Running a business and taking care of your kids effectively means that you have not one, but two full-time jobs and that can get pretty overwhelming even if you are superwoman, which is why I’ve put together some useful tips to help you juggle both roles and do a great job of it.
Create a quiet space to work
If you run your business from home, finding a quiet space to work is vital. Then you don’t have to worry about the kids saying something embarrassing on a conference call or the baby painting all over your important paperwork. This could be a corner of your bedroom, a shed in the garden, or if you can afford it, you could even think about finding temporary office space to ensure you have somewhere safe and quiet to work. If you really can’t find a totally family-free space to work, then at least let the family know your working hours and ensure they keep away during meetings and when other work is going on - a sign you can hang up, to let them know, may work well.
Whatever solution you find, make sure that you do find some quiet space, or running your business could be tougher than it needs to be.
Make time for yourself
It may seem like an impossible task, but if you want to be an effective mom and mompreneur, you need to avoid that executive burnout, and the way you do that is by scheduling some time for yourself. By spending a couple of hours at the spa or curled up reading a good book, you give yourself the headspace that you need to be an effective adult. Fail to make time for yourself and you’ll make mistakes at work and snap at home and that won’t do anyone any good.
You can say no
A lot of mompreneurs think that they need to say yes to every business opportunity that comes their way. They also feel like they need to say yes to every school event that they’re asked to attend. Neither is true. As a mompreneur, you can say no. Not every opportunity will fit into your life and that’s okay. You need to work out which opportunities are the most important; the most likely to be lucrative, and which are not worth it in the long-term. The same goes for school events and the like - work out which things will matter when you look back on them and which won’t and start saying no more often.
Outsource everything
Okay, so you probably won’t be able to outsource everything for both practical and financial reasons, but you can outsource a lot. From work stuff like bookkeeping and organizing your schedule to home tasks like cleaning the house and walking the dog, there are so many tasks that you can hand off to others, and doing so could help to make your life a whole lot more efficient and more importantly, give you a much better work-life balance.
Network
Being a mompreneur can leave you feeling isolated if you aren’t careful. Your whole life can end up being consumed by nothing but work and looking after the kids and it can leave you feeling deflated, which means you won’t be the best you can be at work or home. That’s why it’s a really good idea to network with other mompreneurs who get what you’re going through, and who can offer friendship and support. As well as being good for your mental health, you may meet some people who can put more business your way, and you could even end up creating your own childcare pools and the like, which will make your working life so much easier.
Be flexible
When you’re a mompreneur, it pays to have a flexible schedule and a flexible approach to your working life because you never know when the kids are going to get sick and need you or a million other things are going to go wrong. Being able to shuffle things around without too much drama will really help you out when these kinds of disasters hit.
Take it seriously
A lot of moms who run businesses look at their jobs as little more than hobbies. This is really sad and you should never undervalue yourself like that. If you want your business to be a real success, start treating it like the important corporate company it is and act accordingly.
I hope you find these tips useful for running a business while being a mom!
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