The Emotional Labor of Being a Founder on Social Media

There is a version of entrepreneurship that looks effortless online. The founder who always has perfect lighting, the workspace that somehow stays clean, the posts that seem to write themselves, the life that fits neatly into thirty seconds on TikTok. Then there is the real version. The version where you are trying to record content in between putting snacks together, answering work emails, wiping down the kitchen counters, finishing a meeting, and making sure your toddler has both shoes on before leaving the house. That version rarely goes viral, but it is the one so many of us are actually living.

Being a founder in the beauty world carries its own pressure. You feel like you need to show up polished, glowing, and composed because beauty is the industry of presentation. But behind every product launch and every cute unboxing video is a founder who is probably editing between meetings or filming while their child naps. That is me. That is the reality I live every single day. I am a full time professional, a mom, a wife, a founder, a student of life, an ambitious person who still believes she can excel in every space she loves. And sometimes that belief feels empowering. Other times it feels like the very thing that wears me down.

What people do not see on social media is the emotional labor that comes with showing up online when you are already stretched thin. They do not see the version of you that is exhausted after a full workday but still trying to brainstorm content ideas because you need to keep the brand alive. They do not see the nights where you stay up late researching trends, packaging options, marketing ideas, and ingredient benefits because you care so much about building something meaningful. They do not see the mornings when you are rehearsing a voiceover in the car right after drop off because that is the only quiet moment you have.

Balancing motherhood with entrepreneurship is a beautiful thing, but it is also a heavy thing. Toddlers do not understand content calendars or shipping timelines. They do not know that you are tired because you were answering customer messages at midnight. They just know when they need you. And when they do, everything else stops. The world pauses. The phone goes down. And that pause is love, but it can also be a source of guilt because you start thinking about everything you are not doing. The emails you have not replied to. The TikTok you did not record. The trends you missed. The opportunities you worry will slip through your fingers.

Then there is the emotional weight of the house, which is its own full time job. The laundry, the dishes, the groceries, the mental note that you are running low on diapers, the never ending list of small things that somehow take up so much space in your brain. You are trying to run a company, grow a career, raise a child, and maintain a home all at the same time. And while you love each part of your life, the expectation that you can flawlessly keep up with all of them is unrealistic. Yet social media sometimes makes you feel like you should.

Being a founder on social media means you carry the responsibility of showing your brand at its best while you are not always at your best. You have to stay visible even when life feels heavy. You have to sound confident even when you are unsure. You have to be consistent even when your energy is inconsistent. It is emotional labor in the truest sense because you are not just posting content. You are trying to build a dream in the in-between moments of your life.

But here is the part I am learning. The most powerful thing you can do as a founder is to show up as the version of yourself that is real. Not the curated one. Not the perfect one. The real one. The one who sometimes creates content with toys on the floor. The one who records packaging videos after bedtime. The one who is doing her absolute best even on days when it does not look glamorous. That version might not go viral every time, but it is the version people trust. It is the version that inspires someone else who is juggling their own life and thinking they can’t possibly do more. It reminds them they can.

Entrepreneurship is not effortless. Motherhood is not effortless. Working full time is not effortless. Maintaining a household is not effortless. And yet here we are, showing up day after day for dreams that matter to us. Social media may never fully capture the emotional labor behind it, but that does not make the effort any less meaningful. If anything, it makes the journey even more powerful.

I am learning to give myself grace. To celebrate progress instead of perfection. To find pockets of calm in the chaos. And to remember that I am building something beautiful, even when it is happening in the messiest moments of life.

If you are balancing all these roles too, I hope you know this. You are doing more than enough. You are creating a life filled with purpose, even if the world only sees thirty seconds of it at a time.