In this episode, I’m chatting with Pamela Adam. She’s a hair stylist, mom, and one of the sweetest people I know.

I met Pamela about two years ago when I taught a class at the salon where she works, and we just hit it off!

Pamela has worked in the beauty industry since she was 18 years old, starting as a receptionist and then working her way up. She went from working in a big salon to renting a chair in a smaller boutique salon and enjoys the independence and drive she gets from a smaller, more intimate setting.

Now, she’s self-employed and rents a chair in Alberta. She also started educating people in her industry just two months after her son was born. That’s right, she had a baby and started teaching within a period of a few months! Amazing, right?

I couldn’t think of anyone better to talk to about work/life balance than a new mom and entrepreneur.

Here are a few highlights from our conversation:

• How Pamela manages her own expectations while running a business and caring for a baby. This is a HUGE part of balance. You can’t be perfect, and that’s okay!

• Designing her career to fit what she wanted. She loved the industry, but didn’t just want to be behind the chair. That’s when she decided to start teaching so she could have the best of both worlds.

• The ups and downs of educating in both of our careers. Teaching is awesome, but it’s not all unicorns and daisies!

• Some of her biggest successes, failures, and stumbling blocks in entrepreneurship. (Yeah, maternity leave isn’t a thing when you’re self-employed. How do you deal with that?!)

• How teaching doesn’t just help our students, but helps us learn and grow as stylists and entrepreneurs as well.

• Pamela’s valuable advice to working moms, especially if they have anxiety. (And this isn’t the stuff you usually hear!) I absolutely love her take on this because it applies to everyone, not just moms! Make sure to listen to this part if you’re feeling overwhelmed or like you aren’t doing life “right.”

• How discomfort helps us grow as business owners and humans.

Pamela is one of my favorite people ever. She’s so kind and down to earth, and we’re the same kind of awkward. That’s always a big plus in a friendship, right?

I hope you enjoy this episode and her wisdom!

For more Pamela, check out her Instagram at PamelaDoesHair.

Catch you next time!

You can also listen and subscribe to The Anxious Creative on iTunes and Google Play.