How entrepreneurship has helped me in my motherhood journey
I became an entrepreneur a few years after I became a mother. At first, I didn’t think that there would be any issues with having a preschooler and being a startup founder.
Little did I know!
After a while, I took notice of how my combined entrepreneurship – motherhood journey is unfolding.
There are many commonalities between being an entrepreneur and being a mother, and getting practice as a founder and entrepreneur has been tremendously helpful to me as a mom.
Don’t believe me? Read on!
1. Time Management
I have written about time management before as it applies to work.
As a founder and entrepreneur, I have to use time management skills at every single moment. Honestly, work/tasks/priorities never ever stop.
There is always a very healthy inflow of demands and priorities that need to get done. So I use the techniques I wrote about to make progress and be productive in my job.
Motherhood is no different. Your child sends a very healthy inflow of tasks and activities your way every single minute. From getting snacks to helping with homework to driving your child to the doctor’s office and everything in between, these are the tasks that need to be done and they are all high priority.
As an entrepreneur, I know very well, how to get it all done. I use the same six strategies when it comes to managing & balancing entrepreneurship and motherhood, and it works…most of the time!
2. Thinking and not Reacting
As an entrepreneur, you are used to dealing with chaos and unpredictability. You also know that the worst thing to do when it hits the fan is to lose it and get reactionary.
You observe, assess, and respond thoughtfully or your business will tank.
Okay, for all you moms out there, who hasn’t experienced unpredictability when it comes to your child? Terrible-two tantrums anyone? A bad fall or a yellow slip from school?
Sure, I have done my share of freaking out but I learned that not only they don’t work, they often exacerbate the very thing I am trying to stop. Being thoughtful as a parent, observing and thinking through the situation, on the other hand, has yielded much better results.
3. Empowerment and Self-Confidence
Remember one of the strategies that I shared in the time management article was “Delegate or Let it Go” – When it comes to motherhood, the act of delegation to your own children proves to be a powerful confidence builder.
As an example, we have delegated a number of chores to my 9-year-old son. He makes us coffee, empties the dishwasher, does and puts away his own laundry, waters our deck garden, sometimes makes his own lunch, orders groceries on Instacart, and other chores that may or may not be considered age-appropriate.
This might seem very intuitive to many as you might say: “of course you would ask your children to do chores.”
Here is my point, however. Entrepreneurship gives me *no choice* but to delegate or let it go.
The things I mentioned above are not those that I would let go so delegation is my only option and since my son took responsibility for those, I can see so much more confidence and pride in him. Honestly, I am the kind of mom that would want to do it all but luckily, entrepreneurship prohibits me from doing so!
4. Real life Business Lessons
My son watches me as I wrestle with business problems, think of new app features, and do customer service.
I involve him in business discussions and he is very helpful in giving me ideas. Oftentimes, he edits what I write; he probably will edit this too.
He is learning what entrepreneurship is all about and how to run a business in real-time, every day. He knows about P&L statements, inventory management, content strategy, investment capital and so many other things that I didn’t know anything about until I started my own business.
I learned this stuff at age 44, he is learning them now. The lessons he is getting about business at this early stage are invaluable.
5. Determination and Discipline
These two traits are absolute necessities when it comes to being an entrepreneur.
While you can start any business any time you wish, it is with discipline and determination that it can grow and succeed. My son also sees my passion and determination for making Call Emmy (download the app) a success.
He sees me working hard every day and he is learning that life will give you what you dream about if you put your mind and heart into it. I am a real-life example for him to see that taking the easy way out is not the best course of action.
And he is proud of me for working as hard as I do and the discipline that I bring to the table each and every day.
Final Thoughts on My Journey of Entrepreneurship and Motherhood!
There are many days that I feel like I am about to lose it.
I scurry from my office to the kitchen to make my son lunch and hurry back to start my next Zoom meeting. I go to bed much later than I would like because I have to do payroll every day or I will forget.
Sometimes I envy my friends and neighbors with their corporate jobs and how they can afford to shut it off when they come home.
All that said, I have no doubt that my entrepreneurship adventure has and will continue to help me in my motherhood journey. I might not see the results instantaneously but I am confident that they are there and they will show up when the time comes.
And hey, here’s another relevant article for all the working moms out there –