How Community Champions Kept My Content Going During Parental Leave

Community Champions Advocates Blog
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When I took 16 weeks of parental leave in 2025, I faced a challenge that many content creators dread: how do you keep your community engagement going when you’re stepping away?

I recognize at a certain level that I’m just a guy wearing a silly orange hat while hopping around shouting about HubSpot. Chances are, if my socials went dark for a few months, the world wouldn’t end. And yet to the right audience, these little updates matter. People tell me all the time that my videos are the main way they learn about new features in HubSpot (take that, Product Updates page!!). And as the youngest of six children, I’m a people pleaser who can’t bear to let others down. A four-month gap in my content wasn’t an option, but it’s hard for a solo operator like me to get coverage.

Fortunately, I didn’t have to figure it out alone. I’m incredibly grateful to the HubSpot Community Champions who stepped up to keep things running while I was out.

The Admin HUG: In Expert Hands

The Admin HUG was the least of my worries, thanks to my excellent co-leader, D’Ana Guiloff. I’d brought her on back in 2023 in preparation for my first parental leave, and she’d already proven she could hold down the fort. So when 2025 rolled around, I had complete confidence in her ability to do it again.

And naturally, she totally nailed it.

HubSpot Tips and Tricks: Community Contributors Step Up

My HubSpot Tips and Tricks LinkedIn page was a different story. In 2023, I left the Admin HUG in D’Ana’s very capable hands, but my social channels did go dormant because asking anyone to maintain a daily posting cadence felt totally unreasonable. But by the time 2025 rolled around, there were loads of people posting #HubSpotTipsAndTrick content on the regular, so I decided to assemble a handpicked team of them and give them the keys to my accounts (meaning add them as admins to my company page).

These Champions jumped in and kept the content flowing for the entire 16 weeks:

What I love about this is that they didn’t just phone it in. They showed up consistently and shared their expertise with the community. That’s dedication.

Monday Morning Briefing: A Community Effort

The Monday Morning Briefing is my weekly LinkedIn Live show with Max Cohen (formerly at HubSpot, now at Hapily), where we walk through each week’s Product Updates. Our lighthearted banter is a key part of the program, and the idea of Max doing it solo sounded terrible. (Nothing against Max. The reality is, I started it out as a solo initiative, and that was terrible, too. It wasn’t till Max stepped in as cohost that the Briefing really found its feet). So I reached out to yet another group of prolific LinkedIn creators in the HubSpot space.

And it turns out, a bunch of them were happy to help. Some of them even said that the Monday Morning Briefing had been so helpful to them, they’d been hoping to find a way to pay it forward. That’s the magic of community. It’s all about people helping people. So shoutout to these fine folks who organized a rotation that kept the show running every single week:

Why This Matters

My job is pretty unique. It’s a rigorous cycle of daily social posts and two different weekly broadcasts. But it’s a rhythm I invented myself, and I’m blessed to have it now be my full-time job so I have plenty of space to keep up with it. But when this was all a side hustle, it almost broke me. So I even though I was eager to have someone keep the lights on while I was on parental leave, I didn’t want to take advantage of anybody’s kindness.

But it turns out the HubSpot community has no end of kindness. There are so many willing, capable, charismatic people who are eager to help others grow better. And the people mentioned in this post really went the extra mile. They showed up. They created content. They went live. They kept our community engaged.

This is exactly what community is supposed to be. It’s not just about one person talking at everyone else. It’s about all of us showing up for each other, sharing what we know, and making connections that matter (and last!).

To Hannah, Alex, Tyler, Selim, Casey, Richard, Maggie, Josh, and D’Ana: thank you. Your willingness to step in and support these efforts means more than you know. You’re living proof that when we work together, we can accomplish things none of us could do alone.

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@KyleJepson, this is such a great reflection on what community really looks like in action. Being part of the Monday Morning Briefing rotation was one of those experiences that reminded me why I love this space so much.

You nailed it when you talked about not wanting to take advantage of anyone’s kindness. Honestly, that’s what made it so easy to say yes. You’ve built something that genuinely helps people, and stepping in to help keep it going didn’t feel like a favor. It felt like the right thing to do.

What stands out to me is that every single person you mentioned showed up not because they had to, but because they wanted to. That says everything about the kind of community you’ve cultivated. People don’t rally like that for content. They rally for people.

Congrats again on the new addition to your family, and thanks for trusting us with something that clearly means so much to you. We were happy to hold it down.

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@CHawkins -- You all are the best! It’s such a joy to be surrounded by so many passionate people who are so eager to help people help people. Here’s to many more collaborations in the future--!!

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:clap: At BabelQuest, we’re lucky enough to see firsthand how much heart @HFisher7 puts into her HubSpot expertise, so it was no surprise to see her jump at the chance to help keep the ‘Tips and Tricks’ engine running. It’s a testament to the culture you’ve built that so many people were ready to step up while you focused on your family, @KyleJepson!

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@KyleJepson - HubSpot and the Community has blessed me with so many valuable things - from knowledge, to career progression opportunities, to attending INBOUND in the US, to friendships. It really is my pleasure to find a way to give back and be able to show a little slice of my gratitude.

The fact I genuniely love nerding out with others about all things HubSpot doesn’t hurt either!

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@KyleJepson - Appreciate you giving us an opportunity to be dollar store Kyle! You give so much to the HubSpot community, I know I was excited at the opportunity to help you continue the platform, while giving you the ability to spend all the time with the little one!