The Day I Became CEO...
- Apr 24
- 3 min read
Before that day, my role was clear. I was a stay-at-home mom managing the daily operations of our family life; school drop-offs, doctor appointments, practices, tournaments, lunches, laundry, schedules, and all the invisible details that keep a household running. I also worked part-time at a small Christian school. Life moved between baseball fields, volleyball gyms, and school activities. It was busy, ordinary, and steady. Then one day, everything changed. My husband went for a run in the hills with our dogs, and in an instant, the company as I knew it collapsed.
The life we had built.
The structure we depended on.
The future we assumed. Gone.
And just like that, I became CEO. And CFO. I was suddenly responsible for every part of the business of our family: finances, decisions, emotional leadership, crisis management, and creating income as the sole provider. There was no onboarding. No training manual. No transition plan. Just grief and responsibility.
Lesson 1: Ignorance Is Expensive
When you don’t know what you’re doing, people can sense it. As a new widow, I learned quickly that some people see vulnerability as opportunity. Contractors overcharge. Advisors posture. Helpers appear with motives. I had to get educated fast. I learned to ask better questions, compare options, read the fine print, and slow down emotional decisions. Pain forced me to become informed.
Lesson 2: Advocacy Is Leadership
I became the voice for my children in rooms where decisions were being made. I sat in college boardrooms speaking with coaches about baseball programs. I met with administrators and teachers. I navigated systems. Leadership often looks less like authority and more like advocacy. Sometimes leading means speaking up when no one else can.
Lesson 3: Trust Must Be Earned
When your world breaks, everyone has advice. Some people genuinely care. Some are driven by fear. Some by ego. Some by control. I learned not to hand over the business of my life to anyone with confidence and opinions. Instead, I learned to build a team carefully...trusted mentors, experienced guides, and people who wanted my growth rather than my dependence. Every CEO needs that.
Lesson 4: Cash Flow Matters
Grief does not pause the bills. There were real obligations, real pressure, and real responsibility. Money had to come in while loss was still going out. So I got creative. I looked at my gifts, talents, and abilities and asked: How do I create value from what is already in my hands? That question changed me. Necessity can uncover capacity you never knew you had.
Lesson 5: Sometimes You Close One Business to Build Another
There are seasons when the dream you had cannot continue in its old form. You can fight reality, or you can face it. Sometimes the bravest thing you can do is close the doors, grieve what was, and begin again. Reinvention is not failure. It is wisdom.
I never wanted the CEO title. But grief introduced me to a version of myself I had never met. Stronger. Sharper. Wiser. More discerning. More capable than I knew. Some people become CEOs because they chased success. Others become CEOs because life collapsed and someone had to lead. If that’s your story too, know this: You may have inherited the role through heartbreak, but you can still build something remarkable.
As I write this, I haven’t arrived. But I’m still leading and the company is still being built.
If you find yourself in the middle of a reset like this, trying to lead through something you never asked for, I see you. And if I can help, I’m here.
*My name is Jennifer. I am a Reset Life Coach and Director of Client Engagement at a manufacturing company. I am college student, ministry leader, and most importantly, I am mom to two amazing human beings.
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