A New Start with Breakaway Beginnings
Flowing from Career to Mom to Career
Sounds smooth, seamless, peaceful, like a beautiful journey…. Well, for most of us it’s not that smooth, seamless or peaceful – it’s hard work! There are days full of joy that have moments of frustration threaded throughout. It reminds me of a line from a great book we used to read to our kids, Grandpa Bear’s Favorite Scarf by Gillian Heal: “Like life, weaving has good days and bad days. But happiness is something you make for yourself. It is your own responsibility.”
I worked in Human Resources for many years before having two amazing kids. I was fortunate enough to have a very hard-working husband who provided for our little family and I was able to stay at home with my girls. My new role as Mom – or domestic engineer, as I preferred to call myself – was more difficult than anything I had tackled so far. No sleep, constantly on the go, worrying about every detail: organizing play dates / school functions / sport / fundraisers / school projects / 4H events / college prep / teaching morals and life lessons / the list goes on and on! Little did I know that as the girls grew and became more independent (which is what I wanted, right?) that my job would start to feel obsolete.
So then, I thought to myself, I’ll just jump back into the corporate world. You know – get back out there and do something I love where I’m wanted and needed and can save the world! Right?! Well, I was totally unprepared for the rejection, loneliness, and complete destruction of my confidence. I felt out of touch and uneducated. Luckily, I had lots of encouragement from the women around me – some of whom had started their own businesses and were quite successful. One day I had a very interesting conversation with a friend who owned her own business. She asked me what she thought was an obvious question – why didn’t I start my own business and stop relying on corporate America?
My first reaction was “Who me?” “No way” and “I’m not that brave.” However, when I began to think about my life experience, I realized I was more than qualified! I had great kids, a wonderful marriage, had kept a roof over our heads, and not to mention all those school events and activities I had organized! So, I took a leap of faith and started my own bookkeeping business. It was scary at first and slow to start, with lots of bumps along the way, but soon it turned into an exciting adventure. My biggest reward has been when my daughter told me how proud she was of me and that she loved telling others my story. It made me look at myself differently – I may not be done with my success story, but the word “success” is part of the current vocabulary. Those gray days woven together with the days of colorful joy have made for a beautiful life and a satisfying career.
Adrienne Lambing
Advisor / Breakaway Beginnings Specialist
Part of my work at Breakaway is being like my friend and encouraging other potential business owners to take the leap! That’s why I am so passionate about Breakaway Beginnings. Through this signature program, we are here to support small businesses begin their success stories by helping them get off the ground; setting up bookkeeping processes, accounts, training; and creating a community to bring joy to one another.
Email me to talk about your goals and let’s get you started today.