What Starting a Business During the Hardest Season of Life Taught Me

When I started my business, I thought the hard part would be building it.

I thought the challenges would be:

• finding clients

• creating systems

• growing a brand

• balancing motherhood and entrepreneurship

• figuring everything out as I went

And while all of those things were difficult, life had something much bigger waiting for me.

Around the same time I was building J & Mae Marketing, I was also navigating one of the hardest personal seasons of my life: a triple-negative breast cancer diagnosis.

There are certain moments in life that divide everything into “before” and “after.” That was one of them.

It Changed the Way I See Time

One of the biggest things hard seasons teach you is how quickly your perspective changes. Things that once felt urgent suddenly don’t. Things you stressed about lose their weight. And the things that truly matter become incredibly clear.

I started realizing:

• perfection matters less than presence

• burnout is not a badge of honor

• there is no “perfect time”

• slowing down is sometimes necessary

• asking for help is strength, not weakness

As business owners, we spend so much time trying to keep everything moving that we rarely stop long enough to ask ourselves: “What kind of life am I actually building?”

It Taught Me That Resilience Doesn’t Always Look Loud

Before this season of life, I think I viewed resilience as pushing harder, doing more, and holding everything together perfectly. Now I see it differently.

Sometimes resilience looks like the following:

• continuing even when you’re scared

• allowing people to support you

• being honest about hard things

• showing up imperfectly

• giving yourself grace

• learning to rest without guilt

There were days when business felt important. And there were days when it felt incredibly small compared to everything else happening around me. But strangely, building something meaningful during a hard season also gave me purpose. It reminded me that life can be fragile and beautiful at the same time.

It Changed the Way I Approach Business

This experience changed the way I think about work, branding, and success. I care less about constant hustle. More about meaningful connection.

More about building a business that actually feels aligned with the life I want. I think people are craving that shift right now.

Not more noise, perfection, or performative branding.

Just honesty, connection, and humanity.

Conclusion

If there’s one thing this season taught me, it’s this: You can be building something beautiful while also walking through something hard. The two can exist at the same time. And sometimes the hardest seasons of our lives reshape us into the people we were always meant to become.