When 3 of My Executives Went on Maternity Leave at the Same Time, I Worried My Business Would Fail. That's Not What Happened. One of the scariest moments of my career turned out to be one of my best learning opportunities.

I have 45 employees. Ten of them are part-time. A handful are super-­powerful vice presidents whom I rely heavily upon. And three of those very people — ­­my COO, my VP of marketing, and my VP of community and events — were about to go on maternity leave at the same time during the craziest business year of my life.

It was ironic, because these wonderful women were the people I'd created my company for. I'm the CEO of Hatch, a lifestyle brand for new mothers and moms-to-be. We make maternity wear, for crying out loud! I wanted to feel pure joy and bliss for them. But at the same time — and this is hard to say — there was a real fear of What am I going to do without you?

Now that I'm on the other side of this experience, I can confidently say that your company can grow even while your most important team members are away growing their families. It just takes planning.

Related: Why 'Womenomics' Needs to Be Part of Your Business Strategy

I'll also say that planning for three high-ranking maternity leaves during a pandemic was especially interesting. As with so many businesses, COVID-19 sent us scrambling. We closed stores, negotiated tumultuously with landlords, grappled with declining retail revenue, tried solving our sudden supply chain issues, and doubled down on e-commerce. While we were fortunate to land huge partnerships with Target and Keds, those programs required exactly the kind of talents my three pregnant leaders had, and they'd be gone for the most intensive parts.

As I prepared for these maternity leaves throughout the spring of 2020, I was worried. How would we stay afloat as a business, keep up the morale and productivity of the team, and manage these amazing opportunities? There was a lot on the line.

One thing I'm not afraid of, though, is asking for help. So I started working with a CEO coach, who suggested making "maternity-leave road maps."

Here's how it went. That May, half a year before these senior women left, I met with each of them, and together we plotted out exactly what would happen during their maternity leave. Everything went on a Google spreadsheet. We created a category called "Business as usual," which listed everything that leader was responsible for every week. In cells next to each task, we'd enter timing, partners involved, and the name of someone at the company who would cover it. Separately, we listed special projects like Target and Keds with week-by-week timelines of what needed to happen and when. We'd ask questions like "Who's going to talk to PR about the Target launch? Who's going to handle gifting for micro-­influencers?" Our answers went in the spreadsheet.

From then on, each leader and I would meet weekly to walk through their plan and find the holes. What if this happens? What if that goes wrong? We'd think through what we'd do in any given situation and bring in other people on staff to get their buy-in.

Related: 4 Ways Your Company Can Radically Help Working Mothers

I was skeptical that this would work. (And to add more stress, my husband, a cinematographer, had a three-month job away from home during those same months, so I also had to manage our two girls.) But by the time those November maternity leaves arrived, we were feeling like We got this.

And we were right! The team went above and beyond, and the road maps we created together guided us through to February, when each woman came back. We launched our Target line, The Nines by Hatch, and reopened two stores. We will be adding a third store in September, with a bigger retail strategy for 2022.

I always say being an entrepreneur is like a dodgeball game — you're either getting hit in the head or ducking. But I'm proud that one of the scariest moments in my career turned out to be one of my greatest learnings. After closing the chapter on this past year, I feel that I can handle almost anything. Almost.