Entrepreneurship and motherhood
Welcome to this month’s edition of The Bright Side. If your goal is to be a mom while running your own business, this blog entry is for you. There are plenty of ways to balance the dream of motherhood without extinguishing the flames of entrepreneurship. Don’t doubt yourself, you can do it all. Though it is a lot of work, the best things always are!
Here are 10 tips to make juggling the two a little easier:
- Organize: Digital or paper planners (or both) are key. Keeping it all aligned without a tool can seem nearly impossible, and some things are bound to fall through the cracks. This will also help you plan. If you know a major event is coming up, you can juggle other events accordingly. There are apps to help you schedule business meetings (such as Calendly), as well as personal planner apps (including Microsoft To Do).
- Get a team behind you: Whether it’s business partners, accounting advisors or a shoulder to lean on, you need a team! Surround yourself with diverse specialists who will help your business grow. At home, you can also enlist team members to help with tasks around the house.
- Set goals: It’s important to set future goals for both your business and your personal life (even if they are small at first), while you figure out your routine. This way, you can plan what it will take to get there.
- Accept setbacks: These will happen – it’s important to take them in stride and not let them get you down. Reorganize and look back at your goals to set your course straight.
- Take care of yourself: Don’t forget about yourself. It’s important to take some time for self‑care so you can invigorate yourself for the days ahead.
- You are not your business: Don’t lose your hobbies. While your business is important – and it’s easy to define yourself as a mom and a business owner – having hobbies and interests outside of being a mom and a small business owner can add more balance and purpose to your life.
- Learn to prioritize: Identify your goals and priorities so you can focus your energy and spend time on things that are important to you and align with your values.
- Delegate: Seek out support and delegate responsibilities to create more time for yourself and the things that matter most.
- Create a routine: Time block your day to determine what tasks you want to accomplish that day and block off time for business, family and hobbies so work doesn’t spill over into your family time.
- Consider the cloud: Baker Tilly Advantage specialists can recommend an entire suite of applications to help automate your business and make your life easier – so you’re spending less time dealing with numbers and more time on the fun stuff.
Life as a mom and entrepreneur isn’t easy, and I can guarantee every day won’t be perfect. But life’s challenges are what make it so wonderful. This is just one of the many things you will look back on years from now and be glad you did.
If I can leave you with one last piece of advice, it’s this: take it one day at a time, remain present, accept the seasons of life and enjoy the person you become throughout this journey of motherhood and entrepreneurship – because life is about the journey, not the destination.
Manager, Client Advisory at Baker Tilly Catalyst, Shannon McIntosh has overcome anxiety, insecurity and depression to emerge as a voice of empowerment, helping clients and colleagues exceed expectations and break new ground. In The Bright Side, she taps into her specialized experience working with non‑profit businesses and her passion for helping organizations that support the community to offer enlightening tax, financial and business guidance to help replace self‑doubt with self‑belief.
Shannon McIntosh
Shannon McIntosh