5 Practical Tips For Juggling Motherhood

5 Practical Tips For Juggling Motherhood And Running A Business Without Burnout.

I have been a business owner going on four years now and one thing I can say is that running a business while juggling motherhood is no small feat or as Nigerians would say “no be beans” which is a way of basically saying is it hard.

I run my online business DIGI-MOM which is a content and social media marketing brand that provides content services for busy women who struggle with content creation.

I provide services such as content writing for their blog and social media, I’m into video editing, which is for long and short form video content, I go all the 9s with content from ideation to creation and even designs and of course social media management.

I enjoy the work I do, not because of the money but because of the impact I’m able to give through my work. It makes me happy to see that my work is making a difference in someone brand, this is a big flex for me.

My business kicked off when my second child was between 5 -6 months or thereabouts and I remember vividly my first job and client and my biggest worry at the time was “how would I show up for this client and show up for my kids?”. This wasn’t something I had done before, so I guess my worries were valid.

I was petrified but thanks to my husband, he was able to show me and encourage me that I could do it, and I did! That job wasn’t even exhausting because it was a media department with different people responsible for different things and mine was solely social media management for Instagram and Facebook.

However what has changed in this present time in my business is that I’m a lot of things for my business and this is the reality for most moms in business. We do it all and this is not the easiest thing if you are not outsourcing some of your tasks.

What this means is that I’m the customer service representative, the content creator, account, content manager, etc for my business while showing up for my clients in their business as well! Let’s not forget my role as mommy which is the most important because I have a family and little ones who depend on me.

However, I’m been blessed (I consider this a blessing) to work for women who are mothers themselves. This means they understand what it is like and feels like running their own business or building their personal brand while mommying full time, because motherhood is not something you can outsource, it just does not work that way.

So if you are new in business or you find it hard balancing motherhood and your business, you are in luck because I’m here to share how I achieve balance as a mother and a business owner.

The Working Tips

1. Take on what you can finish:
My business is a freelance kind of business model, so something that works for me, that I do, is take on clients that I can manage at a time. I have made that mistake in the past and I paid dearly for it because at the end of the day it cost me more than the money I got paid and let’s not forget the mental exhaustion that comes with handling way more than you should.

2. Outsource What Feels Overwhelming:
Most of my clients came to me because they had so much on their plate and it had become so exhausting and overwhelming for them that they needed more time for their own personal needs. So figure out that thing in your business that seem to be taking away your peace and getting you worked up, making you lash out or overwhelmed and find someone to take on those task for you. There comes a time in your business where you have to trade something for your peace and you may already be in that season. It could also be in your personal life and not necessarily your business. Think about this, What household chores can you outsource today that would give you more time to focus on your business?

3. Ask for help!
I recently got a job that required me to use tools that I hadn’t used before and it was a struggle for me me. This caused me to work slower and it affected my mental health and the work of other clients I have in my portfolio. I had to honestly tell my client I needed help because these were tools that I wasn’t familiar with and she was ready to help. When it was time to do the project myself I still encountered a few problems and had to ask my husband to help me figure things out because two heads are better that one right?

Asking for help not only saves you time but it also help you to create room for rest for yourself. Us moms are obsessed with doing things a certain way or have this idea that now one can do it like us or better and while this is somewhat true, it’s is not sustainable! Being a superwoman is nice and cool but not at the detriment of your wellbeing. Ask for help in your business and personal life, that’s one major way to hack work-life balance.

4. Take breaks:
I didn’t understand why people took breaks until recently, when both my kids fell ill at the same time and I had to go on an unplanned break to take care of them. The experience was an exhausting one and I even had to work in between for my sanity and I think it was there and then that I realised that I had a problem with taking breaks and I had to be honest with myself that this wasn’t an healthy way to show up for my family, myself and my clients because if I break down, they would all suffer for it and I wouldn’t want that.
So mama, you need to take breaks. I have come to now admire people who do this or announce they are going on breaks on their social media pages. I didn’t see the need for this before, but now I do.

Take break, slow down, and be mindful of your health, especially your mental health.

5. Do what works for you and your family.
Your business is important and so is your family but what is more important for you? You get to define that, no one else.

For me, my family is way more important. I want a successful business but I don’t want my family to suffer neglect because I chose to focus more on my business than them.

Finding balance for me mean chosing what comes first for you and the finding strategies that helps string together other equally important things in your life.

I’d love to know what balance means to you and what practical strategies shared here you’d like to implement.

Join us and join the conversation both here and on Instagram!