Rocking Work-Family Balance as a Mompreneur

Work-family balance is hard for any working parent, but especially when your business is your baby. These tips for mompreneurs will help you succeed at both.

Trying to balance work and family is hard for any working parent. But especially when you’re a mompreneur. Moms tend to give it their all at parenthood. But for entrepreneurs who want their business to grow and succeed, their business is their “baby” and giving it their undivided time and attention is their #1 priority.

These competing demands are a recipe for burnout as a mompreneur; no matter how hard she might wish otherwise, there are still only 24 hours in a day. (As I’ve learned the hard way, more than once.) So how do you balance the competing demands of work and family when your business is your “baby”?

When it comes to improving and enhancing your role as a mompreneur, this post will give you a few tips and hacks to help you get there.

Work-family balance is hard for any working parent, but especially when your business is your baby. These tips for mompreneurs will help you succeed at both.

(Featured image source) This is a collaboration post. However, please know I stand behind everything written here, and only include links to products/services/resources I’m willing to recommend personally.

Set Work Time and Family Time

If you’re a mompreneur, you’ll have to spend at least some of your time at home on work. The trick for this challenge is setting boundaries. Having a designated space will help, as will scheduling in regular work breaks and time with your kids. Scheduling kid-time just like a meeting you can’t miss will help make sure you’re building it into your days. You might even schedule that time outside the house – whether it’s a trip to a museum, or a standing date for a walk or time at the park – to help get you away from your work.

I’ve written more about getting work AND family done as a parent here, as well as in this guest post. It may seem like Mission: Impossible, but it is doable – with some careful planning.

Increase Your Experience

As a mompreneur, you need to invest in yourself just like you’d invest in your business. This includes expanding your skill set when needed. You should think of conferences, workshops, and online courses NOT as expensive time-suckers, but rather as the valuable opportunities to learn and network that they are.

So consider going back to school for a certificate, degree, or qualifications that will enhance your ability to grow your business and advance as a mompreneur. For example, look into something like a master supply chain management online course that can really set you apart from other business rivals. I actually went back to school a few years ago to learn more about (among other things) HTML and digital photo editing, and the skills I gained have been invaluable in my work on this blog.

Team up With Other Mompreneurs

As a mama running her own business from home, work can often feel lonely and isolating. Not to mention frustrating when you need to brainstorm or sort through a challenge, but there’s no one there to bounce ideas off of. Teaming up with other mompreneurs is a wonderful way of helping you through the process.

This is another reason to network through conferences, professional groups, trade shows, and other opportunities in your field. Research professional networks and online business directories relevant to your niche, and sign up if you haven’t already. You might also check online networking spaces like Meetup to see if there is a group in your area for female entrepreneurs. If you can’t find one, consider starting one yourself. The friendships and partnerships you’ll build will be a huge asset as you work to grow your business and spread the word.

Multitask When Needed, But Otherwise Divide and Conquer

It may not always be possible to completely separate business mama from home mama. As long as you’re not trying to overlap the two all day, every day, a little overlap is OK. Especially if you’re breastfeeding an infant under one, having your baby nearby while you’re working is just common sense; even Senators now do this. An exersaucer, play yard, or other contained form of entertainment can go a long way toward keeping your littlest offspring happy in your home office as you get things done.

If your children are a little older, splitting up your day according to the focus level and energy needed for each task will help you maximize your productivity. For example, I try to save low-brainpower paperwork and computer tasks for during my children’s homework hour. That way, we can all sit at the table together, doing our “homework.” I’m there to keep them company and answer questions as needed, but otherwise we’re all getting stuff done.

Delegate and outsource

No one can successfully run a business by themselves. If you’re going to be a successful mompreneur, you need to learn to “let go” of control and take on outside help.

Don’t know much about setting up a website? Hire a web design firm to do it for you. Don’t have time to attach tags to your handmade crafts and package them for shipping? These are jobs you can hire a local teen to do, and/or outsource to your own kids if they’re old enough. Need help prepping merchandise for your trade show? This is definitely something your tweens can handle. Don’t have enough time to devote the attention you’d like to social media promotion and pin creation for your blog? Hire a VA (virtual assistant) to do some of this work for you.

Succeeding as both a mother and a mompreneur takes a lot of hard work and effort. But striking that mythical work-family balance IS doable, as long as you don’t try to go it completely alone, and plan for how you’re going to excel at both.

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Work-family balance is hard for any working parent, but especially when your business is your baby. These tips for mompreneurs will help you succeed at both.

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2 thoughts on “Rocking Work-Family Balance as a Mompreneur”

  1. These are all such great tips. I am an aspiring mompreneur and find it extremely difficult. I would love another baby, but I feel like I would need to hire a nanny and well, the point of working at home is to save money!

    1. For what it’s worth, I know a lot of work-from-home mamas and business owners (including myself) who only ramped things up, time- and energy-into-business-wise, once their youngest was starting to get off to school. Have the baby now – the business plans can and will wait! 🙂

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