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How Motherhood Became My Superpower in Business
64 Plays16 days ago
Episode Summary:
In this deeply personal episode of Empowered, I’m sharing how becoming a mother didn’t hold me back from building a successful photography business—it fueled it. From the first photos of my newborn to leaving my nursing job and building a multi-six-figure business, motherhood has been the foundation of my creativity and drive. This episode is a love letter to moms with big dreams—reminding you that you don’t have to choose between being present for your children and pursuing a life that lights you up.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
- Why motherhood is not a limitation but a catalyst for growth and ambition
- How each child’s birth inspired a new chapter in my photography business
- The importance of holding onto yourself while raising children
Links & Resources:
- The Awakening by Kate Chopin (mentioned in the episode)
- Get my FREE Photography Business Roadmap
Connect With Me:
Subscribe & Review:
If you loved this episode, make sure to subscribe and leave a review! Your support helps the podcast reach more photographers like you. 💛
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Transcript
Introduction to Empowered Podcast
00:00:02
Speaker
Alright everybody, welcome back to my little private audio recording, my little private podcast, Empowered. Today I want to talk about something
Motherhood Empowering Business
00:00:12
Speaker
sort of personal. and I know that not everybody who listens to me or who reads my content or who takes my classes is a mother, but I do feel like I have a lot of moms in here, a lot of moms with cameras.
00:00:25
Speaker
and I just wanted to talk to you about something personal that being a mother has never been limitation to growing my photography business.
00:00:36
Speaker
In fact, I feel like it has been incredibly empowering.
Motherhood and Personal Goals
00:00:42
Speaker
And I think that a lot of people, especially mothers, we use being a mother as an excuse as to why we aren't doing the thing, why we aren't going to the gym, why we aren't taking a shower, why we aren't building the photography business of our dreams.
00:01:00
Speaker
And I'm not saying that being a mother is not something that I don't value and that I don't think should be a full-time you know gig. If you want to be a full-time mother,
00:01:12
Speaker
and you do not want to grow your photography business, then that's great. But that's probably not you because you are listening to this. So I want you to stop using it as an excuse. And I want to just share with you how it's never been a limitation for me.
Photographer Journey Begins
00:01:27
Speaker
so I became a photographer when I started taking photographs of my child when he was 16 years old. I became a photographer when he was born, 16 years ago. excuse me i got a little um a little mixed up in my head there i have dyslexia and that was a total dyslexia moment anyway i became a photographer when my son was born sixteen years ago And he is the inspiration that got me going.
00:01:53
Speaker
Taking photographs of him, capturing who he was with my camera was 1000% the reason that I started taking photographs of anything at all. So it was what started this passion. It was what ignited this passion.
Business Growth with Second Child
00:02:08
Speaker
And then when my next baby was born, who is now 13, that is the year that I launched my photography business. And I think that something happens inside of us, actually. I think that when we have a baby, mean, if you are someone who believes in or follow follows Ayurvedic practices or other holistic practices, Chinese medicine,
00:02:29
Speaker
They will say that your energetics, the makeup inside of you really does change every time you have a baby. And if you start asking around, you'll notice that your friends, when they have babies, that year something big happens. They do a big change in their life. And I think it's because it's almost like an opportunity for our own rebirth. So anyway, I started taking photos because of my son, who is now 16.
00:02:53
Speaker
The year my 13 year old was born was the year that I officially launched my photography business.
Career Switch: Nursing to Photography
00:02:58
Speaker
And the year that my nine year old was born was the year that I decided to quit my day job as a NICU nurse and pursue photography full time.
00:03:06
Speaker
So with each baby, i actually became more inspired and I grew my business to bigger and higher places. My business as a photographer makes three times what I was making as a registered nurse. I am not making that up.
00:03:23
Speaker
This is the truth. um The last two years of being a nurse, I was working 24 hours a week instead of 36, but still, I make a lot more money as a photographer and it really allows me to afford higher quality experiences for my
Quality Experiences over Possessions
00:03:40
Speaker
children. That is where my value lies. It's not about giving them more things or having more things. It's about high quality experiences.
00:03:49
Speaker
And that's going to look different for everybody. Your rich life, what you want in your life um might be very different than what I want. But for me, travel is extremely important. um I want these children to be well-traveled. That just matters to me. We went to Italy this summer. They've been...
00:04:05
Speaker
all over the world. and They are in elite activities. They're all highly creative and musical and that's expensive but I don't ever want to have to say no to them for that. So those are a couple of the experiences that I'm able to afford because of my photography business. So just wanted to put that out there.
00:04:24
Speaker
Being a photographer, it really made me a better mother.
Photography and Personal Fulfillment
00:04:28
Speaker
and I believe this to be true. and I think it's because I'm in complete control of my schedule. Unlike when I was a nurse, I'm here every single day when they get home from school to make them snacks, to help them decompress, all of that. I'm able to schedule my photo shoots around their schedule.
00:04:44
Speaker
but I also think it made me a better mother because it gave me purpose. Being a photographer gave me something that was for me, something that made me feel proud, something that makes me feel fulfilled, something that makes me feel passionate. And so i am able to be a better mother because of that, because I have a brighter light to shine on them.
00:05:05
Speaker
It really, really matters to me to feel fulfilled so that they can see that and so that I can shine that light on them. and My business really reminds me that while I'm also an incredible mother, because i do think that i am that I'm a badass business owner.
00:05:19
Speaker
and It feels really good to be both.
Children as Inspiration for Success
00:05:21
Speaker
I'm dynamic and that makes me really really proud. Having kids is never going to hold me back from my own personal goals. and In fact, my kids inspire me to live a more fulfilling and a more successful life so that they can see what they deserve.
00:05:39
Speaker
I think that it's really important for my kids to see their mother making a living as a passionate, driven artist. Every single day, I get to show them that their dreams can become a reality and that they can craft their own success.
00:05:55
Speaker
That they don't have to live by somebody's rule book. They get to see their mom working right in their kitchen, making multiple six figures as an artist. I'm so proud of that. So they don't hold me back. My kids actually make me want to do more.
00:06:09
Speaker
And I'm going to just say this because I say it all the time.
Balancing Motherhood and Personal Identity
00:06:12
Speaker
It's okay to want more than being a mother. Cue the gasps. I know that like society doesn't want us to believe that, but you do not have to let being a mother hold you back from living out your dreams.
00:06:24
Speaker
Instead, i want to invite you to use it as inspiration to show your kids what is possible.
Influence of 'The Awakening' by Kate Chopin
00:06:32
Speaker
When I was in college, I read The Awakening by Kate Chopin. I don't know if you've ever read it. It's such a good book. If you haven't read it, it's pretty short.
00:06:40
Speaker
I was like 19 years old. And there's a quote in the book. And maybe it was 18, 19. It was my freshman year maybe in college. And there's a quote in the book that, you know, I was a child, essentially. I didn't have kids yet. I always knew I wanted kids, but I didn't have kids.
00:06:57
Speaker
And this quote, I just, I was taken aback by it. And that was the kind of book, by the way, that um I read it once and I had to read it immediately again because it just meant something to me. It spoke to my soul. I don't know.
00:07:11
Speaker
But I believe now that probably my higher self was like, listen up, Elena, you got to pay attention to this. And the quote goes like this. I would give up the unessential. I would give up my money.
00:07:22
Speaker
I would give up my life for my children, but I wouldn't give myself. I can't make it more clear. It's only something I am beginning to comprehend, which is revealing itself to me.
00:07:36
Speaker
I'm going to say the one part of that that really
Maintaining Identity in Motherhood
00:07:39
Speaker
rings true to me. It has rang true to me since the first time I read it as a young girl. it I would give up my life for my children, but I wouldn't give up myself.
00:07:48
Speaker
I like get the chills every time i think about that. I have four children. One of them is a stepchild, but they're all mine. I'm obsessed with my kids. I think that my kids are the wisest people on this planet and that they came here to teach me a lesson. I believe every single day that I learn more from them than they learn from me, but I would not give up myself for them.
00:08:11
Speaker
And I think that our society wants us to believe that we should. So as the quote is essentially saying, yeah, I would die for my kids, but I'm not going to give up myself for them. And I just think it's so powerful.
Dreams and Motherhood Potential
00:08:23
Speaker
And I was really young. It's so funny that I really knew that it was important, but it was powerful. I felt it on a soul level. and and Again, that book is just one of those books that you read it and you got to read it again because you just know it's going to change your life.
00:08:38
Speaker
and I think about that quote a lot. When I became a mother, i embodied that. I got it completely because you can easily get lost in motherhood. and While I'm completely obsessed with them, like I said, my love for them is fierce. I am a fierce Latina mother.
00:08:54
Speaker
i refuse to lose myself for them. so Being a mom doesn't mean that you have to give up who you are, or what you love, or what you desire. doesn't mean that your life stops or that your dreams are no longer valid.
00:09:08
Speaker
Do not let your children be the reason that you do not build this business to the heights that you see it possible. Do not let your children be an excuse for not realizing your dreams.
00:09:21
Speaker
Instead, let them inspire you so that you can show them what is possible and you can show them what they too deserve.