Three Life Hacks for Balancing Work with Motherhood
My first baby was unplanned. An unplanned adoption, no less, which meant that one minute I was holding down my corporate job while launching my own small business on the side, and the next, I was also the mother of a three-hour-old baby.
This complicated my work life, to say the least.
But you never know what you’re capable of until you try, and this is the great beacon of hope to mompreneurs everywhere. Should you balance running your own business with being a baby mama? Only you can decide that. But can you? Oh, honey, we can do it all!
The trick lies not just in balance, but in harmony. The pieces need to fit together. After my baby was born I quickly amended my work lifestyle to make my business almost entirely home-based —as a single mother, I had to work to support my daughter, but I found there could be harmony between work and parenting when I did them in the same place. I wrote proposals while my baby napped on my lap. I made phone calls while I walked her.
And, of course, when my job required all my attention or I had a meeting outside the home, I handed the baby off to my nanny! Cultivating a team to support you, in your business and in your home, is the only way you will succeed as a mompreneur.
After that, you have to find where harmony lies for you. Think of yourself as a mother to your business as well as your children. They require different kinds of nurturing, but your responsibility is to tend them both with love and commitment. Then you get the reward of watching both your babies bloom.
In my case, this meant that my business grew much slower than planned. I downsized to accommodate my lower income. I turned down many invitations that I’d formerly have accepted. As for the sleep deprivation, don’t even get me started!
But, nearly three years later, my business is growing, slowly, and I do get the time with my little girl that my mother-heart craves. That, to me, is “having it all,” the ultimate measure of success as a Mompreneur. That is harmony.
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