5 mothers share their tips on balancing motherhood with running a successful business
Imagine sitting at a big kitchen table with your laptop open and the sunlight streaming in. Your three year old sitting next to you, engrossed in the artwork she’s meticulously drawing and your 18-month-old playing independently with his toys at your feet. What a glorious work day that would be!
As we all know, mothering and working rarely look like that and often will have you at breaking point, ready to throw the towel in on all this self-employed business malarkey. In fact, I’ve often questioned whether it was truly possible to 'have it all'. Could we really be good mothers and business owners and find balance?
In desperate search of some answers, I reached out to some kickass women who have done a great job of balancing motherhood and entrepreneurship to hear what has worked for them. Here are their top tips:
Be flexible
Tiara - Founder at Wasilah Design Co.
“Be very flexible - especially if you don’t have fixed/reliable childcare (this might be best). But if you can’t be flexible in the way you structure your offerings and services, give yourself plenty of margin so you don’t fall behind. That way if you aren’t able to work on a particular day because your baby/toddler was having a rough day or for any other reason, it won't have an impact on project deadlines.”
Prioritise and outsource (where possible)
Eman Ismail - Founder at Eman Copy Co
“The biggest thing I'd advise is to prioritise. It's impossible to do everything and the quicker you accept that, the easier the process becomes. You can't do everything so the key is to prioritise. Ask yourself: what are the things that only you can do that will move the needle forward in your business?
Prioritising has really helped me figure out what I need. I need to pay my bills which means I need money. This means I need clients which means my priority is finding clients and delivering brilliant work for them. Making sure my clients are happy and then trying to encourage them to give me testimonials and referrals so that I can get more clients again.
Also, if you're able to get help whether that's in the home in the form of a cleaner or someone who comes and looks after your kids for a few hours every just so you can have a break. Or whether it's someone in your business who is an assistant helping you reply to emails or helping you deliver the client work
Once you prioritise and figure out what you can do versus what someone else could be doing, outsourcing help is the next step.”
Be kind to yourself
Asmahan - Fashion Designer & Spoken Word Artist
“My tip to any mothers trying to balance motherhood and entrepreneurship is to expect that sometimes you will do better in one area of your life, and feel guilty about dropping the ball in another. We will never be able to give equal amounts of attention to any two things in our lives. On the days where you feel guilty about not paying enough attention to the kids, or not getting enough work done for your business, do not allow yourself to dwell in those feelings. Simply acknowledge what you need to work on and look forward to doing better the next day. New day new you. We are human, we are trying our best, and we will continue to learn and do better with time and practice InshaaAllah.”
Jennifer Ogunyemi - Founder at Sisters In Business
“My one piece of advice when balancing motherhood and business is to always extend grace to yourself, I am guilty in trying to make sure that I am doing my extreme best to make sure everyone is happy but that is an expectation that is not realistic. I can only do what I can and what is important is the quality and value I am able to do whilst showing up as either a mum or business owner.
I am not a bad mum if I am not fully present and I am not a bad business owner if I do not action something straight away, I have learnt to be patient with myself and be easy because both roles are just as demanding as each other.”
You're the Boss! You can choose what success looks like for you
“The best bit about running a small biz is that you can define what a ‘busy business’ looks like. For me as the mother of a toddler, ‘busy’ for me means taking on a maximum of 3 projects a month, and spending only 3 full days a week fully immersed in business activities.
I don’t want to see a colour-blocked calendar with no gaps in it, or a fully-booked Monday morning. So I don’t do it to myself. I’ve built this business, so it makes sense I get to define the rules. So my tip is, forget everything everyone tells you about a business and write a vision for your ideal work situation. How do you work best? How much work feels comfortable for your schedule? How much time do you need every week for you and your self-care too? Write up the dream situation you’d love for your biz, then build that.
Don’t want to work 9-5? Don’t do it. Want to keep Tuesday’s free for after school activities or painting with your kid? Keep that time wide open for you, your family, your kid and whoever else you want to share your week with.”