Quit 6 figure job to start business is a dream many women have, but the reality behind entrepreneurship and motherhood is often much messier than social media makes it look.
For those of you who have been around here for awhile, you know we talk often about what I call “the third option.”
Not corporate burnout.
Not walking away from your dreams completely.
But a third option.
A way to create meaningful work and flexible income around your real life — especially for moms who want more freedom, purpose, and flexibility without sacrificing their families in the process.
And today’s podcast guest perfectly represents that journey.
In this episode of The Classy Career Girl Podcast, I sat down with Liz Mbwambo, founder and CEO of Upwynn Marketing, to talk about what really happens after you leave corporate and build a business from scratch.
Her story immediately pulled me in because she shared something so many women are quietly wrestling with:
“The ‘third option’ framing pulled me in. That’s the season I’m in right now — mom, wife, CEO of an agency I bootstrapped a few years ago after quitting my six-figure job. No loans. No investors. Just $500.”
And honestly?
This conversation is one of the most honest looks at entrepreneurship and motherhood we’ve had on the podcast.
From Corporate Success to Entrepreneurship
Before starting her agency, Liz was the person companies trusted with their marketing budgets. She had the successful career, the six-figure salary, and the stability many people work years to achieve.
But deep down, something no longer fit.
She originally planned to leave corporate later with a carefully organized transition plan. But then one day everything changed.
Instead of waiting for the “perfect” timing, she quit immediately.
No investors.
No safety net.
No polished master plan.
Just conviction.
That moment launched what would eventually become Upwynn Marketing — a growing agency built from the ground up.
Liz decided to quit 6 figure job to start business after realizing corporate success no longer aligned with the life she wanted to build for her family.
The Honest Middle No One Talks About
One thing I loved about Liz’s perspective is how honest she is about the reality of entrepreneurship.
Social media often makes entrepreneurship look perfectly organized:
- calm mornings
- color-coded schedules
- businesses running effortlessly in the background
But Liz shares the part most women experience and few talk about:
the messy middle.
Building a real company while raising a family.
Managing clients, employees, deadlines, and life all at once.
Trying to scale without recreating the same burnout you left corporate to escape.
And for moms especially, this tension is real.
Because entrepreneurship does not magically remove responsibility or overwhelm overnight.
The Lie of “Flexibility”
One of the most powerful parts of our conversation was discussing the myth of flexibility.
So many women leave corporate hoping entrepreneurship will instantly create freedom.
But flexibility looks different when:
- you have employees
- clients rely on you
- your child has school schedules or medical needs
- your business is growing quickly
Real flexibility is not working less.
It is building systems, support, boundaries, and rhythms that protect what matters most.
That means:
- simplifying
- creating better systems
- learning to lead differently
- letting go of perfectionism
- and redefining success entirely
Recovering From Type-A Productivity Culture
Liz also shared how motherhood changed her relationship with productivity.
As a recovering Type-A personality, she talked about how becoming a mom forced her to rethink success, control, and expectations.
And I know so many women listening will relate to this.
Because motherhood has a way of exposing how unsustainable hustle culture really is.
You can no longer operate like a machine.
Your energy matters differently.
Your priorities shift.
And often the goal stops being “doing more” and starts becoming:
creating a life you actually enjoy living.
Building a Business Without Losing Your Life
One of the biggest takeaways from this conversation is this:
You do not need to choose between meaningful work and your family.
But you do need to build intentionally.
That means:
- creating systems that support your real life
- protecting family time
- simplifying where possible
- defining success on your own terms
- and allowing your business to grow alongside your season of life
This is the heart of the third option.
Not burnout.
Not giving up.
But building differently.
Listen to the Full Podcast Episode
In this episode, we discuss:
- quitting a six-figure corporate job
- building a marketing agency from scratch
- entrepreneurship and motherhood
- the reality of flexibility
- recovering from hustle culture
- leading a team while raising a family
- creating systems that protect family time
- and redefining success as a working mom
If you are in a season of rethinking your work, your priorities, or the kind of life you want to build, this episode will encourage you deeply.
Connect with Liz Mbwambo
Listen to The Classy Career Girl Podcast
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