*This is a collaborative post.
You can build and run your own little empire right from home without office overhead or lengthy payroll. Instead, you can work from your own space in a way that’s comfortable, flexible, and relatively budget-friendly. No wonder more and more people are taking the power of their careers into their own hands and making profits their own way!
However, even home businesses have their troubles. If you're a parent with young children to care for during “work hours,” this trouble presents itself in ways that few other home business owners would think of. After all, your children need your time and attention too, and feeling like a terrible parent because you need to spend hours dealing with clients is the most frustrating feeling in the world!
So we’ve put together a little guide on creating a quiet, private workspace to help you keep career and your personal lives away from each other. If you can get your job done without the kids knocking on the door or complaining that their siblings are mean, you'll keep a sane head!
Don't try to be perfect
Of course, you want to be the best business owner you know, and of course, you want to be the best parent. However, if you try to achieve both of these things at the same time, you will overwork yourself and be more likely to fail. Honestly? You are already an amazing parent and self-motivated business owner!
You have nothing to prove to yourself here, so try to take your time and don't try to be perfect on either side. Prioritize the tasks that need to be done first, like taking your kids to school, giving them a hug when they're sad, and finishing that email to a high-paying client, and let the rest play out.
When you let go of the image in your head of a perfect work-life balance, you're less likely to let things slip away. No one can achieve this balance instantly! It takes time to get used to things, and you're going to make some mistakes, but you know what? It doesn't matter! You're dealing with two big things in your life right now, and no one can blame you for making a few mistakes along the way.
Make some new rules
So, you’re about to become a home business owner. You also need to tell the kids this is your new job. This means you're going to need to make some new rules, especially if they only know you left the house to get work done and aren't sure how to behave when you're working from home from now on.
Sit them down together and let them know what working from home means and how important it is to you. Make sure they understand how serious your job is going to be, and why it means there are some new rules they need to follow while you're all at home.
For example, if your office door is closed, that means they can't come in or knock on the door unless there's an actual emergency. On the other hand, if the door is open, they can just walk in and talk to you.
Give them some time to get used to these new rules as they may forget and make mistakes in the first few weeks, but also make sure to implement them every time.
Get important things done while your child is in bed
Working late at night may not sound all that pleasant, but if the only time you really get to yourself is after the kids go to bed, this might be the best working arrangement for you. After all, the most important thing about working from home is flexibility, which often means adjusting your schedule to less traditional hours.
You may even find that your brain becomes more active and work tasks become easier during this time – as many of us do owl Don't even know!
But honestly, put the kids to bed first, make sure they are tucked in and comfortable, and then get on with your household stuff. Give yourself at least two hours each night to get work done before relaxing with a bedtime TV show. It may take some getting used to, but sometimes lifestyle has to change to make it easier to achieve what we want in life!
Put your office in the garden
Does your home have an attached garden? You then have the opportunity to build your office there, keeping it separate from the rest of your home and your personal life. You can then come in and out of the office at any time, and the kids might not even know it – a great combination for family peace and harmony!
indeed, office in the garden A great idea for the modern home business owner. You don't need to find space in the actual house to put a desk (and some privacy to get work done), nor do you need to close and lock the door behind you to stop anyone from breaking in.
Set up your office the way you want it – perhaps with carpet on the floor for extra insulation – and get to work without any problems. Of course, you may need to enforce the rules we mentioned above to ensure the kids stay outside, but it's still better than trying to work indoors!
child care budget
If you are running your own business and are already making a decent profit from it, why not consider investing some of it in childcare? If you can hire a babysitter or nanny for a few hours on a Saturday or infrequently throughout the summer, you'll have more time and peace to get work done.
It's perfectly okay to stay home while you hire someone to take care of your children temporarily. All you need to do is tell the kids they need to stay with the nanny, close the door behind you, and then reinforce the rule if the kids come in anyway.
You might also consider sending your children to an after-school club a few times a week during term time. This can give you an extra hour or an extra 90 minutes to get work done during those busy midweek meetings that all business owners have to deal with.
Arrange content in advance
One of the most innovative tools that the online world offers us is the opportunity to schedule content if we run a website or social media profile. As a working parent running a business from home with your kids, take advantage of this.
This way, you can ensure your content is published on time without having to worry about leaving your laptop or phone during peak publishing times. You've set it up for publishing, and any reactions you have to the new content can be handled later.
Keep business and personal completely separate
We pointed this out in the introduction, but when you can't keep your business and personal life completely separate, things start to get complicated and go wrong. For someone trying to support a family and run a home business at the same time, that's not really what you can afford.
While a few mishaps, mistakes, and missteps are acceptable from time to time, you don't want them to become a theme in your work/life balance. So take the time to develop these dividers and check regularly to see if they still work for you.
If your children require more of your time, some changes will need to be made on the business side. If your emails are piling up, something needs to change on a personal level. The balance should also be flexible.
Want to run a business from home but worried about taking care of the kids? Use these tips to achieve your career dreams. You will never be a bad parent just because you want to provide for your family, all you need now is a little peace and quiet to get things done. You can achieve this with some new rules, smart office design, and even some professional childcare here and there.
