By Ellie Cachette (Founder & CEO, ConsumerBell)
Running a startup is demanding — long hours, last-minute changes to tasks and projects, fast-paced days and zero time to myself. Stress levels can stay at a permanent HIGH setting for months -– even years. Sometime it feels as if I already have a newborn.
“Oh, you have time!”
I hear that often when asked about babies. But the truth is: time evaporates. Seasons change, projects launch and when honed in on a mission, time goes by even faster.
Sheryl Sandberg, the chief operating officer at Facebook, spoke earlier this year about the working woman’s dilemma, “Don’t leave before you leave”, and how women who don’t take on promotions and more authority at work in preparation of becoming a mom end up professionally sabotaging themselves.
What about the women who take on more professionally both pre-pregnancy and during?
In April 2011, Paige Craig stated in a highly-controversial blog post called “Putting Women First” that running a startup requires so much dedicated energy that some investors actually pass on women entrepreneurs in general due to the risk of pregnancy and the effects on a company’s growth.
While the post received detailed attention across the tech industry and sparked countless debates on-and-offline, Craig’s statement raises some interesting questions regarding the balanced breakdown of household responsibilities and raising a family.
So who says in the future, stay-at-home dads won’t be the rarity -– but rather the norm? Who says companies are so reliant on one particular employee’s role that motherhood could interfere with the destiny of an entity?
When I last went to the dentist for a cleaning, my dentist and I began to map out any work that needed to be done in the next five years or so to get it wrapped up within the next few years instead of five. Why? One, because I’m a planner, but more importantly, it’s best to have most dental work done pre-pregnancy.
Do I want to become pregnant tomorrow? No, but between balancing a hectic work schedule and prepping my home for a new arrival, I want to minimize any items or health concerns that I need to be worried about.
What’s the point?
If you can run a company and execute project plans, you can also successfully manage and phase into motherhood.
There’s a new generation and we’re conquering motherhood and careers in new ways our moms never would have imagined.
This post was originally posted at BabyCenter blog.
About the guest blogger: Ellie Cachette is Founder and CEO of ConsumerBell, helping companies and parents manage recalls while keeping kids safe. Recognized by the California State Senate as an “Outstanding Educator” in AIDS and Public health in 1997, Ellie has been an active supporter in the campaign to cure AIDS and promote healthy living. Ellie is a product safety junkie and strong advocate of Women 2.0, a Silicon Valley organization dedicated to empowering female entrepreneurs.
