Building a Business as a Single Mom: What Nobody Tells You

There are a lot of stories about women building businesses.

There are fewer stories about what it actually looks like to build one while raising a child.

And even fewer about doing it as a single mom.

People see the business.

They see the website.

The team.

The growth.

The accomplishments.

They see the finished version of something that took years to build.

What they don't see are all the decisions happening behind it.

Do I stay late, or go home?

Do I answer this email, or put my phone down?

Do I invest the money back into the business, or keep more of it because I'm responsible for another human being?

Do I attend the event?

Do I work Saturday?

Do I take the client?

Do I miss something?

Am I working too much?

Am I working enough?

And underneath all of those questions is the one I think many ambitious mothers quietly ask themselves:

Am I doing this right?

I'm Erica Roybal.

I'm a mother, entrepreneur, esthetics educator, artist, author, and founder of Denver Dream Medspa and Colorado Aesthetics Academy.

I have built businesses while raising my son.

And motherhood has influenced almost every major decision I've made—even the decisions that, from the outside, looked like they were only about business.

This isn't a story about how I figured out the perfect balance.

I haven't.

It's about what I've learned while trying to build something meaningful without missing the person I was building so much of it for.

I Didn't Have the Luxury of Treating Entrepreneurship Like an Experiment

There is a version of entrepreneurship that sounds almost romantic.

Quit your job.

Take the risk.

Bet on yourself.

Figure it out.

That language sounds different when you're a parent.

Especially when you're the person responsible for making sure your child has what he needs.

Risk feels different when it isn't only your life affected by the outcome.

I could believe in myself and still be afraid.

I could be ambitious and still need stability.

I could want something bigger and still wonder whether pursuing it was irresponsible.

That tension has been present through much of my journey.

I don't think enough people talk about it.

Being a Single Mom Changed the Meaning of Risk

Before becoming responsible for another person, you can make decisions based largely on what you are willing to tolerate.

Once you're a parent, the calculation changes.

You start thinking about:

Housing.

Food.

School.

Childcare.

Insurance.

Savings.

Emergencies.

Time.

Stability.

The future.

You don't get to romanticize running out of money.

That doesn't mean mothers shouldn't take risks.

I did.

It means I learned to respect risk.

There is a difference.

Sometimes I Wasn't Fearless. I Just Had to Keep Going.

People like to describe entrepreneurs as fearless.

I don't relate to that word very much.

I have been scared plenty of times.

I've questioned decisions.

I've worried about money.

I've wondered whether something would work.

I've made expensive mistakes.

I've had plans change.

I've had to solve problems I didn't know how to solve when they appeared.

Courage, for me, hasn't usually looked like feeling certain.

It has looked like:

Being uncertain and making the next decision anyway.

There Is a Particular Pressure When You Know There Isn't Another Adult Coming to Rescue the Plan

Being a single mother created a level of responsibility that is difficult to explain unless you've lived it.

There are moments when you realize:

I have to figure this out.

Not because nobody in my life cares.

Not because I have never had help.

But because ultimately, I am responsible for the direction of our life.

That realization can be terrifying.

It can also make you incredibly resourceful.

You learn to solve.

You learn to plan.

You learn to recover.

You learn that waiting for perfect circumstances is not a strategy.

My Son Has Been Growing Up While I've Been Building

This is the part that hits me differently now.

Businesses have milestones.

Revenue goals.

New locations.

Employees.

Projects.

Launches.

But children have milestones too.

And theirs don't wait for your business to calm down.

There is no:

"I'll come back to this age when work is less busy."

He keeps growing.

That has probably been one of the hardest truths for me to reconcile with ambition.

I can rebuild a website.

I can change a business strategy.

I can recover revenue.

I cannot get a year of my son's childhood back.

The Business Will Always Ask for More

This is something I had to learn.

There is always another thing you could do.

Another email.

Another article.

Another client.

Another employee problem.

Another marketing idea.

Another expansion opportunity.

Another number to improve.

The business never naturally walks into your office and says:

"That's enough, Erica. Go home."

You have to decide when enough is enough.

And I have not always been good at that.

Mom Guilt and Entrepreneur Guilt Can Exist at the Same Time

This is one of the strangest parts.

When you're working, you can feel guilty that you're not with your child.

Then when you're with your child, part of your brain is still thinking:

Did that employee respond?

Did the payment go through?

Did I send that email?

What happened with tomorrow's schedule?

Did someone follow up with that lead?

So you feel guilty in both directions.

At work:

I should be with my son.

At home:

I should be handling the business.

That is exhausting.

Because technically, you are never fully "done."

Being Physically Present Isn't Always the Same as Being Present

This one has been uncomfortable for me to recognize.

I can be sitting right next to my son while mentally being somewhere completely different.

Reading an email.

Thinking about payroll.

Solving a construction issue.

Reviewing marketing.

Answering a text.

Physically, I'm there.

Mentally, I'm at work.

Entrepreneurship made me realize that protecting time isn't only about where I am.

It's about where my attention is.

And attention is harder to protect than a calendar.

I Have Had to Learn That Every Opportunity Is Not Worth the Time It Takes From My Life

When you're building, saying yes feels productive.

Yes to another client.

Yes to another project.

Yes to another service.

Yes to another event.

Yes to another opportunity.

But every yes has a cost.

Eventually I started asking a different question:

What does saying yes to this require me to say no to?

Sometimes the answer is:

Sleep.

Peace.

Time with my son.

Time to think.

Time to lead.

Time to take care of myself.

That doesn't automatically make the opportunity wrong.

But I want to know the real price before I accept it.

Financial Independence Became More Important to Me After Becoming a Mother

Money isn't the only reason I built businesses.

But I also don't believe women should be ashamed to say financial security matters.

It mattered enormously to me.

I wanted to know that I could support my son.

I wanted choices.

I wanted to create stability.

I wanted to build assets.

I wanted the ability to make decisions without having my entire life controlled by someone else's paycheck.

For me, entrepreneurship became partly about freedom.

Not freedom from responsibility.

Quite the opposite.

Freedom created through taking responsibility.

Money Means Something Different When Someone Depends on You

Revenue used to feel like achievement.

As I matured as an owner, money became more connected to security and options.

Cash reserves mean:

I can handle a problem.

Profit means:

The business is actually healthy.

Savings mean:

I have choices.

A business that functions without me means:

I can be somewhere else when my son needs me.

That changed the way I think about success.

More Revenue Is Not Always Worth More of My Life

This is something I understand better now than I did when I started.

There are ways to make more money that require:

More hours.

More stress.

More employees.

More debt.

More risk.

More management.

More of you.

The biggest number is not automatically the best business.

I care much more now about:

Profitability.

Stability.

Time.

Systems.

Freedom.

And whether the business fits the life I actually want.

Motherhood Made Me Think Differently About Growth

There was a time when growth mostly meant:

More.

More clients.

More revenue.

More services.

More employees.

More space.

More recognition.

Now I think growth can also mean:

A stronger team.

Better systems.

Fewer emergencies.

More profit from less chaos.

Being able to leave.

Being able to say no.

Being able to attend something important without worrying that the business will collapse.

That is growth too.

I Don't Want to Be the Most Important Person in My Business Anymore

At first, being needed can feel good.

Everyone asks you.

Clients want you.

Employees need you.

Every decision comes through you.

It feels like evidence that you've built something valuable.

Eventually I realized it can also be evidence that I built something too dependent on me.

I don't want a business that succeeds because Erica never stops working.

I want a business with:

People.

Systems.

Leadership.

Standards.

Accountability.

A business that can function even when I am being a mom.

That has become one of my most important goals.

Motherhood Made Delegation More Than a Business Strategy

Delegation is usually discussed as a productivity tool.

For me, it became something more personal.

Every responsibility that can be responsibly transferred to someone capable creates a little more room in my life.

Not so I can do nothing.

But so I can choose what deserves me.

There are things only I can do as an owner.

And there are things only I can do as my son's mother.

The second category matters more.

I Have Had to Accept That Nobody Will Do Everything Exactly Like Me

This was difficult.

If you build something from nothing, you know every detail.

You know how you want clients treated.

You know how things should look.

You know the standards.

Then you hire people.

And they are not you.

That can be frustrating.

But if the only acceptable way for something to happen is:

Exactly how Erica would do it,

then I will always have to do everything.

That isn't scalable.

And it isn't the life I want.

Building a Team Requires Letting Other People Become Good

Sometimes owners don't delegate because employees aren't ready.

Sometimes employees never become ready because the owner won't truly let them own anything.

I have had to learn to:

Teach.

Correct.

Set standards.

Give feedback.

And then give people space to develop.

Leadership is not doing everyone's job better than they do.

Leadership is helping people become capable of doing their jobs without needing you beside them.

Motherhood Changed the Way I Think About Leadership

Before, I might have measured leadership mostly through business outcomes.

Now I think about the environment I'm creating.

Are expectations clear?

Are people growing?

Are we solving problems?

Are employees accountable?

Am I holding onto things I should delegate?

Am I avoiding difficult conversations because they make me uncomfortable?

Motherhood made me more aware that leadership is partly about what you model.

That applies at work.

And at home.

I Want My Son to See Me Work

This may be different from what some people expect.

I don't want my son to grow up believing work is something that stole his mother from him.

But I also don't want to hide the work from him.

I want him to see:

Discipline.

Persistence.

Creativity.

Problem-solving.

Responsibility.

Recovery after mistakes.

I want him to understand that things don't simply appear.

People build them.

But I Don't Want Him to Think Work Is the Most Important Thing in Life

This matters even more.

I don't want him to learn that success means:

Never stopping.

Always being available.

Sacrificing every relationship.

Being stressed all the time.

Measuring your worth by money.

I want him to see ambition.

But I also want him to see boundaries.

Joy.

Family.

Rest.

Perspective.

That means I have to model those things too.

And sometimes that is harder for me than modeling hard work.

Children Notice More Than We Think

My son may not understand:

Revenue.

Payroll.

SEO.

Construction.

Business strategy.

But he understands:

Whether I'm listening.

Whether I'm distracted.

Whether I show up.

Whether I'm stressed.

Whether I keep my promises.

Children experience our businesses differently than we do.

They don't see the impressive number.

They experience the version of us the business leaves behind.

That matters to me.

There Have Been Times When I Wondered Whether I Was Doing Too Much

I think ambitious mothers are often afraid to admit this.

Because it can sound like:

Maybe you're not grateful.

Maybe you can't handle it.

Maybe you're not organized enough.

Maybe you should want less.

I don't believe any of those things have to be true.

Sometimes you're simply doing a lot.

Building companies is hard.

Raising a child is hard.

Doing both can be hard.

You are allowed to acknowledge that without turning it into a statement about your capability.

I Stopped Believing Balance Means Everything Gets Equal Time

I don't know that perfect balance exists.

Some weeks the business needs more.

Some days my son needs more.

Sometimes I need more.

I think less now about equal time and more about:

Am I giving the right thing my attention when it truly matters?

That feels more realistic.

There Are Seasons of Motherhood and Seasons of Business

Your child changes.

Your business changes.

You change.

There may be a season where you work intensely because you're launching something.

Another season where family needs more of you.

A season where you treat clients constantly.

A season where you step back.

A season where you expand.

A season where you stabilize.

I don't think every season needs to look the same.

Stepping Back Does Not Mean I Have Lost My Ambition

This is something I have had to remind myself.

If I treat fewer clients...

Delegate more...

Say no...

Choose not to pursue something...

Spend more time with my son...

that doesn't mean I've become less ambitious.

Maybe my ambition became more mature.

Maybe instead of proving:

Look how much I can carry,

I'm asking:

What is actually worth carrying?

Sometimes the Strongest Business Decision Is Building a Life Outside the Business

Entrepreneurs can become so identified with what they build that the business becomes:

Identity.

Validation.

Purpose.

Community.

Income.

Status.

Everything.

That is dangerous.

I love building.

I care deeply about my businesses.

But I am also:

A mother.

A person.

A woman with a life that exists outside revenue reports.

The business should support that life.

Not consume it.

Being a Mother Has Made Failure Feel Scarier—and Less Important at the Same Time

That sounds contradictory.

Failure feels scarier because I have more responsibility.

But motherhood also gives me perspective.

A business problem can feel enormous at 2:00 p.m.

Then I go home.

My son wants to tell me something.

Or play.

Or show me what he made.

And suddenly the problem becomes its actual size.

Still important.

Still something I need to solve.

But not my entire world.

That perspective has helped me more than I can explain.

My Son Does Not Need Me to Be the Most Successful Woman in the Room

He needs me to be his mom.

That sentence is simple.

Living it is harder.

The world rewards:

More.

Faster.

Bigger.

Higher.

Motherhood reminds me that some of the most important things in my life will never appear on a financial statement.

I Still Want Big Things

Motherhood did not erase my ambition.

I still want to build.

I still want to grow.

I still want financial success.

I still want to create things I'm proud of.

I still want to help other women build careers and businesses.

I still want to see what I'm capable of.

The difference is that I no longer want achievement at any cost.

The life surrounding the success matters too.

I Want My Businesses to Create Choices for Us

That is one of the clearest ways I can describe my motivation.

I want the businesses I build to create choices.

The choice to be present.

The choice to take time off.

The choice to invest.

The choice to help someone.

The choice to walk away from something that isn't right.

The choice to build something new.

The choice to spend time with my son.

To me, that is one of the greatest forms of wealth.

The Pressure to "Do It All" Is a Trap

I don't want to do it all.

I want to do what matters.

Those are very different goals.

Doing everything means:

Every email.

Every task.

Every client.

Every problem.

Every school event.

Every household responsibility.

Every business responsibility.

Perfectly.

That is impossible.

Choosing what matters requires accepting that some things will receive less attention.

That can be uncomfortable.

But it is much more honest.

Asking for Help Does Not Make the Accomplishment Less Mine

This is another thing women sometimes struggle with.

Childcare.

Employees.

Managers.

Family.

Professionals.

Contractors.

Support.

The existence of help does not invalidate how hard you worked.

Nobody builds anything meaningful completely alone.

Support is not cheating.

It is infrastructure.

I Want Other Single Mothers to Know That Your Path May Look Different

Maybe your business grows slower.

Maybe you cannot attend every networking event.

Maybe evenings aren't available.

Maybe you need childcare before you can take a client.

Maybe your risk tolerance is different.

Maybe you need more savings before making a move.

Maybe you have to build around school schedules.

That doesn't mean you're less serious.

Your strategy needs to fit your actual life.

Not somebody else's.

You Don't Have to Build Like Someone Who Has a Completely Different Support System

This comparison can be brutal.

You see someone online:

Launching constantly.

Traveling.

Working until midnight.

Opening locations.

Posting every day.

And you think:

Why can't I do that?

You may have completely different lives.

Different finances.

Different childcare.

Different partners.

Different teams.

Different responsibilities.

Different capacity.

Compare strategies carefully.

Do not compare lives you cannot see.

I Have Learned to Respect Capacity

There is a difference between:

Could I technically do this?

and:

Do I have the capacity to do this well without damaging something else?

That question has saved me from some bad yeses.

Capacity includes:

Time.

Money.

Attention.

Emotional energy.

Management bandwidth.

Family needs.

A good opportunity at the wrong time can still be the wrong opportunity.

Sometimes "Not Now" Is Better Than "No"

Motherhood has made me more comfortable with timing.

I don't have to pursue every idea immediately.

I can say:

Not this quarter.

Not this year.

Not while I'm building something else.

Not while my son needs more of me.

The opportunity may still exist later.

And if it doesn't, another one probably will.

I Have Had to Redefine Productivity

Some days, productivity means:

Closing a deal.

Writing a strategy.

Solving a major problem.

Other days, productivity means:

Leaving work.

Putting my phone down.

Being with my son.

Resting enough to think clearly tomorrow.

Entrepreneurs are often terrible at counting those things.

I'm trying to get better at it.

Rest Is Not a Reward for Finishing Everything

Because everything is never finished.

There will always be:

Another task.

Another goal.

Another problem.

Another opportunity.

If rest only happens after everything is complete, entrepreneurs never rest.

I don't always get this right.

But I understand it better now.

My Definition of Success Has Changed

Success used to feel heavily connected to:

What can I build?

How much can I grow?

How much can I accomplish?

Those things still matter to me.

But now I also ask:

Do I have control over my time?

Is the business financially healthy?

Can the company function without me?

Do I like the life I'm creating?

Am I present for my son?

Do I have choices?

Am I proud of how I got here?

That is a much more complicated scorecard.

I think it is also a better one.

What I Would Tell the Version of Me Who Was Trying to Carry Everything

I would tell her:

You don't have to prove your strength by making everything harder.

Build systems earlier.

Ask for help earlier.

Save more cash.

Delegate sooner.

Protect your time.

Don't confuse being needed with being successful.

Don't stay in situations simply because you've already invested in them.

Don't let guilt make every decision.

Your son will not remember your annual revenue.

He will remember you.

And the business is supposed to create a better life.

Do not accidentally sacrifice the life while building the business.

What I Hope My Son Learns From Watching Me Build

I hope he learns that you can create something from an idea.

That education matters.

That work matters.

That money should be understood.

That women can build companies.

That mothers can be ambitious.

That mistakes don't end the story.

That changing your mind isn't failure.

That asking for help isn't weakness.

That you should treat people well.

That you should keep learning.

That success means very little if you become someone you don't like while chasing it.

And maybe most importantly:

I hope he learns that building a meaningful life matters more than looking successful from the outside.

What I Want Other Mothers Building Businesses to Know

You are allowed to want more.

You are allowed to want money.

You are allowed to want achievement.

You are allowed to love your work.

You are allowed to want something that belongs to you outside of motherhood.

And you are also allowed to:

Slow down.

Change your mind.

Delegate.

Protect your time.

Choose your child.

Choose yourself.

Build differently.

There is no prize for becoming the most exhausted woman in the room.

Frequently Asked Questions About Building a Business as a Single Mom

Can you successfully run a business as a single mother?

Yes, but the structure of the business matters. Childcare, finances, systems, delegation, scheduling, support, and realistic capacity can become especially important when one parent carries most of the day-to-day responsibility.

How do you balance motherhood and entrepreneurship?

I don't think of it as achieving perfect balance. I think in seasons and priorities. Sometimes the business requires more attention; sometimes my son does. My goal is to recognize what matters most in that season without expecting every area of my life to receive equal attention every day.

How do you deal with mom guilt as an entrepreneur?

I don't think guilt disappears completely. What helps me is remembering why I built my businesses, protecting meaningful time with my son, being conscious of my attention, and evaluating success based on more than work.

Is it selfish to want a successful career after becoming a mother?

I don't believe so. Motherhood and ambition are not opposites. I want my son to see that women can love their children deeply while also building meaningful careers, businesses, and lives of their own.

How do single moms find time to build a business?

For me, the bigger question has become how to create capacity. That can involve childcare, scheduling, delegation, systems, employees, boundaries, and deciding which opportunities are actually worth pursuing.

Should mothers feel guilty about using childcare to build a business?

I don't believe getting help diminishes motherhood or the work you've built. Childcare is part of the infrastructure that allows many parents to work, build businesses, and support their families.

How do you avoid burnout as a mom and business owner?

I don't think burnout can be solved with one productivity trick. I look at workload, financial pressure, staffing, boundaries, systems, sleep, delegation, and whether I am continually accepting more than my actual capacity allows.

How has motherhood changed the way you run your businesses?

It has made time more valuable to me. I care more about building systems, developing leaders, delegating, creating financial stability, and building businesses that can function without my constant physical presence.

Can you be ambitious and still be a present mother?

I believe you can. But I also think it requires being honest about the cost of ambition. I don't want to eliminate ambition. I want to build in a way that leaves room for the people and experiences that matter most to me.

What is the hardest part of being a single mom and entrepreneur?

For me, one of the hardest parts is the mental responsibility—the feeling that there is always something requiring attention in both worlds. Learning that I cannot personally solve everything at the same time has been an important part of growing as both a mother and an owner.

I'm Still Figuring This Out

I don't want this article to end with:

"Here are the five things I did, and now I have perfect balance."

I don't.

I'm still learning.

My businesses are still changing.

My son is still growing.

I'm still figuring out when to push and when to stop.

When to say yes.

When to say no.

When to hold on.

When to delegate.

When the business needs me.

And when my son needs me more.

Maybe that is what this season of my life is actually teaching me.

Success isn't reaching a point where nothing is difficult.

It's becoming more intentional about which difficult things are worth your life.

I am proud of what I have built.

But more than anything, I want to be proud of the life I built around it.

— Erica Roybal

Continue Reading

How I Built My Esthetics Businesses While Raising My Son

The longer version of my journey from education and esthetics to entrepreneurship, business ownership, motherhood, and mentorship.

[READ MY STORY →]

The Mom Guilt Nobody Talks About When You're Building a Business

The complicated feeling of being at work and wanting to be home—then being home while your mind is still at work.

[READ ABOUT MOM GUILT + ENTREPRENEURSHIP →]

How to Build a Business That Doesn't Depend on You

The systems, delegation, leadership, and decisions I'm making to create businesses that don't require my constant presence.

[READ: BUILDING A BUSINESS BEYOND THE FOUNDER →]

What Motherhood Changed About the Way I Lead

How becoming a mother changed the way I think about employees, boundaries, accountability, empathy, time, and leadership.

[READ: MOTHERHOOD + LEADERSHIP →]

What I Hope My Son Learns From Watching Me Build

The lessons about work, money, resilience, women, failure, ambition, and life that matter more to me than whether he ever becomes an entrepreneur himself.

[READ: WHAT I HOPE MY SON LEARNS →]