Mompreneur (Being a mom and entrepreneur)
Moms have to balance between personal and professional life. Childbearing comes with additional responsibilities. Self-employment guarantees flexibility and helps mothers organize their work in congruence with personal commitments. A good organization and intuition to know when to switch hats are most important. Additionally, planning for personal time to re-energize is critical for working moms (Akalp). Business owners must ensure they cultivate time management skills, patience, and a hands-on mentality. Mothers strive to sharpen problem-solving skills to become successful mompreneurs. Every component of life needs attention to thrive. Moms must set rules to guide the interactions between family life and business and acknowledge only one must be top at a particular time.
Being the best entrepreneur and remain the best mom is a delicate balance. The first step is defining a separation between family and business. Mothers must appreciate they must not strip themselves of life and learn to switch between responsibilities completely (Akalp). At work, you must detach yourself from family work and dedicate time to your business for it to be successful. Naturally, people get distracted at work. This is worse for mothers who are always thinking of their darlings at home, at school, or in daycare programs. The trick is to ensure you allocate enough time to all daily life components to ensure planned activities are accomplished for less strenuous working hours.
Entrepreneurship, for moms, is a sacrifice. Children come with additional responsibilities that last a lifetime. Entrepreneurial moms must be ready to sacrifice valuable personal leisure activities, give up hobbies, and dedicate all their time to business and family success. It is advisable to sneak some time after the kids have slept and reduced the office baggage (Lannon). Schedules need to be flexible to maintain a sanity level and facilitate easy and seamless transitions from work to family. Moms must also learn to do one task at a time. Multitasking makes one hurried and, more often than not, produces poor outcomes. Sound time management ensures there is enough time for different tasks and low anxiety. A calm and composed individual is more productive than another who rushes to accomplish tasks without a defined schedule.
Successful entrepreneurs learn to take time off both office and family. Moms should dismiss the fallacy that they are too busy and committed to taking a vacation. Sometimes mothers are too overworked and need to unplug and re-energize. A successful mompreneur appreciates they are passionate about both family and business, but refreshment is equally essential. Working round the clock burns you out and affects the quality of productivity (Lannon).
Additionally, mothers in business must strive to make success a team effort. Creating helping affiliations with workmates and employees ensures you are motivated and improves the quality of output. Business owners must establish loyal and honest associations with employees to ensure business continuity in their absence.
Working mothers cultivate patience and learn to listen for success. A good mother listens to her children and responds proactively while maintaining a positive emotional connection. Similarly, a businessperson listens to their customers' needs to provide them customized service to harness customer satisfaction. Tantrums and spontaneous reactions can be detrimental. Mothers coupling as business owners has numerous interactions per day, which require utmost patience. Some customers are indifferent and may require a tolerant business attendant. Children can be intimidating, especially after long days at work (Akalp). The ability to balance daily interactions with personal well-being and others' wellness around you is the hallmark of successful mompreneurs.
Furthermore, mothers have to maintain an open mind and a calm demeanor. Interactions with family must involve conversations that bring the unit together and a platform where you can share experiences without either party being too overbearing and intimidating. Overreacting must be avoided at all costs to ensure decisions are rational and progressive (Lannon).
A mom and a business owner must strive to set an excellent example for others. The goal makes one more focused, for they learn to compare themselves with others less. Appreciating that you are different and better deters collective behavior. A mom understands that she has to forego some dinner dates, shed some friends, and give up favorite pastimes (Lannon). All responsibilities must be assumed with renewed positivity and not as a form of punishment for being a mother. Progressive entrepreneurs engage accountability partners to motivate and inspire them to work harder. Accountability partners check-in regularly and are imperative for business success, ensuring you are not slacking in your responsibilities. A model entrepreneur ensures they are caring for mothers at home and directional leaders at their workspaces.
The dream of becoming a successful entrepreneur and a contented mum is achievable with comprehensive planning and meaningful time management.
Parenting and business are hard to separate. Hence, they require rules of engagement to enable entrepreneurs to separate roles. Punctuality and a high level of organization is a recipe for success on both fronts. Time for self must be planned for as a vital time to rejuvenate and redefine yourself and business.
Works Cited
Akalp, N., 2020. How To Balance Being A Parent And A Business Owner | Allbusiness.Com. [online] AllBusiness.com. Available at: <https://www.allbusiness.com/how-to-balance-being-a-parent-and-a-business-owner-22126-1.html> [Accessed 9 November 2020].
Lannon, L., 2020. Being A Mom And Running A Business. [online] Rich Dad | Financial Education & Coaching for Everyone. Available at: <https://www.richdad.com/being-a-mom-and-running-a-business?feed=advisorblogs> [Accessed 9 November 2020].
