When I became a parent – everything changed. Of course it did, but after spending my 20s and 30s fully in control of every decision I made, it was quite different to suddenly factor in someone else’s life, wellbeing, growth and development.
My friend Rachel once said “you start worrying as soon as you pee on that stick”. It’s so true. When I found out I was pregnant, I immediately started to think how all of this would work: I loved my job – properly loved it. But it was a job that didn’t feel compatible with a newborn.
So my head started doing the math and all the thinking (so much thinking!!!). At the time in my role as EMEA’s tech evangelist for Snowflake I did a lot of public speaking and A LOT of travel. I loved that and I thrived on the challenge of creating stories that would resonate with audiences – from super technical events in Tel Aviv to addressing healthcare leaders in Cheshire to pitching to data leaders in professional sports teams.
I loved the travel, I tried to find the glamorous elements in even the shortest trip and I had gotten very comfortable with packing light and spending time in airports.
When I become a mum all of that got pushed to the side.
Not only did I want to be home and around my child and enjoy our time together without mentally preparing for the next trip. I also learned over the first few months of our daughter’s life that she’s the kind of child who really wants and needs us around. So going back to a demanding (time and travel) full-time role wasn’t an option.
That was the time and eventually the moment (in February 2024) when I decided to take the plunge and go all in on running my own business, rather than returning to the job I loved at Snowflake.
And let me be completely fair here: Could that job have worked fully remotely and with reduced hours? Yes, I am sure it could. I could have definitely had that conversation, but I knew that for ME the job wouldn’t have felt the same when it’s done remotely. I thrived on the in-person connections with audiences, colleagues and partners. I wanted to either do it fully or not at all.
So that was the time I left corporate. I haven’t looked back but I continue to have close connections with a bunch of former colleagues and I love watching them do great things as the company keeps growing and innovating.
Over the coming weeks I’ll share more of my story here on the blog.
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