Pregnant Entrepreneurs Live the Sweet Life- Carrie Curry of Coastal Cakery

Welcome to Carrie Curry.  She’s the first guest this year eager to tell her story of being a Pregnant Entrepreneur.  I hope her experiences help you get through your special nine months!

carrie and baby-pepostWhen I became pregnant with my first child, I was working full time for a great non-profit organization. I did much of my work from home so I was able to sneak in a few naps here and there and rest when I needed to. I thought I was exhausted then…

After our precious son entered (and rocked) our world, I decided to stay at home with him full time. I loved watching him grow and explore his little world. But he napped a lot. And slept well at night! So I started to get bored, and needed an outlet for my creativity.

When he was around 1 year old, I started a cake business, Coastal Cakery www.coastalcakery.com. I had a strong passion for making beautiful cakes that tasted delicious – and there was very little competition in our area for it – so it became successful very quickly.

Soon enough, I was pregnant again. It was much different this time. I couldn’t nap when I was tired. I had a 2 year old to chase around and the cake business to manage on the side. I was responding to emails, planning cake designs, and shopping supplies during the days with my little helper by my side. After bedtime, I would bake and decorate until the wee hours of the morning. Thankfully, most of my business was done Thursday – Saturday as most cake, cookie, and pastry orders are placed for the weekend. I was able to rest more during the week and was refreshed for the next busy weekend. I remember thinking on Saturday nights, “I can’t do this anymore!” but by the time I had the next cake to work on, I was ready to get my creative juices flowing!

When my daughter was born, I realized how much my life had changed. I got a call for a cake order the day she was born and non-chalantly told the client from my hospital bed, “Well, I just had a baby today so I can’t do it this weekend.”

Fast forward a few years and the creative outlets grew. I started a website and blog with my sister called Chockababy ( www.chockababy.com). And then, found out I was pregnant again. This time, something had to give. I passed on most of the cake orders to my assistant and the website/blog became a stand-alone blog.

This pregnancy was the hardest on my body as I had a hard time saying “no” to all the things I love to do. But, being my own boss, I was able to take breaks when needed and find assistance so as to not feel the stress of looming deadlines. The Chockababy blog has adapted over time as well. I was able to focus my attention from sharing about everything to my passion: being a supportive mom community and my life dealing with a child with food allergies.

As much as being an entreprenuer can be exhausting, it’s also so freeing to be able to control my own schedule. I think I would have a very hard time being a full time working mom outside of the home. Occasionally, I may feel like I work all the time, but I am doing things I love. And, over time, I have come close to finding a great balance – with hope that perfect balance will come soon! I think, the best thing about it is this one truth: you can do what works best for you and your family. It makes whatever you do “the best job ever!”

 

Carrie Curry lives in Milton, DE. She’s a blogger at Chockababy.com, owner of Coastal Cakery, and part-time math instructor – when not actively being “mommy” to 3 crazy kids. 

Candy Queen: Pregnant Entrepreneur Goes Reality TV

Who doesn’t love candy??? So says the Candy Queen of Hollywood, the star of TLC’s reality TV show of the same name. If you put aside, for a moment, the fact that very little on reality TV is real, this is a great story. This woman is living her dream outside of cubicle-land, and clearly loving it!  Think food stylist, but more fun.

 

On a recent episode, Jackie, the Candy Queen and her husband visit the doctor for a checkup, “even though there’s so much work to be done”, and they learn the sex of the baby. Yes, because if you are like me, you NEED THESE DETAILS. Sorry for the shouting, but I really don’t understand the not knowing. I figure, you get to be surprised at some point. Why not be surprised in month minus-three, so there is plenty of time to make arrangements???

 

So, if you are wondering if you can run a business and still be pregnant, the answer is YES. And you can apparently add a TV crew to your day and still make it through just fine. I’ve been there (minus the camera crew), and if you are living your dream, you can do this, too!

Which Business is for You?

Many women I talk to, both employed and unemployed, like the idea of having their own business, and they are way talented enough to run one on their own, but they get stumped at the idea of actually chosing a business.  Yes, it’s great if you actually have a novel, easy to implement million-dollar idea.  However, I have to credit a recent guest speaker at Mothers and More, Ethan Mollick, for these wise words:  Originality is overrated.

Start with a quick search on home-based businesses  or something similar, and you are likely to get overwhelmed.  Here is a great post to get you started.  http://simplemom.net/5-business-ideas-for-work-at-home-wannabes/