How To Start A Business With Kids In Tow

Many would think it is an impossible challenge to start a new business, at the same time as being the main carer for your child. The biggest hurdle will be overcoming issues around time management, which I set out to help you with in this article.

It is normal to feel hesitant to get started. You are going back to work with less sleep, more responsibilities and an exciting new project, that requires a lot of attention , enthusiasm and organisation. Across everything you are about to do, the key success is getting a work schedule in place.

I say this from experience, having started my 2nd business with a baby in tow, where I learned to stick to a structured time management plan, in order to achieve my goals and keep doing the best as a new parent too. Although you will have to be discipled, remember to also be flexible and easy on yourself, as often planned work will have to shift around childcare and other responsibilities.

A tried and tested way to organise your time well is what I call the 'Trinity' method below, with 3 distinct work periods, set out each week to reach your smaller milestones, which will ladder up to your ultimate business goals. Here is a short overview of each below:

The 'Sprint' - use this time to complete a simple tasks for 30 mins each week.

These tasks can be done quickly, even with minor distractions and could include: researching competitors, working on a piece of branding, such as choosing colours or sourcing a logo, making a phone call, completing a purchase, opening a wholesale account etc.

The 'Power Hour' - a 1 hour slot, 3 times a week.

Prep for your task beforehand, which must be achieved in this time. No distractions, such as TV, phone or people. This is great for planned tasks that require concentration and attention to detail such as photographing products, creating short videos, writing content or meetings.

Finally the 'Golden Hours' - at least 2 hours of solid work, twice a week.

Evenings are best, when your little angle is sleeping! Use this time for the big tasks - such as building your website, creating documents, setting up social media accounts, working on your launch strategy, setting up social media etc. Work towards completing 1 big, or 2 smaller tasks within this time.

It is so easy just to keep going all night, but you will be exhausted in the morning and less productive as a result.

To stay organised, every Sunday before 9pm, write down your work to-do list for the week and allocate the day and time you will complete each. Aim for this below, which is equivalent to 1.5 days of work a week.

• Sprint - 30 mins - 4 x per week

• Power Hour - 1 hour - 3 x per week

• Golden Hours - 2 hours 2 x per week

It is OK if you cannot do all this straight away, work up to it. This pace will keep achievements coming in enabling you to make real progress every week. You could reduce this by 50% to start off with, then work your way back up to this schedule as soon as when possible.

So now you have a new way to manage your time, run the exercise below to get you started.

Quick Task : Find 3 times in the day and days of the week where you can get 30 mins, 1 hour and 2 hours of work done.

I am working from home with my son during quarantine, so my hours of work are 30 mins for the 'Sprint' after breakfast, a 'Power Hour' during nap times and evenings from 10pm for my 'Golden Hours'. Every Sunday afternoon I spent 20 mins planning for the next week.

Just know, you can absolutely become both a parent and an entrepreneur. This is a great structure to get you started, then after mastered, you could choose to adapt this for your personal work preferences, although try to keep your work progress continuous and at least 1.5 days a week until launch.

Thank you for taking the time to read this blog, feel free to like, comment, share or give tips you have found successful too. I also run more in-depth mentoring sessions for each aspect of a business start up. So reach out to me here if you need a personalised business launch organisation plan, which I can happily help you with.