Around March 26th, 2020 (11 weeks away at the time of this writing), I’m going to welcome my second child into this World.
To all my clients and friends who have been so supportive and in the midst of big life transitions themselves, THANK YOU!
It’s been a really easy pregnancy, and most of the time I’ve been productive and feeling great. My little girl is growing well, without any complications, and it’s time to let you know (especially if we are working together or plan to work together) what to expect from me during this time.
I want to take a moment and preface my plan with why I started a business in the first place. Over five years ago, I had the start of a belief that a career could be the place not defined by hours, compromise to my family commitments, and a fight against a glass-ceiling imposed by managers and bosses. I got excited that I could make my own rules. And then, I became a fierce advocate for other professionals to do the same. Frankly, once I let go of the notion that stability could only come from a corporate job, my life became, magical.
Last year, I got married. Jarred and I spent two weeks in the beautiful city of Amsterdam. It’s quite poetic actually. Amsterdam, if you think about it, is a city that shouldn’t exist. But for the vision of early settlers who saw the dam on the Amstel River and began by plunging stilts into the soft earth, hooking buildings together, to create a city where before there was only water. Amsterdam is a testament to effort and imagination crafting something magical.
In the spring we started thinking of having a kid of our own. And, while there are always a million and one reasons to wait until things are more stable or until conditions are better, I’m of an age where I knew we could wait into impossibility. A clear example of where no decision, is in fact a decision.
And then I was expecting. Within two months of trying to conceive. Both of us were elated, and both of us a little nauseous. After sharing the news with family and friends, including my 12-year-old son (who was a bit disappointed he wasn’t getting a brother), I began to imagine and dream of a business that included me being the primary caretaker of a newborn, with effort and imagination, I know the life and career of my dreams is possible.
The Plan
Starting March 1st, I’ll be decreasing the number of new project openings I have until May 2020. For clients who have open projects with me, while my turnaround time is currently one business day, I’ll give milestone completion dates a week.
In-person meetings will be scheduled on a case-by-case basis.
I will work up to the time that I go into labor. Once the action starts I’ll post a prewritten auto-response email.
For emergencies please mark emails urgent. For instance: your website is down, or a contact form isn’t working, or anything that prevents you from getting business needs adjustment. I work with a few contractors for tech support, so I can usually forward them an email and they can solve these problems quickly.
At the end of April, I’ll be working (with my newborn) from the Washington Coast. It’s a place that is incredibly restful and rejuvenating to me, so I want to be out there as I recover. This means I’ll not be available for in-person meetings in April (phone calls and Zoom meetings are still good).
To summarize, I won’t be taking maternity leave. So please keep me in mind for your design and website needs. Email is the best place to communicate with me. While project turnaround time on my part might be a little delayed, I will always honor the timeframe and project commitments I’ve agreed to.
Also, in lieu of flowers, please send cool projects.
Is now a good time to work together?
I’m offering my Signature Experience (Branding Package, Custom Photography by Rich Leighton, and Website Design Package) for $3900 ($1000 off)
*Limited quantity (only two Signature Experiences available) to book by 1/21/20
Schedule a time to discuss your project here.
