Navigating Work, Life, and Motherhood
“The line between work and life is melding together more than ever, especially compared to previous generations, with the work-from-home [situation] that Covid has put us in,” explains Monica Royer. Monica co-founded the children’s clothing line Monica + Andy with her brother, Andy Dunn, the founder of Bonobos.
“The lines, in terms of motherhood, have never been more blurred,” she adds.
Monica echoes the thoughts of many parents who have been working and raising small children during the pandemic. But as she built her clothing line—which relies on both e-commerce and brick-and-mortar stores—she found herself in a position to create connection and community as parts of her business model.
“A lot of what we created at Monica + Andy was inspired by my complete loneliness on [extended] maternity leave. When my husband went back to work, I was home with my daughter for four years,” Monica recalls. “Because of that, I craved meeting other moms that were at the same stage. I just remember going from being so social to being so isolated and having as my daytime companion someone I couldn’t hold a conversation with,” she laughs.
Her brick-and-mortar stores quickly became home to parenting classes, where a dozen or so mothers could gather with their babies and hear an expert speak on a topical subject, such as family photography, baby-led weaning, or baby teeth. Eventually, the stores would also offer “mommy and me” music and yoga classes as well. The low-cost and high quality of speakers kept the classes full. (A recent “Baby DJ Class” cost $30 and a sing-along with Dan the Music Man cost $15.)
“We ended up having a retail space with cookie crumbs, diaper changes, and mass chaos … but it was based on this idea that people want to come together,” Monica explains.
When the pandemic hit, Monica + Andy morphed their in-person programs to live, virtual events for thousands of now-isolated parents.
For Monica, creating community is in her DNA—she has fond memories of selling Girl Scout Cookies door-to-door in her Brownie uniform.
“I wasn’t a terribly great salesperson, but I loved the feeling of community. Girl Scouts was one of the first communities I was a part of, and I got to meet so many great people,” she says, adding that she met wonderful people in both her troop and at summer camp.
As a founder who is also a mom, Monica believes that she was able to launch her business because of her own community.
“When you’re a mom and an entrepreneur it’s really important to have a personal support network. Not just the childcare help that I have from my parents, but also from my spouse and my brother—they’re in my corner and that has made all the difference,” she explains.
In Monica’s experience, she has found that the people who supported her goals helped her get through the many challenges thrown her way.
“Things can become really heavy and without that support or encouragement it would be hard to move forward,” she recalls of those early days launching Monica + Andy.
In addition, Monica points to multiple resources available to working parents that can make a difference, such as Brella, a Los Angeles co-working space that’s a bit like WeWork with daycare. (She loved the concept so much she became an investor.) Monica has also gotten a lot of personal support through HeyMama, a networking space for entrepreneurial mothers, which she says is a great place to find mentoring support.
Regardless of whether your community needs are childcare or business guidance, Monica’s advice remains the same.
“Put your support network in place,” she explains, “before you begin to launch your business.”
