Todays Mompreneur

Many decide to start their own business, at-home or otherwise, because they seem to think it will be easy. Of course they eventually learn from experience that it is not.

The idea of working for yourself can sometimes blind you with glamorizing terms: No need for daycare! Set your own hours! More flexibility!

Each momportunity is different, but one thing is the same: You might need a part-time babysitter to entertain your children when you’ve hit your own personal deadline. You get what you put into your business, so the more hours you dedicate to it the more you’ll get out of it. You can rearrange your work hours, but you’ll pay for it later.

Starting a business is like a circus. It is fun, it is stressful and you’ll be doing a lot of balancing to make it all work!

I have had the opportunity to talk with a few mompreneurs over the last year and there is one thing that I have noticed that might surprise you (or it might not). Although many moms start a business so they can have more time for their children, many of those moms eventually find themselves working harder than ever to keep their business going and not nearly as much time with the kids as they originally hoped. In some cases they don’t realize what has happened, while others do and they feel guilty.

If you want to stick to the reason why you started your business, you need to work on your work-life balance. There is not enough money in the world to make it okay when your life becomes your business. Instead, your business should be something that adds to your life.

1. It is not the end of the word if you go to sleep without finishing everything on your to-do list.
It’s not easy to rest if your work doesn’t feel complete, especially if your office is in your home (or even in your bedroom). Just remind yourself that it is okay to go to bed without everything finished. It is not the end of the world if you don’t respond to your email for one last time that night.

2. Are the kids getting restless? Stop and play!

When I first started working from home, my daughter was just over one and a half years old. I learned pretty quickly that children get just as sick of you working as you do. Stop and play with the kids! I realize many business owners have important meetings that they have to attend virtually, but the instant that is over I hope you’ll walk away and play a game with your kids for a half hour. If you post a work & play schedule, show your children that for every period of work they have a period where you’ll play a game of their choice.

3. Don’t try to juggle too many balls at once!

Here’s another reason why you should keep a schedule: You need to make sure your life keeps some form of balance! If you try to throw in too many work or social tasks into one day, you’ll end up fumbling and falling on your rear end. It’s not a pretty sight and it can cause burnout! Just be careful and stay aware. You should know how much you can handle at once. If you have one day that you feel you’ve overloaded, see where you can skim and cut it back to a level you can control.

Photo Credit: James Jordan

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