As a parent, you are likely a pretty busy person. After all, caring for kids is no easy feat. From driving to ballet class to cleaning peanut butter off the walls, there are a great many tasks expected of parents.
Unfortunately, this makes running a home-based business quite difficult. Still, if starting your own small business is your dream, there is no reason you shouldn’t be able to work through the difficulties and come through victorious.
Use the pointers below to navigate the trials of simultaneous parenthood and business ownership, and you will be well on your way to success.
1. Schedule Your Time
Attempting to get work done while the kids run wild around the house is not likely to go over very well. Therefore, it is crucial that work-from-home parents set a schedule and stick with it.
This schedule should include dedicated work time, and that work time must be uninterrupted. Of course, we all know that uninterrupted time is pretty hard to come by when you are a mother or a father, so creativity may need to come into play. Nap time, late nights after bedtime, early mornings before everyone wakes up, or a time of day, when your spouse is home to help, could all work well. Another option is to hire a sitter during the time you prefer to work.
In addition to scheduled work time, it is also a good idea to include play time in your schedule. After all, the best part about working from home is the opportunity to spend more time with your family. Take advantage of it!
2. Automate Marketing
You know that scheduled free time we just mentioned? There is a way you can continue to grow your business even while you are playing with Lego blocks or when you’re headed to the zoo.
Automated marketing strategies make it possible for social media posts and newsletters to go out while you are doing something far away from any computer or other electronic device. This means that you can spend one evening scheduling your marketing solutions and spend the next several days free from such tasks.
3. Make Monitoring Easy
Of course, it is a good idea to monitor the success of your marketing strategies, as well as other parts of your business. Because this can become time-consuming, it is important to make customer feedback monitoring as quick and easy as possible. This can be done with certain programs that are designed for this very purpose, and they will make your life as a business owner much less stressful.
4. Work Ahead
Being a parent means making time for your kids no matter what is going on with work. Unfortunately, this can be difficult to do when you are the owner of a business, making situations such as sick days even less fun to deal with.
You can avoid some of the stress that comes with these situations by always working ahead. Working ahead means that missing a day or two of work won’t hurt your business too much, and it will make playing catch-up a lot less miserable.
5. Hire Help
Nobody can do everything, and nobody expects you to. If you are feeling overwhelmed with your workload, be sure to find the help you need. A personal assistant can do data entry, make phone calls, send emails, and even book your family vacation. This leaves you free to take care of the tasks that only you can complete.
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