Mompreneur Advice from Sara Cohen

All across the country, moms are raising families while running a business so YMC and UPS teamed up to find Canada's Most Inspiring Mompreneurs! Our panel of judges were blown away by the amazing submissions but finally narrowed it down to the six winners. Here's one Runner-up Winner's story and her advice for other Mompreneurs.

My name is Sara Cohen.  I am a fertility law lawyer, and my practice is called Fertility Law Canada. As a fertility law lawyer, I provide legal advice and representation to intended parents, surrogate mothers, egg, sperm and embryo donor and recipients, as well as fertility clinics and other members of the fertility industry. 

If you know me, or have heard me speak, you know that I feel incredibly blessed and fulfilled to have such a meaningful career.

I was inspired by the birth of my own son to make the leap from my Bay Street commercial litigation practice at one of the largest firms in the country to becoming a fertility lawyer. Many people assume this is because I struggled with infertility. The truth is that at least with my first child, I fortunately was able to get pregnant easily.  However, fertility law had long been a point of interest for me and my dream practice. The experience of having a child inspired me in two ways. First, it reenforced for me the pain and struggle that people trying to build their famlies go through and I knew I wanted to help. Secondly, having time with my child brought me back to myself and back to thinking about the kind of person I wanted to be, the kind of career I wanted to have, and the kind of mother I wanted to be. I knew I wanted to use my law degree to help people have children, even if in only some small way.

Part of the reason I left Bay Street was that I believed I would have more time with my child.  While I definitely have more flexibility, I have to admit that I underestimated the time I would need to build and run a business. My son goes to day care three days a week. The plan was for me to be with him for the other two, but those two days were also quickly gobbled up with work. This is a regret that I have, and I am back to trying to reclaim at least one of those days for us to spend together. I find it ironic that I am so busy helping other people build their families that I don't always have enough time for my own.

My best advice to other mompreneurs is quite simple: do something you love, and the rest will follow. 

I credit much of my success to the passion I feel for my practice.  I don't believe that I would be as successful in an area of law that I didn't feel strongly about. I care deeply about my clients, and I believe it shows. I also recognize that by practicing a niche area of law, although it limits my client base, it makes it much easier to target potential clients. Having a clear sense of who your clients are and where you can reach out to them is necessary for any entreprenuer.