Juggling Parenting, Relationships & Business - How To Make It Work

11 Jan

Juggling the responsibilities of running a business and parenting can be a challenging task, we’ve had so many ups and downs since starting our furniture-making business in 2016. It requires careful planning and organisation, as well as effective communication with your partner especially when kids come into the picture.

We’ve learnt over time it's really important to set boundaries between work and home life and to make sure to carve out time for your family and your relationship. Seeking support from friends and family who understand is crucial, we’ve found since becoming parents we’ve been drawn to other business-owner parents, we have so much in common and they completely understand the juggle.

Remembering to take care of yourself, both physically and mentally can fall to the bottom of the priority list but self-care is essential for managing the demands of both parenting and running a business.

With some careful planning and a supportive network, it is possible to successfully balance the demands of both roles. In this episode we’re going to share with you some stories of our journey running a business as a husband and wife duo & things we’ve learned becoming parents.

Tips for How to Make It Work

1. Communication

Communicate openly and honestly with your partner about your respective workloads and responsibilities, and try to find ways to support each other. We have Monday meetings to discuss and organise work and life admin.

Early on we’ve divided up business and household chores. Each of us is aware of what we’re responsible for and have agreed on who does what.

2. Boundaries

Set boundaries between work and home life.

3. Schedule

Carve out family time & relationship time. Decide what your non-negotiables are. For us, this is dinner together every night and Saturday mornings spent together as a family. We’ve started a new habit each month where we take it in turns to plan a date night baby-free to reconnect without the distraction of parenting. It doesn’t sound very sexy but scheduling time to be intimate is important for anyone regardless of whether you run a business or not, even more so once you become a parent.

4. Help

Consider hiring help, whether it be outsourcing work in your business, daycare, babysitter, or cleaning service. Use software to help automate tasks to lighten the load. We’ve implemented so much automation in our business to help it run less manually. We do our grocery shopping online to free up time, plan meals ahead of time and do batch cooking.

5. Support

Seek support from friends and family. Search for a community of people who work in the same industry... you can join Talkshop Insiders, our private Facebook Group for makers for parents who run businesses. And if you’re feeling super overwhelmed it’s definitely worth seeking professional help from a therapist (we like to call it a day-spa for your mind).

6. Revise

Don't be afraid to speak up if things aren’t working, workloads and family dynamics constantly change and so will your routine.

7. Self-Care

Remember to take care of yourself, both physically and mentally. It's important to prioritise self-care in order to be able to effectively manage your responsibilities.