Building a Business While Being a Full-time Mom and Employee
It was 12 AM when I decided to become an entrepreneur. My daughter finally fell asleep after throwing a massive (when are they not) tantrum and I laid in bed with her in my arms thinking “Is this really it for my life?” Don’t get it twisted — I love being a mom. But I have had The Nguyen Method in my head for 2 years and I was tired of letting it live rent-free constantly thinking “what if”. At the time, I was also working over 10 hours a day for my employer and I felt the need to work on my own passions and dreams. That night, I got up and designed my logo, built my website, and put action into my business plan. Nothing’s let up since then and I’ve been in this process of building and flying the plane at the same time.
How do I juggle building a business while being a full-time single mom and employee? I want to get straight to the point and tell you that it isn’t easy. Even on the best days, there are hard moments. But from experience and difficult times comes beautiful growth and meaningful life changes. Take it from me — start your business even if you don’t feel totally ready. Because no matter if you’re juggling it in between everything else now or later, the art of constructing something that’s truly your own, brick by brick, will ultimately always require your time, attention, and energy. If you have an idea in your head, get it out on paper and into the world.
I’ve put together some helpful tips that have benefited me and will set you up for success if you’re on this path as well.
Get help: This sounds obvious. However, as moms, we want to be supermoms and do it all, so we don't seek help from others. It's okay to ask for help. It is actually necessary. Pulling those 15-20 hour days will not be easy doing it all yourself. I’m still guilty of this especially with my daughter going through an attachment phase. I have learned that it’s impossible to be a one woman show when it comes to my mommy duties. Find reliable people/family to assist. It truly takes a village.
Balance it All: Create boundaries! Block off time for what you want to get to in your day. If you decide to work until 6 PM for your job, your mentality for every non-critical email that comes in afterwards has to be "that's for tomorrow" while you spend time with your baby or work on your business instead. We all aspire to have that work-life balance and it’s easier said than done. But in practice, balancing really means prioritizing what is important to you and what needs to get done. Some days I’ll follow a schedule while other days are a bit more chaotic trying to get through my to-do list.
Take Lots of Breaks: Businesses are not built overnight and you're way more effective with proper rest, anyway. Take as many breaks as your heart desires. Who is going to tell you that you can't clock out when it's your business? For me, this doesn’t have to be a full clean break and going out of office for the day. Even on weekends when I’ve decided to be fully away from my computer, I try to do one thing for The Nguyen Method. It’s not a physical thing like creating content or working with a client, but rather thinking through a new idea or innovation that inspires me.
Build Your Tribe: Get your advisory board together. These are the people you can trust and go to for advice. Look for friends and mentors with backgrounds in marketing, education, finance, law and business. Of course, your baby can join too. When I have a successful meeting or win a new client I’ll clap my hands and scream “yay”, and my daughter joins in. It’s nice to have a teammate even if she’s totally lost and doesn’t get what’s going on.
Accept Growth and Change: It will be natural to feel like you're failing in some areas while building your business. You are not failing. You are growing and learning, while figuring out a lot on your own. Don't let doubt take over because it’s very easy for that to happen when things go south. This is all a learning experience and you'll come out a better mom, employee, and boss. Trust the process. Trust your process.
This blog post was put together on a Sunday afternoon while my little one took her mid-day nap. I should go now and put my mommy hat on. Tomorrow, I’ll layer on my employee and entrepreneur hats as well.
Lots of love to working moms struggling to figure it all out in this time. You’re all special superheros.