Spoiler alert: running an online business and being a full time mom isn’t easy, and there is no easy answer in this blog post.
However, I know I have a lot of readers on this blog who are women thinking of starting a business but who are also raising a young family. If you’ve read my About section you’ll know that I have a young daughter (later edit: now I have three children!), and that I launched the business when she was just a baby.
What I will try and do is keep this short and sweet (I get it: you’re busy!). I want to give you a few practical tips that have helped me over the years.
Avoid multitasking and find your quiet hours
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As any mother can testify, the concept of a quiet hour appears completely at odds with the reality of parenthood.
However, quiet time on your business is critical. Women are often celebrated at being great at multitasking. But you’ll find your best quality work happens when you are 100% focused on your business without distraction.
Have a look at your week and find the handful hours that are kid-free (and it may just be a handful; that’s OK!). This time may typically be when they are sleeping or napping (unless you are blessed to have family close by who help with the childcare). I don’t have family nearby, so I rely heavily on nap times.
Dedicate a set number of those “quiet hours” to your business and use that small time as productively as possible by planning ahead. 2 hours quality time can get you as far in your business as an 8 hour distracted day can.
My favorite “quiet hours” are 5am-6.30am. This isn’t for everyone, but I’ve always been a morning person and a cup of coffee usually gets me through.
Get mobile
My iPod is one of the most important tools for my business. When I was breastfeeding a hungry newborn for hours at a time, my iPod kept me in touch with the rest of the world. It allowed me to get things done. Especially quick tasks like creating a social media post.
Make sure you use mobile technology in a way that can help you juggle the demands of business and family life.
Put quality time ahead of quantity
Like many mothers, I found myself asking whether I was spending enough hours with my daughter at such a precious stage in her life. That was, until I realised that what my daughter needs from me isn’t a quantity of time but high quality time.
So I try to plan ahead to ensure the time we spend together as a family is something she’ll really enjoy. That might be something as simple as a trip to the park, a walk in the forest, or a messy day of painting in the house.
Try to avoid negative thoughts about the time you are spending away from your family on your business. Instead look at ways you can maximise the time you do spend with them.
Set yourself realistic goals
If you are trying to balance the demands of family life and a new business, you need to be realistic about how much you are going to get done in the average week.
For too long, I planned out my business week with hugely ambitious goals. I had this mindset that I needed to have a launch strategy and growth strategy on the same scale as a high profile startup.
Not true.
I still achieved a lot but I found myself under far less pressure when I made my goals more realistic.
Remember. Even if you have little or no funding for your startup, you can still outsource the odd task. It will help you progress a little faster. Sites such as fiverr.com offer a fantastic array of low cost, good quality services for a new business.
You’re a full time mom! So stop trying to juggle everything and make sure you take time for yourself
I’m in daily contact with wonderful networks of bright, powerful, successful business women. And every single day I see one of us asking the same question:
Am I doing enough?
For us women, one of our beautiful strengths – but also the one that gives us the biggest challenge – is our constant drive to be doing more for everyone around us.
Not only are we dedicated to our businesses, but we always want to be doing more in every aspect of our lives. We want to be there for our family and support our friends. We want to help our community. Oh, and we need a tidy house. And a slim figure. Worse, allow ourselves to become overrun with guilt if we think we might not be doing enough.
Now pause.
How much good are you doing in your own world if you don’t stop to make time for yourself occasionally? You are no help to anyone, and no value to your business, if you are tired and stressed and trying to do everything. Stop juggling those balls and let one of them drop on the floor. It’s OK – you can pick it up later.
By far the best thing you can do for you, your business and everyone around you is to take some time for yourself on a regular basis. Guilt-free time.
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