Mama Feature ▴ Shelley Easter
Shelley Easter is a momma to 6-year-old twins! She is a Shopify website designer specializing in e-commerce businesses that sell lifestyle products. She has been a web designer for over 10 years now and began focusing on e-commerce in the last couple of years. It's a niche that she loves! With e-commerce, clients can see real tangible results with sales increases and that's so exciting for her as a designer. Check out her work at Launch Party!
What is the best piece of advice you’ve received about starting, owning, and/or thriving as a small business owner?
"Your business can't grow if you don't grow." I'm not sure where I picked that up, but it's something I've noticed over the last few years. For me, owning a business has been a massive experiment in personal growth.
I went from being the girl who had panic attacks over my college speech class to saying yes to any speaking opportunity that came my way -- including a 45 min in-person presentation! From feeling anxiety when anyone asked me "what do you do?" to practicing my elevator speech over and over again.
From charging $400 for my first website to over $10k today. It's all been such a lesson in growing as a person and becoming more confident and comfortable with myself.
How do you blend motherhood and building a business?
When I was pregnant with my twins, I had a client tell me that I wouldn't still work after they were born. She was confident I'd have no interest anymore. That couldn't have been further from the truth. True, when they were born I was in a complete fog of breastfeeding and not sleeping for months (and months and months), but I felt a desire to get back to work. I started slowly and with the help of my Mom, had a few hours a few days a week that I dedicated to client projects. Over time, it gradually increased.
I didn't truly step into the world as a business owner until my children were 2. That was when I went to my first conference and really "owned" being a business owner. I felt such a pull to make a difference. I was really motivated to show my children that I could make my own way and head a successful business. I'm always proud to share with them when I get new clients and other wins.
What has surprised you most about motherhood?
Gosh, probably everything. I became a mom at 26 and was absolutely bewildered when I found out I was having twins -- it was a complete shock. I had no idea what to expect and felt so, so overwhelmed by it. I dove into reading every twin book I could find, joined an expecting twins Facebook group and tried to find as much support as possible.
A lot of the well-meaning comments people say to expectant mothers, like "say goodbye to ever sleeping again" or "everything will change!" scared me. And when people found out I was having twins, it was especially ramped up. I really took those comments to heart.
So after I had them, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that my life wasn't a total nightmare. There was so much joy. And as simple as it sounds, I was still me. Yes, those early years were very challenging at times, but we rose to the occasion.
What's your morning routine?
My kids are in elementary school now and we wake up at 7am. I'm still a night owl and it's difficult every day to get out of bed at that time. I wake up to Alexa playing a song that my kids chose - they take turns weekly picking out our morning song.
Alexa Routines are the MVP for our mornings. She tells us when to get up, when to start eating breakfast, when we to stop eating breakfast, when to brush our teeth (and she plays the toothbrushing podcast Chompers for them), when to put on our shoes and when to walk out the door! Since I set up those routines, I no longer have to keep track of the time in the mornings and the kids (mostly) listen to her directions. It's a gamechanger.
After the kids hop on the bus I head to the gym. I love a morning workout so that I can start the day feeling good. After I get home I set up shop and start my work day with a homemade matcha latte.
How do you define balance?
I'm not sure that I think too much about balance per say, but I spend a lot of time thinking about how I want to live my life. Essentially, I want to live my life enjoying my time with my family, making time for my own hobbies and friends and building a business that lights me up. I have loose monthly goals that help keep me in line.
I go to ballet and Trader Joe's every week, which takes up almost the whole time my kids are at school. I'm good with that. It's my favorite day of the week. My husband and I have date nights about once a month. I try to meet a friend for lunch once a month -- and that's something I want to do a bit more of.
When my kids get home from school, I'm almost always done with work. I like having hard stop-times, but if I'm really in the groove or want to get ahead of something, I don't beat myself up for working a little extra.
The nights and weekends are filled with family time. We get to eat breakfast and dinner together as a family every day and I'm so grateful for that.
When life gets crazy and balance is not possible, what core values do you hold on to?
When my work is taking up extra time, or I'm traveling for work, I generally don't feel guilt around that. I think it's good for my kids to see that work is important to me and I talk to them about why I have my own business. I never put my work ahead of them and will always make time to spend with them every day. Family comes first.
3 Pearls of wisdom you can share about motherhood, business or blending it together?
1. Naps are a very good use of time.
2. We can do hard things.
3. Motherhood and business ownership mixes just fine.
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Be sure to follow Shelley on Instagram to keep up with her biz happenings and mama moments!
