Marketing Lessons I Borrowed From Parenthood
Raising kids, am I right? Humbling, unpredictable, messy, and unequivocally, deeply rewarding. It requires a new level of patience, creativity, and the ability to keep showing up even when you’re not sure it’s working. There’s no step-by-step formula. Just instincts, trial and error, and a lot of trust that what you’re attempting to instill in your children will take root.
I’ve realized that some of the lessons that shape me as a mom parallel the same ones I’ve learned in marketing.
Lesson 1: You can’t do it all.
The newborn stage, especially with your first baby, is wild. Sleep suddenly becomes this forbidden fairytale from your past life that you think about 24/7, all the while recovering from the shock that they sent this tiny living thing home with you and they just trust that you know how to keep it alive. It takes everything you have just to open your eyes each morning, and you quickly realize that you can’t maintain the pace or schedule you had before. So instead of trying (and failing) to give your attention to a dozen different things at once, you’re forced to pair it down to the absolute essentials. Your capacity to add new things back into your routine grows as your kids get older and more independent.
Marketing works the same way.
Trying to juggle every platform, trend, and tactic at once will only stretch you thin and lead to burn out. You don’t have to tackle everything in your marketing vision at the same time, you just have to show up intentionally where it matters most. Then once everything is running like a well-oiled machine, you have some space to try something new.
Lesson 2: Consistency beats perfection.
Kids don’t need a perfect parent. They need a present one. I was so incredibly hard on myself as a new mom, and it took me a long time to settle into the idea that my kids didn’t need me to be a Pinterest mom who was constantly disappointed that she couldn’t be a Pinterest mom. They just needed me to show up every day and do my best.
And in the same way, your audience doesn’t expect you to be flawless. You’re not a robot, after all. They just need you to show up regularly, with honesty and heart. Some weeks you’ll post less, some emails won’t land, and sometimes you’ll be creating content from the carpool line. That’s okay. What matters is that you keep showing up in a way they can rely on.
Lesson 3: Growth happens quietly.
I was just comparing two photos of my daughter in her ballet outfit, one year apart. I was expecting the difference to be minimal since she still fits in the same leotard as last year, and was absolutely SHOCKED at the difference. You truly don’t notice how much they’re growing right in front of you until you look back at how far they’ve come.
In marketing, progress isn’t always loud or obvious either. Sometimes it looks like an email list that grows one subscriber at a time, or a website that finally starts ranking on Google months after it launches. The consistent work you put in over time (even when no one’s clapping for it) is what makes those “overnight successes” possible later.
Lesson 4: Trust your intuition.
Congratulations! You’re a parent now and you’ve unlocked a brand new treasure trove of unsolicited advice. And even though it’s not all bad, it is all extra noise to wade through before you can figure out what you actually think. And more often than not, it just takes time and a lot of trial and error before you land on what works for you and your kid.
Just like parenthood, there’s always someone telling you what you should be doing in marketing. The latest hack, the “must-post” trend, the course that’s going to change your life double your revenue in 15 days. But no one knows your brand (or your family) the way you do.
The best results come from tuning out the noise, finding sources you trust and letting your intuition guide the way. If something doesn’t feel aligned, it’s probably not.
Lesson 5: Find your village.
One of the conundrums of parenthood, especially in the early days, is that it can feel very lonely and isolating at times. Which on paper doesn’t make any sense, because statistically there are more parents in the world than non-parents. A whole new world opens up when you find your parenting village, whether it’s through a weekly mom meet up or an online community.
I spent the first 8 years of my entrepreneurial journey working with a team, but once I branched out on my own, I realized just how important it is to have like-minded peers on speed dial. Find a circle of fellow business owners, executive directors, founders, etc. and swap wins and setbacks. If you can find folks in your specific industry, even better. When one of us succeeds [at sticking it to the man and making money our own way], we all succeed.
Lesson 6: Celebrate the small wins.
Getting everyone dressed and out the door on time? Victory.
Publishing your monthly newsletter or updating your website copy? Put that in the “win” column.
Both are signs of progress. Both deserve to be acknowledged. The big milestones are great, but it’s the tiny steps that build momentum and keep you grounded in the process.
When it comes to parenthood AND marketing…
Growth takes time, consistency matters more than perfection, and connection is everything. All you have to do is show up with heart and trust the process!
