02: The Kids & Business Juggling Act
“Having kids is a life-changing experience, so is having a business.”
In this episode, we share some interesting stories and key learnings that helped us keep our sanity while raising our three boys and running a business at the same time.
Although it’s always a juggle, and at times, both the business and kids will give you sleepless nights and demand an arm and a limb in terms of money, commitment and energy, it is possible to raise healthy kids and run a business!
In the early years, the whole experience was a complete blur as we built the business around babies. There was a constant need to juggle roles and Sarah shares as a mum, wife and business woman, the “Boundaries were blurred, everything was very exhausting.”
The way we overcame that is through being flexible, we’d bring the kids along for the deliveries, and the help from family and friends was invaluable as it allowed us to do most of the necessary work while the kids were in daycare.
One major hurdle we had to tackle was that business was always front of mind, at least for one of us, even after the work day ended. It was hard for Sarah to switch off after she came home, and as a result, she felt and battled with mother’s guilt on top of it all. “That would be natural for a lot of mums, having a business or not – you feel you need to be there more for the kids.”
The key to that problem was just forcing herself to step away from the business, making the family a priority, rather than the business driving everything is what it all boils down to. In order to do that, the top three tips we learned from our journey so far are:
- Mindset shift – Create necessary structures, procedures and hire staff in business so you free up more time of your day.
- Know when to change hats – Have clearly defined boundaries for your working hours and family hours and stick to them. “Once you’re juggling multiple identities, business owner, wife, mom, father, you can move through them with greater ease once you’ve got those boundaries set.”
- Schedule time with the kids – One-on-one quality time is important, whether it’s driving them to school instead of them taking the bus, or going on a park run every Sunday morning, it’s really beneficial for the whole family.
“There’s no perfect time to start a family or a business, you just gotta go for it and trust that everything will fall into place. If you’re trying for kids, just pray for the perfect opportunity and timing for your baby to come into the world. Business will come and go, but your children are your life and that’s what really matters the most.”
Credits:
Ryan Butler (Music)
Wes Butler (Logo & Branding)