Balancing Business & Family: Meet the Millers
Written by Seth Stutman
Photos by New York Sound and Motion, Edward Brown and Robyn Miller
Sponsored by East Village Place
Published in Longmeadow Neighbors (March 2023)
Balancing business and family isn’t an easy feat, but in the Miller Family, trying to find and share the solution is part of the daily equation. One of the many busy families of Longmeadow, they strive to strike the work/school/volunteer/life balance - but it isn’t without its complications!
“Work/life balance is a constant struggle, and I am the first one to admit that,” says Robyn Miller. “When you work remotely, work and family life all become one big blur and it is a job in itself to untangle that. But having the support of others around you, especially other mom’s who understand the battle, to help lift you up, is an essential part of reaching your goals. We have to help one another.”
Noting the difficulty of ‘having it all’, Miller decided to create the Facebook group, MorningBird Moms- Raising Babes & Businesses, an inclusive community of over 1,500 moms who are balancing business & family. It is meant to help moms that are growing their businesses at the pace of their growing families.
“I have been fortunate enough to raise my business around my family,” Miller writes from her home office. “As my daughter grows, so does my business. The more independent she becomes, the more time I can devote to the business and raise them simultaneously. I would not choose any other way. I don't miss a single sports practice. I don't miss a single school concert.”
Robyn Miller moved to town in 2016 from Medford, MA - even though her initial plan was to move to Connecticut. “I took a chance [on Longmeadow] and I am sure glad I did!”
“I was actually looking to relocate to southern CT for a new job opportunity. My immediate family is originally from Western MA and Charles [her now husband] had previously lived in Carol Spinney, the original Big Bird’s, house on Roseland Terrace, so I guess fate drew me back. We purchased our forever home in 2018 here in town and haven't looked back. We turned it from just being somewhere we rented into a home that we could raise a family in.”
Charles and Robyn met more than a decade ago, when Robyn took a role at ShopRite of Enfield as a Communications and Relations Manager. They immediately hit it off, and after two years of a blossoming friendship, they decided to pursue a romance that led to a marriage, home and beautiful baby girl in a year’s time, but who’s counting?! Now, their five-year-old daughter loves going to school, dance and gymnastics, and Loki and Pumbah, their two terrier pups, have made the meandering sidewalks of Longmeadow their home.
Miller’s career has taken her on a journey through working in radio and also on the mic as the on-court emcee for three seasons of the NBA’s D League, but in 2018, two events changed her trajectory - she became a mother and began MorningBird Media, her digital media relations company.
Charles, who has lived all over the country from New Jersey, to Alaska, to Washington and now back to the East Coast, brings his philanthropic spirit wherever he goes. While owning ShopRite of Enfield until 2020, he has served on the North Central CT Chamber of Commerce as a board member, a VP and President. He was a member of the Asnuntuck Comm College Board and is a recipient of the Paul Harris Fellowship and the Connecticut Food Association Community Service Award.
“Charles is the most genuine and amazing person I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. He's a husband, father, entrepreneur, business owner, adventurer, writer and my best friend,” said Robyn. “From raising our daughter in this beautiful little town to exploring the vast greatness that is our world together, I wouldn’t have it any other way!”
As if their schedule isn’t full enough, Robyn serves on many boards in a variety of capacities, including the AdClub of Western MA, WiT: Women Innovators + Trailblazers, the Pioneer Valley Conference for Women, Asnuntuck Community College, and LMI.
In 2014, the Millers developed the Act of Kindness program. A program that is now in partnership with the North Central CT Chamber of Commerce, they frequent local middle schools and high schools to deliver monthly awards to students who display acts of kindness, a concept they hope to franchise.
With what little time remains in the day, Robyn Miller takes trapeze lessons at SHOW Circus Studio in Easthampton, and is building out the brand Adeline's Apothecary where she and her daughter make wellness products like oil rollers, body butters and bath bombs. While free time isn’t at a premium, there isn’t a place the Miller family would rather live than Longmeadow.
“We have the best neighbors around us, I couldn't dream of not having them around our family. Our kids get to grow up together and we have schools within walking distance. Having a child grow up in this town is like no other in the 413. She can walk to the local ice cream joint, we can take part in activities provided by the town, enjoy the annual book sale, the Long Meddowe Days, the Halloween Hustle, and the tree lighting. It doesn't get better or more quaint.”
