The Entrepreneurial Mom: Cynthia Kossan's Story of Transition

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Cynthia Kossan is a career consultant and educator with a decade of experience working with early to mid-level professionals through every facet of career development and job search strategy. She is passionate and dedicated to empowering her clients to achieve their career goals and thrive in a competitive job market.

As the founder of CK Career Consulting, Cynthia shares her incredible journey from a young career advisor to a thriving entrepreneur balancing work and family. Join us as Cynthia takes us on a journey through her transition from a structured role in higher education to the unpredictable, yet rewarding world of entrepreneurship.

Balancing motherhood and a career is no easy feat. Cynthia shares the intricate dance between career aspirations and the profound journey of motherhood. She delves into her journey navigating an identity shifting moment, societal expectations, and leaving a decade-long career to pursue a more flexible path. Cynthia emphasizes the power of community and the importance of building supportive networks, and encourages you to build supportive networks, both online and offline.

We hope this episode inspires you to find a balance between your career and personal life. Cynthia’s story offers a realistic look at the challenges and rewards of motherhood, work-life integration, and self-fulfillment.

Learn more about CK Career Consulting here: www.ckcareerconsulting.com

Connect with Cynthia on Instagram @ckcareerconsulting 

CareeRise: www.careerrise.org

CareerConfidence: www.careerconfidence.online

Follow Us on IG!

• @ careerise_
• @ careerconfidentlatina

Follow Us on LinkedIn:

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-jos%C3%A9-hidalgo-flores/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/akulikyan/

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
hello everybody.
Welcome back to coffee andcareer hour.

Speaker 2 (00:07):
We're excited to have you here yeah, you guys can't
see us, but armin and I havetruly the biggest smiles on our
faces because we're doingsomething a little bit different
today what is?
it that we're doing?
We invited our first guest umon to coffee and career hours so
everyone can learn about thedifferent ins and outs of what
it's like to be someone else inthe career counseling, career

(00:31):
consulting, career coachingworld, as well as being a mother
in this navigating career, life, balance, eternity, complex,
infinity thing that we're goingto be trapped in as women.
So today we have for youCynthia Kosan from CK Career
Consulting, and she is going tobe trapped in as women.
So today we have for youCynthia Kosan from CK Career
Consulting, and she is going totell us all about herself.
But why don't we, armanay, goahead and give her a little bit

(00:52):
of a warm introduction?
Cynthia, please feel free totell our audience, our listeners
, a little bit about you.

Speaker 3 (00:59):
Great.
Well, thank you guys for havingme.
I didn't know I was the firstguest.
That's so funny.
I know you guys have a lot ofepisodes.
I haven't heard all of them yet, so I'm really honored to be
here.
Thank you guys for inviting me.
I've been listening to yourpodcast and you guys have such a
great dynamic and every time Ilisten to it I'm like I want to

(01:22):
talk to them because I feel likewe have a lot of similarities.
So I'm really happy we're here.
I'm really happy we can startthis conversation and talk about
some of these topics that wedon't really hear about too much
.
So just to give a littlebackground on who I am and how I
came to the point where I amnow in my life, I'll try to be

(01:43):
short, because sometimes I endup going in different directions
.
But I actually started mycareer at UCLA, where I was an
undergraduate student.
So I know you both work at theUCLA Career Center.
That's where I started out.
That's where I was reallyexposed to career counseling and
higher education.
So I was an undergraduatestudent there from 2011 to 2015.

(02:06):
And I studied psychology andduring that time I wanted to get
involved on campus, so I foundthe career advisor internship or
it was the peer advisorinternship program at the UCLA
Career Center that I thinkArmina you manage right now, but
it's called a different thingCareer Center that, I think
Armina you manage right now, butit's called a different thing.

(02:28):
So I was one of three internsthat was hired and that was the
first internship that I had thatreally exposed me to career
counseling and higher ed and itwas a realization for me that,
you know, this was a field thatis a possible career path, and I
also, you know, realized thatit was something I really
enjoyed because it didn't feellike a job.

(02:49):
It felt more like something Iwas doing on the side that I
enjoyed but I was getting paidfor it.
So that was a huge realizationfor me that this is a possible
thing that I would pursue afterI graduate.
So after that internship Ilearned so much about career
counseling.
I was working with students andI was working, you know, on a

(03:10):
college campus.
So I knew that that is the typeof job I wanted to get after I
graduated and I started lookingfor, after or when I was about
to graduate, I started lookingfor opportunities on college
campuses and it was reallydifficult because all of the
advising positions I would lookfor required either a master's

(03:30):
or years of experience, and so Idecided, okay, I need to look
for something more entry level,something like an assistant type
position.
And I found an opportunity atthe USC Law School.
I know it was at USC.
I looked for opportunities atUCLA, but USC was the one that
stuck.
So I went to the other side oftown and I started working at

(03:52):
the USC Law School in theircareer services office as an
administrative assistant, andduring that time I literally
spent every lunch hour, everymorning, every evening,
basically anytime I wasn'tworking.
I was networking, I was doinginformational interviews, I was
looking into different master'sprograms and I was trying to

(04:13):
figure out where I was going togo with my career.
So during that time I decided tostart my master's at USC, and
one of the benefits of workingat USC is that you can get your
master's fully paid, which isthe benefit that I used.
I know that there arestipulations now to it, so I

(04:34):
think you have to be workingthere for like two years before
you can use that benefit, butwhen I was working there you
could pretty much use it rightwhen you start working.
So after I think it was aftertwo years I started my master's
in the Post-SecondaryAdministration and Student
Affairs Program, otherwise knownas PASA so I might just use
that word PASA at the USCRossier School of Education.

(04:58):
So I started my master'spart-time.
I would go to work during theday and then I would go to
classes in the evening.
Part-time I would go to workduring the day and then I would
go to classes in the evening and, like I said, it was sort of
fully paid for.
They pay for up to four unitsper semester, so you have to do
it on a part-time basis.
So after I started the master'sprogram, I started to look for

(05:19):
other opportunities on campuswhere I can maybe have more of
an advising role, now that I wasdoing my master's and had more
years of experience.
And I found a position as acareer advisor at the USC
Dornsife School College ofLetters, arts and Sciences, so
basically the liberal artscollege of USC, and it was
working specifically with theundergrads.

(05:41):
So it was that position waslike exactly what I was looking
for.
It was just the most amazingopportunity.
I had a really great boss whobecame my mentor.
He, you know, gave me so manyopportunities and I said yes to
all of them.
So that was really the jobwhere I honed my skills in

(06:03):
career counseling.
I, you know, I started workingin like event planning.
I was managing large scalenetworking events, I was doing
workshops, I was doing so manydifferent things and
collaborating with other, youknow, departments on campus.
Like it was an amazingopportunity.

(06:23):
So I worked there for aboutthree and a half years and
that's when I got my master's in2020.
So, unfortunately, I didn'thave a graduation.
But then I decided to trysomething different and I
started working as an assistantdirector at the Occidental
College Career Center.
Occidental College is a privateliberal arts college in Eagle

(06:45):
Rock.
It's pretty different from USC,a large research institution.
So it was a differentexperience and that's what I was
looking for.
And ultimately, I worked therefor about a year in the Career
Center and I had a similar rolewhere I was working with
students.
Similar role where I wasworking with students and also,

(07:07):
you know, managing events,programs and doing workshops,
and that after a year of workingthere, I became a mom.
So I had my son in 2023.
And I decided at that point thatI actually wanted to step away
from higher education for alittle bit and take a pause on
my formal career and just focuson being a mom, which is where I
am now.

(07:27):
I will probably get into, like,my decision to do that.
But right now I, like I said,decided to take a pause on my
formal career in higher ed, butI still want to use all the
skills that I got from workingin career advising and career
services and to start my ownpractice as a career consultant,

(07:49):
and that's why I started my ownbusiness, ck Career Consulting,
which is what I'm doing now.
So right now, my life looks alittle different than the past
10 years I've been working, butright now I am focused on, like
I said, being a full-time mombut also incorporating this
business into the hours that Ihave free.

(08:09):
So, yeah, it's been anincredible journey.
The past two years haveprobably been the most
transformative for me, so I'mlooking forward to kind of
getting more into that.

Speaker 1 (08:21):
Wow, what a journey for sharing.
It's amazing that your studentinternship experience really,
like, developed the trajectoryof your career.
That's what we tell ourstudents all the time.
Right, like your internship caneither make you realize that
you might want to go into thisfield or make you realize, like

(08:41):
no, never mind, I actually don'twant to do this.
Either way, it's a verymeaningful experience.
So for our listeners out there,whether you're in school or not
, doing internships, volunteerwork, any extracurriculars, is
going to help drive your careerdecisions and maybe have a
bigger impact than you everwould have imagined.

Speaker 3 (09:01):
So, yes, and I will say that I did do other
internships.
I think I had done aninternship in HR that I didn't
enjoy as much, so that wasanother indicator for me that,
okay, maybe that's not a careerpath I want to pursue.
Maybe I should focus on thisother one that seems to be of
more interest to me.

Speaker 2 (09:18):
Yeah, I also appreciate and I could see your
growth like in my head goingfrom like Cynthia at UCLA to
Cynthia here, to Cynthia there.
And it's so interesting becauseyou know our clients that we
work with Armin and I, whetherin our full time job or offline,
to a lot of time they thinklike I'm going to go into my
dream job right after I finishmy education and it's almost

(09:41):
like wait a minute, what do youmean this education?
And it's almost like wait aminute, what do you mean this?
This 40,000 to X amount ofdollar certificate is not going
to get me this position or theinto this industry.
And you talked about thosepieces of networking and really
like during your lunch hourafter before, all of those
important pieces of careerdevelopment that really help you
move to the next step in thegame, and I really appreciate

(10:04):
that you emphasize that too isnaturally part of your journey,
but for a lot of people it'shard to really think about what
do you mean?
I still have to work from thebottom up per se, so thank you
also for emphasizing that too.

Speaker 3 (10:16):
Absolutely.
That was huge for me I'm noteven kidding Like I was working
on a college campus.
So I was like, wait, I haveaccess to so many people that I
can just walk to their officeduring my lunch hour and talk to
them for an hour and then comeback and go back to work.
So, or in the mornings or afterwork like people in higher ed

(10:36):
are very open, and I thinkpeople in general actually are
very open to talking aboutthemselves and talking about
their journey, like they want todo that, and if you get out
there and meet others and seewhat their experience has been
like, it's so informative foryour own decision making.
So I knew that I think from myinternship like having learned

(10:57):
so much about networking andinformational interviews I knew
that that was going to have ahuge impact on how I decide to
pursue my you know careerdecisions and what to do next
that that was going to have ahuge impact on how I decide to
pursue my career decisions andwhat to do next.
So that was my goal.
Like the first three years whenI was in that role, I was just
focused on meeting as manypeople as possible, and what

(11:18):
ended up happening actually isthat the next job that I got,
the career advisor role.
I knew someone in the officebecause I think it was like
through my, through either mymaster's program or I had like I
knew someone who knew some, whoknew that person.
So I was able to kind of get myway into that office and like

(11:40):
let them know that, hey, I'm,I'm really interested in this
position and, you know, reallyget my name in there.
And that was my boss later toldme, like the fact that I was so
persistent and the fact that Ireally like reached out and
tried to get my name into, youknow, in their like application,
they that's one of the reasonsthat they chose me.

(12:01):
So it doesn't feel like youdon't get the benefit of
networking right away but then,like years later, you start to
see how much, how valuable it is.
So that was, yeah, that wasreally good that I did that.

Speaker 2 (12:15):
Yeah, I love that you mentioned that too, because
it's so important how there's alot of times where we just want
to put a bandaid on somethingright, like we're going to do
this so we can get to this goaland then move forward.
And you're right, networking,or I love to call it like your
career community, the careercommunity that you build with
people, doesn't really take offsometimes until a little bit
later, even though you'relooking for something right now.

(12:37):
And then it's also this part oflike advocating for yourself,
right.
There's also that layer of likewhat do you want and how are
you going to help yourself getthere and you don't just rely on
anyone else.
The last thing I'll throw inthere is I love the hack it's
not really a hack, but I'm goingto call it a hack of how you,
at the institution you wereworking with you also use the

(12:57):
discount to get your master'sdegree too.
So, for everyone listening,there are programs, companies,
organizations in the corporateworld and in education, really
wherever it is that you workgovernment and other industries
that I cannot think of at themoment on a Saturday morning,
but that really do allow you, ata discounted price or some type
of benefit going back toreceive your education or

(13:21):
helping you pursue youreducation as well so that is so
huge and a lot of people don'treally know where to find these
things or helping you pursueyour education as well.
So that is so huge and a lot ofpeople don't really know where
to find these things or how tolook for them.
So I appreciate you saying thattoo.

Speaker 3 (13:31):
Yes, yeah, I will also add I haven't been at USC
in a while, right, like Ihaven't been working there, so
things might've been different.
Or things might be differentnow I have not looked into if
there have been changes, butwhen I was working there there
was an application fee waiver,so I didn't pay anything for the
application when I submitted itthere for staff like that was a

(13:54):
thing for staff.
So that was one thing.
The other thing was you get upto four units of graduate
coursework fully paid.
So if you decided to do theprogram like very part time,
like one class per semester, youcan essentially get it fully
paid for, but it would just takeyou longer to do the program,
which is fine because you'realso working.

(14:15):
And then another thing was thatthey actually treat it as
taxable income.
So you do have to pay taxes.
But if you can certify thatyour coursework is related to
your job and your manager can itwas there was like a form your
manager can certify that it'srelated, then you can get that
waived as well.

(14:36):
So I had friends who literallypaid nothing for the program and
and they just finished it inabout four years and that was it
.
And it's a very expensiveprogram.
So for me, I decided to finishsooner.
So there were some semesterswhere I did pay out of pocket,
but I, you know I was able to,so it was something that I was

(14:57):
like you know what?
I'll just finish in three yearsinstead of four, but there is,
like I said, there is thepossibility of getting it fully
paid for, so that was a reallyamazing benefit.

Speaker 1 (15:08):
That's amazing.
Yeah, it's great when we talkto our clients sometimes about
whether they should take gaptime or not before going to
graduate school.
This is one of the factors wetalk about is like if you can
get a full time job in thatindustry, your company may be
able to pay for your graduateschool.
And literally every time I saythat their eyes light up,

(15:29):
they're like oh my gosh.
Literally every time I say thattheir eyes light up, they're
like oh my gosh.

Speaker 3 (15:32):
Yeah, and there are pros and cons to working full
time and getting your master'spart time.
For me it was.
I think the pros outweighed thecons.
Another thing that Iexperienced was when I was in
the classroom and we weretalking about different topics,
I always had experiences andexamples to talk about.
Always talking about differenttopics, I always had experiences

(15:53):
and examples to talk about,always like I was the one just
raising my hand and bringing upexamples of things that happened
to me at work that day or thatmonth, and that was.
I mean, it helped me so much tosee what you know the different
theories and the differentapproaches are and if they're
actually able to work inpractice.
So that was the benefit that Ifound.

(16:15):
Some of the cons were more thatyou're one of the few that are
part-time.
So there are these weird clicksthat happen where all the
full-time people get togetherand the part-time people get
together, just so that you canfind people that are similar to
what you do.
So there were some difficulties, but I would say the pros
definitely outweigh the cons.

(16:35):
I always recommend for peopleto work full time, get the
experience and then, if you wantto get your master's or a
graduate degree.
Part time, that's somethingthat you can always do, and then
, if you feel like you want togo back full time, that's always
an option too.
But work experience is just themost important thing, and
that's been so key in my life isjust having the experience.

Speaker 1 (17:00):
Amazing.
Thank you for sharing yourjourney.
So let's talk a little bitabout the past couple of years,
where your work experience haslooked very different.
You shared that in thebeginning of your story, so can
you please tell us whatmotivated you to make the
transition from a careercounselor to a private career

(17:21):
counselor and coach?

Speaker 3 (17:22):
Yes, absolutely so.
Let's see.
Obviously, I would say thebiggest motivation was that I
wanted to focus on motherhood.
I wanted to be there for my sonin the early years.
I knew that that was somethingI wanted.
I knew that was a decision Iwanted to make when my son was

(17:45):
born and it was the biggestmotivation.
Now I definitely, in the past,had ideas of starting my own
practice.
It was always a dream of mine.
It was always something that Iwanted to do, because I would
find myself reviewing resumes inthe evenings, reviewing resumes
and cover letters, and helpingpeople with their career on the

(18:07):
weekends, like friends or peoplethat would tell me like, oh, my
son needs help, can you help,can you help him?
So I would find myself doingthat and I would always think,
like, why don't I just do this?
Like why shouldn't I get paidto do this, right?
Like if there's a need outthere, why not really put myself

(18:28):
out there?
But at the same time, I had thefull time job I had.
You know, a stable job benefitseverything and I didn't want to
let that go.
And I love I mean, I still loveaspects of higher ed, but I
loved working in higher ed somuch.
So I didn't want to let that go, but I knew that this was

(18:49):
something that I would love todo in the future and I just
never found the right time to doit.
But, honestly, being a mom andmaking the decision to step away
from my career was the biggestmotivation and other you know
other little things, like therewere some challenges I
experienced in higher ed.
So, for example, I didn't seemto find a lot of flexibility in

(19:11):
higher education where you know,like work-life balance.
It was a very nine to fiveoffice job and that didn't
really seem to align with my,the lifestyle that I wanted.
It was other challenges, youknow it.
Just towards the end it justdidn't feel like the right fit
for me anymore and I feel likethat would probably be a

(19:32):
conversation for another time.
But it just felt like the righttime to step away, take a pause
and try something new, get outof my comfort zone.
And you know, like I said,motherhood was the biggest
reason.
The fact that the environmentwas not really aligned with my
values anymore, that was anotherreason.

(19:52):
And, yeah, and then I decidedto start the business when I so
let me take it back a little bitI actually, armina, you just
had a child as well.
You probably will be able totalk about this as well, but the
pregnancy was very difficult.
No one really talks about howdifficult pregnancy is, when you

(20:16):
know when a woman is goingthrough it.
Of course, every pregnancy isdifferent, but I had a lot of
challenges during the pregnancyand it was difficult to be
working while I was pregnant,and so I, since I knew that I
wanted to focus on motherhood,after I had my son, I decided to
focus to leave my career whileI was pregnant and just focus on

(20:37):
, you know, staying healthy andstaying well for after he was
born.
So I had him in February of2023.
And that first six months wasvery, very difficult, because
when I first left my job, Iexperienced a couple of
challenges, which we'll probablyget into a little bit, but

(20:58):
those challenges were kind ofwhat led me to pursuing this.
Some of those challenges werewhat led me to pursuing this
business as well.
So, again, lots of differentreasons.
We'll probably get into alittle bit of the challenges,
but I one of the things Irealized when I made this
transition is that there's awhole world outside of higher ed

(21:23):
that I didn't even know about.
So there are all these careercoaches and career consultants
that do this work on their ownstarted their own practice,
consultants that do this work ontheir own started their own
practice, and it seems like thisis the right thing for me right
now with motherhood, becauseI'm able to balance motherhood
and this other aspect.
So we'll probably get into thata little bit more, but those

(21:44):
are some of the reasons.
I don't want to be too longwinded, but those are some of
the reasons that I was motivatedto start my own practice.
Wow, I mentioned a lot ofthings, so we can dive into some
of those, no problem.

Speaker 1 (21:58):
First of all, kudos to you, because leaving a
full-time job and transitioninginto this unknown
entrepreneurial work is veryit's a risk on its own, and so
that alone plus you, you werepregnant, plus you were about to
have a child and that is awhole different world and a big
transition on its own.
So amazing to you for beingable to like navigate these big

(22:23):
life transitions both at thesame time.
How was that for you, too, likeemotionally?
What were some of the thingsyou were feeling?

Speaker 3 (22:32):
as you were making these pictures.
So the decision to focus orprioritize motherhood was
something I just I knew, like Iknew that that's what I wanted
to do, but no one warned meabout what that transition would
look like.
Nobody tells you what it's like, no one talks about this.

(22:54):
I like just went into itcompletely, like, like you said,
the unknown.
So I would say the first thing,of course, is the loss of
identity, or I.
You know, some people call it acareer identity crisis.
I wouldn't call it a crisis,but it was a very difficult

(23:14):
transition, because you go fromworking full time, like for a
decade, and then you go intothis space where it seems like
there's nothing right.
And I also stopped working whenI was pregnant, so I didn't
have my son yet until a couplemonths later.
So during the, during that time,it was months of saying who am

(23:39):
I without a job?
Like, who am what?
What am I?
What are my skills?
What are, like, what I?
The best way to put it is whoam I without a career or a job?
Yes, there are these othersides of me.
Yes, I do have these interests,but if I'm not doing anything
with it right now, then what amI?
Am I useless, like I foundmyself just being unproductive

(24:03):
because I was not working everyday.
So that was, you know, theidentity crisis I was
experiencing.
That lasted months.
And then the other thing waslack of support.
There was no one that I didn'tknow who to reach out to to get
some help and support throughthis.
So I was experiencing thechallenges in the workplace and

(24:26):
then I was experiencing justchallenges with the pregnancy
and there just seemed to be noone that I can talk to who's
experienced something like this.
So there was isolation,loneliness, lack of support.
That was very difficult.
And then there was also thisthis is the unique one that I

(24:49):
didn't realize I would gothrough, but there was a lot of
pressure on me to go back towork as soon as possible, like a
lot it was.
It was everywhere I turned,people were telling me you need
to go back to work.
You need to go back to workAfter you have a child.
You need to go back to work.
Like within a few months, youneed to go back to work.
That was just all the messagesI was getting, and that was so

(25:12):
difficult because it was I knewI wanted to be with my son in
the early years.
I knew that.
So there was no, you know,support for me to like let's
help you with this transition.
Let's help you with, you know,prioritizing motherhood and
finding something outside ofthat that you can do.
Maybe you know when he'snapping, or when you have help,

(25:32):
or when you, on the weekends, inthe evenings, like whenever you
have time basically findingthings to do outside of that.
No one was supporting me inthat manner.
In that manner, really, youknow, it was my husband and my
family that were the biggestsupporters, but apart from that,
it was just everyone telling meto go back to work.
So that was really difficult.

(25:52):
That was like one of thebiggest challenges and I just I
didn't anticipate experiencingthat.
So so yeah, that was.
Those are some of the things Iexperienced during that
transition.

Speaker 1 (26:06):
Yeah, I think back to when I was on maternity leave
Six months.
I felt that limbo like who?

Speaker 2 (26:14):
am I.

Speaker 1 (26:15):
I don't know what to do at my time when my son was
napping, it's like should I workon my business?
Should I do an Instagram post?
Should I I don't know clean thehouse?
Should I take a shower?
Like you don't even know how tolike basic needs during those
first few months and so letalone having that pressure to
like go back to work do I evengo back to work?

(26:38):
Yeah, and dealing with healthfactors as well, it is a really
interesting time.
I didn't know that I was gonnafeel so much in limbo and I
didn't know that like so much ofyour basic needs you you're not
going to know how to navigateinto that schedule like that and
no one really talks about thatuntil you're there.

Speaker 3 (26:59):
Yeah, I mean, on top of the fact that, like I said,
pregnancy and taking care of anewborn and infant in that first
year, basically that is byitself so difficult, basically
that is by itself so difficult.
And it's funny that I'm noteven talking about those
challenges, like, I'm talkingabout the challenges that I

(27:20):
experienced outside of all ofthat.
So imagine going through that,having this, you know, this
infant who needs your attention,24, seven, so demanding, but on
top of that you're experiencingall these.
You know, like I said, the lossof identity you're.
You're experiencing pressure togo back to work.
And you know one thing that thefact that I was getting so much

(27:43):
pressure, it made me obviouslyfeel like what I was doing
taking care of a child was notvalued.
Right, it was like, oh you're,you're just at home, you're not
being productive, you're notoffering anything to society,
you have no value.
So that was an emotion Iexperienced a lot in the first
year.
It's like why am I doing this?

(28:05):
I'm so unproductive, I'm souseless.
So the fact that motherhood isnot valued is that was one of
the biggest challenges and I hadto really work through that.
I had to really work throughthose emotions for the past two
years and I definitely am at aplace where I'm very secure in
what I'm doing now.
But that first um, those firstfew months, that first year,

(28:28):
it's just so much going on it'sit's really tough.

Speaker 1 (28:32):
Yeah, yeah, thank you for sharing.
It truly truly is, and I knowone thing like I would think
about too is like I have agraduate degree and I love the
work that I do, so is it amatter of like giving that up
and like embracing motherhoodfully?
Is there a way I can balancethe two?
What does it say about me if Idecide to leave this?

(28:53):
You know there's so many things.
And then, yes, what is societygoing to say?
What is family started to getout there.

Speaker 3 (28:59):
I started to meet other moms.
I started to go to the park, goto like infant toddler events,

(29:19):
like I really was trying toengage with the community, and
that was when I started meetingother people who had similar
experiences as me and similaremotions and, just you know,
thoughts about work and careerand all of this.
So that is when I started tofeel better, just knowing that
there are other people out therewho's experiencing this,

(29:41):
because the perception for mewas that everyone around me
every you know friend, thatfriend that I had that just
became a mom the perception wasthat they all went back to work
and so it almost felt like I wasleft behind and I was making
the wrong decision.
But ultimately, again, like Isaid, everything brought me back

(30:02):
to okay, I know that what I'mdoing is right for me and my
family.
I know that this is what Ivalue, this is what I'm making
the decision on and, you know,despite what other people do,
like, you have to be secure inthat.
So what I experienced wasmeeting some moms and finally
finding, like that, solidarity,finding other people that

(30:23):
experience something similar,but then it almost feels like
they you know a lot of them willdecide okay, this is not right
for me.
I'm going back to work, so assoon as I feel like I find
someone, I feel like they'rekind of taken away.
So that is something that I'vestruggled with.
But again, like I said, I haveto just be secure in what I'm

(30:45):
doing and, you know, if thereare people that I can find
support with and other peoplethat are experiencing what I am,
that's, that's something thatwill help with my journey.
But it's ultimately, it's like,up to you to just be very
confident in the decisions thatyou make.

Speaker 2 (31:04):
I am like, sitting here, I watched Armanay go
through a lot of things, but Ialso didn't watch her go through
a lot of things too, and I tellher all the time like she's
doing such an amazing job andyou can't even tell, like
whatever is going on in her head, you can't even tell.
And I'm listening here and I'mlike I'm not even a mom yet and
all of these different thingsthat you feel like you can

(31:26):
navigate in community.
It sounds like you'renavigating independently and no
one's there to help, no one'sthere to be a shoulder, and it's
kind of like you should be ableto figure it out right, because
you made this decision.
Now you're supposed to carry itout.
And I'm sitting here and I'mlike holy crap, I had no idea.
Like that's what you guys arethinking about or that's what's
happening during these sixmonths.

(31:48):
I come from a Latino culturewhere you're you know you make a
decision, you go through it.
Whatever happens happens Likeit's it was your decision and
you kind of live with it.
And that's kind of been mymentality through everything
I've done.
And hearing you say feelingunproductive and undervalued and
feeling like being a mom is notvalued in our society hits so

(32:08):
hard in so many different ways.
I'm so proud of you, eventhough I know we've only met on
Zoom for the first time today,but hearing your story is so
powerful and I think other womenwho are thinking about this or
who have gone through this orgoing through this now are so
appreciative that you're sharingyour story with us.

Speaker 3 (32:30):
Yeah, yeah, no, thank you for saying that.
Like I said in the beginning,this is I've talked about this
with people that I trust andfeel comfortable talking to them
about, but I haven't reallyshared it like in this format.
But I and, of course, everyonehas their own circumstance and

(32:51):
everyone's experience iscompletely unique, but this is
what I experienced and this is.
You know, of course there's alot more to it.
There's a lot like day to daythings that you experience and
we haven't even gotten to whatit's like to start a business
when you're a full time mom.

(33:11):
I'm sure we'll get into that alittle bit, but it is so hard
and and I know that whateverdecision a mom makes, it's hard
in like on its own, in differentways, like I've talked to women
who have gone back to work andthey tell me their experiences
and their child, the challengesthat they have gone through that
are a little bit different.

(33:32):
So and and I I don't know thatbecause I don't have that
experience of going back to workwith, you know, having a baby.
So it's really interesting tohear the different perspectives
and the different experiencesand how mothers are dealing with
it.
You know like it's a lot of one.
For example, some working momsthat I've talked to have said

(33:55):
that they feel like they should,you know, be taking care of
their child, and they feel like,you know, everyone else is
taking care of their child, andthey're they're the only ones
that went back to work.
And it's funny because Iexperienced the same thing on my
side, where I feel like I'm theonly one that didn't go back to
work, and there everyone elsedid.
So it's just.

(34:16):
I love talking about it becauseI love hearing what other
people have done and you knowwhat their experiences are like.
And no matter what you decide,there's going to be some type of
sacrifice, that's, that's justwhat comes with being a mom.

Speaker 2 (34:28):
So yeah, absolutely.
Oh my gosh, I can't evenimagine.
I'm like literally in shock.
I had no idea.
This is like kind of what itwhat it looks like, something I
want to talk to you about or wewant to share too.
And something you referencedbefore was how, in higher
education, there really is nowork-life balance.

(34:49):
Armanay and I can attest tothat.
We are answering emails at 10PM at night.
We are in the morning.
I wake up thinking about what Ineed to do, or next week, or on
the weekend it's Saturday.
I still have to create anewsletter, like all these
different things.
That kind of happen, andwork-life balance doesn't only
exist in your career, yourprofessional life, but it also

(35:11):
exists in your personal life.
How did you find a work-lifebalance that fits for you as
you're also navigatingmotherhood?

Speaker 3 (35:21):
Yes, that's a good question.
Yes, it was difficult to findthat balance in higher ed.
I will say, though, that I'msure there are people out there
mothers, parents who are workingin higher ed and have some more
flexibility maybe part time jobor maybe remote work, but for

(35:41):
me, I was not able to reallyfind anything that was again
part time, remote things likethat.
A lot of the work that I didwas meeting with students
one-on-one, and I can tell youthat you can absolutely not do
that when you have a toddlerattached to you and whining at
you the whole day.
It's not something you canreally focus on.

(36:05):
So I was looking foropportunities that maybe were
flexible, but it's just itdidn't work out for me, and I
will also say that there are,you know, I've had managers that
were more open and flexible and, you know, allowed me to leave
work early or later, whatever,and then I had some managers

(36:26):
that were very strict.
So I think it also just dependson the workplace and the
management, like, how it's run,how, you know, different
managers do things.
So, you know, I'm sure thereare some people that, or some
women that like have moreflexibility, but I personally
was not able to really find that.
And I also, just like I said, Iwanted to prioritize motherhood

(36:51):
.
Just like I said I wanted toprioritize motherhood, I wanted
to have my full attention on myson, as opposed to, you know,
having to work during the dayand also take care of him.
Like that is way too much to do.
It really is a full time job byitself to take care of a human.
So that's why I just didn'twant to have to do both.
And so, going back to the worklife balance that you said,

(37:17):
right now is when I've had, Ifelt like I have more balance in
my life.
It took a long time to get here,but I am at a point with my son
where he doesn't need as muchattention, right, like it's
different when he's an infantversus a toddler.
So, when he's an infant, therewere, you know, we were still

(37:40):
struggling with sleep and he hadto take multiple naps a day and
he, you know, I was always likeI had to carry him.
So it's very different than nowwhen he's almost two and he is
able to walk independently, he'sable to play independently.
He only takes one nap duringthe day.
So it's just, my days are morestable now Like I know what it

(38:02):
looks like and obviously itcould be different day to day,
but for the most part it'spretty stable.
So it almost feels like a jobwhere you have the morning shift
and then you have your lunchhour and then you have the
afternoon shift and then you gohome.
So that's what it feels likenow with him, with my son, and

(38:24):
it really is like the first hour.
I'll go out, I'll take him tothe park, I'll do some, you know
, go get groceries with him,basically spend the morning with
him.
The park.
I'll do some, you know, go getgroceries with him, basically
spend the morning with him.
Then my lunch hour is his nap.
So he'll sleep maybe one to twohours and I'll have that time
to have a break.
Work on the business, you know,work on other things that I've
wanted to work on, and then theafternoon shift is again being

(38:46):
with him, maybe taking him out,maybe, you know, running other
errands, and then the evening,after I put him to bed, he goes
to bed very early, pretty,pretty early, like seven to
eight, and then after that Ihave all this time that I can
work on the business, I can doclient meetings, I can, you know
, work on my website and youknow I'm working on a resume,

(39:07):
writing certification, thosekinds of things.
So obviously I am exhausted bythat time.
But and some days I try to givemyself time to just, you know,
like unwind and relax.
But some days I also try toreally work and grow the
business.
I always say to not have zerodays.

(39:28):
So every day if there's onelittle thing that I can do for
the business, then you know it'sover time, it's going to build
up to something bigger.
So that's kind of what my lifelooks like right now.
But I'm also realizing thateverything is temporary.
So even in a job, even in anyjob, you're not going to be
there forever.
You're always looking to moveup, you're always looking to get

(39:49):
promoted, you know, findanother opportunity.
So it's kind of the same thinghere, where I, you know, I know
that being with him is notforever, it's only for a few
years and it's just it's like ajob.
I almost treat it like a job,but it's a very fulfilling job.
It's it's you know, it's my son, it's some someone that I'm
investing all this time andattention into, and I know that

(40:13):
you know it's gonna.
Obviously you don't see theresults right away, but
hopefully in the future youstart to see the results of it.
But yeah, that's a little bitabout how I found this balance
where I'm able to give my fullattention to my son but also
have these intellectual pursuitsoutside of being a mom.
And you know I am able to dothis.

(40:36):
I am able to not work right nowand, as in like, not have a
formal job right now withbenefits.
So I'm very blessed that I'm inthat position where I can do
that and I can slowly grow thebusiness so that it, you know,
it really evolves over time andthen, once my son is in school,
I can really focus on that.

(40:56):
So that's that's where I'm atright now with my life and I can
say that it feels more.
It feels like I have morebalance and honestly, I know
some people may talk about howit's difficult to have a child,
be taking care of a child, andit's almost like your freedom is
taken away from you.

(41:17):
But I mean, my days with him areamazing, like I the I have
freedom to go anywhere right,like if I want to go get coffee
or if I want to go do something,I just take him with me and
it's it's like a little bestfriend that you have with you
all the time.
So it's, it's so much fun.

(41:37):
And again, this is I understandthat this is not the lifestyle
that everyone wants, but for mepersonally it's been so fun,
it's been so rewarding and nowthat he is older it just gets so
much better, it gets a lot moreenjoyable.
So for anyone who'sexperiencing, you know that
first, those early stages ofinfancy, it, I will tell you, it

(41:59):
gets so much easier and so muchbetter.
At least for me it did.
So that's what I'll say.

Speaker 1 (42:06):
Oh, I love that.
You know that's so interestingthat you were talking about,
like, as they grow and their naptime changes and everything,
it's a little bit easier.
I remember a couple of monthsago I was like I can't wait till
he starts taking one nap a day,because in the early days, when
they're sleeping three to fourtimes a day, it's so

(42:27):
unpredictable.
You have a zero structure andI'm a person that, like I like
to plan out my day, I'd like tohave a schedule.
So just that unpredictabilityof the day is really difficult
to navigate.
But he is starting to get tothe point where he's doing two
naps a day.
It's a little unpredictable with, like, he's not sleeping at the
same exact time every day.

(42:48):
So I still can't fully, but atleast I know we're.
We have, however, many wakehours and so forth, so I could
get a little more planning now.
But I'm I'm like, okay, it'sgiving me hope that you know I
could get to that point where Icould.
I know exactly what time hesleeps during the day and I
could structure the rest of theactivities around that.

Speaker 3 (43:09):
Yeah absolutely I'm the same way, like structure,
routine.
That's the only type, that'sthe only thing that helps me
thrive.
And you know, having a job,like a formal job, really was
like that.
Every day was kind of the samething.
So I was able to, yeah, likereally thrive in that
environment.

(43:29):
So that first year, first yearand a half, but even like up
until now, I remember a fewmonths ago I think, he was going
, my son was going through someother sleep regression, so he
was, for example, you know, Iwould put him down for a nap but
he would cling on to me andjust start screaming.
So I didn't expect that thatjust came out of nowhere and so

(43:53):
I would do contact naps with him.
I would basically hold him tonap and that lasted like a week
or two and I couldn't workduring that time.
Like that was, I couldn't get abreak, I couldn't work.
So that was just something thatI was like okay, this is what's
happening now, let's see howlong this is going to last.
And after two weeks or so itkind of got back to normal and

(44:18):
it just leveled out and he wasokay again to take naps and I
was able to get breaks.
So that you know, who knows,maybe that will happen again in
a few months and or maybe whenhe completely drops his nap and
I'm with him all day, it's goingto look very different.
So I am in this constanttransition phase where I'm
always adjusting to his newnormal and that's something I've

(44:39):
never been used to in my life.
But I think you know, being amom but honestly I think it's a
great skill to be able to justadapt quickly to something.
That is something that Idefinitely had to really like
learn as I became a mom.
So another example, forinstance, he used to go to sleep
at like 7 pm.

(45:00):
He used to go to bed at 7 pm.
Now he's going to bed at 8.
And that means I have one lesshour during the night to work
and that's oddly been adifficult transition for me.
So you have to be open, youhave to just see what happens
and work with whatever.
You're kind of dealt with.
And yeah, it's, it's been hard,but again it's, it's exciting

(45:22):
too, because it's just thisjourney of like constant
unknowns which can be difficult,but it also you know, you
realize how strong you are, yourealize, like, how much you're
doing and how you're just goingwith the flow and making it work
.
And, yeah, it just makes youfeel more secure and confident.

Speaker 1 (45:41):
Love it.
Yeah, it's truly a skill.
I think that's one of theskills that motherhood has been
teaching me is to be okay withthe unknown and to also be
patient.
The patience is another bigskill.
So I think we're evolving andgrowing, as our children are,
and by the time you get used toone routine, they're changing to
another one.

(46:01):
So that adaptability is, Ithink, super important and
something I've been learning tonavigate.
But on your end, you're alsoyou've been starting this
business while you're navigatingall these different changes as
a new mom.
So what advice would you giveto someone who is thinking about
starting their own business,whether they're a new parent or

(46:22):
not?
Just that process.

Speaker 3 (46:26):
Yeah.
So I spent the first year ormaybe like the first six months.
That's when I was reallyfocused on starting this
business.
My husband was on paternityleave so he was able to, you
know, also help me throughoutthe day, and we would give each
other breaks and during ourbreaks we would work on

(46:46):
different things.
So that's when I was focused ontrying to get the website up
and trying to see what myservices are like, really
thinking through what I'm goingto offer and what my expertise
is.
So I honestly, the first adviceI would give is don't spend too
much time thinking througheverything and just start it.
You can always change things.

(47:09):
You can always change the nameif you don't like it.
You can always evolve things.
You can always change the nameif you don't like it.
You can always evolve intosomething different, like.
That is something that canhappen.
So don't worry about making itperfect from the beginning.
Just start with whatever youcan start with.
So for me, it was just gettinga website up, getting my social
media up.
Another practical piece ofadvice I would give is to tap

(47:32):
into your network.
So, for example, my husband isin the tech industry, so he was
able to really help me with allthe website.
You know things that I had to dofor the website.
My brother just got his MBAfrom USC, so he actually has a
lot of experience in businessand he helped me set up all the
finance aspects of it.
I reached out to some of mylawyer friends who helped me

(47:55):
with the legal aspects of it, so, for example, writing up an
agreement contract for theclients, things like that and
thinking through what exactlythe legal aspects are.
So you know, I reached out tosome of some other people who
are like in marketing and salesand, you know, talking through
how exactly I would be startingto work on those things.

(48:15):
These are all areas I don'thave experience in and I don't
have experience starting abusiness.
So I had to reach out to peoplewho have certain unique skill
sets and experiences and thenget advice from them to really
start it up.
So I set up the LLC, I set upthe website, I did all of the
you know background work in that, first those first six months

(48:37):
or so.
And then that's when I was like, okay, I'm gonna kind of put
this out into the world and seewhat happens to it and see how I
evolve over time and again.
You have to remember, too, thatI'm doing all this while I'm a
full-time mom, so most of mytime is spent with my son, most
of my time is spent focused onmotherhood, focused on making

(49:00):
sure he's good, he's thriving,all of that, and these are all
things that I'm doing on theside.
So if it was the reverse, Iwould have come a lot further
now with the business.
But right now where I'm at isI've had several clients.
I focus on referrals, I focuson you know people that I know
people in my network.
I haven't kind of like donelike a you know a huge

(49:23):
announcement for it.
It's kind of just somethingthat's word of mouth right now,
and so I've had a lot of clientscome through just through
social media, marketing and,like I said, word of mouth.
So that that's really great.
But another aspect that no onetold me about with starting a
business is that you're going tohave a lot of downtime.

(49:44):
You're going to have a lot ofmonths where you don't get any
clients and you don't.
It's just quiet, it's likecrickets.
So giving yourself things to dois really tough, like I've
always had, you know, a managertell me what to do and I've
never really kind of set my ownstructure and set my own
schedule.
So I've had to learn to do that.

(50:06):
And during those slow, very slowperiods I've experienced a lot
of doubts.
I've experienced a lot ofhesitation, like why am I doing
this?
Is this the right thing to do?
Should I be going back to work?
Should I be doing this?
You know something else instead?
So those thoughts are prettyconstant, like almost on a daily

(50:26):
basis, and one of the biggestpieces of advice I can give is
to just push through thosethoughts and if you're not
feeling like okay, like you'renot feeling like you can work on
the business right now, youneed to step away from it for
maybe a few days or like a fewweeks, and just come back to it
at a later time, when you're ina better mood.

(50:47):
And you're in a better likemental state, then do that.
So I've done that many timeswhere I'm like, okay, you know
what, I'm just not gonna, I'mjust gonna take a break from
this.
So, and then you know comingback to it eventually and
reminding yourself like, no wait, you know, you have the skills,
you have the expertise.
You can really make this thingsucceed.
So and then you know over timeas you do, that you will get

(51:11):
another client and then thatclient will motivate you to
continue working on the businessand reminding yourself that
what you're offering is veryuseful and that you know you
like sometimes that you thinkyou know how am I different than
all the other career coachesout there?
Why would they choose me oversomeone else?
So thoughts like that comearound a lot and it's being able

(51:34):
to push through those and justcontinue doing it and knowing
that over time maybe not evenmonths, but maybe years things
will start to really pick up.
So those are.
Those are some of the yeah,just pieces of advice I would
give for someone who's startingout.

Speaker 1 (51:50):
Amazing All of the things you talked a little bit
about just starting and it'llchange and evolve over time.
I definitely can resonate withthat.
Mine has evolved over time manytimes.
So, yes, I think if we waituntil something is perfect and
ready to like put it out there,it's never going to be there
because you learn and you figureout what works and doesn't work

(52:12):
after you put it out there.
So, exactly, you resonate withthat and definitely resonate
with the self-doubt.
Honestly, I think that's justalways there, especially if
we're first generation folksstarting a business.
It's that imposter syndrome.
I might even, like you know,able to do this and be an

(52:32):
entrepreneur.
Some of the first like episodesin the podcast when I was doing
this solo, I talked about thatbecause it for me, it was almost
like reflecting on becoming anentrepreneur, because I never
thought that I would, didn'tever see myself in that space.
So that imposter syndrome isreal and it does creep in every
now and then.
But it is about, likeremembering your purpose and why

(52:55):
you're doing the work thatyou're doing and what makes you
you is what your clients aregoing to, why they're going to
like gravitate towards you youknow Exactly, and I was
comparing myself to people whohave been doing this for a
decade or, you know, for a verylong time and have had the
experience that I'm currentlygoing through.

Speaker 3 (53:15):
So, remembering that don't compare yourself to other
career coaches, careerconsultants out there, because
you don't know their journey,you don't know their experience.
They probably went throughsomething like you did and, in
fact, one of the things thatI've been doing is connecting
with those people and againgoing back to what during the
evenings, like reaching out,networking, doing informational

(53:52):
interviews for people who aredoing things that are similar to
what I'm doing now.
So I actually, for example, metsomeone on Instagram who does
this, who's also a mother, andstruggled with the same things
that I struggled with, and shefound, you know, this other
possible career path where shecan actually do resume writing.

(54:15):
So she writes resumes for herclients.
I've never done that for myclients and in higher ed, I
would help students with theirresumes.
I would never write resumes forpeople, but that was that was
like a shift in my you know,like understanding that there is
this need for resume writingand there's a certification for

(54:37):
it and there's all thesecompanies that you can actually
contract with, that will sendyou clients and you write their
resumes and cover letters.
Like there's this whole worldof remote, flexible work that in
within, like career developmentthat I didn't even know about.
That works with being a mom,being the full time mom.

(54:58):
So that's what I also mean bylike evolving.
So, you know, even though I wasoff, I'm offering certain
services now that are moresimilar to the expertise I had.
I'm trying to build on that andoffer different types of
services and again get out of mycomfort zone and do something a
little bit different.
But it's ultimately veryexciting because now I'm being

(55:20):
able to find these opportunitiesthat work with what?
The decision that I'm making,which is being a mom and
focusing on motherhood right now.
So that's really exciting,that's really cool.
But yeah, I have to do more ofthat.
I have to do more networking,more informational interviews
and yeah, it almost feels likeI'm starting again.
So it makes sense to really dothat again.

(55:43):
It's almost like a career pivot, but not really because I'm
still kind of in the same realmof work, but yeah, it still
feels like a new thing.

Speaker 2 (55:54):
I love that.
I do because it really teachesyou like what your skills are,
where your strengths in and howto tap into them to help you
excel.
And I think you going back tothe roots right Of what we teach
students and people in everydaylife, of networking and how
powerful informationalinterviews are and connections
and relationships and where thatcan really take you.

(56:14):
It may not pay off immediately,but in the long run it really
does make a difference.
So I really love that.
And I also want to say to womenlike you and women like Armine
and women like myself but I'mgoing to exclude myself for
right now where you have thebravery and the courage to go
out and start something andbuild something, that's what
really inspires others.
And I know it wasn't until I metArmin and we started talking

(56:37):
about what we did outside of theStrathmore building when I
really got inspired to be like,oh my gosh, this is something
that I've always wanted to doand I see someone who I idolize
and admire doing it.
I should do it too.
So know that even though, likepeople are not engaging with you
in the business, you areinspiring so many people just in

(56:59):
general who wants to dosomething who have wanted to
reach out for support and thingslike that.
So the community that you'rebuilding is much more than what
you think it is, and somethingthat I've had to like live with
along with my journey, becauseit's mine looks a little bit
different, and what I've turnedit into in that piece of
evolving too.
Well, cynthia, we've had apleasure talking with you and

(57:25):
you listening to your story andsharing it with us, but there's
one last thing we would like toask for you.
So, yes, you may not be amother who works in a
traditional nine to five, butyou still are a working mother,
and what guidance, what advicewould you give to other working
mothers navigating this?

Speaker 3 (57:44):
Well, thank you for all of that and thank you for,
of course, inviting me on thepodcast and letting me talk
about my journey.
Like I said, this is the firsttime I've been kind of really
getting into some of the detailsof what I've experienced, but
you know it's a little tough.
I was talking to my husbandabout this the other day.

(58:04):
But there are all these termsthat we often use with mothers.
There's the working mom,there's the stay-at-home mom,
there's like all these differentterms, right, and I don't even
know what I would put myselfinto right, like I guess I would
be.
I guess my lifestyle is morealigned with the traditional
stay-at-home mom because I'mfocusing on, like I said,

(58:25):
motherhood, but I'm also tryingto find these intellectual
pursuits, I'm trying to work,I'm trying to build this
business.
So it's really hard.
Like what do I lump myself into?
And then there are some momswho work part time and they are
with their kids, like or childor kids, twice a week, three

(58:45):
times a week.
So what are they?
Are they stay at home moms?
Are they working moms?
So it's a little tough.
I don't know what exactly to belumped into.
I can't speak to thetraditional working mom, where
it's like someone who goes backto work full time and you know,
that's, I guess, what theworking mom would be.

(59:05):
But a stay-at-home mom is, likeI said, more aligned with what
I'm doing.
Stay-at-home mom is, like Isaid, more aligned with what I'm
doing.
I think I'm still in theposition where I want to meet
other moms who are in more ofthe lifestyle that I kind of
have right now and see howthey're managing, just because

(59:27):
it's like I said, for me thepriorities are focusing on
motherhood and focusing ontaking care of my son in these
early years and then findingthings that I can pursue outside
of that, things that would fitinto that type of schedule,
which is a unique circumstance,it's not.
It's pretty different than thetraditional working mom.

(59:50):
It's pretty different than thetraditional working mom.
So I can't really give adviceto that type of working mom
who's experiencing like the fulltime job, full time career, and
you know that that I can'treally speak to that experience.
I can't really give advice tothose women, because it's a
completely different experience.
So, for those women who areexperiencing like the being a

(01:00:11):
work, being a full-time mom andbut also wanting to find some
balance with work or findsomething, some projects that
they can do outside of that.
I think it's honestly the firstthing I would say is stop
resisting motherhood, becausethere are so many women that
I've found that are very likeit's it's tough to talk about

(01:00:32):
there.
There are so many women thatI've found that are very like
it's tough to talk about.
There are a lot of women thatI've met that just want to go
back to work but feel like theycan't, they're not able to like
go back to work unless they likecompletely sacrifice time with
their child.
So there's all these differentstruggles that women go through

(01:00:53):
and a lot of the times like Iwent through that as well where
I was like I need to work, Ineed to do something, I need to
do something else outside ofthis.
But I stopped doing that, Istopped resisting it so much and
I kind of embraced motherhood,like I really just took it on
and embraced it fully and I justsaid like I'm going to do

(01:01:15):
everything I can to find ways towork around this, like find
ways to, you know, get out thereand put myself in the world and
get involved and do things thatare just, you know, on the side
.
So, for example, another thingthat I did that I would not have
probably been able to do if Iwas still working full time, is
become a board member for anonprofit that's like focused on

(01:01:38):
children's literacy.
So that's like very differentthan higher ed or anything I've
ever done, but that wassomething that I.
The opportunity came my way andI was like you know what I'm
taking it.
So now I have all thesedifferent aspects of my life
where, like, I'm a board memberfor this nonprofit that's
focused on, you know, children'sliteracy.
I have my business, I havemotherhood, like.

(01:01:59):
I have all these differentthings that I'm doing.
That I'm doing part time, butit's still giving me that.
Those that intellectual pursuitit's still giving me the
ability to work on thingsoutside of motherhood remind
myself that I do have interestsand goals that are not just
focused on being a mom.
So if there are moms out therewho are experiencing this

(01:02:21):
feeling of like being lost inmotherhood and then not having
anything else, put yourself outthere, put yourself out there,
put yourself out into the world.
There are other moms out therewho are experiencing what you
are 100 percent.
Um.
Go to the park with your youknow kids and meet other moms,
like everyone is very willing tosocialize, um, you know, talk

(01:02:44):
to other people, reach out topeople, network, um, you know,
whatever you can do to reallyput yourself out there, you see
that once you do that, theopportunities start coming your
way.
And it takes time.
It takes a lot of time, likeeven for me.
I'm still in the early years ofdoing this, so I'm sure that
the more I do this, the moreopportunities will come my way

(01:03:05):
in the future.
But I have to just rememberthat.
So it's still a struggle.
But that's been the thingthat's helped me so much with
this experience is justconnecting with other people and
just pushing through it and notresisting motherhood, just like
being fully in it and beingfully present.

Speaker 1 (01:03:27):
Amazing advice and your story has been so
inspirational I have to us, bothmj and myself, and I hope to
our listeners as well.
Um, it's all a learning processand we thank you for sharing
your journey with us, cynthia.
Um, at this time we will leaveit up to our listeners.

(01:03:47):
If you have any questions, anycomments, anything you want to
share, please connect with us.
You know where to find us, bothMJ and myself, and we're happy
to kind of continue thisconversation with our listeners
if you all would like to.

Speaker 3 (01:04:02):
Yes, and if there's anyone out there listening who's
experiencing anything like this, I am very open.
I am very open to talking, tomeeting up, having coffee with
our kids, like I'm very open toall of it.
So, and there are multiple waysto reach out to me too.
I'm on LinkedIn, instagram, mywebsite, whatever, like anything

(01:04:26):
.
So so thank you guys so muchfor having me on here and I'm
really really happy that I gotto do this and that I got to
meet you guys on zoom, andhopefully I will meet you at
UCLA one day.
I'm hopefully I can visitsometime soon.
But yeah, thank you guys somuch.
This was an amazing opportunity.