Stay at Home Mom; Stay at Home Entrepreneur

I have seen a sharp increase in the percentage of young women entering our entrepreneurship programs. For those young adults between 18-25, family and parenthood are critical elements of how they plan to view their success in life. Many of them believe that they can create a better balance between their family and professional aspirations through entrepreneurship. Many young mothers are looking to home-based businesses to achieve the an ideal balance.
Any home-based business creates challenges in setting up boundaries between work and family. StartupJournal has a feature on a young mother who has found some simple rules to help make this balance work:
– Teaching the kids to respect the office and work time.
I like to call this the “Beaver Cleaver’s Dad Rule.” On the old Leave it to Beaver TV show Beaver’s Dad, Ward Cleaver, had this formal office in their home. The kids knew to only go in their when invited, and if they were invited it was usually because they were in trouble.
– Keeping office stuff in the office.
This rule applies to both the parent and the kids. The stay-at-home-parent needs to have clear boundaries between their “work place” and the rest of the home. The kids need to learn that all of the cool stuff in their parent’s office is not for their latest art project.
– Controlling the phone.
One of the cute things most three year olds do is to try to answer the phone. They learn by imitating their parents. When there is also a business phone in the home, this cute trick can lead to embarrassing moments. Using a dedicated cell phone for the business line that only the working parent controls is one way to help get around this issue.
– Maintaining a schedule.
Set clear hours for “going to work,” even if it is only in the next room.
– Managing client perceptions.
Eventually the kids will make enough noise to be heard over the phone. Let customers know that “home” is where you work up front.
– Staying motivated.
It is easy to get distracted when working at home. Playing with your spouse and the kids can sound like a lot more fun than the project you are working on. But, remember that your business is important for the family. It helps to pay the bills.