What Motherhood Taught Me About BUILDING BUSINESSES
“Reflections on entrepreneurship, creativity and redefining success through nineteen years of motherhood..”
Looking back, I realise I’ve spent almost nineteen years growing two things simultaneously: a family and a life of my own.
Not separately, but together.
And somewhere between school runs, business ideas and the beautiful chaos of everyday life, my definition of success quietly changed.
Not because I became less ambitious. But because I started building differently.
6 MIN READ
I often get asked how I manage running a creative studio while raising four children. The truth is, I’ve never really separated the two, I became a mother almost nineteen years ago, and around the same time, I also became an entrepreneur. Long before Muse Studio, there were other businesses, other chapters, and countless lessons along the way. But one thing has remained constant throughout all these years: my children have never been separate from the story, in many ways, they’ve shaped it. People sometimes assume that motherhood slows ambition down, or that building a business and raising a family are constantly competing priorities. But my experience has been quite the opposite. Motherhood didn’t make me dream smaller, it made me think differently, it made me question traditional ideas of success, it taught me to build a life I didn’t need to escape from, a life where I could continue to grow professionally, express my creativity and pursue my ambitions, while also being present for the moments that mattered most.
Was it always easy? Of course not.
Entrepreneurship isn’t synonymous with endless free time, there are no real office hours when you work for yourself, projects follow you home, ideas appear on weekends, holidays don’t always mean complete disconnection, but I never chose this path because I wanted less work, I chose it because I wanted more freedom; not just freedom over my schedule, but freedom to create, freedom to build something meaningful, and freedom to shape a life that reflected my values, more than anything, I wanted to remain close to my children as they grew up, leaving a career I loved wasn’t an obvious decision, but I knew I didn’t want to choose between being a mother and feeling professionally fulfilled. I wanted both, and perhaps that’s what this journey has taught me, success isn’t about having it all, it’s about intentionally building a life where the things that matter most can exist together.
‘My children have never been separate from
the story. In many ways, they’ve shaped it..’
How Did Entrepreneurship Begin For Me?
Looking back, I realise entrepreneurship has been part of my story for far longer than Muse Studio. I’ve always loved creating, building and imagining new ideas. Building businesses never felt like a calculated career move. It felt natural.
Over the years, each chapter taught me something different. Some ventures succeeded, others taught me valuable lessons, but every experience brought me closer to the kind of work and life I wanted to build.
‘I never chose this path because I wanted less work.
I chose it because I wanted more freedom.’
Has Motherhood Changed The Way I Create?
Completely, motherhood has made me more intuitive, more empathetic and more observant.
So many ideas are born in everyday moments. During walks. School runs. Family conversations, creativity doesn’t only happen behind a desk, life itself has become part of the process.
Did I Choose Entrepreneurship
Because Of My Children?
In many ways, yes.
Not because I wanted less ambition, but because I wanted more freedom.
I wanted to be present. I wanted to attend school plays, be available after school, and not feel like I was constantly choosing between work and family.
Entrepreneurship offered me something I couldn’t find elsewhere: the ability to design a life around my priorities.
‘Motherhood didn’t make me dream smaller.
It made me think differently.’
Why Do I Care So Much About Passion?
Because children notice everything for almost nineteen years, I’ve wanted my children to see that work isn’t something we simply endure, I wanted them to grow up seeing that it’s possible to love what you do, to create something meaningful and to build a life aligned with your values, not because success is about achievement, but because life is too short for work that doesn’t fulfil you.
‘Success isn’t about having it all. It’s about intentionally building
a life where the things that matter most can exist together.’
Have My Children Ever Held Me Back?
Never, if anything, they’ve made me dream bigger, they’ve taught me patience, resilience and perspective, they’ve reminded me what really matters, and they’ve inspired me to build something that means more than success on paper.
‘People often assume motherhood slows ambition down. My experience has been quite the opposite.’
Can You Really Have It All?
I don’t think “having it all” means doing everything perfectly.
Some seasons require more from business. Others require more from family.
I’ve learned that balance isn’t something you achieve once and keep forever, it’s not a fixed destination, but something you continually adjust as life shifts and evolves around you; there are moments when work naturally takes the lead, when ideas are flowing and momentum is strong and there are other moments when everything slows down, and presence at home becomes the priority, neither is more successful than the other, they are simply different rhythms of the same life.
The more I’ve accepted this, the more I’ve realised that the idea of a perfect balance was never the goal, finding a more honest one was and maybe that’s enough.
‘I didn’t want to choose between being a mother and
feeling professionally fulfilled. I wanted both.’
What Does Balance Actually Look
Like With Four Children?
Honestly, balance rarely looks like perfection, with four children, it often looks like movement rather than structure. It shifts constantly, depending on school schedules, deadlines, emotions, energy levels, and everything in between.
Some mornings feel smooth and intentional. Others start in chaos, with everyone needing something at the same time, and no clear separation between work and home, there are days when I feel fully in flow with my work, completely immersed in creativity, and other days when my attention is entirely elsewhere, and that has to be enough, over time, I’ve stopped trying to divide life into equal parts.
Instead, I’ve learned to read the rhythm of it, to recognise when to lean into work, and when to step back without guilt, because with a family, especially a large one, balance isn’t something that sits still, it moves with you.
“ I didn’t build a business to escape life, I built a business around the life I love, my children never made me dream smaller, they taught me that success isn’t about choosing between ambition and presence, it’s about creating a life where both can exist beautifully together.”
By Clementine, Founder, Brand Designer, Photographer - MÚSE Creative Studio
‘I wanted to build a life I didn’t need to escape from.’
About the author
Clementine is founder and Creative Director of MÚSE Creative Studio, a Brighton-based brand design and digital marketing studio for independent brands. With a background in photography, art direction and designer womenswear and kidswear, rooted in Paris, based in Brighton, she brings a considered creative eye to every project, creating visual identities that feel intentional, distinctive and built to last.
