By Lindsey Bell

Hannah Kersh tells stories for a living. She does it from a local coffee shop or from her apartment in South Carolina with her baby close by. Though Hannah agrees it is the ideal setup for working as a new mom, she admits there are difficulties.

Hannah began her career at See. Spark. Go!, a public relations and social media agency. She interned with the company while attending the University of Georgia and was offered a full-time position upon graduation. For the next four years Hannah worked in the company’s Athens, Georgia office.

When her husband was offered a job away from the area, she was allowed to work from home. With a new baby, Hannah is thankful for the opportunity to continue doing what she loves and still be available for her son.

Working out of her home, though, is harder than some might think. Hannah has a babysitter come to her home three days a week. Without her help, Hannah doesn’t know how she could continue to do what she does.

With her days full of e-mails, client calls, pitching to media, crafting content, and developing storylines for the companies she represents, Hannah said it’s sometimes impossible to work from home. If her son is crying in the other room, even if she knows he’s being well cared for, it’s hard to focus. That’s why many days she goes to a local coffee shop to work. Or, she waits until her son naps to make important calls.

“It’s a lot of juggling, and it’s not easy,” she admitted. “I’ve had to get to know myself . . . know when and where I’m most productive and take advantage of those times.” She’s also had to learn to give herself grace. “I can’t always get everything done by 5:00.” Hannah doesn’t want to give her family leftovers, so she has to be okay with “not always being everyone’s go-to person.”

Working from home is also difficult for Hannah because she loves being around people. As an extrovert, it’s been an adjustment for her to not see her team often.

Despite the challenges of working from home, though, Hannah loves helping brands tell their story. Her company has worked with Columbia Sportswear, Nike, Catalyst, uBreakiFix (a tech repair company), and TempTraq (a wireless wearable temperature monitoring system).

In her work, Hannah uncovers the unique elements of a brand and then shares with others how these products can improve lives. For example, one company she works with is Lalabu, a babywearing brand. This company seeks to improve the lives of parents by making their days easier while encouraging bonding with their babies in the process. It’s not all about the profit, Hannah said. For the companies Hannah works with, “there’s always something bigger than the bottom line.”

One thing Hannah loves about her work is the opportunity to add to her clients’ days. She gets to accomplish something great for their companies, and that’s important, but she also gets to build relationships with them as individuals. She loves that aspect of her job and credits the owners of the company, Andy and Brittany Thoms, with her desire to encourage those around her.

“My life would look completely different if it weren’t for them,” Hannah told me. Andy and Brittany began See. Spark. Go! because they felt the Lord calling them to it. At the time, Andy was in ministry and Brittany was in Public Relations. They left those areas of work because they felt like the Lord wanted them to create this company.

Since the creation of See. Spark. Go!, the Thoms have created an atmosphere in which the whole team works to encourage one another. “If we can make a difference in the lives of each other,” Hannah said, “we can make a difference in the lives of others. It all trickles down.”

Because of the way the Thoms invested in Hannah, Hannah now wants to pass it on to her clients. “It’s so easy to fall into the trap of believing that our worth is in our work,” she said. “Or in our role as mom.” Hannah loves that she gets to remind her team and her clients that their worth isn’t found in their work or in their titles. It’s found in their identity.

Lindsey Bell is an author and speaker living in Southwest Missouri with her husband, Keith, and their two children (lindseymbell.com).