Do you feel overwhelmed and exhausted? Like you’re always trying to catch up on work, housework, family life, and you can never quite get on top of it, let alone find “balance”?

Well, we need to talk.

I’ve been a mum and business owner for a few years. Now that I have a baby, a toddler, and a business to manage, all under one roof, I feel like I have a thing or two to say about the realities of balancing life and business and how to make it work.

This is hardly the first blog ever written about balance and combining the mum/biz stuff. But I’m keen to share what’s worked for me with the hope that it reaches someone at the exact right moment of overwhelm and exhaustion to make a huge difference for them. So here goes…

LET’S TALK ABOUT BALANCE

As a mum, time is precious and the balance is hard enough, even without a biz! Most mums in business are juggling:

• Childcare
• Cooking and meal prep
• Housework and chores
• Working in the business
• Working on the business
• Taking care of their own needs

But kids are a full-time job, and a business never sleeps. And just like everybody else, you only get 24 hours in a day! It’s no wonder balance is always out of reach! So in reality, you get to pick one or two things on that list you can get right on any given day.

Then you find yourself looking up from the post you’ve just crafted for social media with one hand (while breastfeeding your baby) and you realise they’ve been staring at you, waiting for your attention for the last 5 minutes. Or you get frustrated with the toddler who has SO many needs because you’ve been trying to call a client all morning but they won’t leave you in peace.

And instead of feeling like supermum for doing #allthethings and balancing everyone’s needs, you feel like you’re failing at everything. Hello, mum guilt!

BUT SHOULDN’T I BE GRATEFUL?

Even though this struggle with balance and mum guilt is so common, it’s not commonly talked about. Maybe we don’t want others to know we haven’t got it all together. Or maybe we don’t want to seem ungrateful.

Because as a mum in business, aren’t we basically living the dream?

We’ve got freedom, flexibility, the power to earn money while staying at home with our kids and doing ALL the things… aren’t we just so #blessed?

Hmmm. It doesn’t always feel like it!

FROM NAPTIME HUSTLE TO BURNOUT

When you’re a mum, it’s rare to do the 9-5 workday. So many mums in business actually run the show during naptimes, late at night, and daycare/school hours. And that’s not such a bad thing if it works for you – actually, I find it to be quite empowering that we can enjoy this flexibility.

But flexibility is key. If we need to use every moment our children don’t need us to keep the business going, it’s not sustainable.

Because when there’s no breathing room in your schedule, it can be quite easy to get knocked off course by a sick kid, an evening gymnastics presentation, or when your body finally forces you to stop working all the time.

I think it’s okay to do the #naptimehustle if you want to, but if it’s the only way you can run your business it will lead to burnout.

Mama, you need time for YOU, too!

Wouldn’t it be nice to use these little pockets of time for self-care? And doing things like taking a long shower (remember those?), meditation, filling your own cup, going to get a massage, and the list goes on…

I’m not saying you have to drop the naptime work sessions, but start looking at them differently so you structure your biz so you have the choice to work, or not work. And it should all come back to your why…

WHY DID YOU GET INTO BUSINESS IN THE FIRST PLACE?

For me and so many other soulful biz owners, having a business isn’t just to earn money. It’s our sanity. It’s a chance to use our brains, creativity, and passion to bring more good into the world.

And beyond that, we’re in it so we can spend precious time with family and have the flexibility to do what we want, when we want.

It’s time to ask some tough questions:

• Is your business really serving you?
• Have you got to the point where you’ve achieved your “why”?
• How’s your self-care lately?
• Have you created long-term value and assets for your business in the last 3 months?

The thing is, your business MUST be able to carry its own weight and tick along on its own, otherwise you’ll burn out. Your kids will start doing things for themselves eventually, but unless you figure out your priorities and get some support, you’ll be stuck with a demanding newborn/toddler business forever… arghhh!

PRIORITISE WHAT’S IMPORTANT

Often the reality of trying to balance everyone’s needs is we put our own stuff last – including the bits of our biz that would create the biggest impact. Things like…

• A consistent social media presence
• Automated lead generation
• Automated lead nurturing
• Creating your own digital products

But because we’re so stuck in trying to balance everything in the day to day, there’s no time to stop, and no space to create something truly impactful. Even if we KNOW we need to create it!

So, how do we break free from the neverending naptime hustle and prioritise the important stuff?

GET THE SUPPORT YOU NEED

There’s this myth that being a mum in business means you have to do it all – the work, the kid stuff, the home stuff. But even if you wanted to do it all, you just physically can’t. Trust me.

I love this article>> from money mindset coach, Denise Duffield-Thomas where she talks about all the support she gets so she can run her business (with 3 young kids at home). Denise says, “Lots of people ask me how I balance it all (ah, the age-old question for successful women) and the honest answer is WITH SO MUCH PAID HELP.”

You don’t have to use paid help if your business isn’t ready yet, but you DO need some kind of support so your business can move beyond where it’s at right now. You might:

• Find your biz tribe
• Join supportive Facebook groups
• Do some local networking
• Co-work (even virtually)
• Outsource to a VA
• Get help around the house
• Order a meal delivery service
• Get some automation software

And just retrain yourself to stop doing all the things! Prioritise the stuff that brings you joy (like painting, writing that book or hanging with your loves) or the tasks that only you can do (like growing and evolving your business in line with your soul).

Everything else on your list needs to be removed, outsourced, or automated (my secret weapon!).

AUTOMATION = BALANCE ?

Balancing life, business, and motherhood is hard. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could clone yourself and be in two places at once? Well, with automation, you kind of can!

Once I set up automation in my business, I was able to: 

• Generate new leads while sleeping, cooking dinner, or hanging out at the park
• Nurture existing leads to get them ready to buy (without spending hours on sales calls)
• Create products and sell them over and over again
• Generate passive income
• Strategically plan my funnel instead of scrambling to create and share content in the moment
• Be more intentional about time spent marketing my business
• Be in the moment with my kids instead of trying to keep up with the demands of my business
• Say goodbye to naptime hustle (unless I really felt like working)

And the good news is, if I can do it with a baby and a toddler, it’s totally achievable for you, too.

YOU’VE GOT THIS.

Yes, motherhood and business is hard and balance can feel like an impossible goal. It’s normal to struggle with prioritising the important stuff and you’re definitely not alone.

But it doesn’t have to be this hard forever. Your business can support your vision and your why! You’ll just need more support (and automation) to get it to that point.

Find out how I can help here >>

Remember, if I can do it (with a toddler, new baby, and business) so can you!

You’ve got this!

– Claire