There’s a unique kind of bravery in deciding to build your own family, especially when the path looks nothing like what you once imagined. In this season 9 opener, I’m joined by Lisa Proeber, fellow solo mom by choice, serial entrepreneur, and children’s book author. Lisa and I started this episode as strangers but quickly found ourselves deep in conversation about everything from demotions to starting businesses, surrogacy, solo travel, and the honest realities of single motherhood.

Lisa shares her winding journey: early marriage in a conservative family, divorce, years of dating with the singular goal of becoming a mom, and ultimately making the leap into solo motherhood...during a global pandemic. We discuss the heartbreaks, the unexpected joy, and how the challenges of COVID, job loss, advocating for her son’s health, and taking big risks in business all wove together. Lisa opens up about what it’s really like to juggle it all as a single mom, why she loves the flexibility of entrepreneurship, and how she’s helping to tell new stories for families like ours through her board book, Mama Cow.

In this episode, we talk about:

1. The courage and chaos of picking a sperm donor (and throwing a hilarious sperm party!)
2. Navigating solo motherhood through the shock of a pandemic
3. What it looks like to get fired for being pregnant - and fight back
4. How Lisa leveraged adversity to launch multiple businesses, and the freedom she’s found in working for herself
5. The gap in children’s books about nontraditional families, and why telling our stories matters
6. Helpful tips for finding support, outsourcing, and building a thriving solo mom life
7. Dating, surrogacy, and talking to kids about different families

This is a warm, funny, and deeply honest conversation for anyone thinking about single motherhood by choice, or just looking for ways to write their own story!

Connect with Lisa:

1. Mama Cow board book + swag
2. Instagram: @mamacowbooks

👩‍👧‍👦The Single Greatest Choice is the single mother by choice support you’ve been craving for every stage of your journey. You can find 1:1 Coaching for every stage of solo motherhood by choice, Community Groups for thinkers, triers, and pregnant SMBCs, The SGC Village Membership Community, Retreats for early stage SMBCs and Family Trips for moms & kids.

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Reach out to Katie over at katie@singlegreatestchoice.com.