Lindsey Michaelides: How I'm Building This Life
Cofounder and CEO of Strongsuit talks about the support she has at home
Lindsey Michaelides, Cofounder and CEO
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindseymichaelides/
What is the make-up of your family/household?
4 kids and 2 parents! We have 2 boys ages 8 and 6 and 4 year old identical twin girls. My husband and I both travel for work and have demanding jobs that are hard to confine to business hours. I'm a founder and CEO and my husband leads safety and sustainability for a large manufacturing company.
Do you have family nearby that regularly helps or that you need to regularly help?
This has changed over the years but currently my family (parents, siblings, etc.) is about 2 hrs away by car. For half the year, my in-laws are only 30 mins away from us. While we have never depended on family for childcare day-to-day, our family is an instrumental part of our support system! We try to plan ahead and ask our parents for help when we know we need some extra support. For instance, when our kids were younger my mom would often come and stay with us for a few days if either of us had to travel for work. It was a godsend to have an extra set of hands at bedtime with so many little ones. Later this month, my in-laws are staying for a few days so my husband and I can get some time away together.
What paid help do you invest in to help your family function?
We have an incredible nanny who has been a part of our lives for 8+ years and is 100% a part of our family. She works ~45 hrs/wk.
Strongsuit!
Pre-school for our girls (~ 10hrs/wk which gives our nanny some additional time to help us with household stuff like laundry & stay late one evening a week for a date night!)
House cleaners every other week
Meal delivery via an amazing local company called Alchemy
By making these investments in your home and family life, what does it free you up to do?
These things are investments in my career and my family. They allow me to show-up as the best version of myself as a mom, partner and professional. My family is the most important thing in my life. And, I know that I am a better mom and partner when I have work that lights me up. My family and my work both fill my cup. When I am at my best, my work and my family are symbiotic. These allow for that.
You could look at any of these line items as investments in time. For example, every meal delivered saves me an hour in the kitchen. This calculus falls short of capturing the real value. These investments give me immense freedom and peace-of-mind. Because of amazing childcare, when I am at work, I am 100% confident that my kids are safe, cared-for and loved. Because of Strongsuit, I know that the leaky gutter is going to be repaired, my girls will have the requisite leotard and tights for their first dance recital and I will never again miss my parents' wedding anniversary.
Relief from this load gives me the freedom to take-on big challenges at work which further energizes me in my roles as mom and partner. Then, I can channel this energy into breakfast dance parties, helping my kids with their homework, or helping my son master Jack Black's "Peaches" on the piano.
How have your investments in domestic help changed over time (could be because your family needs/dynamics changed, professional demands changed, income and/or ability to pay changed)?
Plenty! When my oldest was born he went to an amazing daycare, but that was really all the paid support we had. As our family and our careers have grown we have grown our paid support system. We have also made a lot of adjustments along the way for different seasons of life.
What’s one favorite or game changing tip/solution/hack/resource that has helped you that you can share with others?
Ralph Johnson - a former McKinsey colleague and mentor at scale - once told me that at least 2x/year he and his wife would go out to dinner and have a life check-in. They would ask each other, "how is life working for us right now?". It gave them the opportunity to look at where they were spending their time, energy and resources and if that added up to a life that felt good for them at that moment. Ralph said it was key to maintaining a happy marriage, family life and career. My husband and I have adopted this. For us it is a check-in with one another but also a way to check-in with our values and needs as a family and make adjustments for different seasons of life. One year - deep in the baby years - we realized we weren't making enough time to see our friends and we really missed that. We came up with a plan to fix it!!
Something I am looking forward to…
My kids are at a super fun age right now, so there is a lot I am looking forward to! Strongsuit is helping plan our first trip to DisneyWorld. Halloween! Taking my kids to see our National Parks. Also, continuing to grow Strongsuit!