Growing a family and building a business at the same time can feel overwhelming, but for Sydney Mulligan, it was an opportunity to do both - after she was laid off while on maternity leave. Yes, you read that right.

Sydney shares her journey of founding EMMIE Collective, a marketing and revenue operations agency. She walks us through the challenges she faced as a new mom starting a business, how she balanced career and motherhood, and how she leveraged her layoff to advance her entrepreneurial goals.

She also shares the unique perspective of growing a business while caring for young children, the importance of support networks, and her approach to building a flexible, family-friendly work environment.

Jump into the conversation:

(00:00) Meet Sydney Mulligan

(05:01) Building an agency-ish as a "third child"

(07:22) Why 12 weeks of paid leave isn't enough

(07:57) Navigating return-to-work inequity

(13:49) Job hunting for 6-month parental benefits

(18:04) Getting laid off while on maternity leave

(21:37) Networking strategies during a leave of absence

(23:14) Choosing entrepreneurship over a W2 role

(26:23) Scaling EMMIE Collective’s freelance model

(27:44) The risks of planning your own maternity leave

(34:25) How to backfill roles during parental leave

(37:04) Solving for a systemic lack of parent support

(42:27) Save of the week

Connect with Mallory Lee: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mallorylee/

Connect with Shannon Curran: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannon-sweeny-curran/

Connect with Sydney Mulligan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sydneymulligan/

Check out EMMIE Collective: https://www.instagram.com/emmiecollective

Produced in partnership with Share Your Genius

www.shareyourgenius.com