How I Run a Business as a Working Mom

Before Daniel was born, I had no idea how I was going to balance running a business and taking care of a baby. Most of my friends had decided to leave their jobs and become stay-at-home moms (and they are AMAZING at it). The business owners that I saw with kiddos either sent them to daycare or had family nearby to help. But those things weren’t available to me at the time.

Daniel was born in April and I took 3 months off for maternity leave, which meant that I started working again once my husband (who is a teacher) was home for the summer. For a few months, he watched the baby while I worked for a few hours each day.

It wasn’t until Jay went back to school that I really had to figure out how to balance running a business and taking a care of a baby - on my own. Most days I would work during naptimes and when Daniel played in his playpen next to my desk. I thought I had figured out a good balance and was able to keep up with almost everything (I even recorded a second season of Process to Profitability).

That all changed again once the COVID-19 pandemic hit. I certainly never planned on working from home while my husband was teaching in his home office, but we made it work. Jay took over childcare in the mornings while I worked and then we switched for the afternoons. We again found a balance and both got to enjoy dedicated time with our crazy kiddo.

Now that my husband is back at work full-time, it’s much harder to get work done. But because I still have a business to run, we had to figure out a new way of balancing motherhood and entrepreneurship. Here’s how we’re doing it now:

1. Hiring childcare

When we were anticipating how my business would run once Jay was back to work, we knew that we would need some kind of childcare. We couldn’t afford (and didn’t want) to put Daniel in daycare - we love that we get to spend time with him at home during the day.

Instead, we hired a part-time nanny to work 2 mornings a week. We have also been very blessed to have Jay’s parents move 10 minutes away from us now that they are retired and they take Daniel 2 mornings a week as well (and are loving it).

When we were looking for a nanny we had some specific requirements:

• available 2 days a week in the mornings

• experience with toddlers

• have a similar parenting philosophy to ours

• work with our limited budget

Budget was a big concern because childcare can be expensive, but I knew that I could afford a certain amount each week based on what my business was earning. I also knew that I would be able to earn more if I had dedicated work time, so hiring someone just made sense.

It took months to find the right person, but God answered our prayers right before school started again!

2. Strict work hours

Because of my childcare situation and because I want to spend focused time with Daniel, I have strict work hours. I work four days a week from 8am - 1pm. After I close up for they day at 1pm, I don’t answer emails or respond to client requests until the next time I’m working.

I have also limited the number of projects I take on at once so that I know I can get everything done within my 20 hours a week.

3. Tools

Having tools that make running a business easier has been a big part of getting everything done with limited time. I use Dubsado for client management and it allows me to keep everything in one place.

4. Outsourcing

I’ve talked about how I outsource in my business before, but it’s even more important now. I have a social media manager who schedules all of my social media posts, which is a big relief for me.

5. Working in the down-time

Even though I’m very strict with my work hours for clients, I do occasionally have to work outside of those times. Daniel goes to bed by 7pm every night, so I will work for an hour or two afterwards when needed. I try to keep this to a minimum, but sometimes need the extra time if I’ve got personal projects to work on or if I have appointments during my normal hours.

I know that these things won’t work for everyone and we’re still learning and adjusting as we go, but for now I’ve found what works for us.