I see this trend on Instagram where people are looking back to where they were in 2016…I’m going to write about this because 2016 was the year that sparked great change for me.
In January 2016 I was 30 years old and a few weeks’ pregnant.
The pregnancy was my first - and unplanned.
I had only been with my partner for a few months.
I had recently returned from living in the UK.
Life felt messy and uncertain.
I was working at a marketing agency with a crazy boss and I hated how draining it felt.
I was terrified.
On 1 August 2016, I gave birth to my baby girl and life changed completely. Up until that point I had been planning to return to my job after maternity leave (I didn’t really see any other option). But when she arrived, something inside shifted; I had to do life differently. I had to be fully there for her. I couldn’t leave her behind while I returned to work.
This time in my life was uncertain, also beautiful and unravelling, with so much love. Becoming a mom is an initiation. My partner and I stuck it out. He offered to support us financially while I quit my job, which nudged the door open… to something I had been dreaming about for years: becoming a self employed creative.
Those early days were so hard. My baby woke up every half hour. I breast fed her day and night. We moved into a tiny cottage along the Lion’s River in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands to save some money. I remember a few things from that time - I was utterly, devastatingly exhausted. Our cottage was freezing - it was an old farm shed with barely any insulation. We had a little fire place that we kept burning throughout winter to keep us warm. We had barely any internet - I had to put my phone on the cottage’s tin roof to get signal!
I was also determined to start something of my own. My own web design business was born after I designed and developed a couple of WordPress websites for friends and family in exchange for haircuts and decent referrals. I started an Instagram account to market myself, found inspiring female entrepreneurs to follow (those were the flourishing boss mom years) and kept chipping away at this dream of owning my own business. In those early days I worked with a babe breastfeeding in my lap. My little girl was very attached - she continued to wake up regularly until, at 3 years old (literally on her birthday), she slept soundly through the night. This was another life changing moment for me - after 3 years of extreme sleep deprivation I was suddenly getting enough sleep to function and feel more like myself again! I had energy and drive and my business really started to grow (around 2019).
Looking back over the last 10 years, here's what I've achieved:
I've grown a business from nothing—no marketing budget, no investment. Just me chipping away at a dream with fiery inner determination (and dashes of stubbornness and hope).
We've moved across the country to Cape Town and bought our first house! This was a vague, seemingly impossible, dream in 2016. We live in the most beautiful corner of the world—Fish Hoek. I get to walk on the beach whenever I want. It's incredible.
I've healed and grown in ways I could never have imagined back in those dark early days in that freezing cottage with barely any internet on our tiny budget.
I've had another child—the second time around was so much easier!
My partner and I are still together. Our relationship is stronger than ever after all the tests and struggles we've faced and grown through.
My business is thriving. I have a flexible schedule where I work on my own terms and can be there for my two children while doing what I love.
In 10 years, a whole lot can change for the better. Dreams can be achieved.
I've gone from feeling lost and terrified to feeling confident, grounded and thriving as I enter my 40s. The key? I started, even when it seemed impossible. And messily, imperfectly, slowly, I got to where I am now. Owning a little home in the most beautiful corner of the world, working on my own terms doing something I love and care deeply for—no psycho boss putting me down.
Where will I be in 10 years' time? Where will you be in 10 years' time?
Perhaps 2026 - the year of the Fire Horse - is your opportunity to start the next chapter - slowly, messily, on your own terms. All dreams need a beginning.
Sincerely,
Meg, founder / web designer at Nutmeg Studio
