What Running a Small Business as a Mom is Really Like
The work of a small business owner never stops! And when you factor two young kids into the mix, it really never stops. Some days, I feel like I can’t turn my brain off. But while things can seem overwhelming from time to time, overall, I love what I do and I’m thankful I get to do it!
If you’ve ever been curious about what all that looks like though, I’m giving you a sneak peek into the day in the life of a small biz owner (and showing you what it’s really like)!
My morning routine
I like to start my day out at about 5:30 or 5:45 am. I know that sounds super early, and it definitely feels like it some days. However, I feel like I have much more time to knock things off my to-do list when I get up early.
The first thing I do when I wake up is get my tennis shoes on and go for a walk! I only do this for about 20-30 minutes because I don’t particularly like working out in the morning, but I do still want to meet my step goals — 10K every day. Funny enough, I find that it helps me feel more productive and ready for the day, so it’s become something I look forward to the night before.
When I get back home, I rush to shower and get ready for the day before the kids get up. According to what’s in the lineup — the day this video was recorded, I was going to be a guest speaker so I wanted to doll up!
Then the rest of the morning passes by in a blur because it's always a rush to get the kids ready, lunches packed, breakfast ready (microwave pancakes will do just fine FYI), and getting the cat fed.
My work day
After I send the kids off to school, I get started with my work day at 8:30am. One of the first things I do is journal and meditate. It helps me get into the right mindset for the day and is a perfect segway into my morning workday warm-up, where I complete all my admin tasks.
I like to block out 9:30-11:30am for focus time — no notifications! I work on things like client projects, sales pages, or anything on my plate that needs high-level attention.
Sometimes though, I accidentally forget to eat lunch (oops!) because the day gets so busy…but if I don’t, that usually happens around noon. I give myself 30 minutes to eat and take a beat before hopping back online.
What I do in the afternoon depends on the day — each has its own theme! And since I recorded the video above on a Monday, it was team day.
We have two calls — one is an all-team meeting where we talk about our agency clients, how they’re doing on those projects, and share their big three (the things they want to focus on or they need support on). The second one is with my marketing director, and we break down all the data/metrics to see what’s working and what isn’t.
Making time for 10K on Replay
My coaching group, 10K on Replay, has a lot going on at any given moment, and I want to be there for them as they work through it! So on Mondays, I audit — which is where they can submit anything like a sales page, webinar details, YouTube titles and thumbnails etc., and get my feedback on it. They can submit this information from a form on Google by Sunday night, and every Monday, I review them!
We also have coworking sessions — which is just a virtual hang with others, where you commit one hour to work on something in your biz. It helps everyone stay focused and accountable (even me!).
Wrapping it all up
After the workday wraps up and winds down at 3pm, I go to pick up my kids from the bus stop, and of course, the rest of the day feels like it runs on the fast forward button. There’s homework, dinner, and catching up on Lego Masters of course!
And while some days can happen fast and feel overwhelming, overall, I think it’s a great schedule because I only work roughly six hours every day, and my team is only on for four days a week. This way, we don’t burn out and we can continue to give our clients our best efforts!
My secret for staying focused during the day
It’s probably not surprising that running a business with kids can be tough. There’s always so much to do, and so much on my mind. And if I'm not careful, I’ll overschedule, double book, and just straight up forget things.
So, how do I keep my head on straight? I time block!
That doesn’t mean I’ve got it all together, but, time blocking does keep me from losing my marbles. And if you want to see how I do it, check out the video below! I show you how to time block and even color-code, inside of Google calendar.
