For most women who give birth to children and a business, there is no such thing as achieving balance in the traditional sense. In fact, “balancing act” is a better term to describe the life of most mompreneurs.
Balance between family and work can be tough for any working mom to achieve, but common mistakes that interfere with finding a healthy balance, can be easily avoided. The three most common traps a work-at-home mom can fall into are:
- Becoming a shut-in
- Acting as if the business is all yours, therefore, “hands off”
- Passing along your own feelings of guilt
The Catch 22 of Being a Mompreneur
“When I'm working, I feel like I should be with my kids. But when I'm with my kids, I feel like I should be working." Sound familiar? Most working moms, regardless of whether they work from home, or outside the home, feel this way.
This sense guilt can run deep for work-at-home moms who may feel obligated to succeed at everything, all at once, because they made the choice to work from home. Mompreneurs enter into self-employment for three basic reasons that can all lead to guilt:
- Generate income to provide for the needs of their family
- To be able to spend more time with their children
- Feel good about something they are accomplishing
Now, let’s look at the quandary this creates for mom small business owners:
- New businesses usually do not produce significant income right away.
- Establishing and running a business takes time away from children and family life.
- Feeling pulled in so many different directions can make you feel like you are failing at everything, rather than succeeding at something.
Leave the Guilt for Late-Night Ice Cream Binges
Providing for your family is not something to feel bad about, and you should never make those you are providing for feel bad about it, either. A defensive, “I’m doing this for you” will deepen your own guilt; it will not gain you family support when meeting a tight deadline. As soon as those words are uttered, children and spouses will immediately feel as if they are being resented, not benefitting in any way from your work.
If you feel the need to defend what you are doing, quilt is speaking, and guilt can quickly turn into resentment. Instead of feeling bad about all the things you are not doing, focus on the things that you are accomplishing, no matter how small they seem.
When Steve Pavlina decided to make a million dollars as part of a psychological and Internet “experiment,” he preceded his business objective with a positive statement of how he would approach his goal:
In an easy and relaxed manner, in a healthy and positive way, in its own perfect time, for the highest good of all, I intend $1 million to come into my life.
After Pavlina made his first dollar, he celebrated by placing a smiley face on his blog after he posted, “One $ down, $999,999 to go.” One dollar may sound like a disappointing start, but he focused on what he had accomplished and decided to keep on going. If he could make one dollar, he could make more. Pavlina later amended his mission to include others and reports that his “Million Dollar Experiment” has now netted $5,677,075.71 to 1,599 active participants.
Do you have a work-life balance tip for other women? Share Your Tip!
