There are 2 very different groups when it comes to mothers: those who work and those who do not. 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 make it work 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 day care. She now runs her mother-daughter online 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 help other women who want to own 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 business owners, manage to balance work and family life:
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 childcare we have chosen for them. They are happy to play with friends and participate in activities throughout the day that I couldn’t provide for them at home while I’m trying 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 client while I’m pouring milk and playing CandyLand. For my children and for me it is important that I be her caregiver 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 including 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 able to be home to them when they get off the bus and have their after school snack ready. This is something I never had as a kid and I enjoy doing it for my kids. I don’t work at all at night, that’s my quality time with my family. But, after everyone 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 on 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 I can be found packing lunches and folding laundry into 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’m afraid 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 running a successful business and making money so important to them? And that’s where the line for me gets blurred. Pretty much everything I do is for my family (I even take a break, since I’m a much more ‘nice’ mom after a lunch or nail-doing outing), 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 didn’t have this balance for so many years and I want my children to learn that there is more to life than work, work, work. But, at the same time, it is important to work hard. I hope that if you see me doing both, it 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 take care of themselves and who do not have to depend on anyone for the things they want in life. As a younger woman, all I wanted from life was to get married and have children. As I matured, I was fueled by my entrepreneurial spirit and supported by my family to try out my ideas. I hope that my ambition and desire to have a family and an identity of my own will be something that my children 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 have even been known to fly my mom from Pittsburgh in a heartbeat!
Mom 2 – I have no family in the area and feel a strange (and often irritating) ownership of my home and its condition. I don’t like having others in my house to help clean, it makes me feel like I’m lazing around. It gets overwhelming at times, but we keep it together as a family. My husband and kids take care of themselves, and we all have specific chores 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 who do what we think is best for our children. I would be an 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 kids 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.