We don’t all have the same hours in a day. Sure, we all have 24 hours, but how we fill that time? Completely different for every single person.
There are so many varying opinions about how to balance parenthood and entrepreneurship but the thing is, “balance” is quite subjective. You have to decide what balance looks like to you.
My entire mission is to help you redefine your expectations because the business world has thrown narratives around that may or may not even pertain to your situation. I’m all about creating a life-and-energy-friendly business and that is deeply personal.
In this blog post, you’ll learn 6 effective ways to help you do just that – let’s dive in!
6 Effective Ways to Balance Parenthood and Solopreneurship
Set Realistic Goals
As a parent and a solopreneur, you wear ALL. THE. HATS. It’s both fulfilling and overwhelming, so the key is to be realistic with your goals.
So what does that even mean? One of the biggest goals we set as solopreneurs is hitting a certain figure in revenue. That’s the first thing I want you to take a look at. Is your goal truly YOUR goal or is it an expectation that you believe you need to meet in order to be successful?
Story time … this was me when I started my business in 2016. I had all these plans. My mentor was a 7-fig business owner and I just KNEW that would be me someday. But first, I had to get over the 6-figure hump. *cue record scratch and Taylor Swift saying “what?!”*
I had NO business thinking about 6-figures at that point in time. Hell, even to this day, having a 6-figure business is far off on the horizon for me in the season of life I’m in. And I’m OK with that. I had to pump the brakes and realize that those lofty goals were not actually my own, they were just an idea in my head.
What I want you to do is sit down and really think about the goals YOU want for your business AND life. These goals do not need to be tangible. In fact, I would assume that most of your goals won’t be tangible at all, rather, they will be more about the feelings.
How do you want to FEEL? How do you want your business to make you feel? How do you want your life to make you feel? What do you want for your family? How do you want your family to feel?
When you do this exercise, try to put your blinders on and not be influenced by other things you’ve seen or read. Everyone’s goals are going to be very very different and everyone’s season of life is also very very different.
Have Realistic Expectations
This is a little different than goal-setting. Having realistic expectations requires a mindset shift because we can be extremely hard on ourselves.
One of the biggest things to remember here is that your seasons of life as a parent are going to change, and they’re gonna change a lot.
For me, working one-handed while cluster-feeding a newborn is a distant memory but that might be your reality right now. It won’t last forever. Mommy shamers love to tell you that you’re not bonding with your baby if you’re not gazing into their beautiful eyes every time you nurse. It’s ok if you get some work done or read a book while you’re feeding.
Neurodivergent parenting is another season that is going to vary. Every day is different and unpredictable so I’ve had to adjust my expectations a lot as I’ve navigated this adventure.
There are so many different seasons as a parent. Your situation is very different from the next person’s. Just when you think you’ve got it down, a new season pops up. It’s just the way it is, nothing lasts forever.
When you start to feel your expectations wreaking havoc in your nervous system, go back to the goals you’ve set and check in with how everyone is feeling. You might find that you’re doing just fine.
Create a Life-Friendly Schedule
As with everything, time management is going to be different for everyone. Creating a family-friendly schedule that works for your life and your business is key.
Online narratives love to make you feel bad if you work nights and weekends. That’s only a problem if it’s making you miss out on life experiences that you don’t want to miss.
On the rare chill weekend we have, I LOVE to sit down with my laptop and get some work done for my business. I don’t do client work, just my own. It makes me happy and my kids are at ages where they like to do their own thing so it works out well for us.
If being more present for your family during the day and working nights and some weekends is what works for your family, you do you and don’t let anyone make you feel like it’s wrong.
Time-Blocking, Redefined
When you think about time blocking, you might automatically think of a schedule like:
- 8-9: get ready for the day
- 9-10: check/respond to emails, set a plan for the day
- 10-10:30: Client A work
- 10:30-11:30: Client B work
- 11:30-12: Client C work
- 12-12:30: lunch
- 12:30-2: sales calls
- 2-3: client check-ins
Needless to say, that’s not what we’re talking about here. If there’s anything that you quickly learn as a parent, it’s that you have to be flexible because you never know what life is gonna throw at you.
My “work day” is from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Each day, my time blocking is different, based on my priorities. So for the first three hours, I might do client work and the remaining three hours, my own business. Or vice versa. If I have a light load for client work, we’re in-between launches, etc., I might do an hour of that and the rest of the day is mine.
When you consider your own chunks of time that routinely fit into your day-to-day, you can come up with some general time blocks. Instead of having a strict schedule that, let’s face it, very rarely works out, you can make generalized time blocks. Like:
- 6-9: morning routine
- 9-12: client work
- LUNCH
- 1-3: business work
- 3-5: after school routine
- 5-7: supper and clean-up
- 7-9: family and bedtime
You don’t have to plan every single minute. Having that type of time block schedule makes it easier to move things around if you need to.
I do client communication asynchronously so I don’t have to account for meetings, but if you do, you would have a set time for those and then the rest of your schedule can be swapped around as needed.
I also don’t take a lunch break. I usually eat while I’m working between 9-10 and then again at 1ish and I take other breaks like when I take my youngest to school for his afternoon session.
I might run errands or schedule appointments during that time. My days are pretty easy going because I’ve purposely made them that way. I spent many years cramming work into every pocket of time I could and I’m no longer available for that.
Again, your time blocks and how you fill them will look different, but this should give you an idea of how to come up with some realistic time blocks in a way that works best for you.
Bring Your Family Into Your Business
This idea is really fun because you’re bringing your family into your business and getting some outside opinions, but you’re also opening up the world of entrepreneurship to your kids.
That’s something near and dear to my heart because college is not the only option. If my kids want to go to college, that’s fine but there are also other options available to them so we like to keep an open mind.
You can bring your family into some brainstorming discussions during dinner. If your kids are old enough, you can even have them help with some business tasks.
Another huge benefit to this is if you have an online business it can be hard for your family to visualize what you do, so bringing them into your business can help with that! Unlike a product based business, they’re not seeing things like inventory and outgoing packages in the mail, so bringing them into your business world can help them better understand what you do.
I love asking my kids what they think I should do or asking them to help me make choices. Sure, I usually get “idk” but I like that I’m instilling the belief that their opinion matters.
Build a Support System
I cannot stress enough how important it is to find a support system in other parents and solopreneurs. They understand what it’s like. Your family and friends mean well, but if they aren’t in the trenches alongside you, it’s hard to fully grasp what you’re juggling.
Your ‘preneur support system is there to pick you up when you are about to give it all up. They’re there to give advice and support based on their experiences but also what they’ve learned along the way. They’re also there to just BE there.
Finding a solid support system can be tough, but when you find your people, it’s so rewarding. You help them, they help you, and you all just generally support and encourage each other. Having extra brains to bounce ideas around is priceless!
If you’re not sure HOW to find an entrepreneurial support system, you can begin to find your people in places like Facebook groups, paid programs/memberships you’re in, and other social media. Sometimes putting a call out on social media can help you reel in people who you vibe with.
It may take some time and those relationships don’t always work out, but when they do, it is incredibly helpful for everyone.
Balance is subjective
Remember: there are no two experiences that are the same. Everyone has their own definition of balance along with their own struggles, triumphs, and lives in general.
The goal here is for you to start being more intentional about how YOU define balance. Setting goals that are realistic to your life and developing your own version of a schedule or routine will help you work out how to juggle all the plates.
