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Pregnant? How and when to talk with your clients about your plans for maternity leave.

Today’s question is:

“I don’t usually have retainer clients. I was just planning on ending projects well before my due date and ramping up some passive revenue. But now I have two really awesome retainer offers and I’m wondering: One, should I be transparent about this now? It feels a bit rude not to mention anything, but I do also have friends who didn’t get jobs when they were transparent.

Do I just take the month off? That feels a bit weird. Like, ‘Hey, this is really important work we’re doing, which is why you’re paying me bucket loads of money. But hey, whatever, let’s just pause a little because, you know, I have a life.’

I do have a subcontractor I like working with, but it’s different to hand it off completely. Will the client be happy with that? They’re hiring me, not her. Should I just ask them what they prefer? I don’t know. That feels unprofessional. Like, ‘I don’t know how to handle this so I’m putting the ball in your court.’ But it also feels like different clients want different things.

By the way, if you’re wondering what I want, I don’t mind being a bit involved. I’m happy to keep tabs, offer input, keep up a presence, et cetera. But I don’t want any responsibility on my shoulders. No responsibility for deliverables, no being tied down to a specific meeting time. No fires that must be taken care of by ME. That’s asking for disaster. I guess full vacation would be dreamy – well as dreamy as no sleep, no showers can be. But I don’t know how easy the transition back into things will be. A month is a long time and I think things would feel weird after.

Thanks for letting me get messy and rambling. Can’t wait to hear what your noodles have to say about this.”

Listen now:

In this episode, we talk about the sticky issue of maternity leave. When do you tell your clients? How do you handle it? What do you do if you’re on retainer? What do you do if you’re planning to take time off and how much time? What if you work with subcontractors? Can you hand things off to them? And if so, how?

We talk about all of it in today’s episode.

In this episode we talk about:

  • How to talk to your clients about maternity leave. 6:30
  • Should you worry about losing clients after going on leave? 11:00
  • Bringing in subcontractors to work with clients on your behalf. 14:00

Click here to download a transcript of this episode.

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Where to find Kirsty:

Where to submit your questions (anonymous or not!)

About Business Badassery

Amy’s a conversion copywriter, business coach and serial business owner who’s been reading advice columns since she was nine. With decades of business experience, she’s gotten very good at quickly reading situations and coming up with solutions – especially on the fly. You can find her at amyposner.com

Kirsty’s a launch copywriter and ex-psychotherapist, who’s smack bang in the middle of scaling her business with online courses. She’s good at making sense of human tendencies, selling things with words, and only following the work that feels good. You can find her at kirstyfanton.com

“Amy and Kirsty are wonderful, wise and witty!

I already push myself hard enough so I'm not interested in working with coaches that are going to "crack the whip" and "kick my arse".

Kirsty and Amy both have a gently challenging coaching style. I always left sessions feeling validated, smart and capable but with a clear idea of how to make things even betterer.”

Anna Rogan
Creative Copywriter

“Kirsty seems to have this ability to see things that aren't being said. And then she brings them to light in such a nurturing way. 

Amy is direct AND caring all at the same time. It makes it easier for me to get to the point cause I know you'll get to the point when you ask about the things you need more info on.

Together — I love that neither of them hold back when their opinion/suggestion/perspective differs from the other's. It just makes it all so much more valuable. 

Also, they’re both so genuine, warm, smart and hilarious. Those 'good' traits just compound when you put the two of them together, ya know?”

Miish Grixti
Conversion Copywriter

“All I'd ever heard about Amy was that she's a great coach. Welp, she's a great coach. Knows the right questions to ask to get through the bullshit and get to the root issue.

And my sweet, sweet Kirsty. Using all of her best therapy tricks to keep us moving forward. And making us feel loved :)

Together? Stop. So good. I have never felt so supported. 

I think the value in coaching is having someone hold a bigger vision for you than you can see yourself. So having TWO of you hold that for me was extremely motivating.”

Megan Baird
Email Copywriter