The Unspoken Toxicity of “Entrepreneurial Freedom” for Women

There is a narrative being pushed hard online right now, especially toward women and especially toward mothers.

Entrepreneurship equals freedom.
Entrepreneurship equals presence.
Entrepreneurship equals being more available for your kids.

And yes - parts of that are true.

But underneath that narrative is a dark undertow that no one wants to talk about, because it doesn’t photograph well and it doesn’t sell beautifully packaged programs.

There is something deeply toxic happening in the way we glorify entrepreneurship for women. And if we don’t name it honestly, we keep normalizing behavior that slowly breaks women while telling them they should feel lucky.

Let me be very specific.

The Image That Made My Stomach Drop
I was scrolling Instagram recently and saw a post from a woman who had just become a mother.
She was sitting at her desk. Not casually working - working.
Two computer monitors in front of her.
Software dashboards open everywhere.

She had breast pumps suctioned to both breasts.
And next to her, asleep, was her newborn baby.

The caption talked about how amazing it was that entrepreneurship allowed her to run her business and still be there for her baby.

And I remember thinking:
Is this really what we’re celebrating? Boo, this send chills down my spine.

Because that image didn’t look like freedom to me.
It looked like a woman whose nervous system never gets to rest.

Women do not give birth so they can sit at a desk, tethered to breast pumps, responding to emails and managing systems while their newborn sleeps beside them.

That is not presence.
That is not balance.
That is survival mode - glorified.

And yet, we clap. We call it inspiring. We tell her she’s doing it “right.”

The Poolside Laptop Lie
Then there’s the other version of the same story.

The woman at the pool.
Drink in hand.
Laptop open on the lounge chair.

Caption:
“Entrepreneurship is freedom. I love that I can work from anywhere.”

But if you’re truly free… why is the laptop open?

Why aren’t you in the pool?
Why aren’t you actually resting?
Why are you still working?

And listen - I’m not judging from the outside. I did this too.

I copied it.
I mirrored it.
I thought this was the vibe.
I thought this was the move.

Everyone was doing it, so I assumed that’s what success looked like.
But eventually I had to tell myself the truth: working everywhere is not the same as living freely.

It’s just working… everywhere.

I’ve Lived Both Sides of This
When I got divorced, my kids were 9 and 11.

I was working in corporate banking, almost an hour away from their school. Mornings were chaos. Getting them to school on time, getting myself to work, holding everything together - there was no flexibility then.

I dreamed of entrepreneurship. I still have the notebook somewhere, filled with business ideas and plans.

But it wasn’t the time.

My kids needed stability.
I needed income I could count on.
I couldn’t afford the kind of risk entrepreneurship actually requires.

So I waited.

Years later, when my kids were older, I finally took the leap and built Karmic Currency.
And when I tell you I did everything - I mean everything!

I built my website myself. Never built one in my life before.
I wrote every email.
I created every Instagram post.
I built the email list.
I ordered all my business cards.

I was the chef, the cook, and the bottle washer.

And it was hard.

The Part I Rarely Talk About

When my mom was sick  that last year of her life... Karmic Currency was supporting two households.
Two rents.
Two car payments.
Two electric bills.
Groceries for two places.

I wasn’t thriving.
I was surviving.

And I remember posting a picture from the hospital me sitting there with my laptop, working.

This is the part that still makes my stomach turn.

I asked my mom to take that picture…

She was laying in her hospital bed. And I said,
“Mom, take a picture of me working on my laptop.”

And of course she did. Because what mother would say no?
Looking back now, how fucked up is that?

Yes, there were moments when she was sleeping.
Yes, there were times she was out getting tests.
And yes, I had to work because I was holding everything together financially.

But the fact that I felt the need to document it?
To perform it?
To prove that I was still “showing up”?

That wasn’t empowerment.
That was pressure!

And Then Came the Client

That same week - In facts the same day we found out my mom’s cancer had metastasized and there was nothing else they could do, it was a Friday October the 13th I hadn’t personally respond to my client for maybe three or four days.

Now Let me be clear:
She was being supported.
My team was responding.
I personally didn’t respond..
Because I was standing in a hospital room at Baptist, preparing to bring my mother home on hospice to die.

This woman sent me one of the nastiest emails I’ve ever received, but first she texted me saying she wanted a refund and was going with another consultant.

Cold.
Unforgiving.
No grace whatsoever.

And then to add insult to injury- she did a chargeback from her American Express for $2,350, telling her credit card company I never delivered what I promised. I’ll never accept amex as a form of payment again, and neither should you, but that’s another story.

I have the receipts. I absolutely did the work she had hired me to do. I even brought in additional people to support her.

What shocked me most wasn’t just the cruelty.

It was this:
This was coming from a woman!
Not a man.

A woman operating in such toxic, masculine energy that she couldn’t give me a few days of grace while my mother was dying?

That moment cracked something open for me.

This isn’t just a systems problem.
This is women expecting impossible performance from other women.

This Is Where the Toxicity Lives
Entrepreneurship puts financial pressure on women, especially solopreneurs.

If you don’t work, you don’t get paid.
If your partner relies on your income, the pressure doubles.
If you’re single, it triples.

And even on our “days off,” we’re working.

Laundry.
Cooking.
Cleaning.
Errands.
Managing life.

So when financial pressure meets this cultural expectation that entrepreneurship should feel magical and freeing all the time, this is the result:

Women pumping breast milk at desks.
Women dragging laptops to pools.
Women working in hospital rooms while their mothers are dying.

 And everyone calling it inspiring.

The Realization That Changed Everything
After about eight years in entrepreneurship, I finally said:
This isn’t life.
This isn’t what this was supposed to be.

Entrepreneurship isn’t freedom unless you build support.

Today, I have a virtual assistant I’ve worked with for almost two years, and content creator, and ad hoc project manager.

I have a small, part-time team.
Its not massive, Its not extravagant.
But its exactly enough.

Enough that I don’t need my laptop at the pool.
Enough that I can take a day off without panic.
Enough that I can actually be present.

That is freedom.

Why I’m Teaching This Now
Because its time someone says it out loud.
This is why I created Pretty Profitable & Bank Approved.

This is not a marketing course.
This is not a branding course.
This is not about hustle.

This is about understanding your finances, becoming bankable, accessing funding responsibly and using that funding to build support.

Because entrepreneurship without support is not empowerment.
It’s self-exploitation.

And women deserve better than that.

If this resonated, I invite you to join the waitlist for Pretty Profitable & Bank Approved.

Freedom isn’t working everywhere.
Freedom is knowing when you don’t have to.