In this special feature, EO Portland mothers and founders reflect on the ways motherhood has transformed how they lead, define success, take risks, and build community. Their stories are honest, thoughtful, and deeply personal, filled with lessons on resilience, boundaries, ambition, presence, and purpose.

Here, Jenelle Isaacson Etzel shares a reflection in her own words.

“For me, my family became the center of the wheel.”

There is no real balance, at least not in the way people often describe it as a back and forth between business and family. For me, my family became the center of the wheel. Everything else, including my business, radiates out from that center. My success turns because that center is strong.

And when things at work feel heavy or uncertain, that center is what steadies me. Every challenging or fearful moment I’ve gone through has been held by the same truth. My family loves me, no matter what. That kind of love builds courage. It lets me take risks, make hard calls, and keep going, knowing I’m supported in a way that doesn’t depend on outcomes.

“Motherhood sharpened me.”

Becoming a mother made me the mother of invention. I needed to build a life where my children were not something I fit in around my work, but something my work was built around. I wanted the freedom to breastfeed, to keep them close, to follow their rhythm. I couldn’t think of an employer who would offer that, so I created it myself.

From that point on, the right decisions have been the ones that centered my children.

Motherhood sharpened me. I became fiercely protective of my time, my boundaries, and my energy. It also made me efficient. People often describe me as disciplined, but it feels simpler than that. I don’t have the luxury to overthink or tinker endlessly. When something works, I keep it. When someone is capable, I trust them.

Children require creativity, attention, and presence. So in my business, I’ve chosen proven systems and surrounded myself with experienced, capable people. I would rather trust others to help “raise” the business than outsource the raising of my children. That has always been clear to me.

“There are parallels in every stage.”

I’ve never struggled to delegate in my business the way I have in motherhood. Because if I’m honest, being with my children is exactly where I want to be. And I trust that I am the best person for that role. I’ve never felt that same need to be the one holding everything in the business. There are many people who can care for clients well. That has been a gift to recognize.

I started my business at the same time I became a mother, and I’ve watched them grow alongside each other. There are parallels in every stage. Right now, my daughter is preparing to leave the country for college, stepping into her independence. And my business feels much the same. It stands on its own, supported by strong leaders, capable of moving forward without me at the center of every decision. 

Of course, there are still the check-ins. The monthly calls. The moments of “I just need perspective.” That doesn’t go away, in parenting or in leadership.

They have both grown into something independent and capable, steady in their own right. 

And that, to me, feels like the work done well.