How to Prepare for Self-Employed Maternity Leave

Self-employment is all fun and games… until you get pregnant and realize you are 100% responsible for your own maternity leave.

(Or until you realize how much you have to pay in taxes… or how the work always falls on you, even when you’re sick or out of town… but I digress.)

If you’re a creative entrepreneur who is or is planning to be pregnant, you are lucky in SO many ways. But you need to intentionally prepare for maternity leave if you want to enjoy it to the fullest.

As the founder of Quotable Copy and a soon-to-be mom of two, I’ve been busy preparing for my second maternity leave this summer. 

Here’s what I did last time, what I’m doing this time, and what I’ve learned along the way.

How Maternity Leave Is Different for Creative Entrepreneurs

Traditional employees think we entrepreneurs have it made, don’t they? 

And in many ways, we do! We get to set our own schedules, working locations, and income goals. Maternity leave should be a breeze for us, right?

Well, it can be. But it can also be stressful. 

Because freelancers don’t get any special benefits from our employers or the government (except in a few cases), we have to fund our own parental leave. 

If you can afford to take a year off, you can. But if you can afford only a few weeks, you’ll have to drag your butt back to work much sooner than you’d like. 

That’s why preparing in advance is so important. More on that in a sec…

Pros of Self-Employed Maternity Leave

• You can (theoretically) take off as much time as you want. 
• You have the flexibility to work during your leave if you choose.
• You can take more control over your motherhood journey.

Cons of Self-Employed Maternity Leave

• You are fully responsible for funding your maternity leave.
• You may have to hustle to save up enough money beforehand.
• You may have to return to work early if needed.

My Own Experience with Self-Employed Maternity Leave

There’s no playbook for taking maternity leave as a creative entrepreneur. All we have to learn from are each other’s experiences.

I don’t claim to be an expert on the topic. But after taking my first maternity leave in 2022 and now preparing for my second one in 2024, I want to share what I’ve learned in case it’s helpful for you.

What I Did Last Time

• I planned to take three months off. Many of the moms in my life said a 12-week leave was the bare minimum they’d recommend; it’s also what I understood to be standard in the U.S. After reviewing our family’s financial situation, my husband and I agreed three months made sense for us. It turned out to be a good amount of time.
• Before leaving, I offered 20% off services fulfilled upon my return. I wanted to have some work to return to, so I incentivized clients with a discount in exchange for waiting a few months to work with me. I got a few bites, but I wouldn’t say I had a full pipeline by the time I came back to work. Maybe if I had promoted this offer more heavily or farther in advance, it would have been more successful.
• I shared (practically) no work-related content during my leave. Aside from writing one email newsletter per month, I didn’t create any marketing content while on maternity leave. I would have liked to have a bunch of content scheduled, but I didn’t carve out the time to batch-create it beforehand. I still shared personal content to my Instagram while I was out, which helped me stay connected with my audience in some way.
• I did work a bit — but only on my own marketing and education. Honestly, I like to work. And babies sleep a ton! So when mine was napping (and I didn’t need to do the same), I gave myself permission to work a little. I read some marketing newsletters, watched videos from the business courses I had purchased the year prior, and worked on creating a new offer, which I launched shortly after returning from leave.

What I’m Doing This Time

• I’m planning to take three months off (again). That duration felt right last time overall, so I’m sticking with it this time around. An ideal situation would be to ease back into work slowly, but with current daycare costs (even for part-time care), that’s not financially feasible. Plus, since I’m mostly a one-woman show here, Quotable Copy kinda needs me. I anticipate similar rhythms to my last maternity leave: mostly checking out, but also allowing myself to work if and when I want. I’ll probably catch up on some education, check emails once a week, and touch base with my audience occasionally.
• I created a specific financial goal to hit before maternity leave. Unlike last time, when I went into maternity leave sort of willy-nilly, I have more of a handle on my money this year. Thanks to my learnings and financial plans from The Blueprint Model (and conversations with my business-savvy husband), I came up with a target number to have in my bank account before going on leave. Since I’ve been working hard to get booked out before leaving, I’m on track to hit that goal.
• I’m following more of a marketing plan. While I haven’t done much content preparation yet, I do plan to set aside time to batch-create emails and blog posts to be published during my absence. Especially now that my brand is gaining more traction, I don’t want to completely ghost people for months and then make a sudden return. I hope to continue to send Quotable Copy’s regular newsletters, share one blog post per month, and post on Instagram once a week.
• I’m enlisting more help. As Quotable Copy grows, I am becoming more comfortable with outsourcing to allow me to serve more people (and to lighten my own burden). I’ve already hired help from a bookkeeper and graphic designer. I’m also considering a new comarketing idea, in which I would collaborate with other creative entrepreneurs to jointly promote our services so that I can book some more post-leave work. (Side note: If you’re interested in a special offer for booking Quotable Copy’s services this fall, please inquire here!)

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10-Step Maternity Leave Checklist for Creative Entrepreneurs

So that’s what I have done (or am planning to do). But what should YOU do to prepare for maternity leave as a creative entrepreneur? 

Here’s a checklist of my 10 best self-employed maternity leave tips:

1. Plan early… but not too early. Start thinking about what you want (and can afford) as soon as you learn you’re pregnant, or even before. But don’t stress about it. You have nine months to hammer out the details — there’s no need to get antsy before you have to.
2. Create a specific financial plan. If you don’t already have solid financials in place, I highly recommend The Blueprint Model by Shanna Skidmore to get a handle on your money overall. Either way, you should determine exactly how much money you need to have in your bank account before and after taking maternity leave. Then, work backward to figure out how much you need to sell to hit that goal.
3. Decide your start and end date. I put this tip after the previous one because, unless money is not an issue for you, the length of your maternity leave will depend upon what you can actually afford. Once you know that, you can plan when you want to stop working, and when you want to come back. I recommend planning your start date at least a week or two before your actual due date, as you never know if the baby will come early (or if you’ll even feel like working at that point… or if you need the extra time to catch up on prolonged projects). On the flip side, I recommend planning your end date a week or two after you think you’ll be ready to return to work. That will give you some padding in case you aren’t quite able, emotionally or physically.
4. Be strategic about the work you take on beforehand. Now is probably not the time to throw yourself into a big launch or brand-new offer. Those opportunities will be waiting for you when you get back. Since pregnancy is so unpredictable, I recommend sticking to easier, more familiar projects, especially as you near your due date.
5. Set goals for returning to work. Yes, it’s important to sell enough work before you leave — but you also need to make money after you return! Think through what those first few weeks and months back at the office will actually look like. If you can, pre-book projects for that period, so you aren’t stressing about work while snuggling your newborn. (Offering discounts and waitlists can help you do that.)
6. Batch content ahead of time. Ideally, you wouldn’t quit marketing cold-turkey during parental leave. (Though you totally can!) By creating a bunch of content beforehand, you can schedule it to post on a semi-regular basis while you’re out. Try to devote a couple of days to writing emails, blog posts, social posts, or whatever marketing content your audience has come to expect from you, so they continue to feel connected to your brand in the coming months. You can be honest about it (“I wrote this a few weeks ago!”), or you can tweak the message just before posting if you want it to feel fresh. 
7. Hire help (or not). If you already have a team, you’ll lean on them now more than ever. If you don’t, perhaps now is the time to build one. Onboarding employees can be time consuming, but worth it if you find the right people. Outsourcing to contractors is usually a lighter lift. Weigh whether you have the time and money to invest in hiring help. If so, you could take a variety of admin tasks, bookkeeping, content creation, or even client work off your plate.
8. Communicate early and often. Set expectations with both your current clients and your audience as a whole by being upfront about what to expect before, during, and after your leave. The more you talk about it, the more likely people will be to remember (and feel the need) to get on your books ASAP. If you have retainer clients, you’ll want to inform them of what will happen to their service during the months you’re gone. Be sure to follow up with clients and leads as soon as you’re back, too. They’ll appreciate the updates, and you’ll stay top of mind — win-win.
9. Set your email signature and auto-responder. Add an “upcoming OOO” note to the bottom of your email signature now as a constant visual reminder to your clients of when you’ll be gone. And get that vacation responder ready sooner than you think. You’ll want to add plenty of relevant details, like when people can expect to hear back from you and where they can find help in the meantime. The last thing you want is to scramble to get that info together while you’re heading to the hospital.
10. Give yourself grace. You had to know this one was coming, didn’t you? Truly, everyone’s maternity leave is different, especially if you’re self-employed. Taking time off is a leap of faith, but the very best kind — after all, you get a sweet little babe out of it! Don’t be afraid to take the time you need to care for them and yourself. On the other hand, don’t feel bad about working a bit while the baby is napping, or even coming back to work early if you want to. One of the reasons you became a creative entrepreneur is so you can have freedom and flexibility over your schedule. You’ve got it — so use it!

Remember that the beauty of self-employed maternity leave is that YOU are in control. If these tips resonate with you, take them. If not, leave ‘em!

By the way… I’d be remiss if I didn’t give a plug for my own maternity leave plan. If you’re interested in working with Quotable Copy after I return to work in September, please get on the waitlist here. (There just may be an incentive for your patience!)

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