When your kids need you less, your career starts asking questions

Yesterday, I spent the afternoon talking with some truly incredible women at the LuxeLoop event. And as the conversations unfolded, a very clear theme kept surfacing.

So many women are in a new season of life — but their careers haven’t quite caught up yet.

For many, their youngest child has just gone to intermediate (middle school). They’ve got a bus card. They can get themselves around. There’s no longer the same need to be at the school gates, organising pickups, structuring life around small humans who need you constantly.

And suddenly — quietly — something opens up.

Time.

Space.

Breathing room.

For others, their children are even further along. Fiercely independent teenagers. They’ve got their driver’s licence, part-time jobs, their own social lives. Some are preparing for the next big transition entirely, with kids heading off to university and stepping fully into adulthood.

And with all of this comes a new question that many women haven’t had the space to ask before:

What do I want now?

Not what works best for the family.

Not what supports a partner’s career.

Not what fits neatly around everyone else’s needs.

But what actually feels meaningful to me?

Marriage and independence came up a lot in conversations yesterday too — women reassessing dynamics, wanting more autonomy, more agency, more say over how they spend their time and energy (and in some cases, money). Many were very aware that they have another 10–15 year career runway ahead of them and didn’t want to drift through it on autopilot.

They wanted work they could sink their teeth into.

Work that lit them up.

Work that used their brains, experience, and depth.

As I listened, I felt a deep sense of familiarity.

I’ve stood in this exact season myself.

When my youngest went to intermediate, something shifted for me too. The years of constant logistics and school-gate coordination were behind me. Life felt less tightly scheduled. I had more thinking space.

And I remember realising — almost with surprise — that I was ready for something more.

At the time, I was working at the university. It was a good job. A respected role. On paper, it made complete sense. But internally, I could feel the mismatch growing.

My life had evolved… but my career hadn’t.

That was the moment I made the decision to leave my role and go into business full time. Not impulsively. Not recklessly. But consciously — with clarity about what I wanted my work to support in this next chapter of my life.

It wasn’t about starting over.

It was about starting from experience.

That same theme came up again and again in my conversations yesterday.

Some women had already pivoted successfully — moving into corporate roles and actively progressing. Others had completed their real estate papers and were thriving in new firms. Some had started their own businesses. Others were wanting to return to work but only on a part-time basis (which, by the way, is very rarely advertised — but is absolutely possible with the right approach).

A few women were considering returning to university to study something new. And this is where I often pause people gently and say: before you spend a cent on education or retraining, it’s worth really checking things out first. You may not need a new qualification at all — you may already have far more experience and transferable skills than you realise, just in ways you haven’t learned to articulate yet.

What struck me most wasn’t confusion or lack of ambition.

It was readiness.

These women weren’t asking, “Is it too late?”

They were asking, “What’s possible now?”

And that’s exactly why I created my 5 Day Career Clarity Challenge.

Not to push anyone into a big decision.

Not to force a dramatic leap.

But to create a supportive, structured space to explore what this new season of life is inviting — and how your career might evolve to meet it.

If your life has changed…

If your kids need you differently now…

If you’re feeling the pull toward something more, but you’re not yet sure what that is…

I’d love you to join me.

Sometimes clarity doesn’t come from thinking harder.

It comes from giving yourself the space — and the right questions — to listen.

This is the moment many women talk themselves out of listening.

If something in this post resonated, take that as information — not something to ignore.

The 5 Day Career Clarity Challenge gives you the structure to explore what’s next, without rushing or regret.

👉 Come and join the 5 Day Career Clarity Challenge

With you in this season,

xo Liz

This photo marks a quiet turning point for me. My youngest had just finished primary school and was about to head to intermediate — and I was ready for a new chapter of work.