Imperfect Parenting

Guest Blog Post:

How New Parents Can Be Successful Entrepreneurs

What do new babies and new businesses have in common? Both of them need you to nurture them and help them grow, and each takes up a lot of your time, but you don’t have to put your business ideas on hold. It can seem daunting at times if you have both of them simultaneously, but there are things you can do to manage both effectively.

Your Baby
Newborns need lots of attention. It can seem like you’re constantly changing diapers and feeding them with their short sleep cycles. Many new parents struggle with sleep deprivation because they cannot get more than a few hours of sleep at a time.
Depending on the type of business you’ll run, you can consider several options to be able to take good care of your baby while growing your company:

• Purchase a baby monitor
• Find reliable, trustworthy sitters
• Create a baby corner in your home office

You can use a sitter even if you’ll still be at home. You can depend on a sitter to take care of your baby while you:

• Take naps
• Devote time to virtual business meetings or client consultations
• Make or pack and ship inventory
• Do accounting tasks where concentration and accuracy are important

Your Business
You may already know what kind of business you’d like to start, or you might be searching for ideas. Think of areas
you’re interested in that allow flexibility since your time will be divided and that people will likely patronize. It
might be a service business or an online store to sell handmade items; make it something you’re good at and enjoy.
You’ll need to do several things to get your new company running. A healthy, thriving business starts with creating
a business plan. This plan should include:

• Business structure
• Company values and goals
• Advertising and marketing strategies
• Funding needs and solutions
• Financial projections

See how to start a business with ZenBusiness to simplify the process.

Because you’re in business to make money, it’s important to implement sound accounting methods. You’ll need to see your cash flow and financial health at a glance, so finding the right invoicing options and accounting software is a must. The right software can help you get paid quickly and make your bookkeeping more accurate.

In addition, consumers continue to do more and more business online, including making payments. Look for
software that:

• Alert you when clients view or pay invoices
• Accept online payments
• Schedule and send recurring invoices
• Produce financial reports

Your Day
Establishing a daily routine can reduce stress. Set business goals for the day, week, or month, then make a schedule.
You’re the boss, so you can decide how much time to devote to your company and when you’ll work. This allows you to make plenty of time to spend with your baby.

You can consider outsourcing some of your business tasks, such as accounting, marketing, and sourcing. Remember to expect the unexpected with new babies, so your schedule can’t be set in stone. Outsourcing can alleviate some of your burdens to allow for unforeseen developments, such as a sick child.

You could also purchase handy electronics to make your life easier. Automated vacuums, smartwatches, and voice-activated virtual assistants provide relatively inexpensive benefits.

You Can Do It
You don’t have to set your entrepreneurship aside when welcoming a new baby. It can be a great time to organize your parenting, business management, and life balance to create a healthy future for all.

Image via Pexels

Thank you, Laura Pearson for this post.