Messy, imperfect, worth it: raising kids and a brand at once

People say there’s never a good time to have a baby - and if I’d listened to the commentary around me, I might have agreed.

I was pregnant at 26 and told I was “wasting my best career years on a long maternity break.” At 37, as an Executive Director, I heard, “I can’t believe you still have the energy for diapers.” Let’s leave those takes aside. What matters: there’s no universal “right” timing for kids, and there’s definitely no perfect moment to start a company. If those two imperfect timelines collide? That’s where my story starts. I started Moon & June before my younger daughter could walk.

I could write about the hot-mess days of working motherhood (because, yes, some days look exactly like that). But with the Moon & June launch around the corner, I want to talk about the unexpected positive this season has unlocked.

The way I’m working right now, my kids tag along and see my every step up close. They look a little perplexed when I’m talking to the camera and recording an Instagram reel. They’re emotionally invested. They’ve joined every single tasting session with family and friends and have strong opinions about glass bottle vs. can. And they certainly love the idea of one day going to their favourite local restaurant and ordering the drink that started in our family kitchen.

Day in, day out, they see that bringing something new into the world is hard - messy, imperfect, a one-step-ahead, two-steps-back kind of journey. While they’re by my side (sometimes more than I’d wish), they’re learning something deeper.

Strangely, as in parenthood, it’s what they see me do - not what they hear me say - that lands the deepest. By letting them witness both the up- and down-sides of this “setting up a business” chapter (I was made redundant, spent a long stretch soul-searching, and found my footing again), they’re learning both the opportunity and the cost.

Sometimes it’s me working a weekend and swapping care with their dad (more often than I’d like to admit). Sometimes it’s bootstrapping a company - which means a degree of downshifting for everyone in the house. And I’d like to hope that my lessons will become a quiet compass when it’s their turn to build something of their own.