How to Manage a Business as a Work from Home Parent
Are you struggling with starting your online business while also staying at home with the kiddos? If you are anything like me you get lost in whatever project you are working on and lose track of time.
I have been a business owner for most of my adult life and love the freedom of setting my own schedule. I started my first business, a staffing agency specializing in property management serving the metro Atlanta area, when my oldest, Madi was three years and Tory Leigh, my youngest at the time was 18-months old. Since our family wasn’t dependent upon my income, I was able to work about 10-hours a week when I started. As the business grew and the girls got older, I found myself working 40+ hours a week. I started traveling and working way beyond a normal work week.
Finding the right balance between work and family has always been my greatest struggle. You see for me, work is my hobby. I love starting new businesses and watching them grow, they become part of the family to me. But, I know it’s not just me. Other bloggers I have met share this struggle of trying to balance family and working from home. Running a successful online business is a juggling act. It is possible to have a profitable online local business when you have children at home. The key is to create a routine that works for you and your family.
I wouldn’t trade my home-based business for anything. I love having the freedom to set my own schedule, attend school events and take off for fun day trips. I have three girls: my oldest daughter, Madi (now 29), is my partner here at Local’s Guide Academy, Tory who is almost 27 and my youngest, Evan who is 11. Although Madi and Tory Leigh are adults, but with my youngest still at home my work-family balance struggle is real.
Make sure to scroll down and read what Madi has to share about growing up with a Mom that worked from home. :)
Here are five tips that helped then & now:
Ground Rules and Mindset
It’s important that family and friends understand you are operating a business and not just hanging out at home waiting for them to call with requests. Getting into the proper mindset is very important. Yes, you are Mom or Dad first and foremost but once you step into your “office”, you are the CEO. Having a CEO attitude keeps you from getting up to answer the door, doing laundry, and doing tasks for neighbors and friends that they can’t do because they are “at work”. So are you! You are working and using your minutes wisely will help you succeed launching this new local online business.
Use Your Time Wisely
Once you decide how much time you have to dedicate to your new business, you must block it out. Whether it’s 10 hours a week or 20+, use a planner, your iCal or a Google calendar to block out your working time but be certain that you schedule time to play too.
If you are a morning person like I am, try starting your mornings between 4:00-5:00 a.m. depending on what projects you are working on.This will buy you an hour or two in the mornings before making breakfast, packing lunches and getting everyone where they need to be. If you have little ones not quite in school yet, nap times are a great time to work. I would put Madi and Tory Leigh down for a nap, or quiet time in Tory’s case, and make my 10 marketing calls. My call list was ready, all I had to do was dial.
Organize Child Care
When my girls were younger or during the summer months I hired a babysitter to come two to three hours a day twice a week. That was before all the summer camp options we have now. Ironically, my summer camp post is one of our most popular posts over on LakeOconeeLife.com. Our community relies on that post to help them schedule their summers.
If you are looking to save money, reach out to a family member, trade sitting services with a friend, or consider hiring a Mother’s Helper to play with the little ones for an hour or two a couple times a week. A Mother’s Helper is typically around 11-12 years old and isn’t quite ready to take on the responsibility of babysitting but is the perfect playmate for toddlers and older for a fraction of the babysitting price.
Set Office Hours
Everyone in the family needs to be onboard with your working hours. You may even want to go as far as posting your office hours on the office door or over your desk. It helps when everyone understands that you are only available for emergencies during working hours. Defining what you consider an emergency is extremely important to keep everyone on the same page.
Recruit the Family
It helps to have buy-in from your loved ones. My girls and their friends always had some level of responsibility based on age when it came to the business. They felt included in what I was doing and a sense of accomplishment for themselves. I see the impact it has had on all three of my girls. They all are hard working and have an entrepreneurial spirit. Many days as a family we deliver our Local’s Guide Books or promotional material to our local clients. Evan loves getting to know our clients and they love getting to know her. If your children are old enough, get them involved in making videos and reporting the kid’s events happening in your community.
Make Time For Your Kids
This is a lesson that I wish I had learned sooner rather than later. I need to add my family to my calendar, not just my projects and tasks. Personally, I have a tendency to put work first and doing this helps me maintain a sense of balance, plus I know Evan appreciates seeing her name on my calendar.
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Hi, I’m Madi!
Throughout my entire childhood my mom was her own boss. When I was little she worked out of our basement, then when I was a little older, possibly in second grade she moved to an office building. Because my mom worked from home/for herself my entire upbringing it’s hard for me to compare to anything else, but regardless I know I was very lucky. I never had to worry about whether or not my mom would be at my school events, she was always there. Plus she had the freedom to serve as our Girl Scout Troop Leader, Room Mom, field trip chaperone, you name it she was there. Like she mentioned above, I think this also instilled in me a sense of entrepreneurship. Kids are often told “you can be anything you want to when you grow up” and my mom showed that in her daily actions. Lastly, I’ll say this. I joke that we had a “corporate childhood,” because we played office a lot in my mom’s actual office, but also because there were times in the beginning that we were brought along to meetings and had to keep quiet. When I was older, tween and teen years, I would work for my mom. I’d file, shred, pre-screen applicants, input new hires, miscellaneous paperwork, just a variety of office tasks.
Being a part of my mom’s company, getting to know her employees, helping out where I could, this truly instilled in me an understanding and appreciation of small, locally-owned businesses. I saw what others can’t see from the outside. I saw the daily drive, passion and commitment that went into providing not only for our family but her employees’ families as well. I am beyond lucky to have such an awesome ardent mother with a zeal for small business.
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I hope this helps relieve the struggle (or maybe a little guilt) of starting your online local business and you too get your family onboard and involved.
