Is Mompreneur Balance Possible?

Are you a mom or are you an entrepreneur?

 Do we have to pick just one? No.We are Mompreneurs and we choose both. The term “Mompreneur” describes a multi-tasking mother who can find some sense of balance with both the stresses of running a home-based business as an entrepreneur, and the time-consuming duties of motherhood. 

Mom + Entrepreneur.

As if the two were not challenging enough on their own, why would anyone choose to combine them? The answer is passion. It is drive. It is a dream that needs to be brought to life. The life of a Mompreneur is not an easy one. It’s a constant juggling act, ensuring one of the many responsibility balls doesn’t come crashing down. There's that conference call scheduled right during dinner time when your husband is traveling for work.You committed to volunteer at your child’s school but your client is only in town for one day. Is it possible to find balance in the chaos?  

Here are 5 ways to make it work:

1. Allow yourself to fail

What? Fail?! Yes, failure can often be the key to success. We are taught our whole lives that failure is a bad thing and it can be, but sometimes, it is what we need to gain success. There are simply not enough hours in the day for everything. If you create unrealistic expectations as either a mom or entrepreneur, you will constantly feel like you are letting others down. Including yourself. When you allow yourself to let one of those balls drop, the pressure comes off and you realize you are human and imperfect like everyone else.   

2. Don’t over-promise or over-schedule

• Committing to too many endeavors is going to lead to immense stress and the possibility of under-delivering.
• If you are missing deadlines at work, are constantly disappointing your kids, have bills piling up that are now late and are five loads behind in your wash, it’s time to scale back.
• If you are not able to give 100% to one thing, you are not being fair to that one thing.
• You are not valuable to anyone if you are not 100% there.
• You may be able to fake it for a while, but soon your child will notice, your business will suffer and your home responsibilities will become an out of control mess.
• It’s okay to say no to something, even if you feel guilty about it.
• Why are we so afraid to say “no”?
• Claiming the role of the “yes” person leaves you ragged and everyone ends up happy but you.
• When you start to realize you are only one person and simply cannot do it all, you find that people actually understand and are human just like you.

 Prioritize, and never lose sight of what's important.   

3. Learn from your mistakes

When you do fail, and you will, take advantage of the opportunity to learn from your mistakes. If you were a Mommy Disaster today, figure out what went wrong and make changes for tomorrow. If you made a bad business decision, do what you can to ensure you don’t make that same choice again in the future. If you let someone down in your family, apologize and see to it that you don't make the same mistake again. Just as we tell our kids, everyone makes mistakes. And mistakes, are simply lessons in disguise.   

4. Be prepared for the ride as it gets bumpy

Anything worth having comes in the form of a challenge. Know that with this dual role, you will be pulled in a million different directions and find yourself yearning for just a few extra hours, minutes, or even seconds in your day just to get it all done. Mompreneurs work their butts off and hear a lot of “no’s”, yet they never stop trying. It may seem like you are always working on something, because you are. It can get overwhelming pretty fast. Find “me” time to refresh yourself when necessary.   

5. Be a positive Role Model

If you're lucky enough to gain success as a Mompreneur, embrace it. Share your success stories, and encourage other women to do the same. Knowing that others are watching, trying to emulate your accomplishments and drive, will keep you going when you're ready to quit. Even though you may have not slept, have laundry and deadlines piling up, and you're wondering why you're continuously torturing yourself by taking too much on- others will see you as their motivation to get started on their own dreams and aspirations. Just as someone inspired you, whether your children or another woman, the torch has been passed and it’s now your duty to do the same. Remember that there is no perfect person or perfect parent. Being a Mompreneur is a tough gig. Give yourself a pat on the back once in a while and allow yourself the credit you deserve. Your kids see how hard you work and while you may have bad days, they view you as their hero every day!  

How do you find a sense of balance as a Mompreneur? Let us know in the comments.