With school-aged kids back in school for the day, mompreneurs are finally able to get their businesses back into gear reports lfp.com. However this is a balancing act that is not as easy as many would think.
Lara Galloway, who lives in Lakeshore near Windsor and runs mombizcoach.com, describes a mompreneur as a woman whose No. 1 priority is her family, but she also runs a business from home.
“To be successful, a woman needs to realize she’s signing up for two full-time jobs,” Galloway says.
“The business will take more time than you plan, and with kids, everything will take you three to five times longer than if you were working in an office without the ankle-biters clambering for attention.”
The difficulty in balancing the demands of growing children and a growing business depends to some extent on what your company delivers, your client base and how much money you want to make.
Melissa Lierman, who lives in London and runs Lierman New Media Marketing, knew once she had her first child she had no intention of going back to a regular job.
“I just couldn’t leave him,” she said.
Her first company, Time Out Mom, resold mom-made goods on the Internet. Now she’s consulting for corporate clients on how to use new media.
Both Galloway and Lierman are adamant that, as mompreneurs, playing the “mom card” when you fail to deliver is unacceptable.
“It does a disservice to you, your clients and other mompreneurs. If you think your days will be predictable, then you won’t make it in business. Consider chaos to be normal. Expect it,” cautioned Galloway.
“There is no room for procrastination or last-minute work delivery. If a client project is due first thing in the morning, you can’t leave it till the night before to finish. What if your child is sick and you can’t get to it? You won’t be in business long if that’s the approach you take.”
Photo by Nathan Bittinger