TRFE 206 // The Dilemma of Motherhood and Entrepreneurship with Ashley Merrill

“I can’t pretend that I’ve figured that all out. I’m trying to. The one way I have gotten there is to acknowledge who I’m not.”   SPONSORED BY PROFITABLE PODCAST PLAN A course for women entrepreneurs who want to start, launch and grow a podcast that supports their business or passion project. If you complete this course, you WILL launch a podcast. If you've been waiting to start your own show, now is the time to hit publish because you officially have a BPF.......Best Podcasting Friend! Let's do it together! Sign up by 5/10/18 and save 10% with code trfe: http://bit.ly/ppptrfe *you'll also get the following additional bonuses: a FREE podcast planner and Kinsey will submit your RSS Feed to iTunes for you!   WHAT'S IN THIS EPISODE? Once upon a time, a young woman found herself starting back at her reflection wearing a pair of her husband’s boxers and a baggy tee. And she wondered, “Is this really it?” My loves, meet Ashley Merrill, the CEO and founder of Lunya, where she’s redefining what sleepwear looks and feels like for the modern woman (perhaps not just settling for baggy boxers and tees?). All within a two month window, Ashley started business school, got pregnant, and decided to start a business. And the next four years were a whirlwind of becoming a mom, managing a fast-growing business and team, and getting comfortable with understanding who she is (and is not) as a person. This convo with Ashley is imbued with so much realness and honesty. We talk about… The “obligation” and dilemma for working mothers Why Ashley made the decision to sacrifice spending time with her kids while they’re younger as she’s building and growing her business Learning how to prioritize from a place of overwhelm and burn-out How envisioning her life like a pie graph helps her prioritize Owning who you really are as a business owner and as a leader Why getting started was the scariest and most difficult part How the questions get bigger but the fear gets smaller the further you get into business   WHO IS ASHLEY MERRILL? Ashley Merrill is the CEO and Founder of Lunya, bringing a unique problem-solving approach to designing sleepwear for the modern woman. With a BA and MBA from UCLA Anderson, Ashley is committed to Lunya being a vehicle for positive change - utilizing her background in tech & investing to build a successful and rapidly growing fashion brand with a deeper mission. Beyond building Lunya, Ashley is deeply involved in Girls Inc., where she serves as a board member, and she also works to invest in other female run businesses. She currently resides in Santa Monica CA with her husband and two children.   LINKS FROM THIS EPISODE: Join The Sisterhood www.lunya.co Lunya on Instagram Ashley on Instagram