The reality of starting a business as a busy mum
On this episode of Rosie’s Rituals, I really wanted to write about the actual reality of starting a business whilst being a mum.
The harsh reality is usually that one parent takes most of the load when it comes to raising children and a lot of the time, not always, but usually it’s the mum who carries this weight! It can really feel impossible to actually start your dream business or side hustle and believe me, I totally get it. I have dreamt for years of being a business owner and had many ideas. Before I left school, I thought I had it all figured out… I was going to do a hairdressing apprenticeship, whilst building up my own private clientele and eventually pack in the salon job and have a salon of my own. I made it to qualifying and building my clientele, to then suddenly find out I was allergic to hair bleach and suffered severely with allergies and skin issues. This meant I had to drop my dream and start over. This led to me losing confidence and going down a new path and forgetting how much I wanted my own business for a while.
If I had pursued starting a different kind of business then, I would’ve had an abundance of time to work on it but I just wasn’t ready and needed to learn new skills, so I’m grateful for the course I took. However, now I have the skills and experience I need but I lack the spare time I had so much of back then!
In this post I talk through the techniques I use to find/make the time and the actual reality of day-to-day life and doing this!
Your worst critic
You! You’ll be your worst critic and likely judging yourself because you didn’t get up at 5am before your child/children, or you didn’t work from 8pm when they are in bed because you had a mountain of other jobs to do, or you’re just totally wiped out and just need to rest!
I think it’s super important to normalise that you just can’t work like that every day when you have children. You absolutely need your rest, to be a good parent and also a success business owner. Lots of people wear burnout or over working as a badge of honour and it’s not right and I wouldn’t recommend it.
Some days you are simply not going to get anything done and you shouldn’t be tough on yourself. If you have a hard day parenting or you’re lacking energy and just feeling low, then prioritise yourself! Have a bath and relax, read a book, binge Netflix or eat snacks! Just do what you need to, this way you’ll wake up a better version of yourself the next day.
There are days I smash it, I get everything done that I planned to, the house is clean, the baby is happy and I smash through my business to do list! Whereas other days, I don’t do anything other than focus on my baby and that’s okay. You just need to rejig the rest of your week or plan in some time to catch up the following week.
The important message here, is to be kind to yourself and look after you too!
Master your week
I have written a whole blog post on this subject, that you can read here, so I’m not going to go into too much detail in this section.
It’s been a game changer for me to sit down on a Sunday evening and plan out my week, it’s the only way I can keep on top of everyday life and building a business.
Every Sunday, I consider; compulsory plans, leisure, future planning and give focus to my top 3 goals for the year. I tend to plan in at least 2x actions towards my goals each week, this technique helps me to achieve exactly what I set out to do.
If you do this and you still find you can’t get anything done, I’d highly recommend reading this post, all about finding where your time is actually going.
Routine
I’m not huge on routine and at the time of writing I have an exclusively breastfed baby, so routine isn’t always possible! But, if you can get into a routine and find a rhythm, you can begin to regularly work on your business, even a little at a time will compound over time to make a difference!
Here’s a little insight into my current daily routine;
06:00 – Wake up, make breakfast, empty the dishwasher, put last nights dry washing up away and baby plays.
08:30 – first nap, work on blog/business during the nap.
09:30 – Get both of us dressed for the day and playtime.
12:30 – second nap, make and eat lunch and work on blog/business if I have time.
13:30 – playtime.
16:30 – final nap, tidy up house and get the dinner on.
19:00 – bath and bedtime routine.
20:00 – eat dinner and either relax or work on business.
(This varies depending on my babies needs and this is of course if I’m at home for the day)
Routines change and that’s a good thing! I think it’s great to have routines and it’s such a great technique for staying on top of things, but equally enjoy your life and do things that are out of routine! There’s no point sticking to it, if you’re not happy. As I settle into a routine, my baby tends to change and I just adjust it around her and what works for all of us.
Little and often
Don’t underestimate little bursts of time you get to work on your goals! Those little 10 mins here are there add up to hours over a week! All hours you’d miss out on if you dismiss those small bursts of time as pointless.
The key to making this work is to be prepared for those little bursts of time. Have your laptop ready with a to-do-list easily available, you could build this into your Sunday evening planning session mentioned in the Master your week section. If you take the thinking out of it, you can easily get stuck into a task quickly and efficiently start working through your tasks. Categorising your to do list into quick, medium and long will also help you to pick up tasks you have time for.
Optimal focus before brain fatigue starts to kick in, is usually about 45 minutes. So, it’s not always as amazing as you think to have big chunks of time anyway!
Have your work station set up and ready to go, for example have your laptop switched on, plugged in and with your to do list open on the screen, this way you don’t have to waste any time getting set up.
Always remember those little bursts compound into big chunks of time and will make a difference! Do not underestimate them.
Support with childcare
Sometimes there are tasks that you need to focus on for a chunk of time, they could be time sensitive, or you may need to jump on a call without disruptions and need your child/children looked after and that’s okay.
I’m in a very lucky position and have the most amazing husband and my parents and sisters are local and can help too. If you have a support network around you like this, then use it and make the most of the help. Not everyone has this as an option.
You can consider nursery (with government support) or a private nanny to help for a few hours when you need it.
For older children, you might want to consider some children’s clubs, afterschool, in the holidays or privately, this could also be a great opportunity for them to do something they love!
If you don’t have the money or support network around you to help, bedtime will likely be your best time to focus on the longer tasks or you can consider how to break bigger tasks down into smaller tasks to work through during naps. You can be really honest about your situation when scheduling any calls and ensure they’re at a time that suits you.
The reality of starting a business as a mum in 5 steps
In summary, these are the steps you need to take:
- Look after yourself and let yourself have days off!
- Plan out your week in advance (crucial!!).
- Create a routine that works for you and be open to change.
- Little and often bursts of work compounds over time.
- Consider childcare if needed.
The most important thing to take from this post is that it isn’t easy, some days will run away from you and others will be super productive. The key thing is to create a daily routine that works for you and be easy and open to change. You can’t pour from an empty cup, look after you too!
As always, thank you so much for reading!
Rosie
Xx
