work life balance

Did you know that out of 27,2 small businesses in the U.S. almost 9,9 are women-owned? What this stat doesn’t explicitly say is that among these female entrepreneurs, there are a lot of women who also have another equally (or even more important) job – they’re full-time moms. Running a small business is extremely demanding and challenging, and it’s only logical that you want to be fully involved in order to make sure that everything is taken care of properly and that your vision is followed down to the tiniest detail. Still, the number of commitments will grow, and this will eventually take its toll on your family life, not to mention that it will most definitely rob you of your “me” time, which is why outsourcing and asking for help is an absolutely valid and welcome option.

Use productivity tools

Every mompreneur knows that good organizational skills are the key to running everything from a household to a company. Luckily, these days when we’re blessed with all kinds of tech gadgets and widgets, it’s much easier to automate certain tasks. There are lots of helpful tools which you can use to boost your productivity, meaning that you’ll be able to work less and achieve more. Even if you’re a home-based SMB owner, it can be hard to manage your time effectively as you always have to juggle between business responsibilities and family chores. A good thing is that these tools, such as Slack, allow you to manage your team remotely and organize online meetings, while Trello lets you create a to-do list, prioritize your tasks, and see how each member of your team performs. When it comes to being a mom, although you can’t always be there for your kids and check whether they got to school on time, you can use an app like Pumpic, to monitor how they spend their online time and keep track of their whereabouts with the help of GPS.   

Go social

Social media platforms are frequently blamed for being counterproductive as many people use them for the wrong reasons. The truth is that you can leverage the power of Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn to help your small business thrive and to find a number of helpful communities in which you can read the latest news from your industry, connect with other business professionals, and get some good advice and support. One of the most important starting points when it comes to using social media platforms for your business is picking the right channels. Naturally, Facebook, with its 2.13 billion monthly active users from all around the world is a logical choice regardless of your industry. Instagram and Pinterest, as visually oriented social networks, offer a wide range of promotional possibilities for fashion companies, or those selling handcrafted jewelry or artisan goods. LinkedIn is inevitable if you’re in a B2B industry, as you’ll be able to get in touch with other professionals and potential clients very easily. Apart from being used for promotional activities, social media platforms are extremely effective when it comes to:

• Lead generation. You can use relevant keywords to identify prospects and leverage social media to nurture them;
• Customer service. More and more people turn to social media channels in order to get information about a product or service, as well as for troubleshooting. Keep your response times as short as possible and make sure to solve every issue as that will improve customer satisfaction and help you score tons of great PR;
• Engaging your customers. By providing great content and incentives, you’ll keep your audience engaged without having to use some expensive and time-consuming marketing strategies.

Use social media management tools, such as Buffer or Hootsuite, to post your content on a regular basis, schedule your posts in advance, and put things on autopilot.

Hire the best people for the job

Many small companies start as one-person businesses, but as they develop, more people are needed to keep things running. It can be hard to find someone who is your perfect match and who will be passionate and motivated as you are, but it’s not impossible. Sharing the reins of control with someone new, whom you don’t know yet, can be tricky, but it’s a necessary risk if you want to grow your business and have time to watch your kids grow too. The first thing on your priority list should be hiring a team of experts, that is, people who are skilled and experienced enough to be able to contribute to your thriving business. References and recommendations are the best methods for finding people you can trust your company with. Make sure to check out employment laws in order to understand your responsibilities and prevent some legal issues. Another useful tip about hiring a new employee is that you shouldn’t always listen to your gut instincts because 85% of people lie on their resumes. Do your research well before you welcome anyone aboard. Finally, set your expectations clearly and ask the same from your new employees, because communication is crucial for any successful business relationship.

Manage your money

Stats say that 82% of small businesses fail because of poor cash flow management. This is why you need to acquire some basic money management skills. However, since there are lots of things to deal with, such as delayed invoicing, taxes, paying bills, and various expenses, it’s best to hire a professional accountant. This way you’ll protect yourself from making bad financial decisions, and free up more time to spend with your family. However, even if you have your financial matters under control, running a small business often requires additional investments, which is why obtaining caveat loans can save the day and help you overcome a rough patch easily and with no fuss. 

Growing your small business and raising your kids at the same time is very demanding, but it doesn’t have to be exhausting and messy if you’re well organized and surrounded by a team of hand-picked employees who will help you carry physical and psychological burdens of entrepreneurship.

Emma Worden is a startup funding consultant from Sydney. She enjoys reading and writing on different aspects of entrepreneurship, usually finance and marketing. If you want to read more of her work, you can find it at https://bizzmarkblog.com/