In hospital > Private Practice

1. How did you know it was time to make a career shift?

I am a clinical psychologist and before having kids I always thought I would continue my work in the hospital system. However, after the birth of my first child, my energetic resources had shifted and I knew I could no longer work 50 hour weeks and late nights and have the time and energy to be the mom I wanted to be for my kids. I also noticed that my clinical interests shifted too, and the more I got into the psychology of parenting, the more I realized that I wanted to build something for parents that I didn’t see happening anywhere else at the time. And so I decided then that it was my time to make a career shift out of the hospital system and working with adults navigating trauma, and towards building my own business around supporting parents, children, and families.

2. What was your first step?

My passions really shifted when I had kids and so the first step for me was simply noticing and honoring that shift, and giving myself permission to change my specialization that I had spend years developing, which felt really scary. Just that mindset shift of allowing myself to imagine doing something different that what I had originally envisioned was one of the most important steps before even making any concrete career moves. So I’d say a big step starts in the way we look at our plan because that allows us to see different possibilities.

3. What advice would you share?

The idea of completely pivoting can feel very scary, especially for people who have spent a significant amount of time developing a specialization or getting an advanced degree. So one piece of advice I would share is to give yourself permission to feel scared and also give yourself permission to explore it anyway. Starting small can also be a good way to begin. For me that looked like taking on more parenting cases in my clinical caseload and then pursuing additional training in child development, maternal mental health, and family therapy. By thinking of my career shift as more of a natural evolution of my specialization and building it in layers, my career ultimately transformed into something completely new and much more aligned with my passions and identity as a mother, without ever feeling like a massive shock to my system.

Insta : @drsarahbren

Corporate Executive > Founder Rebranding Motherhood

1. How did you know it was time to make a shift?

On paper, I had "the BIG job", making enough money to be living my BEST life, however my quality of life was on life support. My mental + physical health were at their very worst, and my therapist continued to emphasize that my life was not able to have the opportunity to hit "thrive status" because I was stuck in a career that was no longer serving me. Most importantly I was in a career where I was completely unmotivated and uninspired everyday. I wanted a career where I was inspired by my job, my title felt fitting for the caliber of talent I truly offered, and lastly I was personally impressed by the type of work that filled my calendar. Once it was clear that none of those factors were ever going to be present in my current career status quo, it was then I knew it was time to redesign my entire life with one goal: start living a life that filled my soul up and left a legacy that humanity could be proud of.

2. What was your first step?

The first step was stepping back and blueprinting my new life. That seems like an impossibly tall order, and it is however I kept it simple. My career coach at the time gave me some simple instructions which were, "what do you want your day to look like??"...don't waste your time trying to decide what your perfect life will be in your perfect living situation. Rather, I took a step back to reflect on what I wanted my day to look like, I wanted to start my day off being a mother and have as much time in the day to show up there unconditionally present. Then I needed to be my own boss, leading a mission that helped and supported Mothers around the world. Lastly, I declared that being deeper in nature everyday was a requirement and made the choice of where we'd be living SUPER simple. After I had those 3 guiding principles in place it was simple to format a revised blueprint for my life, my new career, and NEW place we'd be living as a family.

3. What advice would you share?

The best advice I can share is, that when making these shifts, so often women fail to focus on what will keep them personally inspired, and professionally creative as the deciding factors on their decision-making process. Rather, this has to be FIRST, it's the only way you can actually build the career that you 'go to bed to each night smiling about'! Last piece of advice is to build out the blueprint based on what you believe YOU are capable of achieving, do not let others' personal inward insecurities influence what success YOU believe you are capable of achieving! YOU GOT THIS MAMA's!! Let motherhood be the "superpower" that unlocks your greatest potential and undeniable everlasting achievements towards humanity.

Instagram: @rebranding.motherhood

Youtube

Clinician > Owner Strange Bird Beauty

1. How did you know it was time to make a shift?

I was pregnant with my first child and everything was changing inside of me. I couldn't fully comprehend what was ahead (how could we ever) but two truths rose to the surface. Having a child without a doubt conjures up your own Inner Child who often needs to be healed and listened to, but also, more times than not, wants to play and be creative. She spoke to me the entire time I was pregnant with Gaia, and I let her guide me along the way. She (and I) wanted 1) more creativity in our lives and 2) more freedom. So I knew whatever was next would have to fully honor both truths. I had always identified myself as an artist and I was ready to embody that more sacredly and I also wanted to be THE BOSS (have a say in all of it! Everything I relinquished to others I was going to take back—my time, my how, my why!).

2. What was your first step?

First and foremost I want to acknowledge the privilege it is to sit in this space of reinvention and opportunity. Not only can it be difficult and scary, it can also take a very long time depending on your resources. For example, it took me nearly two years to launch my business (I had two kids in the meantime, while continuing to work as a clinician) and 4 years to actually make a profit and pay myself! But the first step for me has always been to just do it. I googled what it took to start a wellness brand, spoke to everyone, took notes, made endless to-do lists and bit by bit, between breast feeding and potty training I created my own brand that launched in 2019 (heading straight into the pandemic).

3. What advice would you share?

Trust the timing of your life and allow "what's next" to come from your intuition and not your thinking mind. Your thinking mind will be in a rush, it might try to fit round pegs into square holes. It will usually tell you stories about your worth and value and align that with terms like 'contributing' and of course 'money'. But your intuition will guide you towards your next mission. So, if you can, take your time. Be gentle and thoughtful with yourself. Only in the stillness will you be able to hear your inner voice and she'll tell you where to go....maybe it's to write that book or to start that women's group. Maybe it's to launch that brand or say yes to that partnership. Or, maybe it's to give yourself permission to just be for a few more months or years even, until the next steps come to you. What's next will always come.

Insta: @strangebirdbeauty
Website: www.strangebirdbeauty.com

Fine Dining + Hospitality >

Co-Founder Union Square Play

1. How did you know it was time to make a shift?

I didn’t really! When I had my daughter 5ish years ago, I was working in hospitality. My business partner, Anthony, and I owned and operated the Kellogg’s NYC cereal bar in Union Square and were doing a few other hospitality projects. Union Square Play came about truly by accident (that’s a longer story) but definitely because I felt this pull to build something for my baby and for me as a mom. It was only when I realized that USP didn’t have to be a side business that I made the decision to devote all of my professional energy to it. I felt that there was a void we could fill for parents in building something that put them first (and I had a skill set from my years in restaurants and hotels that I could apply to it), and so I decided to drop all of my other projects and focus on this entirely.

2. What was your first step?

We built Union Square Play bit by bit in a very scrappy way knowing nothing about kids play spaces. But our first step was naming what we knew and what we didn’t know. We knew hospitality and operations; we didn’t know early childhood programming. So we focused on doing the stuff we were good at and brought in experts to do the rest in partnership with us.

3. What advice would you share?

I think when you’re building something, you want to put out the perfect product and you want everything to be seamless, easy, polished. But you just have to put stuff out there and recognize that a business is a living, breathing thing. It evolves. It changes as you change. And that’s ok. Also – as my husband, Alex, reminds me – “if it was easy, everyone would be doing it.” When things get really hard, I remind myself that growing pains hurt but result in growth.

Instagram: @unionsquareplay

Website: https://unionsquareplay.com/

Victoria’s Secret Angel > Model + Co-founder Wander Beauty

1. How did you know it was time to make a career shift?

I took a break from my 20 year modeling career to launch Wander Beauty and have my boys. I knew after I had Carter and Roen it was a piece of me I really missed and didn’t want to give up. Over the years there have been so many shifts in the modeling industry, it’s more inclusive in so many ways including age. I felt like I had a window of opportunity to restart my career and put more of my energy towards modeling and so I took it. I’ve always been an independent, career-minded woman so imagining myself, when they’re both in school all day, not having something of my own felt a bit suffocating. Even if it’s just a few jobs a month, having a creative outlet and something that fulfills me outside of being a mom is so important to me.

2. What was your first step?

I started by shopping for a new agency. I came back with my body not being quite back to what it was, my hair was shorter than before and I was years older. Despite that, my agents saw potential in me and were so supportive and patient. I started doing a few tests shoots to get some fresh images and within a couple months my book was back and I was booking jobs.

3. What advice would you share?

After having kids, I felt so much more efficient with my time. I was able to make more space for the change I wanted in my life. Change for me started with an awareness about where I put my energy. I knew I wanted to make space for my modeling career so I started with small actions to rebuild and those small actions over time added up to a big shift in my career. Also, change for me is really scary but if there’s one thing I’ve learned through the process of having kids is that we are stronger than we know!

Insta: @lindsellingson
Web: https://www.wilhelmina.com/new-york/women/direct/7959-lindsay-ellingson

Fashion Editor > Film Director + Activist

1. How did you know it was time to make a career shift?

I don't think I have ever really planned any of the biggest choices in my life. Have you heard the phrase “don’t know where I’m going but I’m coming.” That has always been my approach to life. I lost my father when he was just 51 to cancer, he worked long hours in a job he hated so he’d have enough money to retire at 55, and then never made it there. It taught me a huge life lesson in my teens to just go for things, chase joy, chase ambition, chase ideas. I’ve always been quite unfazed by trying new things.

Through my early 20's I'd say my career was based on ambition, a quick wit and a series of fortunate events. That being said, at 26 I was Fashion Director of one of the biggest women's lifestyle sites in the world, traveling to 3 countries in a week regularly, I was burning the candle at both ends and I didn't really understand where I went from there, what was next.

Fashion is amazing and I'm so grateful for the people, the knowledge and the work ethic. However it's also relentless. I hit a place where I was both really burned out with work and my first marriage broke down. (yes I know I got married twice by 30 but I'm nothing if not romantic.)

Shortly after my marriage ended I met a man who lived in California. He said just come for a bit and sort your head out. So I did. Not the big career woman story in that I quit my job and moved for love, love of a man and love of a state.

I know plenty of New Yorkers and Europeans have all sorts of issues with California but for me, for me it always just felt like it was where I was supposed to be, when my flight would land in LA my shoulders would always go down.

There is a Frank Lloyd Wright quote "Tip the world over on its side and everything loose will land in Los Angeles. I always felt a little loose, I always sort of knew I'd end up in Los Angeles.

Once I settled on the West Coast I also had to reimagine my career, what I wanted, there wasn’t a fashion industry in the way I knew it in LA and I wasn’t even 100 percent sure that’s what I wanted to continue to do.

2. What was your first step?

I actually started with making a book - I made a zine/coffee table book that I made totally by hand, I was so burned out by digital media I wanted to make something that wasn't that at all, I made a book about America called Voyage D'etudes Scrapbook, it was was something solid, every page was painted or typed on typewriter, stories from friends across the country, artists, film photos that were glued into the layout by hand. It sold 1000's of copies in Barnes Noble. But mostly it was deeply cathartic. I also worked for brands freelance, art directing, forming brand stories and marketing plans honing my content skills outside of publishing and fashion.

And then I got pregnant, like all the best things in my life it was a surprise. I don’t even really know if I’d ever planned on being a mother, but I ended up having an amazing birth and it like for everyone I guess changed my life. Around the same time I had another friend who almost died in childbirth and I sat in those hazy 3am feeds trying to work out why? Was it luck? Was it privilege - I changed providers when I felt uncomfortable, I was a white woman, I was also British so midwives are very normal to me. The more I looked into the facts I realized all of that was true but that also my friend wasn’t a lone incident, that the US had a maternal health crisis. This was in 2017 when is wasn’t really taking the mainstream media by storm. I turned to my husband and said how can I sound the alarm. He was like tell the story, the best way to tell a story like this is a film. So make one.

So that’s really how I started making films - I had a childhood friend who was a producer and he was like either you can go to film school or you can make a film, you’ll probably learn more making a feature. My documentary “born free” is now streaming on Amazon.

I learned an incredible amount not just about every aspect of film making - it truly was a baptism of fire, I’ve made several more since both doc and commercial and I’m currently developing my first scripted project with a studio. And none of it has been as wild and emotional and raw, but I’m so grateful for what I also learned about women’s health, about politics and nonprofits. I have clear vision on how to holistically make change with both my nonprofit Mother Lovers and soon to launch parenting platform SCRUUNCHY.

I think though mostly I learned about humans that people are inherently good and want to help from grassroots organizers, to those who gave or raised money, who worked for free, who showed up with love.

I think as I continue to grow my first step will always be ask good people for help.

3. What advice would you share?

Beyond ask good people for help I guess what weirdly helps me. Is go to the very worst case, my very worst case is that I would live in a spare bedroom at my mothers house. Which is such a privilege to know I wouldn’t be homeless or hungry, beyond that I can launch into thriving. It’s scary when you have a child and you want to give them the earth but also I think without the risks I’ve always taken her and my world would be so much smaller.

Insta: @paulasnexplorer
& @the_mother_lovers

Fashion Designer > Founder of NAGHEDI

When did you know it was time to make a shift?

In 2015 I found out I was pregnant with our first child. I was already feeling uneasy about my career trajectory at the time, but knowing that my life was about to completely change flipped a switch in me. I became even more determined to do work that would not only feed my soul, but also leave my daughter a better legacy than the fast fashion industry I was in.

What was your first step?

I spent over a year developing a bag that could check all the boxes for me personally - stylish, comfortable, and versatile. Once I perfected it, I knew I had an “It” bag in my hands. I guarded the design for months as I worked to officially make the leap and start anew with NAGHEDI.

What advice would you share?

The advice I always give is to trust yourself, and to also trust the process. I have struggled with imposter syndrome for so long. I went to law school instead of having any formal fashion education, but even if I had, I think I would still doubt my design "qualifications." I’ve come to realize that this is something so many women tell ourselves. Only recently have I started to let go of that kind of thinking and it has been so freeing. Some of us just take a longer, windier road to get to where we are supposed to be.

Website: https://naghedinyc.com/
Insta: @naghedinyc

(Image credit: Photographed by Molly Zacher)

Fashion Editor > Founder InKind Magazine

1.How did you know it was time to make a shift?

I remember feeling stalled out—not just by being in the same position, but really feeling like I wasn't learning anymore. The thing (editorial!) I had been excited to do since, well, as long as I could remember, had stopped being exciting, and at the same time, I felt like I had started to find my voice again in the personal writing I was doing. I was on maternity leave and toying with a blog and writing longer-form captions on Instagram and talking to a life coach, and we both kept saying that all the signs were there for me to move on. At the end of the day, not only was my heart not in it anymore, I had also kind of maxed out on the topics we were covering for a large media company. I had been there for 12 years and it was time.

2. What was your first step?

The first step was actually a surprise and a blessing in disguise. I got laid off when new leadership took over, and, in the meantime, we had already started working on In Kind. Leah brought me in while I was on maternity leave and we were both working on the magazine as a side hustle. After I left my job, I started to see what was possible with this little side project if we just started treating it like it was more. Instead of just focusing on content for the magazine, we started building out a social strategy, marketing, affiliate, and just started moving on all of these pieces, realizing as we did that we could really grow this thing if we wanted to.

3. What advice would you share?

I think the biggest lesson for me was really owning what I was doing as a business. If you want to, if you're really out to do that with your "side hustle", you almost have to stop calling it that. And, i don't mean quitting your day job before you're ready, but just looking at what you're doing through a different lens: if it really was a business, what would you be doing differently? Then, start holding yourself accountable. I also have come to realize that the phrase "if you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life" couldn't be further from the truth. I love what we're doing and building, but you do have to recognize that there will be pieces of it that you don't know how to do, and you have to learn and work hard at those things. That, will feel like work; and that's also totally okay—it doesn't make you any less qualified to take on what you're doing. And, the success will feel infinitely more gratifying. (Photo: Lacy Kiernan)

Insta: @inkindmag
Website: https://inkindmagazine.com/

( Photo Credit : Lacy Kiernan )