After a Traumatic Pregnancy, a Business Leader is Born

In this episode, we hear from Taishma Owens-Council, a 25-year-old Black woman, military spouse, mother, and owner of Virtual Goal Assistant Agency (VGAA).

Taishma dives into her motherhood journey. She reflects on being raised to think that women only had two options: motherhood or a career; but not both at the same time. She shares with us having the kind of awareness, during high school, that led her to know that she did not want to become a statistic and opted for birth control. Years later, after college, Tai and her husband found themselves trying for a child for three years to no avail. She shares how she sought help from a reproductive clinic and finally becoming pregnant, only to later develop gestational diabetes and be diagnosed with preeclampsia: a pregnancy complication for which the mortality rate is twice as high for black women. She talks us through the final stages of her pregnancy, and how the complication ultimately led to her staying in the hospital for 2 weeks and being away from her newborn son, Adonis, during her period of recovery.

Tai talks about how she later sought out therapy, was diagnosed with post-partum depression, and what it was like to unpack all of this trauma when healing was never part of the conversation growing up. Tai shares how she healed from this experience and how she decided to start her own business by turning her hobby into a full-time job. Tai describes how she learned to juggle being a mother, wife, and business owner all at the same time. Tai suggests that people learn to set boundaries so that they can protect their mental health, family, and happiness. 

Be sure to connect with Tai on:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vgaallc/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/taishma.council9

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/towens-council/ 

VGAA Website: https://www.vgaallc.com/