I am writing this one from the inside – and not at all from a place where everything is going perfectly!
I’m in a busy season right now, and I’m nowhere near where I wanted to be by this point this year. So when I say I understand, I mean it in the most unpolished way possible.
You’re managing a home and raising your sweet babies. The diapers, disrupted sleep, play dates, and vacuuming. You’ve been building in borrowed moments — creating, posting, connecting — while life keeps moving at full speed.
And yet it doesn’t feel like enough.
Building in scattered time rarely feels like success. It often doesn’t feel like you’re getting anywhere. Maybe you’ve thought about burning it all down. Maybe you’ve wondered if you’re really cut out for this.
Here’s what I need you to hear: You are doing wildly impressive work. You’re doing it the way that fits your life. And it’s important that you’re doing it this way.
A better future is worth every borrowed moment it takes to build it.
So keep building. The small moments will add up in ways you can’t fully see yet. Your pace is not the problem. You’ll win because you keep putting one foot in front of the other. Especially when it doesn’t feel like progress. You’re allowed to be proud of how far you’ve come.
Write down why you started — the real reasons. Then beside it, write everything you’ve already built and figured out. Read both lists back to back.
You’ve done more than you realize. You’re closer than you think.
I’m cheering you on. Always.
If any part of this resonated, you don’t have to keep building alone. The Growth Collective is a community of moms doing exactly what you’re doing — showing up in the margins, figuring it out, and cheering each other forward. Come find your people.
Join The Growth CollectiveFrequently Asked Questions
Why does building a business in borrowed moments feel like it’s not working? Because progress made in small, scattered pockets of time rarely looks or feels like success in the moment. It’s invisible while it’s happening. That doesn’t mean it isn’t real — it means you’re building something that compounds quietly, and the gap between effort and evidence can be discouraging before it becomes undeniable.
How do you stay motivated as a mom entrepreneur when you feel behind? Start by separating pace from progress. Feeling behind is almost always a comparison — to where you thought you’d be, or to someone else’s highlight reel. Reconnecting with your why, and honestly accounting for everything you’ve already built, shifts the lens from lack to evidence.
Is it normal to want to quit your online business as a mom? Completely. Most moms building businesses in the margins of family life hit a wall where the effort feels invisible and the doubt gets loud. It doesn’t mean the business isn’t working — it usually means you’re in the hardest stretch before things start to compound. You’re not alone in that feeling, and it’s not a sign to stop.
About the Author
Sam Salfarlie is the founder of The Complete Business and The Growth Collective – a membership community for moms who want to build flexible, family-first online income without waiting for the perfect moment. She started building her business at seven months pregnant, with her oldest not even three, and she’s still building in the margins of full-time work and motherhood today. Her work is rooted in one belief: that borrowed moments, stacked consistently, are enough to change your life. Learn more at thecompletebusiness.com.
