Building a Project Management Empire... with No Contacts, a Toddler, and a Prayer

So, here’s the brilliant plan: move to a new city, start a project management business, and, just for fun, throw motherhood into the mix. What could possibly go wrong?

Step one: network like your business depends on it. Which it does. Except, in a new area where you know absolutely no one, it turns out "networking" looks more like bribing your toddler with snacks while trying to strike up casual conversation with other moms at the park. If only business deals were sealed with fruit snacks.

“So, what do you do?” they ask. “Oh, I’m in project management,” you say with a totally rehearsed smile. “I’m really good at organizing things, making plans, and ensuring projects run smoothly.” Cue the side-eye as your toddler face-plants in the sandbox and then throws a toy shovel at another kid. Nailed it. Networking event of the year.

Step two: make time for marketing. According to every business guru on the planet, your brand needs visibility, which requires you to post on social media consistently. Right. After preschool drop-off, client calls, and negotiating with a small dictator over the necessity of vegetables at dinner, who has time for that? I’m lucky if I can post a photo of my coffee before it gets cold. But hey, maybe that’s the aesthetic: “Tired Project Manager & Mompreneur.” If anyone’s looking for someone to manage projects while barely keeping it together, I’m your girl.

Step three: find clients. Easy, right? Except no one really wants to hire a stranger who just rolled into town with nothing but a fancy business card and a diaper bag. You start cold-calling local businesses, but between the background noise of “Moooooom!” and random Paw Patrol theme songs blaring in the background, you’re just praying they don’t hear your child’s meltdown mid-pitch.

But here’s the thing: in project management, problem-solving is your bread and butter. And if I can manage to keep a toddler fed, dressed, and entertained on the daily, surely I can manage a few business projects, right? I mean, coordinating nap time with snack time is basically the same as project timelines and resource allocation.

So, yes, growing a new business with no contacts in a new area *while* raising a tiny human is basically like juggling fire and hoping you don’t get burned. But that’s the magic, isn’t it? There’s a certain art to turning chaos into success, one missed nap and awkward networking event at a time. Who knows? Maybe my next client will be that mom I met at the playground after all.

Now, back to the drawing board... and maybe another cup of coffee.