There are 2 very different groups when it comes to mothers: those who work and those who don’t. But what about moms who work but also stay at home? How they did it? We interviewed 2 successful moms with home-based businesses and were surprised to learn that they run it with surprisingly different perspectives on family time, parenting, and work-life balance.
Mom 1 worked outside the home for many years when her children were young and attended daycare. She now runs her online mother-daughter boutique from her home and continues to clearly separate her responsibilities from home and her work.
Mom 2 is an entrepreneur who founded a successful online maternity store before moving on to helping other women who want to start a home business through her consulting business. Mom 2 manages to combine her family life and her business while keeping her children at home with her. How does she do it? Find out when we interview her below.
Read how these moms, both successful home-based business owners, manage to balance their work and home lives:
Childcare:
Mom 1 – I choose to clearly separate my work and family life. When I’m at work, I want to focus on it without distractions. But, in the same way, when I’m with my family, I don’t let work invade that time either. My children have always been happy and well adjusted to the quality daycare we choose for them. They are happy to play with friends and participate in activities throughout the day that I couldn’t provide at home while I try to get work done.
Mom 2 – I can multitask and do many things at once. I can be writing emails or on the phone with a customer while I’m pouring milk and playing CandyLand. It is important to my children and me that I take care of her and that they are at home with me. When I have to run errands for my business, I often combine it with something fun for my kids, like include a stop for ice cream.
Work problems:
Mom 1 – Now that my kids are in elementary school, I work like hell from 8:30 to 4:00. I love being home for them when they get off the bus and have their after-school snack ready. This is something I never had as a child and I enjoy doing it for my children. I don’t work at all at night, that’s my quality time with my family. But, after everyone was settled comfortably into their beds, I went back to work and often work until after midnight.
Mom 2 – I work all day. Not exclusively, of course, but I’m always doing two things at once, taking care of my children and thinking about my business. My kids are used to mom always working and talking on the phone, but they know I’m always there for them.
Do it all:
Mom 1- Sometimes I find myself doing the dishes and putting a load of laundry in moments of madness. I usually try to do these chores while my kids eat breakfast or play together. But, many nights you can find me packing lunches and folding laundry until the wee hours of the morning!
Mom 2 – Organization. This is how I do it. Plan what needs to be done for the next day and make sure everything is where it needs to be. Otherwise, I am afraid that our lives would turn into chaos.
Priorization:
Mom 1 – It’s easy to say ‘family comes first’ because of course it is. But isn’t it so important to run a successful business and make money for them? And that’s where the line gets blurry for me. Pretty much everything I do is for my family (I even take a break, since I’m a much more “gentle” mom after having lunch or getting my nails done), so it’s hard to draw a line.
Mom 2 – I agree with Amber that family comes first. For me and my family, that means starting out together as much as possible and doing things together as a family unit.
Being a role model for children:
Mom 1 – This is very important to me. I want my daughter and son to see me work hard but also be able to play, relax and have fun. I did not have this balance for so many years and I want my children to learn that there is more to life than work, work and work. But, at the same time, it is important to work hard. I hope that if you see me doing both, this instills in you the work ethic and life balance that took me 30 years to discover!
Mom 2- I want my children to be self-sufficient and well balanced people who can fend for themselves and not have to depend on anyone for the things they want in life. As a younger woman, all I wanted out of life was to get married and have children. As I matured, my entrepreneurial spirit fueled me and my family gave me the support to try my ideas. I hope that my ambition and desire to have a family and an identity of my own is something that my children will recognize and become involved in their own lives one day.
Asking for help:
Mom 1 – I’m not too proud to ask for help. I see some women who think they need to do everything on their own and I don’t get it. When I was pregnant, if someone had offered to pick me up and take me to the fridge for a drink, I would have left. I have a cleaning service to help with the house and my husband helps a lot. When things get overwhelming, I enlist the help of grandparents and family in the area. I’ve even been known to fly my mom out of Pittsburgh in a heartbeat!
Mom 2 – I have no family in the area and feel a strange (and often irritating) ownership of my house and its condition. I don’t like having others in my house to help clean, it makes me feel like I’m slacking off. Sometimes it gets overwhelming, but we keep it together as a family. My husband and kids take care of themselves, and we all have specific tasks to keep the house running smoothly (even my 2-year-old has responsibilities!).
How do you feel about the choices of others?
Mom 1 and Mom 2: We don’t judge each other even though our perspectives are very different. We often joke and sympathize with each other about the challenges each of our choices presents. We are both loving and dedicated moms doing what we think is best for our children. I would be a exhausted screaming machine if my kids were home all day and I was trying to work. Jen would be wracked with guilt for putting her children in daycare. We do what works for us, we don’t judge, and we encourage other moms to do what’s best for them too.
