As I do, do you also feel that starting your own business is similar to having a child? If you can imagine how hard it is to start from scratch, labor to bring it to life, and then to nurture your creativity so that it grows and flourishes, then you can understand how challenging it is. Becoming a successful and extraordinary entrepreneur requires a lot of energy and dedication. But what if you are raising your children and trying to launch a business at the same time?
There is no doubt that motherhood is tougher than anyone would expect. Giving birth to a new life is beautiful; raising children is joyful, but at the same time, it’s also heart-wrenching in ways you could never have imagined.
Nearly 80% of pregnant women worry and fear pregnancy and childbirth. And among them, for 13% of women, the fear of pregnancy is so extreme that it causes them to postpone pregnancy or avoid having babies.
Just like there is no playbook for being a mother, there is no playbook for balancing being a working mother and entrepreneur. The experience of maintaining a balanced business and the family simultaneously can be different for each woman.
For some entrepreneurs, prioritizing time between family and business can be a constant battle or cause guilt.
However, here are some facts that may surprise you:
- Women in Ghana own more than 46% of private businesses.
- About 36% of small businesses are owned by women worldwide.
- Almost 10 companies with women owners become unicorns in the first half of 2019.
- 56% of startups have at least one woman on board.
- 62% of women state that their business is the main source of their income.
Of course, women can feel the range and depth of emotions like an insurmountable burden when choosing to be moms and entrepreneurs. If you are also one of them, here are some tips for working moms to succeed in business and family.
But before that, let’s dig into the challenges working mothers face.
Challenges faced by mother as an entrepreneurial parent
At home
- Early in the morning, mothers are expected to start household chores like mopping the floors and preparing breakfast and lunch.
- Whenever women’s priorities are questioned, they face many difficulties. They are constantly asked to choose between grooming the children and pursuing their careers.
- Working mothers live in a constant conflict between obligation and passion, with only two options; what she wants and what they must do.
- Working mothers face chaos all day, from ensuring their kid gets to school on time to getting to their office and giving medicine to an elder member on time.
- Working women are assumed to be modern-day superheroes. When something needs to be done, the mother is seen as the “go-to” person. The entire family looks up to the housewife when something happens or needs to be done.
- Other family members make a false assumption that they are not serious about their family and have forgotten their responsibilities towards family.
At work
- Society then and now always demands perfection in both work and household chores which is tough.
- There would be constant pressure to make the best strategies to bring out the best results for the company.
- Due to the constant pressure to meet deadlines for their targeted work and care for the child, they are unable to give 100% to both.
- The company’s work sometimes needs more attention, which the family can misunderstand, and vice versa.
Tips for a mom to run a business and a family successfully
1. Define clear goals and responsibilities
Many entrepreneurs are better parents and successful business people because they set clear expectations and prioritize their work. Female entrepreneurs frequently mentioned that their families make them more productive at work.
It may seem strange to you, but they have to leave work at a certain time every day, so there is less time for unproductive meetings with them. Many women entrepreneurs are also aware that their career sets a good example of work ethic, responsibility, and leadership for children.
However, there needs to be a clear line between family and work. So keeping a detailed calendar with time blocks for family activities by the entrepreneurial parents makes a huge difference.
2. Know your limits and ask for help
It can be too hectic and stressful to tackle everything by yourself. You can not be all over the place at the same time. You may have a vision of running out in a certain way, but you should not forget that your body needs good rest to function properly.
So, better delegate your work as much as possible, whether official work or household chores. Assign tasks that each member can do by themselves, such as
- Asking your child to place the toy in their place after playing,
- Asking them to help you to set your dining table
- To ask other family members to pay household bills or order vegetables or groceries.
Similarly, in the context of your business part, do not be a one-man army in the office. Owning and operating a business is not typically a one-man show. You will need various kinds of support, including accountants, trusted mentors, a supportive life partner, and family members and friends.
3. Good planning and time management skills
Being a mother and entrepreneur is all about how you divide your time between your two children (baby and business). Having a structured schedule of a whole day helps you keep track of the tasks that need to be done and helps you allot your time based on the importance of each of them.
Also, having a structured calendar helps you to keep important dates such as your child’s birthday, anniversary, holidays, get-together in mind and plan that particular day around the event. But there can be the case where you need to go out of town on your child’s birthday or other important family function.
So, you need to prioritize such issues and solve them with your creative ideas. Thus, be very realistic while mapping out your whole day. Plan wisely your day so that you won’t be upset by the end of the day because you didn’t accomplish the tasks.
4. Be creative with your time
Technology has made it very convenient to manage time. You can use such technology to utilize your time properly at home and work. In the context of household chores, several smart kitchen appliances, such as an instant pot with temperature control, a smart cup coffee maker, and a temperature control bright mug available in the market, can help you do things sooner than you thought possible.
Besides this, do whatever suits you at that particular moment. For instance,
- you can answer your emails or calls while waiting to pick up your children at school,
- review the financial status on the treadmill, or
- Keeping in touch with extended family by getting everyone together at once rather than visiting them individually.
5. Limit other distractions
The simplest way to cut down your distractions is to put down your phone. Whether you’re with your kids or working on business tasks, smartphones seem to permeate every moment of our lives. Therefore, you must make sure that you are fully present when you are with your children.
Ideally, you should turn off all notifications from social media apps and log out of social media so that you can’t scroll through your feed several times throughout the day, and only log on to social media when you have something important to catch up on.
Furthermore, social media is crucial to any growing business, so it is important to continue to have access to it, but there are many ways to manage it, such as allowing notifications for only email and calls, and turning off notifications from other social media sites, so that there will be no distractions when trying to get important work done.
6. Support System
Every person in the world needs a support system. If they can grow their business, suppose an “X” times by themselves, they can grow 10 times if they have a good support system. The support system can be physically, mentally, financially, or emotionally.
Remember that your family is your number one support system. Also, if you have a good team working with you, it can take your 50% of stress away. You might also need to make a good network with other mompreneurs or fellows to bloom your business.
Keep in touch with other entrepreneur’s friends who also have kids and share the experience of being a mompreneur. You can also join online mom groups or community parent organizations.
Last words
Remember that in life, sometimes things never go as planned. Do not stress over every little thing. You choose your battles, and one day for sure, all the things will turn out to be okay. Stay positive and keep growing.
