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[HOLIDAY BEST OF SERIES]

This final Throwback Thursday of the holiday series brings you one of your most-loved episodes about navigating major life transitions. If you've ever loved a career but struggled to make it work after kids—or dreamed of starting your own thing—Mackenzie Forge's story will resonate deeply.

Mackenzie has an incredible story of competition, loss, drive, and raising a family. She went from varsity athlete to thriving in commercial real estate—a career she genuinely loved waking up for on Monday mornings. But after having her daughter Kennedy in February 2020 (hello, pandemic parenthood), and then twin boys 11 months later, everything shifted.

In this conversation, Mackenzie opens up about the guilt of not giving enough to either work or family, the moment she decided to leave her career, and how she channeled her business skills into creating Forge Magnetic Clothing—beautiful magnetic bibs and clothing for babies and toddlers.

This episode is for anyone who's trying to figure out how to honor both their career drive and their family values—and for anyone who needs to hear that leaving doesn't mean giving up.

In this episode, we cover:

• (04:55) Mackenzie's varsity athlete background and overcoming depression after leaving sports
• (07:49) 2014: A year of big highs and devastating lows—losing her mom, career changes, and meeting her husband
• (09:49) Why she absolutely loved her commercial real estate career
• (14:08) The pivot point: joining CREW and getting pregnant
• (15:42) Having Kennedy in February 2020 and pandemic parenthood
• (17:32) The challenging transition back to work part-time
• (19:45) Why boundaries are complicated in time-sensitive industries
• (21:50) The decision to leave after compensation changes and feeling like she was failing everywhere
• (24:07) Finding out about twins (and thinking it was triplets!)
• (27:29) Starting Forge Magnetic Clothing from a real problem she needed to solve
• (28:29) The frustration of snap bibs and why magnets changed everything
• (30:02) Building nine prototypes over 10 months while raising three kids
• (33:39) Finding fulfillment in entrepreneurship beyond just the money
• (35:20) The universe's hand: Would she have gone back to real estate if not for twins?
• (37:21) What's on the horizon for Forge Magnetics
• (40:07) Advice for ambitious moms trying to balance it all
• (42:27) What Mackenzie is still figuring out in 2024

About Mackenzie Forge:Mackenzie is a mom of 3 vivacious toddlers and the founder of Forge Magnetic Clothing. She was born and raised in North Vancouver and had a successful career in Commercial Real Estate, which she left in 2022, after finishing her second maternity leave, choosing to spend more time with her children and start a business.

Shop Forge Magnetics:

Website | https://forgemagnetic.com/

Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/forgemagnetic/

Special offer for All Figured Out listeners:Use code ALLFIGUREDOUT10 for 10% off your purchase!(Code is limited to one use per customer)

About Andrea Barr, host of All Figured Out:

Andrea is a certified career and life coach for parents. Through her coaching, she supports parents in finding better work-life rhythms so they can continue to grow personally and professionally without sacrificing family time.

Connect with Andrea

Website | ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.andreabarr.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠  

Instagram | ⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/allfiguredoutandrea⁠⁠⁠ 

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