Ditching Traditional Work and Creating a Career That Works For You: Part 1

When I found out I was pregnant with our son, I had already known that I wanted to take an extended amount of time off to settle (i.e., crash and burn) into motherhood. My husband and I had discussed this at length. We decided that with no paid maternity leave or flexibility for remote work, I would give my notice right away, but continue working until my due date months down the road. Our post-baby-plan was to be a family of three for four to six months, on one income (did you get all that math?). This felt like a comfortable amount of time financially to decide the next steps.

Fast-forward to three months post-birth, and I was already getting antsy. Not only had we gone from two incomes to one, but we had added a little human to our family. While our situation was not financially dire, things were not how they used to be. If I'm honest, I was also feeling the itch to do something outside of feeding, changing, and staring at a baby all day. While admittedly fortunate to even have the opportunity to take that much time off of work, I also wasn't ready to hang up my career just yet. So, I decided to start freelancing within my industry. This sounds simple, right? Take what you already know and turn it into your own successful business - be your own boss!

*SPOILER ALERT* that's not exactly how it works, but you can do it, and we're here to help let you in on the secret.

As the 2020 landscape for women in the workforce has drastically shifted, so too have our needs as mothers. Working Momkind is committed to being a resource for you, which is why we've created an interview series highlighting the careers of five working moms and their successful leaps from traditional work to the freelance hustle, building their brands and becoming Founders and CEOs. We invite you to join us as we release two stories per week, describing their experiences and sharing the knowledge of what they've learned along the way.

First in our series is Haley Eveleigh, Founder of Whirlaway Marketing, a boutique PR & Marketing firm in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Haley Eveleigh, Founder, Whirlaway Marketing

A PR and communications expert with 13+ years of passion and experience, Haley has worked for global, consumer, and lifestyle brands including Nike, Johnson & Johnson, Playtex, McDonald’s, and Unilever. Currently, the Founder of a boutique PR & Marketing firm, Whirlaway Marketing, Haley resides in Indianapolis with her husband and 5-month-old son, Jack.

WM: Thank you for taking the time to be a resource for other moms! Can you begin by telling me a little about your role before Whirlaway Marketing? 

Haley Eveleigh: Prior to becoming my own boss, I was a Global Communications Manager at Nike. I worked for the brand in both New York City and at their headquarters in Portland, OR., helping tell the brand's stories. Whether launching a new product, putting on an event, or bringing editors from major magazines to a workout, I got to spend every day thinking about how we wanted to craft Nike's message and deliver it to consumers. 

WM: Wow, it must have been quite an experience to work for such a well-known brand! How did that translate into what you do now?

Eveleigh: Today, I take what I did for the biggest brand in the world, and I apply that knowledge and expertise to my clients at Whirlaway Marketing. Built for clients both big and small, I founded the boutique PR and marketing firm based in Indianapolis two years ago.

WM: That sounds like a massive leap into your own venture! At what point in your career did you begin to think about making the switch to becoming your own boss, and what inspired you to take action on the idea?

Eveleigh: Even when I worked at Nike and had what I considered a dream job, I still thought that having autonomy over my career, in a way that you only can when you work for yourself, was something I wanted to experience. I ultimately decided to leave Nike because my job wasn't aligning with the value I place on family and prioritizing what I think matters most in life - the people you spend it with. My husband and I were trying to determine where we wanted to put down roots. We decided that being within driving distance of our family was the most important thing for us, even if it meant leaving a job and city that I loved dearly. I experienced some real grief in leaving my role at Nike behind, but it seemed there would never be a better chance to start something from scratch that I could build from the ground up. So, I took my 13+ years of experience and created a business, doing what I do best, for clients I love. 

WM: It sounds like you put a lot of thought into the passion you have for your career while also considering a way to sustain your values and happiness. How did you go from, ‘I want to do this’ to ‘I’m doing this’? 

Eveleigh: Whirlaway Marketing began as an idea that I started to float by friends, acquaintances, really anyone who would grab a cup of coffee with me. It was my way of testing the waters and putting myself out there to see what the reaction would be. This achieved two things: it helped me assess my concept and messaging (what's sticking and what's not?) and build a client list. The more people I told, the more these conversations started to turn into new business opportunities. I also took the time to create a website and Instagram handle that would allow me to look professional and create a brand identity and messaging for my business. 

Next, I needed to set pricing. Being able to offer a potential client a solid proposal that clearly outlined what I would bring to the table was crucial to sealing the deal. Throughout this time, I worked quickly to get behind the scenes in order. I can't stress enough how important it is to set up your business correctly and officially from the very beginning. It will save you a lot of stress down the road. I hired a lawyer and an accountant to help with; bookkeeping, taxes, setting up an LLC and creating binding contracts.

WM: Once you made the leap, what surprised you most about working for yourself?

Eveleigh: When starting Whirlaway Marketing, I had this vision that I would just be working on cool client projects all the time. But the reality is that I do so much more than that, and seemingly simple, mundane tasks take up so much time. From delegating to employees to putting together new business proposals or staying creative about ways to market ourselves to new clients, all of these things take away from the time I'm able to put towards actual, billable client work. That being said, I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. I love that I've been able to create something that is truly mine, facing each challenge that has come my way and overcoming it. 

WM: What would you say is one of the biggest misconceptions about running your own business?

Eveleigh: Starting a business is hard! Really hard. And you have to truly want it. Everywhere you look, someone will try to sell you on the picture-perfect idea that being your own boss means you can travel anytime you want and work less than you ever have in your life. But when the business is yours, and it's your name on the line, it's about more than doing a good job; it's about your livelihood, and with that comes a lot of pressure.

WM: There’s a lot to consider when running your own business. What have you found most rewarding - the thing that keeps pushing you to grow?

Eveleigh: Despite working harder than I ever have, one of the biggest perks of being my own boss has been the freedom to dictate how I balance my career and family. I didn't get to take a conventional maternity leave because my business is still relatively young. As the owner, I couldn't fully unplug for the 16 weeks as I could have if I stayed with an employer like Nike. However, being able to breastfeed Jack throughout the day or be there to get him when he wakes up from a nap is such an amazing gift. Instead, I am charting my own path of what being a working mom means, and I truly feel as though my company and my son will benefit as a result. 

I've also been able to hire three incredible women and create a work environment that feels fair, flexible, and empowering; things that I think corporate America seriously lacks when it comes to women's careers. Had I still been in corporate America when I had Jack, I probably would have quit due to the rigid expectations we put on moms. My son is only five months old, and while I'm still very much figuring out how to do both roles to the best of my ability, I love that I'm able to do so on my own terms. Sometimes that means I stay up late working on something that didn't get done earlier in the day because he needed me, and sometimes, that means bouncing him while I take a call or send a few emails. It's messy and far from perfect, but it's what I make of it rather than what my employer told me it had to be.

WM: This has all been so helpful! Thank you for shedding light on what it’s like to go from corporate America to the Founder of your own company. Any final words of wisdom?

Eveleigh: When I first considered starting my own business, I took a coffee meeting with a friend who was a few steps ahead of me in her own entrepreneurial journey. During that conversation, she said something that has stuck with me. "When it's your own business, the highs are SO high, and the lows are SO low. You have to be ready for that so you can anticipate it and don't let it overcome you." I have found this to be so spot-on in working for myself. When it's your name on the line, when there's no corporation to hide behind or fall back on, you feel everything that happens very intensely. This has been both wonderful and challenging in ways I could have never expected. 

Try to keep things in perspective and be gentle with yourself; know that branching out on your own doesn’t all fall into place overnight; it takes time to figure everything out. Stick with it and follow your instincts. If you can look at yourself in the mirror at the end of the day and say that you did your best and gave it your all, that's all your clients and family can ask for.

Stay tuned for Part Two of our series, as we chat with Kerry Cheney, Vice President at a global public relations firm in NYC. We'll discuss what it's like transitioning from the corporate world to freelance just two months after becoming a mom and how to set yourself up for a successful career pivot amongst the chaos of new motherhood.

---

Related

---