"Breadwinner, Redefined" with Alexis Contos

Nearly 40% of American mothers are now primary earners. But what happens when the expectations around motherhood and career haven't caught up with that reality? Being a working mother can mean carrying enormous responsibility while still feeling guilty that you're not doing enough in either place. But what if we stopped thinking about this as a problem of “balance” and started thinking differently about what we're bringing into our homes? About this Episode In this episode, Cherylanne Skolnicki is joined by Alexis Contos, founder of The Breadwinners, a community built around the realities of building a career while raising a family. Alexis spent nearly 20 years building marketing organizations at companies including Braintree, Square, SoftBank, and NEA before leaving her corporate career as a mother of four to build something that didn't exist yet: a community focused on the unique experience of women who are building careers while also helping lead their families. Alexis shares how one dinner at South by Southwest became the beginning of The Breadwinners and why she believes we need a new playbook for working mothers. They talk about guilt, ambition, personal agency, work-life integration, and what it means to redefine the word “breadwinner.” WHAT YOU'LL LEARN • Why more women are becoming primary earners and why our cultural expectations haven't caught up • How to rethink “balance” through the lens of work-life integration • Why ambition is really about aligning your time with your values • How to replace guilt with confidence, agency, and community • What it means to redefine “breadwinner” beyond simply bringing home money • How to make space for both meaningful work and family without trying to do everything perfectly TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Introduction 02:30 What Alexis was like growing up and how relationships shaped her 07:10 Why Alexis left her 20-year corporate career 10:05 How one dinner at South by Southwest became The Breadwinners 13:05 Why women showed up and why they needed the community 19:00 Why Alexis prefers “integration” over “balance” 25:00 Redefining what it means to be a breadwinner 27:15 Why ambition is about aligning your time with your values 28:30 Replacing guilt with confidence, agency, and community 34:00 Making space for both work and family 38:00 Creating a new playbook for working mothers LINKS & RESOURCES 👉 Find Alexis on Substack and get a discounted subscription: https://wearethebreadwinners.substack... 👉 Follow Alexis on Instagram:   / wearethebreadwinners   👉 Learn more about The Breadwinners: https://thebreadwinners.co 👉 Book an exploratory call and learn about coaching options: https://brilliant-balance.com/explore... 👉 Join The Coaching Circle for structure and support: https://brilliant-balance.com/coachin... 👉 Subscribe for weekly content from Cherylanne: https://brilliantbalance.substack.com/ 👉 Follow Cherylanne on Instagram:   / cskolnicki   Subscribe for more: If you’re ready to build a life and career that work together—not against each other—subscribe to the Brilliant Balance Podcast for more conversations and practical insights for ambitious women navigating every season of life.