My Traveling Circus
Meet Alicia Brentzel
President, Brex Enterprises
Industry: Pipeline maintenance, earthwork
Location: Irwin, Penn.
Her Story
My husband AJ and I thrive on chaos. We lovingly call ourselves the traveling circus and pride ourselves on managing several things at once – although sometimes not well :) So, for us, the right time to start a family was as good as any time.
At the age of 23 and right out of college, we were married right out of college and started trying to have kids while launching our careers. At the time, I was full-time in a corporate job, and we had just decided to start Brentzel Excavation LLC (now Brex Enterprises). Two years later, we got pregnant with our twins. I was working full time, still in corporate America, while attending graduate school for my MBA at night. AJ traveled 100 percent of the time, only coming home some weekends. It was only a matter of time until we were stretched too thin.
After assessing our goals and analyzing how we wanted to raise a family, it was clear I wanted to pursue entrepreneurship full time with my husband. For the most part, entrepreneurship is easier to blend with being a mom. I can control my schedule and structure our lives to better reach family goals. In a corporate world, the glass ceiling is real and limiting. In entrepreneurship, the sky can be your limit, though it requires a very heavy dose of vision, grit, and hard work.
One of the most stressful parts of motherhood is the postpartum period. In the corporate environment, I was very fortunate to have a 12-week maternity leave. However, I really struggled postpartum with my twins because I felt I didn’t have a “purpose” outside of being a good mom. My kids are my world, but they are not the only part of my world. It took me a while to not feel guilty about this. I thought it made me less of a mother because I wanted and needed something more. My next two postpartum experiences went much smoother because I had transitioned to entrepreneurship. I was able to nurse longer and be with my baby as much as possible. As a mother of four, I know how fast those baby years go!
Mind you, running a business isn't without its tough moments. At the end of the day in a corporate job, I felt I could leave it behind me when I left the office. As an entrepreneur, the stress and anxiety of being “all-in” can manifest. It can manifest in time away from the kids, shared anxiety with my husband, and additional stress on our marriage. This is why it’s important to have a support structure. We have an amazing nanny and family that is more than willing to step in wherever needed.
The biggest challenge for me is to find the right balance between reaching personal goals and being there for my kids. I’ve found it’s imperative for me to still have goals outside of parenting. I often wondered if my kids would love our nanny more than me because I wasn’t there during the day. After four kids, I can say I am a better mom for having a strong support system for my kids during the day. The drive and purpose outside of raising kids, clears my mind to be the best mother I can be – the healthiest mentally.
I’ve always wanted to be a mom and I’ve always wanted to be a good leader. Being able to model the balance for my children is the best of both worlds. We are raising the future generation and to know that we can have an impact on raising kind, motivated children to better the world makes it all worth it.