just say like, hey, so and so is on maternity leave, but how can I help you? Like, those are all doable. And I think maternity leave brings this really, really unique space for moms to become creative again in their business. You get to stop, pause, and rethink your whole business. It's actually in my maternity leave guide. It's called We Map It Out. So we're going to go through everything in your business. What needs to be manually done? What needs to be automated? What do you want to pause? This is also a really good time. If there are things in your business you're like, I don't like doing it or this is not turning out the way I wanted or I just want to stop it. Great. Let's pause that. Like this is a really, really good time to like to prune everything, whatever you want to do. And then whatever we can schedule ahead of time. Let's schedule those new newsletters. Let's schedule that social media posts. Let's schedule anything that we can. And we can create something new. So maybe it's you create a mini course. Maybe it's you start to record some of your calls for trainings. Whatever it is, we can do that. And we can make sure the lights are still on in your business while you're on a maternity leave. So I think that's the big part is like you got to get out of your head however you can. Bring other mom entrepreneurs around you to help you see that. And then... brain dump and then like map it out what can be manual what can be automated what can be paused and what can be scheduled if you can break it down into those steps it's going to help a lot and then there may be like this miscellaneous section you're like i don't i don't know this is what i have i don't know how like what this works how this goes okay great at least we know here's this bucket that we don't know what to do with but we can create a plan and a system around it but you're holding a lot right now. You're thinking about your family. You're trying to figure out, do I set up the nursery now or later? Like, did I remember to pack my kids lunch? And you know, you're thinking of all these things. So it can be hard just to be able to see the bigger picture because you're focused on all the little tasks right now. So I would say like, that's been just a huge roadblock of what I've noticed. And again, like once we can figure out like, what do you want? Not what the world wants of you, not what you feel like you should want, but what do you want for your maternity leave? What are your roadblocks? How can we map out your business? Then we can come up with those next steps, whether that's bringing in help, whether that is, yeah, I'm going to pause some of this stuff, or I'm going to launch this before I go on maternity leave, and that's going to be another source of income while I'm out. Passive income is going

SPEAKER_00: 6:48

to become your best friend. Yeah. So Hannah, I'm listening to you. And as a business owner, as an entrepreneur, as someone who works at this every day, what you're talking about is what we should be doing in our businesses anyway. And it's almost like when... You going on maternity leave, you know how you nest while you're pregnant, how you nest and you like wash the walls and you clean under the bed and you clean out under your dresser and you like go through every drawer and you get rid of all this stuff that you've been holding on to. And it's not that you've been holding on to it in a like in an angsty kind of way. You're holding on to it because you just haven't looked at it in a while. And when we purge and we nest and we lighten and we make sure everything's in its place in our house, think about how good that feels. I have been purging in my house, like spring cleaning, right? My kid's spring break is next week and we've been just like ripping through the house and like, you know, vacuuming and dust bunning, like all the corners that haven't been touched and all the kids' dressers. And we've been taking garbage bags full of stuff out of our house that like We didn't have a bunch of garbage around our house. It's just the purge has happened. And- Anytime. It's one of my favorite things to do. But that purge, the lightness that happens after that physical purge in a home where like literally the home feels lighter, it feels cleaner and everyone knows where things go and how they operate and all of our processes and systems and routines and rituals have go easier and smoother now. Putting laundry away is easier. Putting, you know, cleaning up before bedtime for my kids easier because there's just less stuff and everything feels great. That same principle of what we're doing to our homes has to be done for our businesses. And it's sort of like spring cleaning. It has to happen whether or not you are pregnant, but it definitely happens when you're pregnant, right? It like, I love that. It's your business. Yeah. Yes. It's deep cleaning. It's spring cleaning for your business. And it, it helps you get, I like to call it debris because we find it all the time at Beer Village. Like there's just like these things that you create and maybe stop working on, or it wasn't the thing. And it's just there. And like, there's just these little leftover things that you can tidy up. And, and this moment of introspection, which is not always comfortable And it also doesn't always feel like the important thing to do. It's actually so important to sit and take an honest look at your business and look at where the money is coming in and look at where your time is going. And if those things are not aligned so that your time is optimized and your revenue is optimized, then you're not doing this right. And it can be uncomfortable because sometimes our, and I'm speaking really from personal experience here, but sometimes the thing that we think is important is actually not... It's taking up the most amount of time and it's not bringing in revenue. It's not actually like... And... I'm speaking in revenue because we're talking about entrepreneurs, but for mom-based and mom-focused and business, it's impact. If it's not making revenue, it's not being impactful, and it's not helping your business grow. It's not sustaining your family. It's not giving you back that energy. At the end of the day, and I've had a long and still ever-evolving relationship around money, which is probably a whole other podcast episode we should talk about, is this- It is an energy exchange. When I'm pouring into my business, when I'm spending all this time on this task, and it's not bringing back the energy that I need to go live my life and be the mom I want to be and be the breadwinner I want to be and afford my family the luxuries that I would like us to have, there's something really off balance there. And so what an incredible opportunity that maternity leave offers us. And I have to say, like, or maternity leave, but also just like birth. Like, I feel so strongly after being at hundreds of births as a doula, after just supporting all these families, like, birth is this incredible thing because it just... puts us under the microscope it puts us to the test our bodies are physically tested our relationships are tested our self-care is more vital than it's ever been our birth oh it just it unfolds us in really uncomfortable ways and really beautiful ways depending on the work we've done you know the trauma that comes up the trauma that happens the beauty the joy it's all wrapped up and the fact that it also can do that for our business that it gives us this opportunity Thank you so much. how can we optimize this so that we don't need to be a hundred percent hands-on all the time? That feels like a big deal. And it feels like a big deal that moms should be doing with their businesses, whether they're about to have a baby or not. Like I want to go like do this for my business, even though I'm not having a maternity leave anytime soon slash ever again, because I'm done having my babies. It's like, yes, everybody should be doing this. This is such a big deal, Hannah. I told moms

SPEAKER_01: 12:09

like, While we're prepping for your maternity leave, it is going to be the most, your business will be the most organized it has ever been because it does, it forces you to, okay, hey, I mapped out my business now. I'm going to create those SOPs. I'm going to have these plans. And then what's really nice is you get your business to the spot where it's like, okay. It's set. It's ready. So then when you come back, if you decide, like, I need to hire some help. Like, I've got this newborn. I've got this. I've got that. Now you can hire a VA and be like, here are the SOPs. There you go. Like, it just creates this. But even back to what you're saying, like, just what having a baby, like this new birth experience, like what it brings for you, I think at least this is what it did for my husband and I. It had us stop and reevaluate every single aspect of our life because we had something bigger than ourselves to live for. Like, we have to be our best for this baby. We need to have these systems and routines in place for our baby and everything. Gosh, this is even going back to things you said earlier, like the female entrepreneur and how if you look at most of them, I'm not going to say all of them because I haven't talked to all of them. But if you look at most of them, they've either started a business for their babies or because of their babies, because they wanted the flexibility because they didn't want to be told what to do anymore. And they wanted to be at every soccer game and every game. I don't know, play, whatever. My baby is still a baby. So I don't

SPEAKER_00: 13:47

know. You don't know what the mom is

SPEAKER_01: 13:48

doing, but you know, they seem very busy. They do. And I know you are, but like you wanted to go to the park. You wanted to do all these things. Yeah. So a female entrepreneur in her business, it is so powerful because of their why and the root of their why it is their family and it is their babies. And that's why I'm like, take this maternity leave. Like your business was built for this, right? For this moment. And just because you're able to take a maternity leave and your business is able to function without you doesn't mean it doesn't need you. And I don't know about you, but like that's a fear for me. I don't know if you're into Enneagram. I'm an Enneagram 2 with a strong wing 3. But like I need to be needed. I want to be needed. Like any way you need me, I'm

SPEAKER_00: 14:34

here. I'm here. I'm really okay not being needed. I've never felt more needed in my life being a mother. I'm like, could you guys need me slightly less? And

SPEAKER_01: 14:43

that's like, even there are times I'm like, I need a break from my son. And so like, my parents are amazing. They'll take them. And I'm like, but does he need me? Like, right. Don't you love me? And then when he's like, no, you can leave. I'm like, okay. My heart just fell apart, but that's fine. But like, I don't know for some of these moms out there, the idea of leaving their business, does that mean my business doesn't need me? And if so, yeah. then like, why am I doing this? And it's like, no, no, no, no. Your business can function without you, but it needs you. It like, you are the heartbeat of your business and your reason why is why your business is successful.

SPEAKER_00: 15:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 15:26

Why behind it? And like, nothing's stronger than a mother's love. We both know that. And so if that's at the root of our businesses and us taking a maternity leave is allowing us just to like, water that plant, like to keep filling up that cup, that's gonna, our business is going to be the overflow of that. And our clients are going to feel that the world is going to feel that. And I think that's just going to be such an incredibly powerful thing. It already is like you see it. And there's nothing greater than like, women coming together and supporting one another and loving one another and connecting and like, yeah, we get it. We are We're crazy and chose to enter like this beautiful chaos of motherhood and entrepreneurship, but we wouldn't change it for the world. Because look at what it's giving us and what it's giving others.

SPEAKER_00: 16:16

Right. One of my earlier mentors in my business, he told me like probably the third time we ever met, he said, You have to work on your business, not in your business. And it was such an important mindset switch because we can feel as business owners and as moms and as women who sort of like feel like we have to take everything on. We can feel like I have to work in the business. I have to answer the email. I have to fulfill the order. I have to book the call. I have to like everything sort of these like little tasky things have to get done. And it's true. They have to happen. It's not necessarily by us, though. What we as CEOs, as founders, as business owners need to do is we need to work on our business. We need to think about where am I growing my impact? Where am I growing my revenue? What partnership am I executing? What is the market looking like? Where's the next space I'm moving into? What's my next offer? What's my next thing that's happening? And that is working on your business. And you cannot work in your business 100% of the time doing all the little tasky things and also work on your business. And I have found that so many times that we're– and I'm about to take a week and a day off and I know my business is going to grow so much both while I'm away because somehow the energetic shift– my business always does very well when I step away from it. I do have a team that helps move it forward. Maybe I'm holding them back the rest of the time. Nobody knows. It's okay. And– And also when I come back with my cup full and my brain in the background, thinking about my business and connecting dots in this really relaxed state that I get into when I'm away from my business, focusing on my family, focusing on myself, having alone time, whatever I'm doing, it, it grows. I come back with new energy, with new invigoration, with new ideas and with a different idea of like where we should steer the ship. And so, Part of it is that, right? The best case as an owner and a business owner and an entrepreneur is we have to grow our business and we have to keep growing our impact. And the way to do that is not by doing every single task. It's not. Maternity leave and entrepreneurship, it's almost like using this opportunity as a way to do the things in our business we might have needed to do the whole time. You like cleaning out the sock drawer, right? And like vacuuming under your dresser. Like you needed to do that the whole time. And now you have an excuse to. And I think it's absolutely brilliant.

SPEAKER_01: 19:05

And I think like, goodness, even what you're talking about, like taking time away and you have a team. I think there are like... different stages of leadership there is the leader that's like in front of like we're going this way let's go team um but then that's only going to get you so far if you're doing all like you're doing all the work and then you have your team behind you and they're like hi like we're here we want to help you and you're like nope we're going this way and you're in front of them so you're constantly looking back wondering what they're doing and you're like well i gotta keep my eyes forward otherwise we're gonna fall back um But I think like two of the best places a leader can be is either alongside or behind. Or alongside, you're working in that team and it's like, hey guys, like let's do this together. Let's move forward together. Here's the thought, but I'm right here next to you and we're going to do this. And then I think like the sweet spot for a leader is when they are able to move from the side and go in the back and say, no, go. Yes. Move it forward. I trust you. I believe in you. You got this. Let's go. And so then you're in the back and you're still able to steer, but you're able to see other people doing it. And you're able to steer by paying attention to the market, partnerships, collaborations, and you're able to do the bigger picture things while they're in the weeds. And they want to be in the weeds. Like that's why the role of a VA, it's like, We want to take those tedious tasks that you all hate. We want to do them for you because we believe in you and in your business. And if you're stuck in all of that, you're going to get tangled up. We need you to be able to be like that blue sky thinker and dream all the dreams and then we'll help those dreams come true. But you can't dream those dreams if your head is filled with, did I respond to that email? Did I book this? Did that invoice get paid? Did this happen? Did that happen? Like... your brain can only hold so much. That is absolutely true. Did I feed my kids? What did they eat? I don't even remember. Or did they just eat applesauce because that's the only thing they would eat today? Like, you know, it's, there's so much and that mental load is such a real, real thing. And

SPEAKER_00: 21:20

that is an important point that I feel like we have not touched on yet. And I would, I do not want to sign off until we touch on it, which is, Which is that I think one of the reasons why moms might not plan a proper maternity leave for their business is because, especially if it's their first go around, but also we have a way of forgetting even for the second and third, is we don't realize how much mental and physical and emotional and spiritual energy taking care of a newborn takes, especially after giving birth ourselves. Honestly, Take the newborn out of it for one second. Just remove them from the room. Taking care of ourselves after birth is such an endeavor. Like the body is doing things the body's never done before. The body is leaking and there's new liquids and feelings. This

SPEAKER_01: 22:14

could

SPEAKER_00: 22:14

happen. It's like a whole experience. And that's a recovery all on its own. Then add that newborn back in. You have to feed it. You have to take care of it. You have to like worry about it. You have to look at it. It's like the whole, you I know there's this whole you're falling in love with it. Then add in like you're not sleeping, right? There might be an older child in the house. Everyone's adjusting. It's a huge endeavor. And so- It literally takes 24 hours a day to take care of that baby. And I loved how you said it. I'm trying to get through the next 10 minutes. That's how most of us in that newborn time, we're trying to get through the next 10 minutes through the feeding, through the diaper change, through the 10 minute awake window you get in the very early days, through trying to get them down for their next nap, through trying to take a shower, trying to pee alone. Like there's just, let alone looking and making eye contact with your partner, let alone cooking a meal, let alone eating a meal. I mean, it's, The task of taking care of a newborn is, in my opinion, harder than any professional job out there. And, like, listen, I'm sure there's exceptions. And please tell me all of the exceptions. Tell me what jobs you're doing. Write into me and tell me the job you're doing that's harder than motherhood. I will concede the point if it's valid. But, like, I think that's a fair generalization to make. And that is part of it is, like, you– Can't really anticipate how difficult, lovely, wonderful, enjoy every moment. Sure. But like, it's hard. Taking care of a newborn is hard. Taking care of a newborn after giving birth is hard. Taking care of a newborn after giving birth while running your business, it's near impossible. And without taking... the steps to set yourself up with support, a proper maternity leave, the care that you need for yourself, the care you need for your household, for the rest of your family, for your pets, for your own recovery and nourishment. Like you have to do this planning in order to get through that hole and to actually be able to enjoy it, which we should. We should enjoy it. It's really hard. But like if you set that up for yourself, it's it's not it's it's supposed to be hard. It's not supposed to be torture. Like there's a

SPEAKER_01: 24:25

balance. It's And I mean, it's hard, but like the benefits are unmatched when, you know, when you see that first smile or they open up their eyes and they look at you, you're like melting inside as you should, because this is your that you're holding. And something I've told some clients, it's like, okay, it's going to feel like a lot of work beforehand because it kind of is, you're running a business, you're creating the SOPs, you're going through this process, but But, and we know this because growing up, our parents told us this. If you already have kids, you're telling your kids this. It's like you work hard now to reap the reward later. And so it's, oh my goodness, if you, and this is why you can have help. Like if we can together set this up for you so you are able to actually detach for your maternity leave, You are, like, the way that you are loving yourself, your baby, your business, your family, anything, it's so good. And the last thing you want to be worrying about is, like, the hormones are kicking in, you're crying, and you don't know why. Your baby is crying, and they don't know why. The whole household is crying, and no one knows why, but you were supposed to be on a meeting 10 minutes ago, and you're like, no. Like... I'm still wearing my diaper and I'm crying and I need to change my baby's diaper and my baby's crying. I can't jump on a meeting right now. The best gift you can give yourself is maternity leave. And again, you don't have to prove anything. You don't have to earn it. It's not a matter of can you handle it or not. And if you can't, then that means I'm not enough. It's not any of those things. It's the mere fact of you... You are in the thick of it, and this is one way that you can just love yourself. And that's okay. It's not selfish. Maternity leave, it's not a vacation. It's not that. And if you want a vacation, take the dang vacation. Like, someone was telling me that... The way I mother best is by caring for myself. Because if I get low on that self-care, then that ripples out into my mothering. And if my daughter can see the way that I care for myself, the way that I fill my cup, and that I see value in myself enough to do those things, then that's going to communicate to herself. I have value. I have worth. It's okay for me to want to rest. It's okay for me to want to care for myself because I'm important too. And so our kids are going to look back and see these things, whether, I mean, our babies aren't going to remember maternity leave, but they're going to hear us talk about it. They're going to see the patterns that we exhibit in our life from the moment they're born for the rest of their lives. And so what do we want to show our kids? I don't want my son to grow up thinking he has to prove himself all the time and that he has to earn every thing that... Things that don't need to be earned. Things that are just like, no, this is like a basic human

SPEAKER_00: 27:35

right. Like, this is something... You don't want him to think that he has to earn rest. Like, you earn it by giving birth. You earn it by having a newborn. You earn it by existing. Absolutely. Basic human rights and things that are part of rituals for... eons and every other culture and ancient cultures had rituals around rest right that you don't want our kids because I hear I heard that moment in that where you're like wait no I do want him to know he has to earn things right it's like you're not just gonna get everything

SPEAKER_01: 28:08

handed to you but like things like this it's like different no you earned it the second Again, the second you decide you're going to start trying for that baby, you earned this maternity leave. The second you saw the two pink lines, you earned it. Through the nine months of however it was for me, it was not great. But you

SPEAKER_00: 28:29

earned it. You gave birth. You earned it. And not for nothing, just to be inclusive here, you also earned it if you adopted or had a surrogate or fostering. We've had moms on Beer Village that fostered and had a whole registry and got all the support because they were fostering a newborn. The newborn, I think, is the or the kid or the adjustment. It is It is wildly difficult and we do deserve it. And I think it's such an important note and one that's really great to end on this idea that like of all the things we discussed, you deserve to have this and you deserve to have it all, right? You don't have to choose between work and family. You don't have to choose between your business and rest. You can have all of those things. Hannah, thank you so much for coming and having this conversation. Can you please tell us how to be in touch with you If someone's listening to this and thinking to themselves, well, okay, first of all, I'm not even having a baby and I want to do what Hannah's doing. I want to spring clean my business. Let's talk about that. But also, how can someone who is an entrepreneur who falls into that 40% of people who can't access any of the FMLA, short-term disability, any of the current measures that we have for maternity leave, how can they have you help them create a maternity leave? How are they going to get in touch with you?

SPEAKER_01: 29:54

Absolutely. I think the best way is follow me on Instagram, your favorite VA. That's where I run a majority of my business. So that's where you can find my newsletter. Get on there. That's where we're putting up our services, any... Any discounts, specials, or just information about maternity leave, it's all right there. And we have different offerings. So I know each mom is different. Some of them are like, I just want to go at my own pace. I need some help. Or please just do the whole thing for me. We have all that. We have a maternity leave guide. That is a great first step. And it walks you through these steps of even financial planning, mapping out your business, email communication with clients and like, what do I send? When do I send it? Here's a timeline, a checklist. All of that is there. That is, I would say, the number one best place to start. And then going through that, if you're like, please talk to me, please, I need to verbally process. Let's set up a strategy call. And then from there, if you're like, okay, just girl, Run, run it. Then great. We have a service where we will do your maternity leave on your terms. So it's completely customizable. We'll come in before your due date so we can learn your business. Then we will run your maternity leave for however long you choose. And then my favorite part is we help you reintegrate back in. So it's not going to be that whiplash of yesterday I was on maternity leave. Today I'm back in full-time work. No, no, no, no, no. Like we're going to create that plan together and we will help you for a for you to settle back in and get used to whatever this new life is going to look like for you.

SPEAKER_00: 31:38

Check out the show notes. All of her links are there. If you want to do this on your own, her guide is worth every single penny. It has all the things you need to think through for your business, but she also offers hands-on help. You can consult with her or you can hire her to take over and take a full-blown maternity leave. She's incredible and doing really, really important work. I hope today's episode and our conversation gave you not only the tools you need to think about creating maternity leave, but also the permission to rest and plan and prioritize yourself both as a parent, but also as a business owner. Don't forget to hit subscribe and leave us a review. Every review helps us gain more visibility with the parents and birth workers that need to hear this information. I really, really appreciate you supporting us in that way. If you're thinking about how you're We are here. I am here to make sure that happens. Thank you so much for listening. Catch you next week with more Be Her Village podcast.