The Weight We Carry: The Invisible Labor of Black Wives, Moms, and Entrepreneurs

There's a special kind of exhaustion that comes with being a Black woman who wears multiple hats—wife, mother, career woman, and entrepreneur. It’s not just the physical tiredness of long days and short nights. It’s the mental load, the invisible labor that never makes it onto a to-do list but is always there, sitting in the back of our minds, demanding attention.

The Work No One Sees

They see us going to work every day, handling meetings, managing teams, and making sure the budget balances. They see us running a business—promoting our brand, fulfilling orders, responding to emails, and keeping up with social media. But what they don’t see is everything in between.

They don’t see us scheduling doctor’s appointments, making sure immunizations are up to date, and remembering that someone needs to get their teeth cleaned. They don’t see us RSVPing for the school’s parent-teacher conference, checking homework, and making sure there’s an outfit ready for spirit week. They don’t see us keeping a running grocery list in our heads, knowing exactly when the milk is about to run out, or making sure there’s always toilet paper in the house—because someone has to.

They don’t see us planning meals in our heads while sitting in a budget meeting, figuring out if we have time to stop by the store before heading home, and mentally calculating how many meals we can stretch out of the groceries we bought last week.

It’s the constant thinking, planning, anticipating, and adjusting that weighs the heaviest.

The Juggle of Business and Work

And then, there’s the business. The dream that we pour our passion into, even when we’re running on empty. Keeping up with orders, making sure we have supplies, responding to customers, and trying to stay consistent on social media because we know engagement drives sales. It’s balancing the 9-5 that pays the bills with the 5-9 that fuels our dreams.

Some days, it feels impossible to keep up with it all. We push through exhaustion, ignoring the signs that our bodies are crying out for rest because there’s always something that needs to be done.

All We Want is to Be Seen

We don’t complain—usually. Because this is just what we do. We show up. We handle it. We make it happen. But that doesn’t mean we don’t feel the weight of it all.

What we want—what we need—is to feel supported. To be heard. To be acknowledged for the countless things we do that keep our households, our careers, and our businesses running.

A simple “I see you.”

A heartfelt “I appreciate you.”

A genuine “How can I help?”

These small acts of recognition make a world of difference. Because while we are strong, we don’t want to carry it all alone.

So to every Black woman out there balancing it all: I see you. I appreciate you. You are enough. And you deserve rest, love, and support—just as much as you give it to everyone else.