Anna Stallmann started her own communications business when she was looking for something more manageable and meaningful as a mother of two young girls. She built the fourth fastest-growing firm in town last year, according to the Charlotte Business Journal, because she wasn’t alone.
Stallmann found a burgeoning network of women—experienced, successful communications experts—also hungry to thrive on their own terms. The result is 10 full-time and four part-time employees from Boston to Bluffton, S.C., who make up Anna Stallmann Communications.
After five years as the headliner, she rebranded to Ascent Strategic Communications. If Stallmann has learned anything, it’s not to be threatened by evolving.
Stallmann, who is from Chicago and worked in Washington, D.C., rose through the ranks of political communications working for both Barack Obama and Donald Trump. When she moved to Charlotte, though, and started a family, she was ready to dictate her own direction. She started her business in 2020, during the pandemic, with a five-month-old baby and a toddler.
She persevered through the fog of early motherhood by working during naptime and hiring an in-home nanny, who could take the baby between feedings. As her daughters reached elementary school age, she learned to delegate physical tasks and hold on to the most meaningful moments. She chose 45 minutes of mother-daughter bonding in music class, for instance, over drop-offs for dance classes, where parents weren’t allowed in any way.
Now that Savannah and Madeleine are 5 and 6, respectively, Stallmann's guiding principles have crystallized. She uses them to help employees and friends in the midst of motherhood prioritize.
“Every family's needs are different, but I think recognizing ‘What can only you do’ is the most important thing to focus on,” Stallmann says.
FAVORITE MOM HACK: Creating a family email address that my husband and I both share and access to use only for activities, school and medical. It’s the best way to ensure we don't miss important emails and both get the same information.
“Motherhood shifted everything. It gave me a new lens. My time and energy had to matter more. I wanted my career to deliver not just professional results but personal fulfillment too.”