Welcome to the Mums in Business Guest Blog series

As a working mum, I know how hard it can be to juggle family and business especially during school hours, but what happens when you are sick or if you can’t find someone to look after the kids so you can get your work done or meet an important deadline?

I have invited other business mums to be a guest on my blog and share what they have learned through running their business and juggling a family. If we can share our knowledge and help one another, it’s a good thing!

Our first guest is Vicky Spoleti from Windview Australia who is here to discuss her tips on Juggling Family & Business and how she makes it work.

Over to you Vicky!

Life can be difficult at its best so how do I juggle the pandemonium of looking after a family and business at the same time?

Planning

It is important to have a plan so that you know what you need to do for your home and business. Without forward planning. running a business and home will become chaotic. Here are some time-saving programs and apps that help me plan for at home and in the office.

• One Drive data storage program for all my files, this allows me to work anywhere. I can easily access my files.

• Google calendar keeps me organised. I can set it up to operate on all my devices. I can also email my family and send them reminders of appointments.

• Microsoft programs including Excel, Word, Outlook and Publisher are the main ones I use online.

• NoCRM is a Customer Relationship Management program. I can easily update my customer records, add new customers, attach quotes, invoices and add notes.

• Copy me That – Is a meal and recipe app. You can browse the internet, and save any recipe you want to use for later. You can also print recipes and meal plans.

• Skool Bag, this app is brilliant especially for those who have children at different schools. You can nominate the school your children go to, set reminders, and gain access to all the school’s correspondence.

Ask for Help/Delegate Tasks

Asking for help is something us mums either love or hate. Don’t be afraid to ask for help or delegate tasks to family or friends. My kids will help with the laundry, taking out the garbage. My husband will stop by the store to pick up things I am missing. Though they are small tasks they help me save time.

If your kids are old enough giving them small jobs will help as bigger jobs they often don’t want to do. There are also many great services such as cleaning companies, babysitters, and meal preparations companies that are valuable resources to help the working mum.

How to cope when sickness and emergencies happen

Do you have a plan for emergencies, sickness or misfortune?

Do you have family or friends you can call to help with work or home tasks should something go wrong?

Do you know your neighbours or surrounding businesses that you can call on to receive your orders if something happened?

When we moved into our business unit, we met the surrounding businesses. They have received deliveries for us when we were away, and loaned machinery to us when ours broke down. We also do the same for them. We also had meetings with our supplier’s sales representatives, knowing them personally is a great help as they can stop orders or deliveries at a minute’s notice and re-direct orders when needed.

Have all your family, friends, work contacts and contact details saved on your mobile phone for easy access when necessary.

Juggling family & business at the same time!

When my children were young, I was lucky enough to work from home, the pram and playpen were my go-to. I would wheel my children around the house in the pram or put them in the playpen in the office. I would work during their nap times too. As my children got older, I set up a small table with a toy phone, pens and paper, and stamps. I would tell them to sit there and do their work as they needed to help mummy. This helped as it distracted them and gave me time to get things done. When my children began school, I only worked school hours so I could help them with homework.

If you don’t have friends or family to babysit maybe look into long daycare centres. They are fantastic at looking after your children for extended hours. If that’s not possible, get your children to help after school. Our children would help in the office and in the factory when they didn’t have homework.

Making relationships and business work

My husband and I keep our family and business lives separate. We do not bring work home with us. Any grievances are left at the office. We only attend to urgent work matters at home. We do not let money rule our lives or if our business is struggling. We see what needs to be done to bring in money. Sadly in a majority of cases when a business goes wrong, the marriage suffers too. We are blessed to still be able to work together and live together happily.