The Expecting Entrepreneur: A Guide to Parental Leave Planning for Self Employed Business Owners

By Arianna Taboada

Your life is baby-ready—but did you babyproof your business?

 

When you're the boss, planning for much-needed parental leave, making money, and the survival of your business can feel overwhelming. You deserve to recover from childbirth and transition into this new chapter without the stress of work.

 

How do you design a parental leave that works for you, your family, and your business—without sacrificing entrepreneurship success?

 

In The Expecting Entrepreneur, parental leave consultant Arianna Taboada provides a step-by-step blueprint for expecting business owners to plan parental leave while ensuring that their small business runs smoothly and successfully in their absence. Full of easy-to-implement strategies and diverse case studies of women entrepreneurs during pregnancy and motherhood, this is your guide to confidently prioritizing your health and your baby with a leave that fits your business model.

 

You'll discover:

• A foundation of five principles for planning your ideal leave.
• Scientific evidence on the importance of parental leave for you, your baby, and your business.
• How to update operations and client communications to keep day-to-day tasks moving forward.
• Financial options to fund your time off when paid family leave isn't possible.
• Strategies to ease the transition of returning to your business postpartum.

 

In the absence of a company policy, you have the power to design your parental leave, your way! Get The Expecting Entrepreneur to prepare yourself and your business for your promotion to parenthood.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Arianna Taboada
• Release date: Oct 21, 2021
• ISBN: 9780578933450

Book preview

ADVANCED PRAISE FOR THE EXPECTING ENTREPRENEUR

"The next economy requires new models—models that account for the modern realities of working parents and innovation that supports the realities of healthy families. In The Expecting Entrepreneur, Arianna Taboada gives readers the definitive playbook for creating that new model for themselves, as well as the much-needed tools to go beyond survival and get on with the business of thriving."

—Nathalie Molina Niño

Managing director of Known Holdings and author of Leapfrog: The New Revolution for Women Entrepreneurs

"The Expecting Entrepreneur is a go-to guide for any business owner looking for concrete tools and planning support in navigating the adjustments to work and life necessitated by childbirth. The book is straightforward, with insights that will provide value well beyond the months surrounding childbirth—building business systems, support networks, financial planning, and planning for the unknowns. It’s thoughtful, inclusive, and practical."

—Katie Bethell

Founder, Paid Leave for the United States (PL+US)

"Arianna brings together key data, stories, and heartfelt guidance on parental leave in this timely resource for business owners. Her deep knowledge is evident in each chapter, and she elevates the reality that entrepreneurs and parents are differentially impacted by the United States’ lack of social protections and systematic marginalization. This book makes the clear case why we all—business owners, thought leaders, advocates—must step up and rally behind the policies, programs, and supports that can help make parental leave possible for all."

—Christine Michel Carter

Best-selling author of Mom AF and global advocate for working moms

Running a business with a baby has some inevitable challenges, but you can plan for a smoother transition with The Expecting Entrepreneur. Arianna has done the hard work for you, simplifying and systematizing exactly what you need to consider to ‘babyproof’ your business and thrive postpartum.

—Lily Nichols, RDN, CDE

Best-selling author of Real Food for Pregnancy

Arianna is prescient and stepping out at the right time with The Expecting Entrepreneur. Just like her, this guide is generous, thoughtful, science-meets-art, and will help you build the self-awareness you need as you move through the momentous shifts into parenthood. This book will give back and lift you up!

—Rebecca Egbert

Entrepreneur, former midwife, and perinatal health tech pioneer

The Expecting Entrepreneur is an incredibly comprehensive guide to planning out parental leave. I loved how thorough and inclusive this book is. It covers every possible angle from ‘how much time can you take?’ to ‘what does your ideal parental leave look like?’ to a postpartum mental and physical health support plan. I truly wish I had this manual when I was pregnant and trying to plan this huge upcoming change to my life and business. I highly recommend this book to all parents who run their own businesses.

—Bari Tessler, MA

Financial therapist and author of The Art of Money: A Life-Changing Guide to Financial Happiness

Arianna has expertly created a comprehensive and practical guide to parental leave for entrepreneurs. She acknowledges the historical significance of current parental leave standards and juxtaposes it with empirical data to highlight the necessity for systemic change to those standards. The Expecting Entrepreneur is an essential resource and required reading for all entrepreneurs looking to sustainably and supportively take care of their health, their family, and their business as they prepare to welcome a new life into this world.

—Parijat Deshpande, MS, CCTP

Best-selling author of Pregnancy Brain: A Mind-Body Approach to Stress Management During a High-Risk Pregnancy

"The world has needed The Expecting Entrepreneur for a long time. Arianna Taboada’s book is compassionate, immensely practical, inclusive, and evidence based. Service-based business owners now have a manual for how to map out a maternity leave and return in ways that will quell their anxieties and help them avoid recreating the wheel. A must-read for self-employed new parents."

—Lori Mihalich-Levin, JD

CEO & founder of Mindful Return, author of Back to Work After Baby, partner at Dentons US LLP

"I am so excited that this book has been born! The pages are filled with practical advice for creating a postpartum experience that works. While it focuses on entrepreneurs, the strategies Arianna shares are applicable for all expectant parents and their employers. I appreciate that the book underscores the necessity of advocating for policy changes to make having a baby a less risky venture. New parents deserve and need support and space to heal and recover—and this book offers the wisdom to make that happen."

—Sarah Verbiest, DrPH, MSW, MPH

Director of the Jordan Institute for Families and executive director of the Collaborative for Maternal and Infant Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

"With the same clarity we entrepreneurs aspire to have in approaching our work, the incredible Arianna Taboada also coaches expecting entrepreneurs to embark on their journey into parenthood in her wonderfully researched, inclusive, warm, and incredibly thorough gem of a book, The Expecting Entrepreneur. Arianna takes into account all the stages, all the potential pitfalls, and all the systems that are (or more often, are not) in place so that expecting entrepreneurs can confidently navigate an often nebulous, overwhelming time in our lives ... that was not made for those of us taking the road less traveled. I am so grateful to this book, and I wish I had had it to guide me as I embarked upon the journey into motherhood. I will be sharing it with every small-business owner or entrepreneur expecting a baby for years and years to come, because, as Arianna says in this beautiful book, ‘We matter. Our businesses matter. Our contributions matter. ’"

—Ayelet Marinovich, MA, CCC-SLP

Founder of Learn With Less® (Strength In Words LLC)

"The Expecting Entrepreneur is a fantastic read, and the book provides tangible tools for service-based businesses to plan for parental leave. In the United States, only a handful of states offer paid leave and elective coverage options for entrepreneurs. Finding elective coverage for entrepreneurs can be a challenging and confusing process—but it doesn’t have to be. The reality is that many entrepreneurs struggle with planning paid leave, and yet, it is a vital time for families. This guide provides a clear framework for entrepreneurs to access a fundamental benefit."

—Xiomara Peña

Vice president, engagement at Small Business Majority

"Arianna’s practical, wise, and compassionate book is a must-read for any founder about to start a family. Her counsel is hard earned, well researched, and grounded. I especially appreciate her willingness to give voice to the challenges (that all too often go unseen and unsaid) in a way that illuminates a positive path forward."

—Amy Henderson

CEO and cofounder, TendLab

"This is more than just a book—it’s an outline, guide, and rich resource that empowers expecting parents to take time off with the new addition to the family. Parents don’t have to figure out leave on their own because Arianna gently walks them through all of the steps toward having the time off that parents deserve. The support provided in this book eliminates the need to research and problem solve your own leave. I wish I had had this resource when I was planning my leave, as it would have reduced my stress significantly. I highly recommend this book for expecting entrepreneurs!"

—Katayune Kaeni, PsyD, PMH-C

Author of The Pregnancy Workbook, host of the Mom & Mind Podcast, and CEO of Well Mind Perinatal

"This book takes two messy things—running a business and having a baby—and provides a step-by-step roadmap for building out a customized plan to integrate them. I honestly thought that having another kid would mean the end of my business, but after reading this book, I see an achievable path where I could make the family decisions that are right for me. The accessible balance of research and storytelling made me feel seen and empowered as a mom and business owner while building out a fully baked plan."

—Nikki Adamson

Founder of Hustle Hunters

"Work-life balance can be especially challenging for entrepreneurs! In The Expecting Entrepreneur, Arianna Taboada has managed to create a fabulously practical and concise guide for service-based business owners so they can plan a parental leave tailored to their specific needs, along with the needs of their child and their business. She thoughtfully walks her readers through the process—from the preparation during pregnancy through the transition back to work—allowing for the flexibility and adaptability required by the changes that occur postpartum. This guide is a must-have for any entrepreneur undergoing a significant life transition!"

—Adriana Lozada, AdvCD(DONA), CSC

Creator and host of the acclaimed Birthful podcast, postpartum educator, and working doula

"The Expecting Entrepreneur is easy to read and so actionable. It’s not just the information in the book that hits the mark; it’s also Arianna’s voice, kindness, and guidance. Reading the book truly feels like speaking with a friend who has spent her career in maternal health and is committed to making sure that I am ok. During one of the most vulnerable times in life and business, that combination of expertise and compassion is what makes a true difference."

—Claire Pelletreau

Facebook and Instagram ads consultant