Leading Through Grief
How I Honored My Mother's Legacy While Building My Own Path as a Business Owner
I always knew I would take over my mother's business someday.
It wasn't a question of if - it was simply a matter of when. Over the years, I worked alongside my mom, learning the industry, talking with clients occasionally, and watching the way she approached every project. We often talked about the future and what the business would look like one day.
I just never imagined that "one day" would arrive so soon.
When my mom passed away earlier this year, life changed quite literally, overnight.
Along with losing my mom, I suddenly found myself responsible for carrying forward the business she had spent years building. While our family was planning a celebration of her life, reports still had to be completed and deadlines continued to come and go.
One of the biggest lessons I learned is that grief and responsibility don't take turns. They often walk beside each other.
Thankfully, I wasn't stepping into something unfamiliar. My mom had made me part of the business long before I officially became its owner. Many of our clients already knew me or knew of me and I had spent years learning not only the technical side of the work but also the values that made the business successful.
She never believed in cutting corners.
She believed in building relationships.
She believed that your reputation was earned through consistency, honesty, and doing what you promised you would do.
Those lessons became my roadmap.
She wasn't someone who stayed in one lane
My mom spent her life proving that women belong wherever they choose to be. Early in her career, she worked as a cashier for Beneficial. She was told that was likely all she would ever be-but she refused to let someone else define her potential. She worked her way into management, proving that determination and hard work speak louder than expectations.
That same determination followed her throughout her life. She wasn't someone who stayed in one lane. Every time someone suggested a limit, she found another door to open. From managing a finance office to becoming a licensed real estate broker in California and Arizona, owning a construction company, and eventually building her own hotel feasibility and consulting firm, she approached every chapter of her career with the same determination: if she didn't know something, she'd learn it. If someone said she couldn't, she'd prove she could.
Learning about each chapter of her career shaped the way I see leadership today. She became my mentor, my biggest supporter, and ultimately, my mom. Watching the way she led her business taught me that leadership isn't about titles-it's about character. Through her example, I learned that determination, integrity, and perseverance could take you farther than anyone else's expectations ever could.
She always joked that her phone number could probably be found written on the wall of a Love's Truck Stop restroom because she never believed in marketing. To her, relationships were the best advertisement a business could have. Nearly every project she completed came from relationships she had spent years building. She didn't just earn clients-she earned their trust. For more than 20 years, she built a company known not just for the quality of its work, but for the relationships and reputation behind it.
I was building my own
As the weeks passed, I realized something I hadn't expected. I wasn't trying to fill my mother's shoes.
I was building my own.
The business still carries the same foundation she created, but I've also begun adding my own perspective, new ideas, and creative touches that reflect who I am. From developing visual presentations for clients to finding new ways to tell the story behind each project, I've discovered that honoring someone's legacy doesn't mean standing still.
It means allowing it to grow.
Leading through grief
Leading through grief has taught me more than I ever expected about resilience.
It has reminded me that leadership isn't about having every answer. It's about showing up, even on difficult days. It's about serving people with integrity, adapting to change, and continuing to move forward one step at a time.
As a mother myself, I hope my daughters grow up seeing the same lesson my mom taught me: that there are no limits on what a determined woman can accomplish.
Every day I walk into the office, I'm reminded that I'm not just continuing a business. I'm continuing a legacy built on resilience, integrity, and the belief that hard work always speaks for itself. Those values shaped the woman who led this company before me, and they'll continue to shape the woman leading it today.
Leading through grief isn't about leaving someone behind. It's about carrying the very best parts of them with you as you move forward.
