If you’re struggling with trying to find a work family balance as a mom in business then this episode is for you.
I am asked so often how in the world do I do it all. And today I’ll be breaking down how I do it, how I’ve done it in the past that didn’t work, and give you some practical tips that you can implement right now. These tips will change the game for you and allow you to be present in all of the roles that you have.
How I Worked Towards Work Family Balance
When I first started building businesses from 2014 to 2017, I wasn’t very good at it. I wasn’t good at being a wife, a mom, a business owner. I was stuck in a I want to make money and I want to get out of this situation mindset. I always felt like I was waiting for the next season. I bought into that hustle mentality and everything else was put on the back burner. I’m here today begging you not to make that same mistake. If you’re made that mistake then you know what I’m talking about. But if you’re in the beginning stages of your business then I want you to do better. There’s nothing worse than putting all of your energy into building a business and making money and forgetting about everything else right in front of you.
Over the years I hit a rock bottom and had to climb my way back up. I had to relearn things and unlearn things and make sure I had the right mindset. But also learn a better way of running a business, running a household, raising kids, and enjoying life. So I’ll be giving you five tips that will help you find a work family balance as a mom in business.
#1. Recognize Your Season In Life And Define Your Priorities
The very first thing I want you to do is recognize your season in life and define your priorities accordingly. This will look different for everyone because we all have different lives and businesses and our kids are different ages. If you’re in a season where your kids are really young your priorities will be so different from someone like me who has school aged children who are gone at school for most of the day. I didn’t have as much time to dedicate to my business when my kids were little. So really take a look at what season you’re in. Not only in life but in your business as well.
If you’re in a building or scaling phase in your business you will likely need more hours to dedicate to growing. But if you’re more in a maintenance phase or just trying to keep things steady then the amount of energy you’ll need will be completely different.
You could also be going through a health journey or health crisis or have someone in your family going through it. So you just don’t have the time and energy to dedicate to this season of your business. But just know that that’s ok. Season come and go and that is the beauty of life. So recognize what in your life needs the most attention right now. That is where you really need to get your priorities straight. Please be ok with that. Your business isn’t always going to get one of the top two spots and that’s ok.
#2. Really Learn How To Take Control Of Your Time
You’re either in control of your time or time is in control of you. If your calendar is running you then it’s probably running you ragged and you don’t even know why you have so much going on. Yes there will be busy days but for the most part if you’re in control of your time you’ll be able to balance and maintain that.
Not taking control of my time was the biggest mistake I made for the longest time. I was just overcommitting and saying yes to everything. So my biggest tip would be to really look at the whitespace on your calendar and make sure you’re not overcommitting yourself. And again, learning how to take control of your time.
#3. Keep Your Business Model Super Simple
We so often get caught up in the overconsumption phase where we want to sign up for every masterclass. And we want every free resource and to listen to tons of podcasts. But all we’re doing is consuming and filling our brain with all of these different directions to go. You will find yourself suffering from shiny object syndrome. IT happens to me all the time and it has happened to every single client I’ve ever worked with. It’s when you hear a new strategy that you’ve never heard before and you think it’s what will change the game for you.
So be really careful that you don’t complicate your business and that you’re not trying to do seven different strategies at once. I’ve actually created a free resource for you on how to create a marketing strategy that is sustainable and allows you to spend more time with your family. You can access it right here.
#4. Setting Boundaries For A Work Family Balance
This is one that a lot of people struggle with. Really identifying, setting, and holding boundaries. This not only goes for business but for life too. When you have a lack of boundaries you feel stressed and overwhelmed.
Boundaries can look like a lot of different things. But two things specifically with boundaries and business that I want to pay attention to are to set work hours and client communication. If you’re in a season of business where you can really be clear about setting work hours then you need to be sure to do that. For me right now since it’s summer time my kids are at home. They’re self sufficient but they always come to interrupt me for something. So in this season I’ve committed to working for three hours either in a block or here and there but that’s it. So I can’t afford to be working on things that aren’t that important. I can only work on things that will change my bottom line and get me results. So get really specific about your work hours and set boundaries on what that looks like. This will allow you to work towards a stronger work family balance.
I also want you to put client communication boundaries in place. When I first started my photography business I was talking to clients at all hours of the day. Today I don’t do that because I want people to respect my work hours. And the only way they’ll do that is if I show them what I want them to pay attention to. For me I typically respond to client emails, etc. between 9:00am and 3:00pm. After that I just turn off all notifications and stop responding until the next day. This is the biggest place that you can set a boundary right now in your business.
#5. Having Routines To Help You Get More Done
This one is more of an opinion but I truly believe that having routines in your life and business will allow you to get things done more efficiently. When you establish routines for everything from laundry to dishes to making dinner to routines in your business, I truly believe these routines will change the game for you. It just allows you to have a rinse and repeat process. It’s a system, a workflow, something that is done over and over and you don’t really have to think about it. This allows you to save some of that mental energy and really accomplish things.
A Recap Of Our 5 Tips That Will Help You Find Work Life Balance
- Recognize your season and define your priorities.
- Take control of your time.
- Work out that simple business model. Grab my free resource here.
- Implement boundaries.
- Establish and use routines.
I hope you found all of this super helpful. I can’t wait to hear the tweaks and changes that you’re going to make in your life and business. If you loved this episode I would love to hear your feedback and takeaways. Reach out to me on Instagram so we can start that conversation. Please leave a review wherever you listen to podcasts. And share this post with another mom who owns a business.
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