When we plan for children, we’re always warned about the rough things that change, but what about the good? In today’s episode, I’m sharing how my life and business have improved since having kids. Listen in as I share how having kids even made me a better business owner.
Called to Both is brought to you by Joy Michelle, mom of two and multi-passionate entrepreneur who’s on a mission to help others find balance between the worlds of motherhood and business. Called to Both is the podcast for women who have big business ambitions and also want to be intentional and present moms. At Called to Both, we truly don’t believe you have to choose between these two worlds tugging at your heart You can be Called to Both.
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How Having Kids Made Me A Better Business Owner
I knew that adding kids to my life would drastically change my perspectives, along with the way I ran my business. Trust me, I was warned by the masses about how different things would be. When my daughter arrived, I decided that rather than looking at her as something that would get in the way of my business, I had a new goal of figuring out how to make the business work around her.
Now with two kids, things always continue to shift and change, so as a disclaimer, I don’t have it all figured out. What I have found is a few lessons that motherhood has taught me in how to be a better business owner.
There is a Difference in the Amount of Working Hours I Have Now
Prior to having children, if my husband was working late or inspiration struck, I’d grab my laptop and simply start working whenever. While I wasn’t tracking my hours, I know I was putting in a lot more time than I do now. Since I’ve had children, I’ve had to find how to fit my business into my life around them. This means that I now work about 20 hours a week at most to complete as much work as I did before.
In order to do this, I have to run the 80/20 rule in my business, so let’s walk through what this means. Essentially 80% of effects/outcomes are a result of 20% of the activities or inputs. In business, you might look at all of the revenue that you make in your business and find that it can be attributed down to 20% of the services that you offer. Here are the steps to take when running this analysis:
- Make a list of the 10 things you spend the most time on.
- Circle 2 of the things that drive the most of the results you’re looking for.
- Look at the all the other things that didn’t get circled and eliminate, automate/outsource, or press pause on them.
- Repeat this process over and over again.
When I ran this analysis in my own business, I found that Youtube is the best place for me to be spending my time on, because no one else in my business can do it—they can’t show up as me and record.
Having Less Hours in Business Forced Me to Grow My Team
Before having kids, I hadn’t hired much help in my business outside of one-off projects. Adding to my team has been crucial in my business growth and has forced me to look at what I work on, what stays in my business, and what goes.
This has helped me step into the CEO role of my business, allowing me to be the visionary. It’s also forced me to question the tasks I’m handling and if I’d be better off to hand it off to a team member instead.
I Became Much More Organized
I have always considered myself a creative person with a love/hate relationship with systems. In order to stay organized in business with so many other things going on in life, I had to implement systems.
Three tools I love in my business and use daily are:
- Notion – Project Management to store project information and ideas.
- Honeybook – Client Relationship Management where I send invoices and questionnaires, and receive inquiries from my website.
- Slack – Communication tool to talk with my team.
Check out my Youtube video about Notion.
Plan More with Intention and Wing It Less
I rely a lot on planning and having a clear vision because I truly feel like at this point, with everything that I’m storing in my head, there’s just no way that I would be able to sit down at my computer and move the needle in my business without a plan.
Without a plan or setting an intention, I will work on the least demanding task first. Have you ever done that? It’s so easy to work on the things that don’t need as much brain power in order to feel like you’re working less.
If you set an intention and a plan, you’re more likely to get more done.
Made Me More Purposeful and Intentional in My Work and Reconnected Me with My Why
If I’m going to spend time away from my kids and family, then I need to be making an impact with what I am doing. For me this means sticking with the things that I know are already making a difference and moving the needle in my business. This has given me a renewed sense of purpose in my business.
Review Important Sections:
There is a Difference in the Amount of Working Hours I Have Now (3:19)
80/20 Analysis to make cuts (4:20)
My 80/20 Analysis Results (7:19)
Having Less Hours in Business Forced Me to Grow My Team (7:43)
I Became Much More Organized (8:49)
Plan More with Intention and Wing It Less(8:49)
Made Me More Purposeful and Intentional in My Work and Reconnected Me with My Why (10:20)
Mentioned in this Episode:
Connect with Joy:
Instagram: instagram.com/joyymichelle
Youtube: youtube.com/channel/UC-Ou6jRKxcjMrVMxWxLO_fQ
Facebook: facebook.com/joymichellephotography
If you decide to use any of the links above and buy through them, I’ll receive a small commission back. All of those affiliate income commissions really add up over time and help generate revenue to help support this channel
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