Courtesy of Samantha Gold
- Samantha Gold started a children's pajama brand called Motette when her family moved to Sydney.
- She typically starts work at 3 a.m. because of the time difference from the East Coast.
- The brand is growing rapidly, but she says her work hours are unsustainable.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Samantha Gold, founder and CEO of children's pajama brand Motette. It has been edited for length and clarity.
In 2024, my husband got a job opportunity in Sydney. We were living in Charleston, SC, at the time, and I was the CEO of Elizabeth James The Label.
Starting my own business had been on my mind for a while, and it felt like a great time to do it when we moved. I quit my job, and my husband and I decided to use the proceeds from selling our house to fund my new clothing company. I worked for months figuring out what I'd need to make it work and then officially launched my children's pajama brand, Motette, in March 2025. At the time, I thought starting a business focused on selling to US customers while I was living in Australia would be challenging but doable.
After a year of working from roughly 3 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day, though, I've realized it's unsustainable. The business is doing well, but we're moving our family back to the States in the coming months so I can have more of a normal work life while I continue to grow the brand.
Courtesy of Samantha Gold
I couldn't find pajamas for my kids that I liked
My kids are 2 and 3, and I never felt like I could find pajamas for them that matched my own style. I didn't want slogans, bold colors, or sequins on their pajamas, which is where the idea for the company came from.
My love of interior design drives the prints on the pajamas. People often tell me that our prints look like they could be beautiful wallpaper. All of the pajamas are made from bamboo, which is super comfortable, UV-resistant, and sustainable.
Outsourcing work is crucial
Because my business is self-funded, I've been really scrappy about building it. I don't have any full-time employees right now. Instead, I work with eight women from the Philippines, who help me with some of the day-to-day work on my business.
One does social media management and community engagement for me, which is a core part of my strategy. She messages women on Instagram each day to tell them about the brand, and it's worked really well. I also outsource things like email marketing, wholesale outreach to boutiques we'd like to be in, and social ads.
Working odd hours has its pros and cons
Time zones can be an issue, as Australia and the East Coast don't overlap much. Right now, 4 p.m. on the East Coast is 6 a.m. in Sydney, so I start work around 3 a.m. my time most days. That's the only way that I can overlap more than a couple of hours with potential and existing customers and wholesalers.
When I start work, I typically have a full inbox to work through. In some ways, this makes my day easier. I get through all my calls and emails in the first portion of my day and then have time for the creative side of the business after the East Coast is offline.
But it also means that by 4 p.m. my time, I'm usually exhausted. I don't have a lot of energy left when my kids get home from day care, and I'm not my best self around them as a result.
Courtesy of Samantha Gold
The business is growing, but my schedule is unsustainable
I'm proud of what the brand has accomplished in just over four months. I'm a go-getter and have made my unorthodox schedule work for the past year. We've been growing steadily, and the feedback from customers has been great. We just landed contracts with Maisonette and Bloomingdale's Online, too.
If I didn't have kids or a family, this type of graveyard shift might work. But I haven't been able to be as present with my kids as I want to be, and my health has started to suffer. My skin has been breaking out horribly, and I'm stressed all the time. I've stopped drinking coffee and am seeing a naturopath to help me regulate my nervous system, but so far, it isn't working.
My husband has been great throughout all of this, but he's had to carry an uneven balance with our kids the past year as I've gotten the business off the ground. He's had to get them off to day care each morning, and when they wake up in the middle of the night, he always has to be the one to get them since I'm working.
My husband agrees it's the best move for our family. He's in tech sales, and we both believe there will be job opportunities for him in Austin, TX, where we're moving.
Even though I love living in Sydney, I know I'll be happier and be able to be a better version of myself and a better parent when my work schedule is more normal.