| #MOMBOSS | An Interview with Brittany Lynn, Founder of Brittany Lynn Wellness
Since I’ve become a mom, whether or not to return to work has been a constant platform of discussion with my mom friends. I’ve tossed around innumerable ideas about how to make money and stay home with my baby, as I’m sure most moms do at some point. Why can’t selling Tupperware be a viable option? Like my teen idol, Kristin Cavallari, why can’t we all be balancing in heels?
I’m surrounded by an incredible community of women, who also happen to be moms and entrepreneurs, I decided to share their stories, passions and struggles with my readers. If they can do it, so can you! And so, I bring you, #MOMBOSS, interviews with real moms, who are working on their business and a family, and doing it for themselves. I’ll share the real talk about the challenges of pregnancy, postpartum, parenting, and practical business advice for those of you thinking about taking the leap into working for yourself.
First up is my good friend, Brittany, founder and principal at Brittany Lynn Wellness. Britt has a darling 5 month old baby girl, a fur kid named William, and is rocking her life as a newly single mom. Trust me, you want the vitamins she’s taking.
Britt: Why don’t we start with a shameless plug- tell me about Brittany Lynn Wellness and what you offer?
Brittany Lynn: I am a CNP, which is a Certified Nutritional Practitioner, and I specialize in women’s health. I take a holistic approach and look at every client’s lifestyle- from hormones, to physical body, and their spiritual and emotional wellbeing. All these facets have an impact on the physical state of your body and your health goals. For women, its often feeling the affects of hormonal imbalance through pre-menopause, menopause, and as I’ve now learned, pregnancy and postpartum. My largest client base is women in the 45-60 age group, looking for guidance through the hormonal shift of menopause, but I also see many younger women seeking help with their fertility.
Britt: Since I know Brittany Lynn Wellness was your first baby, tell me how it was being pregnant and managing your own business?
Brittany Lynn: Well, my pregnancy was a surprise. I had just opened the doors to Brittany Lynn Wellness in January 2016 and was in a super great flow. The momentum was crazy, I was churning out videos and social media posts every day, I was getting tons of clients, and building a following. It was really a high-energy time and I loved it! But then I found out I was pregnant in May 2016 and I was incredibly sick which really impacted my business. Not only was I unable to function at the level I was used to maintaining, I couldn’t even be out in the real world without being super sick. I felt like my pregnancy was slowing me down, which drove me crazy because I’m very driven and motivated. The biggest change to how I did my business while pregnant was that I had a new-found respect for the power of hormones and the body. I KNEW this before, but it was from textbook learning. Now I was coming from a place of doing, which is very powerful. You can’t really know it until you’re in it, and that goes for being a mom and entrepreneur as well. I used to tell my mommy clients to meal prep, and now looking back I realize how outrageous of a demand this was. Being a sleep deprived mom, coupled with postpartum hormonal imbalance, and the feeling that your body is this foreign place, it’s a lot to ask someone to meal prep all that complicated stuff! I’ve really used my own protocols on myself as a test and this has definitely helped my business.
Britt: Well, from the sounds of it, it doesn’t really sound like you’ve taken any kind of maternity leave have you?
Britt Lynn: This is a super loaded question for me. I had clients up to the day I was due, and then she came early, which forced me into taking a break. I took maybe 5-6 weeks off from meetings, but I was still taking Skype calls with clients through this time. Now that I have a new client base through my affiliation with essential oils, I’m getting more opportunities than I should take on. But, I’m finding my stride as a mom and it’s working well. Also, I had a good friend, who is also a mom, hold a bit of an intervention. She was worried that I was too overloaded, teaching every night, using different babysitters, and it was too much. So I’ve really started taking deliberate Mom-times with friends. (Note: this interview was a mom-time! I’m super honoured!)
Britt: It can definitely be a challenge to go from a frenetic pace of work to the slow pace of caring for a newborn, how did you balance your feelings about this shift?
Brittany Lynn: I’m super competitive, I love fast paced work and truly love what I do. So the thought of sliding backward in a venture I just started was scary. I also find myself slipping into the dangerous zone of comparison- comparing myself to people in the same profession who don’t have children and are getting further ahead than me, its hard to watch sometimes. I don’t want this to sound like I’m using my daughter as an excuse or a regret, its just adjusting to a shift in priorities that is sometimes hard coming from someone who had nothing but time and energy to dedicate to her business.
Britt: Competition is such a toxic addition to this motherhood world. I didn’t realize it until I was in it, and suddenly everyone is judge-y if your baby isn’t sleeping through the night or rolling over yet, there is a lot of guilt!
Brittany Lynn: I feel like I haven’t allowed myself to be in the mommy-world yet to be honest. I’ve got my mom friends, but I feel like I need to connect with women on an intellectual level, and not just about our commonality of having a baby. I’m starting to make time to do mommy/baby things now, and I really love it when I do it…so make me do it more often ok!?
Britt: Deal! But, since you’re a mere mortal like the rest of us, when do you find the time to work ON your business and work IN your business?
Brittany Lynn: Since my affiliation with essential oils refers nutrition clients to me, this has been a huge help in reducing the need to have to actively build my client base and work on that part of my business. I’m always working IN my business through teaching classes, and sharing stories, but I’ve definitely fallen behind on the working ON my business. I’m always behind on billing and blogging, and to be honest, it does bother me. But I have different priorities now, and its still working super well.
Britt: I think as moms we all struggle with wanting more hours in the day, and reconciling the things we are doing versus the things we should be doing. You’re in a really interesting industry where your work and your life are really integrated, so the ability to share these stories and gain clients is really a natural fit.
Brittany Lynn: My whole story, coming from an eating disordered background, being told I was infertile and menopausal at 23, and taking charge of my own wellness, is the reason I do what I do. Add my baby into the mix, and suddenly my WHY is that much stronger. (Side bar for a fan girl discussion about Simon Sinek). My brand is inextricably tied to my own story and I definitely wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing, in the way I’m doing it, if not for my own struggles.
Britt: Whoa, let’s lightening it up a bit. How do you like to reset when things get overwhelming?
Brittany Lynn: I love to mediate, which can be anything from soft music playing while I day dream, to taking a bath with Epsom salts and magnesium.
Britt: Aside from taking fully loaded baths, any advice for moms who may be toying with the idea of their own entrepreneurial venture?
Brittany Lynn: Know your why. My mission is to help people feel better, and if they feel better, they will make their community, city and world a better place. Your why is immediately shifted to wanting better for your baby, so use that drive. Don’t compare yourself, which is hard to do, but it will just poison you in your long game. Just go for it, jump in. Don’t be fixated on perfect, just get it good enough to convince everyone else. So much of being a mom is just figuring it out, why not apply that same intuitive problem solving to your business as well?
Britt: You’re so awesome. I hope this inspired someone out there to take charge of their wellness, stop playing the comparison game, or even take the plunge into entrepreneurship for themselves.
