By the time I was in my early 30s, before my infertility journey began, I had already kicked some career goals and achieved some of my life-long dreams. Owning and running my own boutiques, and being a part of the management team for Versace on the Gold Coast, was incredible. Then I embarked on a new journey with the largest department store in Australia, David Jones Ltd, where I was an Executive Manager by the age of 33. I worked long hours each day, often on weekends, and it was high-pressure and high-intensity - but I loved it. I didn’t think I was stressed out at all. Of course, in hindsight, such jobs are always stressful and can show in many different ways without you being consciously aware of it.

 

After almost a decade of infertility and IVF treatments, my husband and I got pregnant thanks to the offer of donor eggs and a fourth round of IVF. During this time, I had changed my diet and lifestyle to aid my chances of getting pregnant, and my interest in health and nutrition grew. I even studied and was certified as a nutritional coach at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition.

I had so much time to think about things while on my 9 year fertility journey, that by the time I was in my late 30’s I really began to think about life as a mother and what I truly wanted for myself and my baby (not realizing at the time I would have twins of course). As I thought about returning to the corporate world down the road, I began to realize that role didn’t look so appealing from a mother’s point of view. 

 

And then it dawned on me: there were not many mums in management positions. Many (not all) women who successfully climb the corporate ladder, including myself up until that point, become married to their careers. I no longer wanted that for myself.

 

I wanted more freedom to be at home with my baby if I was given a chance to have that. I wanted to watch them grow up, after all I had waited so long! I made the decision to start my own business on the side to take the steps to transition to self-employment. And with that, BossLady Lifestyle Movement came to life.

Where did the name come from? It was really pretty logical for me:

 

BossLady: This is what I was

Lifestyle: This is what I craved and desired, especially if I was to become a mum

Movement: From the corporate world, to being my own boss (moving away from my normal)

 

BossLady Lifestyle Movement. It seemed to perfectly explain who I was and my position, and, I think, also explains why many mums are leaving behind the corporate world to become entrepreneurs.

 

Women are not afraid of hard work. As anyone who starts their own business knows, even compared to long hours at the office, entrepreneurship is no walk in the park. But I do think when many women begin their careers, they are not thinking of a future family and are not choosing careers that compliment a family lifestyle. In hindsight, knowing I wanted to be a mum, I certainly didn’t choose my career wisely - hence my eventual move to entrepreneurship.

Today more than ever, young people are feeling the pressure to be successful. With social media showing highlight-reels of everyone’s lives, it’s difficult not to wonder, “What career will allow me to travel more?”, “How can I earn enough money to afford luxury brands?”. And it is OK to want to be a successful businesswoman and go after those goals. In my experience and, I believe, in the experience of many others, it proves to be virtually impossible to reach executive levels in the office and also have a family. Yes, women do this but for me this is not the life I dreamt about.

Instead, I think this is why women are choosing to be their own boss and be executives in their own business. Women are choosing entrepreneurship in order to enjoy family life. This was certainly the case for me.

 

I’m curious - do you have a family and your own business? Would you like to leave the corporate world to have more freedom?

Let me know in the comments! I’d love to hear your stories.

 

Nyomi xx