Oh, the trials and tribulations of being an entrepreneur while also being a mom — a.k.a., a mompreneur!
Starting and running a business while starting and running a family certainly takes certain traits — persistence, passion, flexibility (lots of it!), and the ability to juggle. Sounds like an ad for the circus… don’t laugh, in some ways it’s one and the same! In fact, if I had not been pregnant, my company would not be in existence today. Ideas and concepts many times come from our own real-life experiences as well as needs or voids we identify.
There can be huge benefits to starting a business while raising a family — just as many as there are challenges. Here are a few tips.
My Top 3 Tips for Becoming a Successful Mompreneur
I think the most important thing in setting out to start your own business while being a mom is developing a plan of action that you can actually achieve. It takes a lot of dedication, time, and energy to successfully get a business off the ground, whether you have kids or not. It just becomes more complex when you have little human beings relying on you for love, attention, and everyday necessities like food and clothes!
1. Passion + Concept
My biggest advice when starting a business first and foremost is ensuring that there’s passion behind the concept. In other words, it’s not just because you always dreamed of having your own business, but that your idea is something that you can’t stop thinking about and dreaming about how to make a reality.
After the concept for my brand came to me, I spent months researching, thinking, and dreaming of how to bring a portfolio of the safest remedies for pregnancy, nursing, and beyond to market and forge a new category of business at retail, prenatal care.
2. Create healthy work/home boundaries
Set guidelines for how you envision juggling work and family — it’s different for everyone. I knew that with my business, I had to be working full time in order to get it off the ground and sometimes traveling and spending weekends in stores promoting and advocating for my brand.
But it also gave me the flexibility to drive my kids to school in the morning and spend time with them before I tucked them into bed. I plan my day so that I work as efficiently as possible and am able to leave in time to see my family. Those are the guidelines that I have set for myself.
3. Get help
Set up a strong support system. I know (okay, I have learned) that I can’t do it all. Ensure that you have people who are willing and able to help when you need it.
It’s okay to send out an SOS every now and again. I am lucky that my husband is extremely supportive of me and the business. I try to be respectful of his time, and he knows that if I can’t get home in time, it’s for a very good cause.
Just know that starting a business is not easy, glamorous, or a great stress reducer; however, it is rewarding, educational, and often fun. I wouldn’t change a thing right now.
Rachel Katz-Galatt is the CEO and founder of healthymamabrand.com.
