Mompreneur: Lex Vernon on Baby-Business Integration

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Mompreneur: The bountifully feminine, glowing maternal leader. She wears two distinguishing capes, birthing far more than product launches and six-figure ideas. She is the mother of business and babies – both made from passion, nurtured with love, and raised to be the best expression of what they can be in the world. To she who births the next generation of heroines (& heroes), this is for you.

Branded a “Moxie Maven” by the White House for her unique and effective approach to developing female leaders, Alexia Vernon is the founder of Influencer Academy (a 9-month, face-to-face women’s leadership development training program) and is the creator of Your Spotlight Talk (a digital training program to create, book, and perform a TED-style talk). The go-to expert for executives, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders who want to create game-changing presentations, keynotes, and workshops that leave audiences inspired, educated, and ready to take action, Alexia has been featured by media including CNN, NBC, Inc., the Wall Street Journal, Women’s Health Magazine, and Forbes.com. Enjoy her exclusive Business Heroine Mompreneur interview…

Tanya: How do you balance business and baby?

Lex: I reject the word balance! My new goal is integration, and when I achieve it, for it definitely doesn’t always happen, I am clear about the support I need from both my business team and family, what hours I’m working (short bursts throughout the day organized primarily around sleep times), and I force myself to stop even when work isn’t completed. As somebody who likes to complete a project the day I start it and fine tune for days or weeks until it’s “due,” I’ve had to surrender to less tinkering – going with first or second versions. With that said, I’ve churned out more creative work since my daughter’s birth than ever before, so it’s also been a wake-up call that I was spending too much time futzing with work that was ready for the world.

Tanya: How did you set up your business to continue to thrive with the baby coming?

Lex: I created a schedule that would allow me just to lead my Influencer Academy, which was in its 1st year and meets 1 day a month, and to lead my 3-month women’s public speaking program – which was to begin 60 days after my baby was due. I took close to 6 months off from private coaching. But…and here’s the big but…less than 2 weeks postpartum all I wanted to do was create. I began designing my first digital training program. Began to chart my musings for a new book. For me, work was the arena I felt confident and most like me. So although I could have done a way better job of having a robust professional team carrying more of the behind-the-scenes for me (I hired my dream team about 7-8 months postpartum – once cash flow was back up), I do wish in hindsight I’d had more passive revenue coming in. Even though I saved very well, I’m wired to feel good when I personally, not just my husband and I as a family, have my own money coming in.

Tanya: Did you have any creative breakthroughs during your pregnancy? If yes, do tell!

Lex: I felt the most alive in my body while pregnant. I often say that the 50+ pounds I gained were 7 pounds baby, 43 pounds creative juices! While pregnant, I established the most delicious self-care practice. From meditation and yoga to oils to reading to multiple trips to Hawaii, I had it down. Plus, I got clear on what I want for my business – a thriving online community, less travel for speaking gigs, and more intensive, high-level work with my private public speaking clients.

Tanya: What’s the greatest gift (expected or unexpected) that motherhood has provided you?

Lex: My daughter. I was born to be this little spiritual being’s guide. And everything she has brought into my life – the heaps of good, the occasional bad, and the frequently confusing – has allowed for me to grow into the human being I want to be.

Tanya: Now that you are on the other side, what wisdom would you offer your pre-mother self?

Lex: Hands down to focus less on the delivery and more on life on the other side. I’m sickened a bit when I think of how much time I spent in hypnobirthing or breastfeeding classes, obsessing over the playlist for my delivery, etc. and yet, I didn’t know how to effectively change a diaper or take a newborn in and out of a carseat. I hadn’t thought about who and what I needed around me to support me when I wasn’t sleeping and couldn’t jet in and out of my house like I used to. My greatest desire for first-time pregnant moms is to not equate your worth or pin too much on your delivery. Mine was NOTHING like what I envisioned, yet it was the birth I needed to strengthen my capacity to give up control, be resilient in the face of setbacks, and to ultimately trust even more deeply in the divine.

Tanya: What are the top resources you found yourself using during your pregnancy?

Lex: KellyMom.com for breastfeeding info and .

I also recommend spending some time to find your virtual community of moms who run similar businesses to yours!