A mompreneur is a mother and an entrepreneur. Running a business and raising is no mean feat, but many parents dream of running their own business. Whether you want to start a small business to earn some extra money, or fulfill a lifelong dream of building a business empire, here are the best tips for aspiring mompreneurs.
Acknowledge Your Strength
Being a mother requires a lot of strength, which can really benefit you in business. Motherhood changes your life completely, and your reasons for doing things changes. It can change the way you interact with the world around you, and your awareness of how this affects your children. This deeper understanding gives mothers strength, which can be applied to the world of business.
If you think that being strong as a mother won’t have an impact on your ability to run a business, you’d be wrong. Of course, this kind of strength can be translated to other parts of your life. This inner strength plays a part in giving you a competitive advantage in the world of business, even though mothers also need to contend with the challenges of raising a family. Recognize and be proud of the strength that you have, and use it to your advantage, because it really can be an advantage.
Take Time For Yourself
As both a mother and an entrepreneur, having some me-time can be a very rare experience. There will also be someone who needs something from you, whether that’s one of your children, an employee, a client, or your spouse. You need to be aware of these demands on your time and plan for them. Nobody, no matter how efficient, can function healthily without having some time just for themselves. Self-care is very important, and will you perform better in both your roles.
Look out for any way to make your time work for you. For example, if you love a gym session, look for a gym with childcare options. If you’re pressed for time to get your work done, schedule in days a few times a month to work uninterrupted and make sure both family and business contacts know you won’t be available on these days. These days can be critical for growing your business.
Be careful not to fall into the trap of thinking that making your time work for means that you should always be multitasking. When you try to do two things at once, you can’t focus on either, and will just do both poorly. Set aside time for family and time for work. To be successful, you need time management skills and time for yourself.
Accept You Can’t Always Avoid Guilt
If you can’t manage it, guilt can be devastating. Whether you’re just starting out with your new business and still working on early tasks like, “What do I need to form a company?”, or you’re an old hand in the world of business, you will need to learn to get control of your guilt before your guilt starts to control you. Every mother who is also a business owner has struggled with guilt at some stage and will struggle again. The best way to get through this feeling of guilt is to accept that it’s completely normal and that everyone goes through it.
You’re going to feel bad when you aren’t with your kids and you will feel bad when you are with them. You’re always going to be thinking of all. Give yourself permission to not be on top of everything all the time, and be everything to everyone. You can’t do everything at once. Nobody can. Forgive yourself for being only human. You’re allowed to have a day off, drop the ball sometimes, or need a break, just like everyone else. Your children will be fine, even if your attention is divided.
Letting go of this is easier said than done. To do this, you need to rethink the way you look at both your roles. Being a mom is about quality, rather than quantity. It’s better to be the best mom that you can be for a few hours a day, than a stressed, over-worked, unhappy one for twelve hours a day. The same is true of being a focused, present business owner for six hours a day, rather than an absentee boss trying to juggle playdates and meetings. When you accept that you have limits like everyone and can find a workable work-life balance, the guilt should shift by itself.
Look For Strong Examples
It can help to have some inspiration for your new double role. Look for figures that show you that it is possible to juggle children and work, who can inspire you in your working and child-rearing life.
There are lots of fantastic examples out there for you to be inspired in. Every mom who is able to find a way to balance their business with raising children can be an inspiration. Social media can be a great place to start to find these women. Look for blogs and Instagram accounts run by female business owners who have children, and start following anyone you find inspiring and interesting.
Build A Strong Support System
When you’re a mother and a business owner, you’re going to be the go-to person for a lot of different people. If you’re going to manage all these pulls on your time, you’re going to need to have people in your life who are there for you, and who won’t judge you if you can’t keep up with your own high standards for the dream boss and mom you want to be.
Your support system can be made up of anyone you like. It can include your spouse or partner, your family, your friends, your babysitter, and even your children. Anyone who believes in you and loves you is your support system. Anyone who can help you to manage your time better, reassure you, and believes in your goals and ambitions is your support system.
Having the right people around you will make you better at both sides of your life. It’s critical for your happiness and success that you surround yourself with people who support, believe in, and inspire you. You need to have people in your life who don’t make you feel guilty for having ambitions beyond just being a mom, and will support you in your goals.
Choose Your Team Wisely
Every entrepreneur needs a good team around them. With good talent in your business, you can be both the best parent that you can be and the best business owner. Your team needs to understand you and the business that you want to build.
Any business owner will tell you building the right team is an essential part of your success. You need to have employees who can take on the tasks that call for skills that you’re not as strong in or that take up too much of your time. When you’re juggling business ownership with motherhood, your time is even more limited than the average entrepreneur, so you need to be even more selective about the people who work for you. Your employees need to support you just as much as your business will support them. Hire the sort of people who can reduce both your workload and your stress levels.
Learn To Master Your Work/Life Balance
You shouldn’t build your life around things that are more temporary than permanent. This means that, as a mompreneur, your family is the reason for everything that you do. Your family is your core, and your why in life. Everything else in your life will revolve around your family. Build your work schedule around your family and not your family life around your work. As a business owner, you’re the boss, so you can make your own hours. You can be in the office every day, but still be there for the school run or bathtime.
There aren’t going to be enough hours in the day to get everything done. There will be some nights when you have to stay up late when the children are in bed to get some work finished, but this can be well worth it if it means being more present in your child’s life.
Hold Yourself Accountable
Being a mompreneur is one of the most rewarding things you can do. The advantage of being your own boss is that you have nobody to say no if you need time off for family demands, like caring for a sick child or finishing early to make it to the school play. However, this also means that there is nobody but you to hold you accountable.
You have the option to only answer to the people who matter most: your family. This is a privilege that you should never take for granted. As soon as you do start to this for granted, it can become inconsequential, and you will forget why being a mompreneur is worth it for you.