How to Prepare your business for Maternity Leave + Tips!

I am so thankful for God's timing. Our pregnancy was unpredictable and the Lord is good in his timing. I do have to be honest though it toke some adjustment at first. My husband and I had just moved from Providence, Rhode Island to Rochester, NY. We didn't have a home yet and I didn't have a job lined up because I was focused on pushing my blog/youtube full time and building a business. Well like I said God is good in his timing. 

We moved in December 2018 and I got pregnant in January! We weren't really focused on trying because our lives were hectic from moving back and settling in. 

To be more honest we didn't have much alone time together so you could imagine to my surprise when I started to feel a little funny in that first month of pregnancy. I didn't realize I was pregnant until towards the end of February and I was both in shock and pure joy! 







I have changed many ways during this pregnancy by focusing more on actionable steps in my business/brand, learning to plan better and learning grace. In the beginning it was a struggle. I was tired, had a hard time focusing and remembering things and being efficient. But i wanted to share all this with you guys to show you that this all takes time and its a process. My first trimester was a mess and my second trimester was a great learning curve and my third is where I am focused on preparing my blog/youtube for maternity leave. 

I wanted to break down each trimester to provide helpful tips for you:

Trimester ONE

This is a hard trimester because more than likely you are the most unproductive in this time than any of the other trimesters. You are dealing with morning sickness, tiredness and lots and lots of naps. But when you have some energy use those moments to start strategizing. 

Ask yourself some questions:

- Do you have any money saved?
- How are you going to pay yourself?
- Do you need to build up some cushion revenue?
- Can your business look into delegating some necessary tasks while you are on maternity    leave?

Once you answer all these questions and write them down, you can then create some goals:

1. Create a revenue goal for your maternity leave

2. You can reach out to others on how they prepared for maternity leave 

3. Can you prepare for long term content in your business so your followers are still receiving daily/weekly/or monthly regular content.

Trimester TWO

This trimester is the most productive one for me because my energy did a 180. It soared and I was the most productive. I had great energy, tiredness and nausea went away and I was feeling myself again. 

Here are some things you can do in this trimester:

1. Start journaling or brainstorming on content. For this I used the site called Trello but some people use Google Sheets or Asana. I created two categories: blog and youtube and would create cards on blog topics and map out my strategy. By doing this you can create a shooting and publishing schedule.

2. Start communicating with your followers on what is going. I like sharing with my readers and followers life updates so this is a good time to give them a heads up on your new adventure and what changes if any they can look forward to. This form of communication can be in a newsletter, email announcement or blog post. 

3. Map out your revenue goals. Look over the revenue goals you wrote down in Trimester One and start planning on how you are going to hit those goals. For me I calculated all my monthly bills total and used that number times three of a save number of the minimum I need to have in my account. From there I wrote down bigger goals and strategized different monetization avenues to get to that number. I even started going back to free lancing to make my revenue goals. I am no stranger to hustling guys! But do what works for you and your business. 

Aside from your business, sit down alone and really think about what you want your maternity leave to look like. Do you want to take a whole month out or two months. Really listen to your heart and feel at peace with your decision but also don't put too much pressure on yourself either. If you take a peek on instagram during leave do it. If you decide to share an impulsive blog post share it! If you pick up your Vlog camera and record some personal moments, upload it! This is your time! 

Trimester THREE

My current trimester and boy has it been a roller coaster of emotions and energy. Some days are better than others and I have been extremely hormonal. But this month I have been really trying to prepare content like crazy on this good days! 

Here are some tips for your last and final trimester:

1. Finalize your departure date. You want to pick out a final date from work. Pick a date and stick to it. You need to give yourself time to rest and really prepare yourself to finalize last minute items around the house before the baby comes. 

2. Set dates aside in your calendar and finalize your content. Schedule any photo shoots that need to get done, starting writing your blog posts and film those youtube videos. I find the most productive way is to set aside certain time slots in certain days a week to concentrate on content creating. I have found this way to be so productive. You can do this in Google calendar. 

3. Ask for help when needed. If you need to outsource some tasks and can financially afford it then do it! If you have a family member or friend that can help your business in some areas then ask them. Don't be afraid to ask for help! 

4. Clean up your office area. If your office is in your home (like mine) right before you are ready to finalize your date make sure to clean up your desk area, your drawers, files and anything else that will prepare you to disconnect. When your ready to get back to work you area will be clean and ready for a new start! 

5. Send out your departure announcement. Like I said before whether its a newsletter, blog post etc make sure to push that publish or send button. Your followers and readers will thank you for this and will send you well wishes! I will probably announce mine on both a blog post and IG post. Tip: In your announcement direct your followers to follow you somewhere to see live updates. 

I am only 5 weeks away and I am ready for the nesting phase soon! I am still working on finalizing my departure date and will be sharing that with you all very soon. The baby is due October 14! WOW it is really flying by! 

I hope you guys enjoyed these tips and ways that I have been preparing for my maternity leave. If you have any other tips on this topic please share them below. I would love to add some more to this post and will make sure to credit you. 

If you are pregnant, congratulations! This truly is a special time for new mommies and make sure that through all of this you take some time for yourself for self care!