Any moms that own their own buisness?

[LazyDaisy]

I am a single mother. I have a great paying 9-5 job with benefits. Although I am financially secure here, I am bored to death. I used to be very busy but all the projects have died down and I literally have about an hour of work a day. I have been looking for another job in this profession for over a year. I have had no luck at all. The only choice I can see is to open my own business. I should have enough money to do so in about 6 months. The problem is I know that in the beginning I will have to spend my days and nights making my business successful. That will mean a lot less time with my son.

 

I don't know what to do. I feel like I can't live like this much longer. I am wasting my life sitting in an office doing nothing all day. I want to pursue my passion but will that make me a bad parent?

 

I'm interested in hearing from any moms that have busy careers. How do you handle it? Who watches your children? Do you feel guilty?

[jordesse]

Hi there. How old is your son? I successfully managed to run my business as well as having four kids. Right through pregnancy and birth, I managed the business by taking the kids with me. I set up a play area in the back room of the office in my line of sight and involved the kids in as much "work" as I could. As in, when my oldest was around 3, he would sit at a desk next to me and play on a computer, draw or paint. I would let him help such as shredding paper etc. The kids loved it and nine times out of ten, they were happy just playing amongst themselves. I always took a half an hour at morning tea and an hour for lunch to take the kids outside to the park to run around with them. I also had some bean bags for them to nap on.

I guess it all depends on what kind of business you are thinking of starting? If it is something that is an unsafe environment for kids, that might be tough but if your son is in school all day, I think he would be old enough to still be with you? Maybe have a desk for him to do his homework at after school as well as a computer?

I felt I had the best of both worlds with this arrangement as none of my kids had to go to day care. Being you're own boss gives you the flexibility needed for raising kids.

I wholeheartedly urge you to follow your dreams and pursue your passion! Your son will be very proud of you, and it will set a great example to him and show him that he never has to settle for a mundane and boring career. You will also probably be a better mother for it as being happy and fulfilled in your career will flow over to other areas of your life. Go for it!!

[LazyDaisy]

Thank you! That is what I needed to hear!

[sidehop]

My wife owned her business since she was 19 before moving onto a completely different products/service. She basically started out doing pet sitting/walking and house cleaning. It was a full time job for her but of course she made very good money with just word of mouth advertising. Her new business of course is brick & mortar store after starting small with an online store for the products.

 

I own a PT business too and we find the business is ALWAYS on your mind. 24/7 sometimes to the point of needing to keep a strict schedule or you'll go crazy worrying about emails, responding to customers, ideas that's constantly hounding you but you just have to balance that time. Sure, we could be doing this at home and lose sleep over and make extra money but IMO it's not worth it especially if you already have a family. I'm sure being a single mom alone is challenging so juggling schedules and running a business will mean a lot of planning. But it can be done obviously, everyone has their schedule that work.

 

Like a work schedule I would have a strict schedule for yourself. The worst thing to do is run a business that cut into family time and losing valuable time. We found this the hard way with computers in the house. Now, we don't have computers (only at her store) and try to unplug by 7PM if we're home. Otherwise nothing gets done if not our daughter gets upset because she knows we're not playing with her or doing things together.

 

Start out small and work with what you have is what my wife always says. It may take 2-3 years to see clients build up and get actual cashflow but as long as you're passionate about your business and love your business, everything else will fall into place.

[quirky]

I am a great believer in people following their passions no matter how crazy they might be. I grew up in a family of self employed people. My mum used to take us with her (had a small factory with my uncle) and we used to go to my dad's business too and just kill time. Yeah, sure it would have been great to play with my mum or have cooked meal on the table every day but she was busy and that's the way it was and she has provided great inspiration for both me and my sister. We used to clean the house from ages 5 because my mum was working, single mother.

 

You can make it happen if you have a plan, read a couple of books on entrepreneurship and get support at your local council. In the UK they run workshops for starting entrepreneurs or seminars at the business library. Also join groups of other self employed people or business women, they tend to do networking events. Don't worry about your son. We did miss our mum a bit but what we learned from seeing her work her way up and following a passion was extraordinary, she is my hero.

 

It's true you never switch off when you have your own business but you can find ways around that, I find Dave Cheong's blog very helpful for that.

 

I support it 100%, go for it ! !

[Natasha24]

My sister started her own small daycare. She gets to spend all day with her son and makes enough money to get by. I think you should follow your dreams. Is there a way you can continue working your 9-5 job, while getting your business started? Then, once it takes off, you can quit your boring job and don't have to worry about finances.

[LazyDaisy]

Thanks everyone. I wish my family was as supportive. My mom is totally against it because she knows she will have to babysit. I'm trying to convice her that it won't be forever. That once my business is going ok I will have employees that can work the nights and weekends.

 

I know that I want to do this. I just have to get financing. I tried a year ago and was denied, but I am going to keep saving. I was denied since I am a one income household and I would have to quit my job to start my business. Hopefully if I show them that I have enough savings to live on for 3 years, I will get approved. I'm almost there.