My life is soon to be turned upside down. Routine will be non-existent, sleep disrupted, ambition paused, and business on auto pilot, but all for the better.
My partner is closing in on 34 weeks pregnant, and we haven’t had the smoothest of pregnancies in all honesty. Kate has felt nauseous all the way through it, and as of last week she has gestational diabetes, which is very common in pregnancy and pops up in the third trimester to cause havoc.
It simply means her hormones are so strong that her body struggles to keep her blood sugar levels “normal”, which offers our little boy a lot more nutrients, sugar and overall intake. Kate is now on a very low carb diet until the big day to slow this growth down, so she has low energy and snores like a rhinoceros.
That last part may or may not be related but it’s popped up outta nowhere.
So our boy is growing faster than normal meaning it may be likely that he comes into the world a little early, with a not so little belly (he must be mine), which I am incredibly excited about.
When I first found out that we were expecting I did have some intrusive thoughts about how stressed I would be closer to the due date, and I am somewhat incredibly calm about the situation thanks to us both doing lots of research about pregnancy and joining a local NCT class to meet local mums and fathers to be so we can learn and speak about this beautiful time in our lives.
However back then, I was completely unaware that my business would lose close to 40% of revenue within two months thanks to the recent google updates which I explain in my previous blog post, alongside the loss of an acquisition that could have change mine and my families lives, alongside some much deserved time off for my team.
There’s no denying that Q1/Q2 of 2024 is going to be rough for us as a business, and the last 3 months has shined light on how reliant we are on Google.
It has scared the crap outta me, but it’s also shined light on how much I need to take a step back from work, especially now that I am becoming a father.
Should I “step back” when we’ve been hit so aggressively? How do I support our son, my partner, my team and claw back the revenue loss of my business all at the same time? Do I slow down entirely?
Not only do I need to claw back our traffic, I need to build for the future, come up with new revenue streams, continue with A Handheld History and get Card Gamer off the ground all while looking after a new-born and supporting my partner.
Jeepers.
I now understand the stress that fatherhood can bring while juggling a business… all before being a father.
It’s daunting, I ain’t gonna lie, but I am ready.
This brings me onto my journal that you are reading today, and what I want it to become.
It’s a place for me to splurge my thoughts onto a screen, a place I can go back to in many years to reminisce and a place that can hopefully help others like me, a father trying to be the best father he can be while building a business that gives his family a lifestyle filled with love, happiness and gratefulness.
So that’s what I am going to do, I am going to focus my journal on just that.
Fatherhood and business.
How will I approach this balance, what will I learn as a father to help my business, and what will I learn building my business that helps me as a father?
That I do not know, but that I shall document.