There’s nothing more fulfilling than being a parent!
However, you do not have to put your own dreams and aspirations on hold in order to be the best possible parent for your children. In fact, actively chasing your dreams, such as by running your own business, is a great way to show your little ones that they can do whatever they set their minds to!
With that in mind, here are some top tips for running a business as a mom!
Believe in yourself. The first step toward success as a business owner is believing in yourself! While it may sometimes seem like the odds are stacked against you, know that you have the skill, vision and tenacity required to succeed. Remember, 1 in 3 women-owned businesses is owned by a mom.
Set strict boundaries. Business owners are renowned for working into the night. However, when you’ve got other responsibilities too, this is simply not the question – not to mention that this could put you on the path to burnout pretty quickly. As such, you should set clear boundaries with both yourself and your customers. Set strict working hours for each day, and ensure that you do not exceed them.
This will help you to maintain a healthy work-life balance so that you can continue to spend quality time with your kids, get plenty of sleep and take care of yourself.
On a similar note, you should also be sure to take a break when you need one. Taking a few days off here and there will not send your business into shutdown mode, even if it may feel that way. However, burnout and exhaustion will!
Find unique ways to promote your business. Time is a precious commodity, both as a parent and a business owner. As a result, you need to use your time as wisely as possible, which means that you can’t spend several hours a day promoting your brand on social media! Fortunately, there are many other ways in which you can promote your brand. For example, by attaching custom bumper stickers to your car, you turn every school run, drive or car journey into a business opportunity. This helps to increase brand awareness and can help you to grow your customer base.
Find ways to save time (and energy). As mentioned above, running a business can be incredibly time-consuming. Fortunately, there are many steps you can take to reduce your burden without having to turn away customers! For example, you can use automation software to manage your inboxes or contact pages. This way, customers receive prompt responses to their questions, but you don’t have to spend hours a day typing them out! You may also want to consider outsourcing specific tasks that fall outside of your skill set. For example, while you may have developed a great product for the market, you’ll struggle to gain traction if you haven’t got a clue how to market it – which is where a social media manager could come in.