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Most business owners say that their first or most successful business is like a child. But of course, you may have an actual child too. The two aren’t exclusive modes of living life, which can surprise you a little as we tend to view them as distinct disciplines. Now, you might not bring your lovely newborn to work with you, but that’s not to say their needs aren’t at the forefront of your mind except for when trying to get the little sleep you can.
Of course, out of the two priorities, your lovely little one will always come first. But ideally, a balance between both will be optimal. That balance may seem like a far-off fairy tale given how much time and attention children require. In some cases, your approach just isn’t going to be realistic. Single parents are amazing and gain much less credit than they deserve, but it’s just not feasible to run a full-time enterprise while also being the sole carer for your little one.
So, in some cases, this arrangement just isn’t realistic. But what if you do have the support system in place you need? How do you balance parenthood and business ownership? Let’s consider that, below:
Routines Don’t Make You Rigid, They Give You Freedom
There’s this idea floating around that becoming a routine-driven person means sacrificing all immediacy and teh ability to be flexible, and maybe even some of your personality along the way. But the truth is, routines are often the scaffolding that holds up the rest of your day, and oddly enough, they give you the freedom to actually be more flexible when needed.
This is particularly true for parents. That’s because when nap time is fixed, or school pickups are non-negotiable, having those reliable time slots blocked out helps everything else slot into place. You know when you can take calls, or when you’ll likely need to be present at home and not staring at a spreadsheet. Of course, it’s never a perfect science, because kids get sick. schedules change. That’s life. But a general pattern, even if it’s a bit wobbly, makes everything more manageable.
If your mornings are for admin while the baby naps and your afternoons are for client calls while a trusted friend watches them, that’s enough of a base to build from. It also means you’re less likely to be scrambling when things inevitably do have to change, even just for that day.
Don’t Feel Guilty For Mixing The Two (Sometimes)
There’s a lot of pressure to keep your business world and your parenting world in separate boxes. But realistically, those boxes have holes in the bottom and things tend to spill over. Depending on the business you run, that’s okay. If the baby’s going to be in the background of your Zoom call in among your team, they will understand provided they still feel looked after as employees. Sometimes you’ll be answering client messages while waiting at the school gates too! Heck, if you’re running a home-grown business about baby care, that might even be a plus, though keep in mind your baby’s right to privacy.
Let us reassure you that blending those areas a little isn’t a sign of being disorganized or unprofessional, it’s just the reality for a lot of people, and often, clients and customers are a lot more understanding than we give them credit for. In fact, in a funny way, it can even humanize you. You’re not just a business robot but a person with a full life and responsibilities. That kind of authenticity often builds trust rather than damaging it.
So yes, aim for separation when it makes sense, of course, and set boundaries where you can. But if things sometimes overlap, it doesn’t mean you’re doing something wrong. It means you’re doing your best, which is more than enough.
Look At Your Business Through A New Lens
Becoming a parent tends to change how you view the world. After all, you’re not longer the most important person in your life, which is pretty crazy for non-parents to imagine. There’s suddenly this tiny person depending on you, and your time, energy, and headspace are all pulled in directions they weren’t before, let alone the clients who want to have their needs met. It’s natural then for your business to go through a bit of a transformation as your mindset shifts like this.
That doesn’t always mean downsizing or slowing down all the time, though it might, and that’s fine. It could just require adjusting your services to be more manageable, or finding ways to automate certain processes so you’re not constantly switching between baby wipes and client invoices. It could even mean pivoting, like turning your previous freelance work into an online course model instead.
This shift can actually be quite creative. You might realize that the model you had before wasn’t sustainable long-term and that parenting has shown you a better way, so don’t think it’s all about sacrifice. There’s a reason why artists usually do better work when the canvas or parameters they have to work within are limited.
Lean On The Tools That Make Life Easier
One thing you learn as a parent is working harder is not necessarily smarter. For instance, if you’re running a team, especially in hands-on industries like trades or field work, it might be something like construction employee scheduling software that helps you assign shifts, track hours, and manage people without constant phone calls, saving you time for your child. Remote work is a big one as well, but you have to let your employees make use of this too for fairness sake.
Now, these aren’t huge and incredible fixes, and they won’t raise your kids for you or run your business while you nap, yet small efficiencies do add up positively. They will also reduce the decision fatigue that hits so hard when your attention is split (this is generally what makes you feel exhausted). The fewer moving parts you have to juggle manually, the more present you can be in both your work and your family life, which is just good common sense.
Redefine What Success Means to You
Before parenthood, success for you might’ve looked like constant growth, such as boasting bigger teams, more revenue, and many more expensive clients. Those goals can still be valid, but the context around them may be less pressing depending on your new priorities of sustainability and steady exposure. Maybe you just want to create a stable employment environment as opposed to routinely chasing expansion, which helps you lower your staff turnover and keeps the trained skills in-house. That can be fantastic if you need experienced people who can take over when you need a day here and there. As such, maybe now success means finishing the work day in time for bedtime stories.
We’re not saying give up your ambition or forget growth of course, but remember, your newborn isn’t a newborn forever. As they grow they need slightly less time to be taken care of, and so you can throw your weight and experience into the firm then.
Ask For Help & Actually Accept It
If you’re a proud person (those who start a business often do have a kind of self-belief and regard), there’s often a voice in your head saying “I should be able to do it all.” But you don’t need to impress anyone except for those who engage in business relationships with you, and most importantly your child.
In other words, you don’t need to be the hero all the time. If someone offers to watch the baby for two hours so you can finish that proposal, and you implicitly trust them, say yes. If your partner can cook dinner while you reply to customer emails, let them. If there’s a grant, a co-working daycare, a mentor, or even a podcast that makes you feel less alone, then use it! You would be amazed to find out how many offers of help are heartfelt and actually a lovely vote of confidence in you.
If you can accept that help instead of being too proud to, you make things so much easier, and you begin to see the pride of others who are happy to have contributed.
There’s No Perfect Formula, But There Can Be Your Own Pace
If there’s one thing to hold on to, it’s that there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to balancing business and parenthood. Would you trust someone who told you there is? Even in this post we’ve tried to consider many different schedules, routines, business types and home setups. Having all that to hand can be essential. So, don’t be worried if it takes a little while to figure out what this means to you and how to optimize.
Hold yourself to this – if the people you care about are doing okay, and the work you’re doing feels meaningful enough to keep showing up for, that might be all the balance you really need, outside of breaking even of course.
With this advice, we hope you can balance parenthood and business ownership with care.
Photo Credit: Pexels.com
