How I’m Building a Creative Business in the Margins of Motherhood
Have you ever noticed that there is this narrative online that if you want to build a creative business, you need long stretches of uninterrupted time? Coffee shop mornings. Middle of the night hustle sessions. The ability to disappear into flow for hours.
That’s all well and good, but that’s not my reality… And if you’re a mom, I’m willing to bet it’s not yours either.
I’m building a creative business in the margins of motherhood. Primarily during my baby’s nap time/quiet play time for my older kid. Sometimes it’s in a small pocket between snacks, laundry, and homeschool lessons. This means it might be 20 minutes, or it might be 1-2 hours. But it’s not 6 hours of uninterrupted time.
And strangely, I think the constraint has made me sharper.
Before I figured out how to make this whole “business in the margins” thing work, I’d be trying to work on something while the baby needed to nurse, my older kid needed a snack, laundry needed switching, and a new idea would pop into my head that pulled me in a completely different direction. By the end of the day, I realized… nothing actually got finished.
One of the biggest impact things I do now is I keep a running list of ideas. ANY new products, new collections, new theme ideas, new blog post, etc.. I used to feel like I had to chase every idea right when it came in and I’ll tell you what - I burnt myself out real fast.
So now it’s simple: Idea comes into my mind → I write it down in detail → I revisit it later when the time is more appropriate.
Another thing that took me a long time to learn was that not every idea needs to be pursued right now, or even at all. Some ideas are for this season. Some are for six months from now or even years from now. And… some are just creative sparks that don’t need to actually become anything. That shift alone has reduced so much mental noise that allows me to just focus on what’s making an actual impact on moving my business forward.
Besides my beloved lists, here are the tangible things I’m actually doing to build in the margins:
First, at the beginning of each month, I get clear on my goals. I take a look at my running lists and decide: do I want to get this product done and listed? Do I want to create a new sales funnel? Do I want to launch a new collection? Is a holiday coming up that I need to start planning for? I decide what the goals are (and which of them are realistic), and I execute.
Second, I plan, create, and schedule my entire month of comms content in advance.
After my goals are set, I find it much easier to design my “Editorial Calendar”. I batch design all of my pins based on my goals in one focused session, usually 1–3 hours. Then in another session, I batch schedule them.
I do the same thing with my Facebook group. I plan 2–4 posts per week in advance plus my weekly design prompts. I decide the subject of each one, batch create the graphics or supporting material, and batch schedule them. When it’s done, it’s done. That way, when I sit down to work during nap time, my energy goes into the creative work itself, not scrambling to think of something to post.
And, surprise surprise, I do the same with my blog posts and emails. I pick the subjects from my list before I sit down, and I execute.
This system of defining goals, batch designing content, and scheduling in advance has made a huge difference in my work/life balance. Before, I was choosing something at random to work on, getting distracted by something else, and never finishing things I set out to complete. Context switching is seriously expensive when you only have an hour.
One of the systems that has helped me the most is planning my design work ahead of the season I'm creating for. If you're curious how I map that out, I created a simple guide called the Seasonal Design Roadmap that walks through the process.
Finally, once everything is scheduled, I don’t look at that platform’s analytics again until the following month. I’m not checking stats daily. I’m not tweaking constantly. I’m not posting randomly. I build the system, then I let it run. Side note caveat here: I DO check in with Facebook regularly and respond to comments and posts in my group.
Then, when the work session is over, I’m done. I close the laptop or I put my iPad away. I return to being present with my kids. If another idea surfaces while I’m folding laundry, I write it down and release it. It doesn’t get my full attention in that moment.
That boundary matters because honestly it just keeps me sane. I need a clear boundary between time to work, and time for family. When the two bleed together, one or the other suffers.
And maybe the biggest shift of all has been expectations. Not just about time. About revenue.
It’s very easy to look around online and assume that if you’re doing it “right,” your creative business should scale quickly. That within a year or two you should be replacing income, launching constantly, growing fast. But building in the margins of life means accepting that growth will likely be slower. And that’s NOT failure.
Having revenue expectations that are too high, especially in a season of limited time, can slowly lead to disappointment. Disappointment turns into frustration. Frustration turns into burnout. And burnout can spiral into wanting to quit altogether. Personally, I don’t want to build something that way.
I’d rather grow slow and steady. I’d rather set realistic expectations for this season and meet them consistently than chase numbers that don’t align with my capacity.
Slow growth keeps me grounded. It keeps me intentional. It keeps me from spiraling into the narrative that “this isn’t working” just because it isn’t exploding overnight. There will be seasons for bigger income goals. Seasons when my kids are older and I have more free time where I can work longer and see faster momentum.
But right now, I’m focused on building systems, finishing projects, and stacking small wins. Small daily sessions with a clear focus. Fewer goals and realistic expectations. That’s how I’m building a creative business in the margins.
And for this season, that’s enough.
Until next time,
