We recently connected with Paige Figueroa and have shared our conversation below.

Paige, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Almost all entrepreneurs have had to decide whether to start now or later? There are always pros and cons for waiting and so we’d love to hear what you think about your decision in retrospect. If you could go back in time, would you have started your business sooner, later or at the exact time you started?

There is a part of me that wishes I had started my business sooner (it certainly would have made certain aspects of entrepreneurship a lot easier, and I would probably be “farther along” than I am now). At the same time, there’s an overwhelming part of me that believes that I needed to go through the experiences I went through before starting my business because they now allow me to serve my current clients in a more meaningful way.

Let me explain.

I was an English teacher for 9 years. After year 5, I moved back to my home state, Pennsylvania, and was on the hunt for a new job. At that point, I was initially looking for jobs that didn’t involve teaching because while I liked certain aspects of the profession, I knew in my heart that it wasn’t meant to be my career path for life. But spiritually and emotionally, I don’t think I was yet ready to start my own business at that point, and I ended up finding myself teaching for another 4 years.

Then came 2022. As we were freshly emerging from the pandemic, I became a first time mom to twins. During the summer of my maternity leave, I came across a program that taught folks how to start their own copywriting business. The knowledge I gained in taking this program truly awakened my soul to the possibilities of creating a life of more flexibility for myself and my family. So when I went back to my teaching job for the final year, behind the scenes, I was putting together all the foundational components of my first business (as a freelance copywriter). After leaving teaching and getting into the swing of things with my copywriting clients, I then started a second business around coaching students through crafting standout college admission essays.

Now I am officially approaching the 2 year mark of balancing being a business owner and a mom, and it certainly has its challenges. Since my children only attend part-time daycare, I am responsible for watching them for a large portion of the week. This means that I have to strategically plan when I am able to get client work done. And of course with children, there are lots of unexpected situations that come up that can make running a business extra difficult—like getting less sleep, illnesses, etc. Had I begun my entrepreneurial journey earlier on in my life (pre-kids), I’m sure I would have had my systems in a better place and have a little less stress than I do now with managing it all.

But I am also very grateful that everything unfolded as it did. I feel like my trajectory led me to my true calling which is helping other moms start and succeed with their own business pursuits. Because I figured out how to make this all work while juggling being a mom of two, I feel uniquely qualified to help other moms who are scared but also excited to take this leap into a life of more freedom and opportunity. I’ve been there, and I understand deeply what they are up against and also what is at stake for them.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

In the copywriting world, I help women’s health and motherhood brands increase their impact through compassionate copy. Whether through informative SEO blogs, carefully crafted sales and webpages, or connection-focused emails, I assist my clients in expanding their reach so they can help more people and live out their mission.

I love being able to merge my passion and skill in writing with my lived experience as a mom to be able to help brands like Inito (a pioneering fertility company) and Twiniversity (a twin parent brand) make a real difference in the lives of other women and parents.

In the business coaching world, I help ambitious moms break into online entrepreneurship so they can make money in a way that’s actually aligned to their unique skills and passion as well as their ideal lifestyle as a parent. I help them go from “I don’t know where to start” to “I landed my first client/customer!”

What I’d like any working mom out there to know about their future business is this: if you can dream it, there’s a way to make it happen. And with the right right mindset and the right tools used at the right time, it will all unfold so much sooner than you think.

That leads me to what I would say sets me apart from a lot of other business coaches out there: I don’t focus only on teaching and coaching business strategy. I look at each client’s personal life and business goals from a much more holistic perspective and support them with their mindset and energy too. And as a mom who struggled through her first year and a half as a business owner, I have firsthand experience with the obstacles they’re facing. This helps me be more agile and understanding in helping them overcome all that they’re up against as a busy, working parent who also has big goals and dreams as a beginner entrepreneur.

At this point, what I’m most proud of is allowing myself the grace to admit that I wanted something different and then taking steps to make it happen. It’s not easy going back to square one and being a beginner in many ways, but if it’s more aligned to the vision you have for your life, it will always be worth it.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I wouldn’t call it so much a lesson as much as a belief, but since becoming an entrepreneur, I’ve really had to let go of perfectionism. I think this is a trait that a lot of young people seem to take on growing up, especially with all the highly curated content on social media so ingrained in our daily lives. For me, it’s actually a trait that I specifically remember including as a strength when I was fresh out of college (which I laugh at now).

But when it comes to starting and running a business (especially as a mom with young children), striving for perfection is a fast lane to burnout and honestly, even slower growth. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t strive to be great at what you do. But I learned early on that you have to be willing to take risks and be okay with being a beginner (even publicly). I’ve gained more confidence in my abilities as an entrepreneur by doing things messy and learning as I go.

I also think that clients and customers you work with appreciate when you are transparent with them about where you’re at in your business. You don’t have to try to pretend that you know how to do everything at first. You just have to be committed to serving your people and serving them to the best of your ability at that point in time. The rest will fall into place.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

There are so many books that I have found helpful when it comes to entrepreneurship! I’ll share two of my absolute favorites.

The first one is Rachel Rodgers’ “We Should All Be Millionaires.” In her book, she not only details her own inspiring journey from practicing lawyer to massively successful 8-figure entrepreneur (even while raising multiple young children), but she also gives very actionable steps that you can take in order to forge your own path as a business owner. I think reading her book is ultimately what planted the seed in my mind that I wanted to coach other women and moms in making the leap into entrepreneurship.

A second book that blew my mind philosophically (maybe even spiritually) was Elizabeth Gilbert’s “Big Magic.” The way she characterizes how ideas function (through her own vivid personal examples) was truly eye-opening. I literally had to gasp out loud many times while listening to this one on Audible. Even as a self-proclaimed wordsmith myself, I genuinely don’t think I can describe her portrayal of the concept of ideas adequately (as her title suggest, it would be like trying to explain magic); you’ll just have to go read it yourself to see what I mean! But reading this book has changed the way I feel and act after being inspired with a new idea.

Contact Info:

• Website: figueroacopy.com mombossfreedom.com
• Instagram: @mombossfreedom
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paige-figueroa/

Image Credits

Some of the photos above were taken by Baronial Designs Photography (https://www.baronialdesigns.com/).