Work-Life Balance for Mom Entrepreneurs, a Myth?

This month we are focusing on mompreneurs and women entrepreneurs. This is our first guest post in this series. By Leigh Mitchell.

I first decided to start my own business when I realized that daycare shortages would make it difficult for me to go back to a corporate full time job. However, I did not want to lose my business skills so I decided to sign up for something very different – the life of a mom entrepreneur. I had day dreamed about what being my own boss would be like while pregnant with my second son. I thought it would be the answer to all my prayers. However, some days my dream resembles a nightmare!

Signs of a seasoned mom entrepreneur:
1. You are always tired and you work around the clock. In a tired stupor you put everything into the coffee maker except coffee. You sometimes miss your driveway when returning from your child’s school pick-up because there are too many things running through your head to recall which driveway actually belongs to you.
2. You believed that you would have work-life balance. Hah!

I will share the “real” life of a mom entrepreneur and my top three tips:
1. Realize your children will sometimes dislike the fact that you work from home. Tip: Pretend you are cleaning the counter while you press the buttons on your smart phone to check your e-mail or play hide and seek while holding your smart phone in a closet. Don’t worry the screen lights up.
2. Realize your husband, while professing his love for you and your business ideas, will question what you have done all day and why the house looks like a disaster, all while still expecting you to make money from your business. Said husband will also give you his unsolicited “business tips” or even worse “work-life balance” tips. Tip: Grit your teeth while he gives you this advice and try your best to appreciate his input. You will need his support later to chase after the children while you work.
3. If you are passionate about your business, and you should be, it will be all consuming. You will turn into a night owl, all in an effort to be super mom and super star business owner. You may burn out or have a good cry every now and then, but it’s worth it. Tip: Never give up! Remember, you ARE a super star business owner. Now give yourself a pat on the back for balancing it all!

Leigh Mitchell is a busy mom of two boys with a very supportive husband. She finds passion and purpose through connecting with other mom entrepreneurs trying to make it. Leigh is a marketing professional and the owner of Marketing4moms.com, a company which specializes in training mom entrepreneurs on how to effectively market their businesses on a tight budget. Email Leigh at leigh@marketing4moms.com or send her a tweet on twitter: @marketing4moms.