EP4 Lina O'Connor: CFO of Tender Greens on building her career and having kids at the same time

Not A Mama Yet

For this episode of the Not A Mama Yet podcast, I’m speaking with Lina O’Connor. Lina is a serious #girlboss and mom of two boys who are 8 and 10. Growing up, she was never sure of what she wanted to do but each step she took in school while attending the Cornell University of Hotel Administration and post-grad while working at Wolfgang Puck and Marriott International led her to become one of the first employees of Tender Greens where she is now the CFO. Just last year she received the Rising Star CFO of the Year award from the Los Angeles Business Journal.

I wanted Lina on the show to discuss how she built her career while being a hands-on mom, to hear more about her two drug-free deliveries, and what it’s like raising boys in 2018. She inspires me to approach pregnancy and motherhood in a way where I really trust my gut and follow what I feel is best for myself and my child. She was adamant about doing everything she could during her pregnancy to set herself up for a drug-free birth and she was lucky to have that happen twice. She knew what she wanted out of her career and made it happen and now she is doing that as a mother. In addition to a great conversation, she really reminded me that women can have it all in whatever way they define it without making themselves crazy to make it happen!

My main takeaways from this episode are:

-Even if you are at a really great job where you are comfortable, something exciting can come along and taking the risk to give it a shot can be totally worth it!

-The most successful founders hire people who can challenge them.

-I really need to watch “The Business of Being Born” because a few people have now brought it up to me!

-The Bradley Method is a husband-led method of delivery that is described on their site in the following way, “Natural childbirth is an important goal since most people want to give their babies every possible advantage. Without the side effects of drugs given during labor and birth. The Bradley Method® classes teach families how to have natural births. The techniques are simple and effective. They are based on information about how the human body works during labor. Couples are taught how they can work with their bodies to reduce pain and make their labors more efficient. Of over 1,000,000 couples trained in The Bradley Method® nationwide, over 86% of them have had spontaneous, unmedicated vaginal births. This is a method that works!”

-They even have a detailed nutrition plan you can find here.

-Talking to your kids like adults and explaining your reasoning as a parent to them will help them understand where you are coming from.

-It’s important to stay true to what’s important to you and ask your employer for what you need to be the best employee.

You can find Lina here:

Instagram: www.instagram.com/linaoconnor

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lina-o-connor-a904594/

Tender Greens: https://www.tendergreens.com

Thank you for listening! On next week’s episode, I’m talking with Rachel Gellman, a Pelvic Floor Physical Therapist in San Francisco. If you aren’t familiar with your pelvic floor, it might be good to do a little research on that but you will definitely hear more about it next week!

Natalie

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