“A client weaponized my maternity LEAVE”

moms to know

Oct 12

MARIAH STOCKMAN

Mariah is the CEO + Founder of Made for Mothers, which is building a village for CEO moms. As a podcast, membership, mastermind, and IRL meetup host, she's all about creating spaces where ambitious moms are overflowing with community and belonging. After being threatened with a lawsuit and having her maternity leave weaponized just three weeks postpartum, Mariah became passionate about disrupting traditional business as usual, building more spaces where mothers can be both—honoring their motherhood and their big goals.

it's 2am, i check my email while nursing my brand new baby, and all i could think was: “i'm going to be sued”…

It’s 2 AM. I’m nursing my brand-new baby when I check my email and see a message that sends a chill down my spine: “I’m going to be sued.”

Before having my first baby, I would have proudly told you how I strategically planned my four-month maternity leave without turning my marketing agency into a full-blown dumpster fire. The key word is “prior.”

I had all my ducks in a row. My team was in place, expectations were clearly communicated to our full-service clients, and my systems were on lockdown. Cool, let’s have a baby, right?

Fast forward to three weeks postpartum. I was still wearing a diaper from my pretty traumatic birth and stressing over my high-needs baby boy. That’s when I saw the email that would dramatically shape my work, well, forever.

Even though all my clients were aware of my maternity leave, one client was… let’s just say, not impressed. They sent me a series of hurtful emails claiming it was “unprofessional” for me to take four months off and that I was actually in breach of our contract by not being 100% available to them. Did I mention I just had a baby? They started throwing around legal terms, and before I knew it, I was in weepy tears-mode—not just from the hormones acting as the cruise director in my body.

Sleep-deprived and in a panic, I found myself Googling, “Can I be sued for taking maternity leave?”

The details of what happened next don’t matter much; they didn’t sue me, and they’re long gone in the rearview mirror. But the trauma lingers. Now, a core postpartum memory of mine is this entire lower-than-low experience where a client threatened a brand-new healing mom.

As my four-month maternity leave slowly crept closer to a six-month break, I realized I needed time to meet myself as a mother and heal from my previous hustle culture. I also knew I had to dismantle and burn my multi-year, six-figure marketing agency to the ground. Oye.

I recognized that I needed a type of rest that was no longer easily accessible to me. My world was now entirely focused on my son and myself as his mother. I could no longer pretend that motherhood and work were separate parts of me. The only path forward for my work was cut-throat alignment or nothing else.

One evening, I looked at my husband and said, “It sounds crazy, but I think I’m only going to work with moms from now on.” Suddenly, everything made sense.

No more apologizing for rescheduling, crying babies, toddlers laughing, toddlers melting down, sick households, canceled childcare, brain fog, or mom guilt—poof, all of it was gone.

THE OTHER BIRTH I HAD: MADE FOR MOTHERS.

This is how Made for Mothers was born. We launched in September 2023 with a mission rooted in the belief that no one is more deserving of an energetic, honest, and supportive community than a mom running a business. We are committed to transforming the entrepreneurial journey for mother-owned businesses by fostering real connections and creating a space where both motherhood and ambition are honored.

Through our podcast, membership, meetups, IRL masterminds, and educational resources, we offer access to curated networking opportunities designed to empower CEO moms.

RESOURCES + DEALS WE FREAKING LOVE:

Organize your business and your life 20% off Dubsado

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about YOUR HOST

Hey, I’m mariah

BOY MAMA and MADE FOR MOTHERS CEo + FOUNDER

My claim to fame is burning my multi-six-figure marketing agency to the ground when my son was born in order to create the village I needed so badly as a CEO & mom. I felt deeply alone, and I knew there was a better way! And guess what!? I figured it out, moms just need to be deeply rooted for, seen by, and surrounded by other moms!

If you're NEW to the Made for Mothers community, just know that his table is long and wide, there are plenty of seats, no cool girls, no gossip, no aggressive networking, no stressing if your babies can tag along... we're mothers first, and wildly ambitious entrepreneurs second AND you belong here!.