Running your own business can provide you with the financial freedom you’ve always dreamed of, and the opportunity to schedule work when it best meets your needs. If you’re a mother, these factors are already likely important to you. However, when you are dealing with a startup business, you’re likely to find that fitting in work along with your children and home is more challenging than you realized. Check out these ideas on what you can do to help your startup thrive even when your busy days get the best of you.
Designate Time Just For Work
Set aside time when you are working on your startup business and only your startup business. While it might seem tempting to use this time to take care of paying bills, signing permission slips, or other issues you deal with on a daily basis as a mom, this isn’t ideal. As the boss, you have to remember that you are the only one who can take care of certain aspects of your company and the ball won’t get rolling unless you are there to help push it along. You can feel more accomplished if you have set aside time just to work on your business and take heart in the fact that doing so on a daily basis can allow you to get ahead. If necessary, post work hours and communicate this to your family. While they might need some time to get used to it, doing so can clear up any miscommunication about what you’re doing and why you have this particular need.
Be Clear About Emergencies
Your children or other family members should know what constitutes an emergency call when you’re at work. Someone getting hurt, a beloved family pet suddenly becoming ill, or losing power at the house are all good examples of emergencies. Children fighting with one another over the TV, asking what’s for dinner, or calling to find out what time you are getting home are generally not. Make it clear to your kids and others that when you are at work, you’re busy. An emergency is one thing, but dealing with every little nuisance that pops up is not, and shouldn’t be something you tolerate daily. The less you have to handle in addition to your work-related duties while you’re at work, the easier life will be overall.
Outsource As Much As Possible
When money permits, outsource as much as possible so you can save on time. When you are first starting out with your business, you don’t need to outsource everything. Perhaps if you can get someone to manage accounting that offers payroll features such as a paystub generator, this can make your life easier and help you avoid questions from employees about their paychecks. Instead, you can direct your workers to the individual who is handling the payroll part of your business. Maybe marketing is not your strong point, and you would rather turn it over to someone who is an expert in this field. Taking small steps like these can help by freeing up your time and allow you to focus on what you are good at: running and operating the parts of your business that inspired you to get started in the first place.
As a mother, it’s understandable that your life might seem busy and out of control. However, that should not stop you from committing time to your startup. Make sure you set aside time where your business is all you focus on, and make sure the rest of your family understands this. Talk to your family, and let them know that when you are working, they should only be contacting you with emergencies. Defining what you consider an emergency can help. Finally, when it’s possible, outsource aspects of your startup that you feel would benefit from the help of someone more skilled in that area. These tips can free up time and help to make your company a success.
