Management Tips for Mumpreneurs

The word Mumpreneur is a bit of a buzz word at the moment but like all cliches and buzzwords, it has gained traction because it’s real. Mumpreneurs are a tremendous growth sector in Australia and overseas and according to the ABS, women are three times more likely than men to have the confidence to start their own business. And the Huggies MumInspired Research Report revealed that some 70 per cent of Australian mothers have thought about starting a business after having kids. Lets face it – once you’ve had a baby you feel like Wonderwoman – you can do anything!

For many women, the idea of going back to full time corporate roles after having children isn’t terribly appealing, once the cost of childcare and travel expenses and the time away from home is calculated, but they have the skills and energy and passion that can be channelled into their own ventures. As well as giving you time to care for your family, being a Mumpreneur offers a huge raft of other advantages over a salaried role.

Of course, being a Mumpreneur still means having deadlines and expectations and demands of your time and focus so we’ve set out our best tips for Mumpreneurs juggling family and business:

1.       Consider working from a Co-Working Space

If you find working from home too distracting why not set aside a day or two a week to rent a hot desk in a Co-Working space and knuckle down for 8 hours? You’ll be within a community of like-minded entrepreneurs and you can access all their meeting rooms/high speed internet/get dressed and go to work. Many Co-Working spaces have childcare or crèches onsite.

2.        Work when its work time

Set aside the hours you need to work each week and work within them. Don’t get distracted by wandering off in the middle of the day and doing some laundry or baking a cake. Its hard and doesn’t add to that “living the dream feeling”, but focusing and treating your business like an employer you want to impress will be what will see you succeed over your competitors.

3.       Buy a slow cooker

You may find some days just go so fast having a hot nutritious meal cooking for you while you work is like having a chef at home….. sort of.

4.       Hire a cleaner

Might feel a bit indulgent at first but consider it this way – paying someone else $30 an hour to clean your house should free you up to make a lot more than $30 an hour in your business. If you work from home some of the cost may be tax deductible and having that taken care of will give you some free time to spend with the kids instead.

5.       Take care of you

That means good food, take a lunchbreak and sit outdoors for 20 mins, take a walk with the dog before work or do some yoga after – whatever takes your fancy. But remember you’re balancing a big load – home, business, baby, partner, friends etc. You can’t do it all if you’re not well and in small business sometimes there’s no one to pass the ball to when you fall ill. So scheduling in time for yourself is vital.

Article by Danni Guerreiro, Rock-A-Bye Baby Equipment Hire.