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Identify Your Next Move: Part 2 in the "Mom's Bold Return" Series

Updated: Jan 16

Is your next move a career pivot or a new venture?
Is your next move a career pivot or a new venture?


In Part 1, we did the internal work of uncovering your professional identity after motherhood. You’ve rediscovered your superpowers and perhaps felt the first few sparks of a new interest. 


But now you might be at a crossroads, staring at a blank notebook and wondering: How do I actually apply this? 


Maybe you feel a pull toward something entirely new, like an artisan business or a creative service. Or, perhaps you miss the intellectual rhythm of your original profession, but you know you cannot go back to the 60-hour per week hustle or the rigid office culture you left behind. 


Your next move isn’t about fitting back into an old box; it’s about choosing a new direction that fits your current life.



Choosing Your Path: The Pivot or the Launch



Making a pivot to your previous career or launching an entirely new one are two of the most common ways stay-at-home mothers reclaim their professional seat at the table. Neither is "better," but one will likely feel more aligned with your energy right now.


  • The Career Pivot: This is for you if you love your field but want to change the way you work. You aren't starting over; you are specializing. For example, if you were an HR Director, you might return as a project-based consultant for startups, offering high-level strategy without the corporate commute.


  • The Creative Launch: This is for you if your new curiosities have taken center stage. You are leveraging your professional backbone to build something original. This is where you take your analytical background and apply it to a boutique brand or a mission-driven service that is yours alone.



The 4 "Life-Fit" Filters



Before you commit to a path, I invite you to run your ideas through these four filters to ensure they are aligned with the professional identity you are looking for. 


  1. The Energy Check: When you think about this work, do you feel a sense of excitement, or does it feel like just another obligation on your calendar?


  2. The Time Check: Can this work be done in the bursts of time you actually have—during school hours or in the quiet of the evening—or does it demand a 9-to-5 desk presence that you don't currently have, or have the support for?


  3. The Identity Check: When you tell a peer what you’re working on, do you feel a sense of pride? Your next move should make you feel like the expert you are.


  4. The Context Check: Does this role work within the reality of your family structure? If your vision requires frequent travel or late-afternoon meetings, but you don't have someone to manage the school pickup, the friction will eventually lead to burnout.


Note: If the "Context Check" feels like your biggest hurdle, don't worry. We will tackle the logistics of childcare and support systems in much greater detail in Part 3 of this series.


If you’re stuck between a career pivot and a new launch, let me help you weigh your options. Book a complimentary 30-minute Strategy Session to vet ideas and find the path with maximum impact and minimal burnout.



An Example: Full-Time Financial Analyst to Part-Time Fractional CFO 


Consider Maya, a former Financial Analyst. She missed the challenge of high-level math but dreaded both the thought of returning to a big firm and returning in a full-time capacity.


The Pivot: Instead of returning to her previous role or looking for a different traditional "job," Maya reached out to her old network of past colleagues and friends. She also tapped into her new friends, mostly other parents from the playground, who ran small businesses.


She realized that these artisan brands and startups needed her "old wisdom" but couldn't afford a full-time executive.


The Result: Maya reclaimed her title as a Financial Expert and now works as a Fractional CFO for Small Businesses from home while her children are at school. 


She works with clients who inspire her, uses her high-level skills, and sets a schedule that respects her family's needs. 


She didn't return to her old life; she designed a new one using the same tools.



Start with a "Minimum Viable Identity" (MVI)



In the technology and startup world, there is a concept known as the Minimum Viable Product (MVP). The goal of an MVP is to launch the simplest version of a product to test its viability in the real world before investing massive amounts of time and capital.


I invite you to apply this same logic to your transition. You don't need a finished website, a business license, or a 10-page business plan to be a professional. Those are "urgent" distractions that often keep us from the "important" work of starting.


Take the smallest, simplest professional action you can take to "test" your new role:


  • If you’re pivoting: Reach out to one former colleague for a "catch-up coffee" and mention the specific type of consulting or role you are exploring.


  • If you’re launching a new business: Create one prototype, draft one service outline, or make one social media post that declares your new focus to the world.


This tiny step proves to your brain that you are moving. It shifts your internal narrative from "a mom who is thinking about work" to "a professional who is currently in discovery."


This process is not about rushing. By letting go of perfectionism, you can design your next move so that it is truly sustainable within the demands of motherhood.



Deciding Your Next Move to Reclaiming Your Professional Identity



Choosing your next move doesn't have to be an all-or-nothing gamble. It is a process of filtering your ideas through the reality of your current life. To recap your strategy for this stage:


  • Define Your Path: Are you looking for the familiar expertise of a Career Pivot or the fresh energy of a Creative Launch?


  • Apply the Filters: Does the idea pass the Energy, Time, Identity, and Context checks?


  • Test the MVI: What is one "Minimum Viable Identity" action you can take this week to move from thinking to doing?


Remember, the goal of this stage isn’t to have everything figured out; it is simply to pick a direction so you can start testing the waters. You are no longer just "waiting for the right time"; you are actively designing it.



Next in the "Mom's Bold Return" series: Reclaiming Time





Ready to claim your next chapter? 



Whether you are pivoting an established career or launching a brand-new vision, you don't have to navigate the transition alone. Explore my Career Transition Packages and let's turn your "What Now?" into a "Watch Me."

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