Tertia Albertyn – Nurture and Surrogacy Program

Tell us a bit about YOU and your family (where you are based, single / married, number of kids, etc)

My name is Tertia Albertyn and I am 42 years old. I am married to Marko and we live in Durbanville with our three kids: twins Adam and Kate (6 yrs old) and Surprise! baby Max (22 months).

The twins were born after our 9th IVF. We tried really long and hard to have kids. And then surprise, surprise – we had a baby naturally when I was 40 years old. Fate has a lovely sense of humour.

I am a mother, blogger, author and baby-maker. More about that next.

What is the name of your company and when did you start your business?

I founded an egg donor (Nurture www.nurture.co.za) and surrogacy program (Surrogacy Advisory Group – www.surrogacy.co.za) and we help people who are unable to have children on their own to have a family. We started the business in 2008 and so far have helped over 500 with their dream of having a child. It is THE most fulfilling job in the world 🙂

What inspired you to start your own business?

Infertility has been my life, my passion, my hobby, my world for so long. After I succeeded, I wanted to help others experience that joy I got when my twins were born.

What are the challenges you face or have faced being a working Mom and how have you overcome them?

It’s the same challenge every working mom faces – balance. Balance and guilt. Dedicating 100% of yourself to your job AND to your kids is statistically, logically and practically impossible – to the age old quest is to find the right balance between the two.

I am very fortunate that I am able to work from home, that allows me to spend a lot more time with the kids than if I worked out of the home. But the single biggest thing that has helped me succeed in being a working mom is having excellent help in the form of my own super nanny – Rose. If it wasn’t for Rose, I would never manage.

What is the hardest part or have been some of your struggles starting your own business?

The first difficult thing to making the decision to go it alone – to step out of the comfort zone of having a regular monthly salary cheque. That can be very scary. The second most difficult thing is knowing you are responsible for other people’s monthly salary cheque. That is a huge responsibility.

Starting my own business has been an amazing life changing event for me. It has taught me so much about myself and about business in general. Even the hard bits have been good because I have learnt so much.

I would say one of the hardest thing about having your own business is that there is never any time off. I can never bunk, I can never slack off. It is a bit like having children – you never escape the responsibility of being their parent.

How do you balance your business and your family?

With help. I have Rose to look after the kids if I have a meeting or if I have to travel. I take the kids to school in the morning – work like mad between 9 and 12, and then go fetch them again. Work like mad while the baby sleeps at lunch time (and Rose looks after the twins / makes them lunch etc) and then I spend the afternoon with the kids during extra murals etc. Once they are in bed, I work like mad again. I don’t get any time for myself but that is ok – unfortunately it means that my husband doesn’t get to see much of me either, but luckily he is an understanding patient man.

What or whom has been the greatest support for you and your business?

At home – my nanny and my husband. In the business place – my partner (and best friend), the wonderful doctors I work with and their amazing support staff, my lovely donors, my lovely surrogates and my wonderful patients.

If you had to do it all over again, what would you do differently?

Well, perhaps one or two small things but there isn’t anything major I would change.

What advice can you give other Moms out there who are starting a new business?

Plan for the lean times! Also, enjoy what you do. If you enjoy what you do, your passion will translate into success.

If other Moms would like to keep in touch, how can they contact you?

• about.me/tertia