SME vs Big Tech: Why Small Might Be The BEST Career Move! - Louisa Lee

In this episode, we explore what it really looks like to grow a business, raise a family, and reclaim your identity along the way.

We talk about:

🌱 Raising children and a business at the same time

💡 Why workplace flexibility isn’t a luxury—it’s essential for working moms

💼 How a 4-day work week can support mothers returning to work

🧭 The years she felt like a “vice captain” in her own business—and how she reclaimed her voice

😮‍💨 The power of learning how to breathe right (yes, really!)

👶🏼 How motherhood shaped her leadership in unexpected ways

🌟 Why Louisa believes you can do it all—and do it well

For over a decade, Louisa Lee worked quietly behind the scenes of her husband’s dental practice DP Dental —never calling herself a co-founder, even as she helped build the business from scratch.

A trained teacher by background, she didn’t plan to become an entrepreneur. But life had other ideas. While raising two boys and helping run the clinic alongside her husband, Louisa also carried the emotional load many working mothers know all too well: invisible labor, guilt, and the tension between being there for others and showing up for yourself.

That all changed the day she stopped seeing herself as the “vice captain” and stepped fully into her role as co-leader.

Today, Louisa is an award-winning entrepreneur (Entrepreneur of the Year 2017), advocate for working mothers, and champion of the 4-day work week—a structure she believes is game-changing for women navigating motherhood and career.

00:52 Welcome to Make It Work

01:03 Meet Louisa Lee: Teacher to Titan

04:27 The 4-Day Work Week: Built on Trust

09:33 Return to Work Advice for Moms: Hire for Will, Train for Skills

12:35 Find Your Fit: Why SMEs Might Be Your Best Bet

14:52 Is This Company Real? Aligning Values with Work

18:23 Myofunctional Therapy: Breathe Right, Sleep Right?

20:28 Practical Tips for Better Health

23:15 The Importance of Proper Breathing

25:50 The Dreamer, Doer, and Village: Juggling It All

28:06 When I Stopped Dimming My Light

37:27 Raising Healthy and Independent Children