Moms with fancy jobs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:most important thing: only one kid

Also:
- supportive husband with a flex job. But he doesn’t contribute that much to running the household. He’s currently out of town for two weeks for work, and it’s no big deal - I’m used to keeping stuff running.
- full time remote work
- worked PT 30 hours a week for ages 1-5
- I’m outrageously organized and like to be doing stuff all the time.

Currently make 1.5m. Dh makes another 1m.

No sacrifices by either of us. Extremely successful marriage. Extremely involved with my kid, do bus drop off and pick up every day (MS currently), dinner all three of us together every night. Dh and I have a pre dinner drink together every night. Also exercise daily. Never had a nanny or regular babysitter. Sleep 8 hours a night.

Ultimately, the key is only one kid, remote work and being organized and enjoy doing stuff. Not everyone is wired to be able to do what I do - in the job or in my personal life.

Can I ask - when do you sleep? You say you get 8 hours a night, but if you're going bus drop off I assume you don't start working until 7:30 at the earliest? And then you do pickup, so you're there by 3?

I work from 7:30-4 (my kids take the bus and that's when they get on and off) and I make good money but not 7 figures, so I'm a bit in awe of your situation.

I work remotely. AM bus we leave the house at 8:30 back by 8:45. PM bus I leave at 4:25 and back by 4:35. I typically work until 7-ish every day. Lunch at my desk. If work is busy (basically, all of 2024) then i keep working until 7 and then again from maybe 8:30-10:30. If you're efficient with your time (obviously not at this exact moment - while i'm on dcum lol) then i'm working 10 solid hours every day without even putting in the evening work - so at minimum a 50 hour week. A couple days a week i have to take DS to an extracurricular but it's no big deal - i lose an hour of work time in the car, but usually work while he's doing his activity. So maybe just work an hour later those days. But like i said in my PP, i'm outrageously efficient and 'get stuff done' with my time. I don't waste any time doing non-essential stuff at work. No dumb committees or anything useless. Asleep by around 10:30 or 11 every night, so sleep in until 7. Easy peasy. Again, the key is one kid and remote work and being hyper efficient and organized.

When your DS was in ES, what did he do all afternoon/evening while you worked until 7? Aftercare?

Dh also works remotely. Ds is also somewhat solitary and has always liked his alone time. So a combo of maybe I would spend 15 mins with him of quality hanging out, maybe Dh would. By 6, maybe he’d watch an hour of tv. I have also always attempted to keep zoom calls to a minimum after school - both because it gives me a clear schedule to actually get work done and so I can be around for ds. So when he was younger I’d typically sit on the couch with him while I was working and he was doing something like building legos. We’d talk, I’d work, he’d do his own quiet thing. I dunno, it’s hard to remember back but obviously I managed to do okay at the work part, and ds always thought we were around all the time so I think we succeeded on that side too. Again, one kid is just not that hard.

It also sounds like he wasn’t in a lot of activities or running around at the playground or doing play dates after school, all of which it seems was personality driven. He needed some time to reset and enjoyed playing by himself.

That sounds pretty lonely. Hopefully that is the kid’s personality and not years of being told to be quiet when mom and dad are working.

[Anonymous]

So many high-powered women with time to post on DCUM lol

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:most important thing: only one kid

Also:
- supportive husband with a flex job. But he doesn’t contribute that much to running the household. He’s currently out of town for two weeks for work, and it’s no big deal - I’m used to keeping stuff running.
- full time remote work
- worked PT 30 hours a week for ages 1-5
- I’m outrageously organized and like to be doing stuff all the time.

Currently make 1.5m. Dh makes another 1m.

No sacrifices by either of us. Extremely successful marriage. Extremely involved with my kid, do bus drop off and pick up every day (MS currently), dinner all three of us together every night. Dh and I have a pre dinner drink together every night. Also exercise daily. Never had a nanny or regular babysitter. Sleep 8 hours a night.

Ultimately, the key is only one kid, remote work and being organized and enjoy doing stuff. Not everyone is wired to be able to do what I do - in the job or in my personal life.

Can I ask - when do you sleep? You say you get 8 hours a night, but if you're going bus drop off I assume you don't start working until 7:30 at the earliest? And then you do pickup, so you're there by 3?

I work from 7:30-4 (my kids take the bus and that's when they get on and off) and I make good money but not 7 figures, so I'm a bit in awe of your situation.

I work remotely. AM bus we leave the house at 8:30 back by 8:45. PM bus I leave at 4:25 and back by 4:35. I typically work until 7-ish every day. Lunch at my desk. If work is busy (basically, all of 2024) then i keep working until 7 and then again from maybe 8:30-10:30. If you're efficient with your time (obviously not at this exact moment - while i'm on dcum lol) then i'm working 10 solid hours every day without even putting in the evening work - so at minimum a 50 hour week. A couple days a week i have to take DS to an extracurricular but it's no big deal - i lose an hour of work time in the car, but usually work while he's doing his activity. So maybe just work an hour later those days. But like i said in my PP, i'm outrageously efficient and 'get stuff done' with my time. I don't waste any time doing non-essential stuff at work. No dumb committees or anything useless. Asleep by around 10:30 or 11 every night, so sleep in until 7. Easy peasy. Again, the key is one kid and remote work and being hyper efficient and organized.

When your DS was in ES, what did he do all afternoon/evening while you worked until 7? Aftercare?

Dh also works remotely. Ds is also somewhat solitary and has always liked his alone time. So a combo of maybe I would spend 15 mins with him of quality hanging out, maybe Dh would. By 6, maybe he’d watch an hour of tv. I have also always attempted to keep zoom calls to a minimum after school - both because it gives me a clear schedule to actually get work done and so I can be around for ds. So when he was younger I’d typically sit on the couch with him while I was working and he was doing something like building legos. We’d talk, I’d work, he’d do his own quiet thing. I dunno, it’s hard to remember back but obviously I managed to do okay at the work part, and ds always thought we were around all the time so I think we succeeded on that side too. Again, one kid is just not that hard.

It also sounds like he wasn’t in a lot of activities or running around at the playground or doing play dates after school, all of which it seems was personality driven. He needed some time to reset and enjoyed playing by himself.

That sounds pretty lonely. Hopefully that is the kid’s personality and not years of being told to be quiet when mom and dad are working.

It does seem odd, right? I can't imagine working on my computer with my kids sitting next to me..Occasionally, I'll have to take a call at night while I make my kids dinner. When that happens, I'm never on video with a computer in front of me. I'm on my phone and mostly muted and talking to my kids with a headphone in one ear praying that the call will end early and only unmuting myself to say something when it's 100% necessary. I resent the intrusion into my time with my children, but by the same token, unless there is a special situation I'm not working while "watching" my children for 3-4 hours prior to dinner. We have a nanny and we will until my youngest is in late ES or early MS. That doesn't make me a bad parent. That makes me someone who is realistic about what I am capable of doing while working and parenting. I am not capable of parenting well and giving three children what they need while working on a computer. I am also not capable of completing high quality work while watching my children. Why with only one child and millions of dollars wouldn't someone just hire a babysitter or an afternoon nanny to spend time with their child, drive them to activities, and bring them on playdates or just be present with them? It's not a badge of honor as a parent to have spent every afternoon after school tapping away on a computer for 3 or 4 hours while your child played alone. I also don't know how anyone who works 50 hours a week, seemingly every minute of the day according to the schedule above, is ruthlessly efficient. It sounds like you spend a ton of time working and would therefore be inefficient. The entire set-up also sounds exhausting: lone nanny/caregiver to child and slaving away all the time at work. That's the secret? Maybe your child is a loner because you are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So many high-powered women with time to post on DCUM lol

Along with all the devoted SAHMs who absolutely cannot do anything besides their full time job of raising children.

[Anonymous]

These threads always devolve into the dumbest posters putting down everyone who does not live like them.

[Anonymous]

My husband is the default parent and I am EXTREMELY organized / I definitely do all the administrative family stuff. I have a lot of energy. If any of these things weren’t true I couldn’t do it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:most important thing: only one kid

Also:
- supportive husband with a flex job. But he doesn’t contribute that much to running the household. He’s currently out of town for two weeks for work, and it’s no big deal - I’m used to keeping stuff running.
- full time remote work
- worked PT 30 hours a week for ages 1-5
- I’m outrageously organized and like to be doing stuff all the time.

Currently make 1.5m. Dh makes another 1m.

No sacrifices by either of us. Extremely successful marriage. Extremely involved with my kid, do bus drop off and pick up every day (MS currently), dinner all three of us together every night. Dh and I have a pre dinner drink together every night. Also exercise daily. Never had a nanny or regular babysitter. Sleep 8 hours a night.

Ultimately, the key is only one kid, remote work and being organized and enjoy doing stuff. Not everyone is wired to be able to do what I do - in the job or in my personal life.

Can I ask - when do you sleep? You say you get 8 hours a night, but if you're going bus drop off I assume you don't start working until 7:30 at the earliest? And then you do pickup, so you're there by 3?

I work from 7:30-4 (my kids take the bus and that's when they get on and off) and I make good money but not 7 figures, so I'm a bit in awe of your situation.

I work remotely. AM bus we leave the house at 8:30 back by 8:45. PM bus I leave at 4:25 and back by 4:35. I typically work until 7-ish every day. Lunch at my desk. If work is busy (basically, all of 2024) then i keep working until 7 and then again from maybe 8:30-10:30. If you're efficient with your time (obviously not at this exact moment - while i'm on dcum lol) then i'm working 10 solid hours every day without even putting in the evening work - so at minimum a 50 hour week. A couple days a week i have to take DS to an extracurricular but it's no big deal - i lose an hour of work time in the car, but usually work while he's doing his activity. So maybe just work an hour later those days. But like i said in my PP, i'm outrageously efficient and 'get stuff done' with my time. I don't waste any time doing non-essential stuff at work. No dumb committees or anything useless. Asleep by around 10:30 or 11 every night, so sleep in until 7. Easy peasy. Again, the key is one kid and remote work and being hyper efficient and organized.

When your DS was in ES, what did he do all afternoon/evening while you worked until 7? Aftercare?

Dh also works remotely. Ds is also somewhat solitary and has always liked his alone time. So a combo of maybe I would spend 15 mins with him of quality hanging out, maybe Dh would. By 6, maybe he’d watch an hour of tv. I have also always attempted to keep zoom calls to a minimum after school - both because it gives me a clear schedule to actually get work done and so I can be around for ds. So when he was younger I’d typically sit on the couch with him while I was working and he was doing something like building legos. We’d talk, I’d work, he’d do his own quiet thing. I dunno, it’s hard to remember back but obviously I managed to do okay at the work part, and ds always thought we were around all the time so I think we succeeded on that side too. Again, one kid is just not that hard.

It also sounds like he wasn’t in a lot of activities or running around at the playground or doing play dates after school, all of which it seems was personality driven. He needed some time to reset and enjoyed playing by himself.

That sounds pretty lonely. Hopefully that is the kid’s personality and not years of being told to be quiet when mom and dad are working.

It does seem odd, right? I can't imagine working on my computer with my kids sitting next to me..Occasionally, I'll have to take a call at night while I make my kids dinner. When that happens, I'm never on video with a computer in front of me. I'm on my phone and mostly muted and talking to my kids with a headphone in one ear praying that the call will end early and only unmuting myself to say something when it's 100% necessary. I resent the intrusion into my time with my children, but by the same token, unless there is a special situation I'm not working while "watching" my children for 3-4 hours prior to dinner. We have a nanny and we will until my youngest is in late ES or early MS. That doesn't make me a bad parent. That makes me someone who is realistic about what I am capable of doing while working and parenting. I am not capable of parenting well and giving three children what they need while working on a computer. I am also not capable of completing high quality work while watching my children. Why with only one child and millions of dollars wouldn't someone just hire a babysitter or an afternoon nanny to spend time with their child, drive them to activities, and bring them on playdates or just be present with them? It's not a badge of honor as a parent to have spent every afternoon after school tapping away on a computer for 3 or 4 hours while your child played alone. I also don't know how anyone who works 50 hours a week, seemingly every minute of the day according to the schedule above, is ruthlessly efficient. It sounds like you spend a ton of time working and would therefore be inefficient. The entire set-up also sounds exhausting: lone nanny/caregiver to child and slaving away all the time at work. That's the secret? Maybe your child is a loner because you are.

I’m a SAHM and when I have to do paperwork or take a call, the kids need to be on a screen or they will interrupt me. I have 3 kids though, not just 1.

I always have the kids. DH tried to work with my daughter and gave her crayons and put her next to him. That lasted 5 minutes.

[Anonymous]

A childhood friend talks to business school students about her career. Inevitably, the question gets asked how she juggles kids. The answer is that she doesn’t. Her son has had many challenges that he sees a therapist about. He says things like he’s lonely. He acts out and has other problems. She doesn’t take care of it, and neither does her ex-husband. But that’s not what she tells the students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:most important thing: only one kid

Also:
- supportive husband with a flex job. But he doesn’t contribute that much to running the household. He’s currently out of town for two weeks for work, and it’s no big deal - I’m used to keeping stuff running.
- full time remote work
- worked PT 30 hours a week for ages 1-5
- I’m outrageously organized and like to be doing stuff all the time.

Currently make 1.5m. Dh makes another 1m.

No sacrifices by either of us. Extremely successful marriage. Extremely involved with my kid, do bus drop off and pick up every day (MS currently), dinner all three of us together every night. Dh and I have a pre dinner drink together every night. Also exercise daily. Never had a nanny or regular babysitter. Sleep 8 hours a night.

Ultimately, the key is only one kid, remote work and being organized and enjoy doing stuff. Not everyone is wired to be able to do what I do - in the job or in my personal life.

Can I ask - when do you sleep? You say you get 8 hours a night, but if you're going bus drop off I assume you don't start working until 7:30 at the earliest? And then you do pickup, so you're there by 3?

I work from 7:30-4 (my kids take the bus and that's when they get on and off) and I make good money but not 7 figures, so I'm a bit in awe of your situation.

I work remotely. AM bus we leave the house at 8:30 back by 8:45. PM bus I leave at 4:25 and back by 4:35. I typically work until 7-ish every day. Lunch at my desk. If work is busy (basically, all of 2024) then i keep working until 7 and then again from maybe 8:30-10:30. If you're efficient with your time (obviously not at this exact moment - while i'm on dcum lol) then i'm working 10 solid hours every day without even putting in the evening work - so at minimum a 50 hour week. A couple days a week i have to take DS to an extracurricular but it's no big deal - i lose an hour of work time in the car, but usually work while he's doing his activity. So maybe just work an hour later those days. But like i said in my PP, i'm outrageously efficient and 'get stuff done' with my time. I don't waste any time doing non-essential stuff at work. No dumb committees or anything useless. Asleep by around 10:30 or 11 every night, so sleep in until 7. Easy peasy. Again, the key is one kid and remote work and being hyper efficient and organized.

When your DS was in ES, what did he do all afternoon/evening while you worked until 7? Aftercare?

Dh also works remotely. Ds is also somewhat solitary and has always liked his alone time. So a combo of maybe I would spend 15 mins with him of quality hanging out, maybe Dh would. By 6, maybe he’d watch an hour of tv. I have also always attempted to keep zoom calls to a minimum after school - both because it gives me a clear schedule to actually get work done and so I can be around for ds. So when he was younger I’d typically sit on the couch with him while I was working and he was doing something like building legos. We’d talk, I’d work, he’d do his own quiet thing. I dunno, it’s hard to remember back but obviously I managed to do okay at the work part, and ds always thought we were around all the time so I think we succeeded on that side too. Again, one kid is just not that hard.

It also sounds like he wasn’t in a lot of activities or running around at the playground or doing play dates after school, all of which it seems was personality driven. He needed some time to reset and enjoyed playing by himself.

That sounds pretty lonely. Hopefully that is the kid’s personality and not years of being told to be quiet when mom and dad are working.

It does seem odd, right? I can't imagine working on my computer with my kids sitting next to me..Occasionally, I'll have to take a call at night while I make my kids dinner. When that happens, I'm never on video with a computer in front of me. I'm on my phone and mostly muted and talking to my kids with a headphone in one ear praying that the call will end early and only unmuting myself to say something when it's 100% necessary. I resent the intrusion into my time with my children, but by the same token, unless there is a special situation I'm not working while "watching" my children for 3-4 hours prior to dinner. We have a nanny and we will until my youngest is in late ES or early MS. That doesn't make me a bad parent. That makes me someone who is realistic about what I am capable of doing while working and parenting. I am not capable of parenting well and giving three children what they need while working on a computer. I am also not capable of completing high quality work while watching my children. Why with only one child and millions of dollars wouldn't someone just hire a babysitter or an afternoon nanny to spend time with their child, drive them to activities, and bring them on playdates or just be present with them? It's not a badge of honor as a parent to have spent every afternoon after school tapping away on a computer for 3 or 4 hours while your child played alone. I also don't know how anyone who works 50 hours a week, seemingly every minute of the day according to the schedule above, is ruthlessly efficient. It sounds like you spend a ton of time working and would therefore be inefficient. The entire set-up also sounds exhausting: lone nanny/caregiver to child and slaving away all the time at work. That's the secret? Maybe your child is a loner because you are.

I’m a SAHM and when I have to do paperwork or take a call, the kids need to be on a screen or they will interrupt me. I have 3 kids though, not just 1.

I always have the kids. DH tried to work with my daughter and gave her crayons and put her next to him. That lasted 5 minutes.

I mean, but this is why you're a SAHM and failed at having a career. Because you couldn't handle both. Some people can, without problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A childhood friend talks to business school students about her career. Inevitably, the question gets asked how she juggles kids. The answer is that she doesn’t. Her son has had many challenges that he sees a therapist about. He says things like he’s lonely. He acts out and has other problems. She doesn’t take care of it, and neither does her ex-husband. But that’s not what she tells the students.

I have a good friend who is at the top of her career. She has three kids. Oldest is a go getter and doing well. Her other two struggle in various areas where a mom’s love and support could help. The guilt really weighs on my friend. There are some things you cannot outsource.

I have other friends who are very successful executives, earn high six figures or low seven figures. These types of jobs are very demanding. The kids seem to have turned out fine. Moms are tough love. Kids turned out fine meaning they are smart and do well at school. When kids get older, they adapt. I know these moms struggled when kids were younger. One mom had a nanny she found out was abusing her children. She somehow managed to move forward. One friend would have her kid cry and fall asleep at her door when the kid wouldn’t go to bed. I know one mom who wouldn’t call home because the kids would cry at the sound of her voice. She thought it was better for everyone for her not to call at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:most important thing: only one kid

Also:
- supportive husband with a flex job. But he doesn’t contribute that much to running the household. He’s currently out of town for two weeks for work, and it’s no big deal - I’m used to keeping stuff running.
- full time remote work
- worked PT 30 hours a week for ages 1-5
- I’m outrageously organized and like to be doing stuff all the time.

Currently make 1.5m. Dh makes another 1m.

No sacrifices by either of us. Extremely successful marriage. Extremely involved with my kid, do bus drop off and pick up every day (MS currently), dinner all three of us together every night. Dh and I have a pre dinner drink together every night. Also exercise daily. Never had a nanny or regular babysitter. Sleep 8 hours a night.

Ultimately, the key is only one kid, remote work and being organized and enjoy doing stuff. Not everyone is wired to be able to do what I do - in the job or in my personal life.

Can I ask - when do you sleep? You say you get 8 hours a night, but if you're going bus drop off I assume you don't start working until 7:30 at the earliest? And then you do pickup, so you're there by 3?

I work from 7:30-4 (my kids take the bus and that's when they get on and off) and I make good money but not 7 figures, so I'm a bit in awe of your situation.

I work remotely. AM bus we leave the house at 8:30 back by 8:45. PM bus I leave at 4:25 and back by 4:35. I typically work until 7-ish every day. Lunch at my desk. If work is busy (basically, all of 2024) then i keep working until 7 and then again from maybe 8:30-10:30. If you're efficient with your time (obviously not at this exact moment - while i'm on dcum lol) then i'm working 10 solid hours every day without even putting in the evening work - so at minimum a 50 hour week. A couple days a week i have to take DS to an extracurricular but it's no big deal - i lose an hour of work time in the car, but usually work while he's doing his activity. So maybe just work an hour later those days. But like i said in my PP, i'm outrageously efficient and 'get stuff done' with my time. I don't waste any time doing non-essential stuff at work. No dumb committees or anything useless. Asleep by around 10:30 or 11 every night, so sleep in until 7. Easy peasy. Again, the key is one kid and remote work and being hyper efficient and organized.

When your DS was in ES, what did he do all afternoon/evening while you worked until 7? Aftercare?

Dh also works remotely. Ds is also somewhat solitary and has always liked his alone time. So a combo of maybe I would spend 15 mins with him of quality hanging out, maybe Dh would. By 6, maybe he’d watch an hour of tv. I have also always attempted to keep zoom calls to a minimum after school - both because it gives me a clear schedule to actually get work done and so I can be around for ds. So when he was younger I’d typically sit on the couch with him while I was working and he was doing something like building legos. We’d talk, I’d work, he’d do his own quiet thing. I dunno, it’s hard to remember back but obviously I managed to do okay at the work part, and ds always thought we were around all the time so I think we succeeded on that side too. Again, one kid is just not that hard.

It also sounds like he wasn’t in a lot of activities or running around at the playground or doing play dates after school, all of which it seems was personality driven. He needed some time to reset and enjoyed playing by himself.

That sounds pretty lonely. Hopefully that is the kid’s personality and not years of being told to be quiet when mom and dad are working.

It does seem odd, right? I can't imagine working on my computer with my kids sitting next to me..Occasionally, I'll have to take a call at night while I make my kids dinner. When that happens, I'm never on video with a computer in front of me. I'm on my phone and mostly muted and talking to my kids with a headphone in one ear praying that the call will end early and only unmuting myself to say something when it's 100% necessary. I resent the intrusion into my time with my children, but by the same token, unless there is a special situation I'm not working while "watching" my children for 3-4 hours prior to dinner. We have a nanny and we will until my youngest is in late ES or early MS. That doesn't make me a bad parent. That makes me someone who is realistic about what I am capable of doing while working and parenting. I am not capable of parenting well and giving three children what they need while working on a computer. I am also not capable of completing high quality work while watching my children. Why with only one child and millions of dollars wouldn't someone just hire a babysitter or an afternoon nanny to spend time with their child, drive them to activities, and bring them on playdates or just be present with them? It's not a badge of honor as a parent to have spent every afternoon after school tapping away on a computer for 3 or 4 hours while your child played alone. I also don't know how anyone who works 50 hours a week, seemingly every minute of the day according to the schedule above, is ruthlessly efficient. It sounds like you spend a ton of time working and would therefore be inefficient. The entire set-up also sounds exhausting: lone nanny/caregiver to child and slaving away all the time at work. That's the secret? Maybe your child is a loner because you are.

I’m a SAHM and when I have to do paperwork or take a call, the kids need to be on a screen or they will interrupt me. I have 3 kids though, not just 1.

I always have the kids. DH tried to work with my daughter and gave her crayons and put her next to him. That lasted 5 minutes.

I mean, but this is why you're a SAHM and failed at having a career. Because you couldn't handle both. Some people can, without problem.

I had a high level job before I stopped working. I chose to stay home. DH earns a few million per year. I don’t have to work.

I’m sure you were trying to knock me down and it would have worked on some, but not me. I was a working mom and I didn’t enjoy it. I was constantly distracted when I was with my kids. I was often on the phone at the playground or returning emails on my phone. I like to give my undivided attention to my children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I switched to freelance work because I didn’t have childcare and would get fired quickly for needing to take sick days (single mom).

Over about 3 years I spent every spare minute learning (podcasts, courses, etc), building a portfolio, and networking so I could become one of the best in my field. Every time I made a sale, I raised my prices while also lowering the scope of work, so I got paid more to do less.

Right now I hover at about 4 hours of work a day for $10-20k/month. I can scale up or down as needed.

Currently building up the biz to scale to $100k/month with a 50-60% profit margin, while letting me step back from it almost 100% (I’ll probably still do a few hours a week just so I know what’s going on).

Biggest thing I’ve learned is to work smarter, not harder. Being driven and ambitious doesn’t mean working 60-80 hours a week, it means finding what will make you the most profit so you can reduce hours. The biggest thing I tell people is really push the boundaries of how much you can get paid for the least amount of work possible (which means you also need to show proof you can get results).

Respectfully, by DCUM standards that amount of money doesn’t make you all that successful.

PP. I could scale up to $40-50k/month tomorrow if I wanted to work 40 hours a week, right now I have a client waitlist about 6 months long. But, I don't like working that much. So working on sustainably scaling it with good hires, it just takes time to find and train the right people.

Personally, I'm very happy with making $200k/year working part time. It feels like a good balance to me, scratches my itch to build things and lets me spend time with my family.

What field?

[Anonymous]

The keys are a supportive spouse, extreme efficiency, and setting appropriate boundaries. I have three kids (HS, MS, ES) and I have managed to advance professionally while still being a mom (I may miss some things during the school day, but I am extremely present). I am on track to make 7 figures this year.

My husband works but has a much lower-stakes career. We are really good at organizing carpools (I am always extremely cognizant of putting points on the board whenever I can - if I can drive a carpool, I always make sure to do it.)

The key to my advancement has really been learning to make every hour I work as productive as possible. You will never see me chatting around a water cooler, and I am always eating lunch at my desk with food I brought from home (unless I have a work-related lunch). I pass on evening events unless they are absolutely mission-critical.

We have a weekly house-cleaner, but that's it for household help. Kids are responsible for their own laundry and a bunch of household chores (dishes, cutting grass, etc).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:These threads always devolve into the dumbest posters putting down everyone who does not live like them.

I assume you are talking about the responses to the PP with one son who earns $1.5 million. Her post bothered me because she really hid the ball when it appeared that the OP genuinely wanted a picture of how high-earning moms make it work. Her original post said "no nanny, no afternoon sitter". It made me think she was able to earn seven figures and still be done with work each day when school ended. Well, when poked a bit, it turned out she did have a nanny for three years and then for the next ten years or so her son sat next to her on the couch every afternoon and well into the evening while she worked. These are important details; obviously that PP knows that most kids do not have the personality where they would be happy with this set up or where the parent would efficiently get work done. I'm looking back, and she even said that she picked her 3 year old up early at 3:30, but then kept working. So even as young as 3 her kid just, what, sat there while she worked 2-3 more hours every day??? It's giving me Covid PTSD...

There's no parenting by osmosis. Use your high earnings to hire a caregiver to interact with and take your kid to the playground, playdates, activities, etc in the afternoon hours. It's totally fine! You probably wrap up work earlier that way and then can give them your quality time and attention. Jeez.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The keys are a supportive spouse, extreme efficiency, and setting appropriate boundaries. I have three kids (HS, MS, ES) and I have managed to advance professionally while still being a mom (I may miss some things during the school day, but I am extremely present). I am on track to make 7 figures this year.

My husband works but has a much lower-stakes career. We are really good at organizing carpools (I am always extremely cognizant of putting points on the board whenever I can - if I can drive a carpool, I always make sure to do it.)

The key to my advancement has really been learning to make every hour I work as productive as possible. You will never see me chatting around a water cooler, and I am always eating lunch at my desk with food I brought from home (unless I have a work-related lunch). I pass on evening events unless they are absolutely mission-critical.

We have a weekly house-cleaner, but that's it for household help. Kids are responsible for their own laundry and a bunch of household chores (dishes, cutting grass, etc).

I think the key is to have a supportive spouse.

I have a very successful husband. He earns millions. I have been responsible for every sick day, doc appointment, parent teacher conference, day off from school. I try not to be resentful. DH thinks I am lucky to not have to work. I’m not sure if I feel lucky.