Organic living has a stigma. Organic pregnancy? Even more so. Layering on entrepreneurship to our natural birth plans meant that socially we were certifiably crazy.
Finding a like-minded parent CEO group would have been everything to us in those starter moments of parenthood + business ownership when we felt like we were being judged for EVERY. LITTLE. THING.
We could have used some solidarity from parents who shared similar values right at the beginning — like prepping a non-toxic home for a future baby to come into, or editing our career towards entrepreneurship to help us be home with those future babies more, or transitioning to more plant-based nutrition so that our bodies could do what they were meant to do naturally without medication.
Just the decision to start a family is a BIG ONE.
The decision to start an organic family is ANOTHER.
The decision to support them through entrepreneurship is YET ANOTHER.
And while considered unconventional now, organic preconception, pregnancy, parenthood + entrepreneurship are the most normal experiences on the planet.
We shouldn’t feel broken or weird going into our pregnancies; we should feel supported that we’re great parents by nature. We shouldn’t feel reckless or irresponsible for going into entrepreneurship; we should feel supported that we’re visionaries who see a way to do better + are taking action.
Mitigating that stress by having supportive relationships that get you because they’ve been there, done that — is a priceless gift you can give you + your family.
But in case you need more reasons than that to join a parent CEO group ahead of pregnancy, here they are:
No. 1 — Fertility isn’t always easy.
This can be hard to remember when you’re in the thick of trying a bunch of cycles in a row, then maybe a bunch of ovulation tests + pregnancy tests + all the other tests, tests, tests…
When you’re trying to conceive, timing up that “magic window” can be both a physically + emotionally exhausting experience — for you + your partner.
So surrounding yourself with people who might have had similar experiences to you is helpful towards a more peaceful preconception.
Knowing you’re not alone with true proof of real parents’ stories is way more meaningful in those moments than just reading some bland fertility facts on the internet.
And if + when you decide to take the pressure off of yourself with all of that timing + testing, having a like-minded vote of confidence to take a break can feel like such a huge gift.
Give that gift to yourself — whether you need to open it or not.
No. 2 — Pregnancy can bring out the worst in your immediate circle.
You know that saying about how you see people’s true colors around weddings + babies? Not-so-fortunately, we’ve personally found that to be true.
Suddenly, you may find that people you haven’t talked to in weeks (or years!) feel they’re entitled to your most intimate relationship, fertility + pregnancy details.
You may find that opinions start running rampant. Even the most well-meaning of people are coming across as just straight up mean.
[Related: Setting Boundaries is an Act of Love]
Or you may find yourself researching if pregnancy hormones are translatable to your parents, your siblings, your in-laws, your aunts, uncles, cousins + grandparents…
(Let us spare you the leg work: they aren’t!)
And if + when that time comes, you might want a safe place to vent with people who can swap similar stories + offer thoughtful suggestions on how to keep your relationships on-track before bringing a baby on-board.
No. 3 — Google is an overwhelming place for researching, expectant parents.
To start, there’s an abundance of information on parenthood + entrepreneurship available to you.
And it’s in no particular order with no particular credibility.
Then, there’s the fact that Google announced it would be censoring the more holistic, traditional, organic health content from its search results (regardless of how many people are genuinely asking + searching for it).
So, if you came by this post by way of Google, you should go play the lottery! Because the odds of that are SLIM these days!
“Dr. Google” is our generation’s default go-to for health info, but now the information is admittedly skewed.
You might agree that asking experienced parents who have already done their own organic research might be a more efficient way to curate unbiased knowledge for your family.
Save yourself the virtual digging. It’s getting harder + harder to uncover.
No. 4 — Postpartum depression is at an all-time high.
The same is true for postpartum anxiety + postpartum depletion.
Then, with being the CEO of your own business + needing some natural parental leave time off as a human being, we’re primed for an added layer of overwhelm from leaving our “business baby” if we’re not well-prepared.
Getting out in front of those experiences by building a virtual village is one of the best ways to support yourself next to hiring out a physical village!
Friendships can help hold you accountable to your mental wellness + could act as an informal screener for those postpartum challenges, too. Some of the warning signs start to show in pregnancy for some moms, too, which is all the more reason to have a bit of a safety net in place.
[Disclaimer: a parent CEO group can ever take the place of a qualified mental health professional.]
When that physical village isn’t affordable or available to you in the middle of a prenatal appointment or even later during a late-night baby feed, that virtual village is affordable + accessible to you if you’ve enrolled in advance. It’ll be right at your fingertips on your smartphone.
No. 5 — Modern working parents have different challenges today compared to our older parents.
Maternity leave in the US is a far cry from what it should be in supporting the work-outside-the-home mom.
Paternity leave is no better, either.
Brainstorming an individualized solution for your unique family is imperative + grandma + grandpa just aren’t necessarily the people to ask these days.
You’re also not likely to want to leave those financially supporting decisions to the last minute, or to trial-and-error.
Joining a virtual parent CEO group means you’re in the company of parents who are in companies + who own companies. And that diverse group is important to have access to because the fact is that most families require 2 incomes to provide.
Figuring out that financial stability before you’re pregnant helps mitigate a potentially exorbitant amount of stress off of you, your relationship + your baby. This makes for a significantly healthier pregnancy experience for everyone (including your bank account).
We’d love to know: what are your preconception considerations?
Consider doing yourself a favor by joining a parent CEO group in advance, so that it’s one less distraction from your organic pregnancy + entrepreneurship goals.
The good news is that what wasn’t available to us then is now available to you. We’ve built the community we wished we had going into our organic parenthood as entrepreneurs. And you’re invited!
Our community is completely private — no ads, no information tracking, no censorship EVER + it’s full of accessible resources for you in a private app off of Facebook, like:
- quarterly LIVE planning workshops,
- monthly family-centered operations masterclasses,
- weekly community chats
+ so much more. We would love to see you there.