Navigating the Journey of Entrepreneurship as a Modern Mother, From the Challenges to the Triumphs, and the Strategies for Success

Being an entrepreneur is often described as a challenging and rewarding journey. It involves taking risks, making tough decisions, and dedicating yourself to the pursuit of your passion. For many of us, we also have the added role of being a mother in the mix. For me, that meant five of my littlest fans at my side as I built my business, while learning all kinds of lessons along the way. The life of an entrepreneurial mother is a balancing act like no other, where dreams of business success are interwoven with the joys and challenges of motherhood. In this blog, I will explore the unique experience of entrepreneurship as a mother, the hurdles faced, the triumphs achieved, and strategies to help navigate the demanding yet fulfilling path. 

Ultimately, running a business and motherhood have similar cores. Entrepreneurship is, at its center, about creating something from nothing. It’s about seeing opportunities, taking risks, and bringing ideas to life. As a mother, you already possess many of the qualities that make a successful entrepreneur: determination, adaptability, resilience, and the ability to multitask. These skills serve as the foundation for your entrepreneurial journey.

The Challenges of Balancing Entrepreneurship and Motherhood 

1. Time management: One of the most significant challenges faced by entrepreneurial mothers is time management. Juggling the responsibilities of running a business with caring for your children can feel overwhelming! Strategies such as setting clear priorities, creating schedules, and learning to say “no” can help. 
2. Guilt and Self-Care: Feelings of guilt can often accompany the decision to pursue entrepreneurship as a mother. You may wonder if you’re neglecting your children or your business. It’s crucial to prioritize self-care and remember that taking care of yourself enables you to be a better mother and entrepreneur. (If you’ve read my previous blog, the Race Car Formula applies here.) 
3. Financial Pressure: Starting and running a business can be financially demanding. As a mother, you might worry about providing for your family, while investing in your entrepreneurial dreams. Financial planning and seeking support, whether through savings, loans, or grants, can help alleviate some of this pressure. 
4. Work-Life Integration: Striking a balance between work and family — life is an ongoing balancing act. Finding ways to integrate your work and family commitments, rather than trying to separate them, can lead to a more harmonious and fulfilling life. One of the ways I have increased my output is by traveling with the hotspot that I purchased at a local cell phone store. That way if I’m waiting in a carpool line, waiting for a soccer game to begin, or having to utilize an extra 10 minutes during a kid’s singing lesson, I am able to use my time wisely and efficiently and not have Wi-Fi stand in my way.

Triumphs and Rewards of Entrepreneurial Motherhood 

Flexible Schedule: Entrepreneurship allows you to design a flexible schedule that accommodates your family’s needs. You can attend school events, doctors appointments, and be present for those precious moments with your children. It’s up to you what the most important moments will be. I’m so appreciative of having the kids' school calendars in advance, which helps me decide which days I need to take off from work or to work from home. Another example of this would be school sports. When I get their first sports calendar for the season I get to work scheduling things around those events, and decide for myself which ones are OK to miss. (To be honest with you, I don’t need to be present at every single sporting event. It’s alright for dad or big brother to be in the stands sometimes without me there!)

Being a Role Model: By pursuing your entrepreneurial dreams, you become a role model to your children. You show them the value of hard work, determination, and pursuing their passions. One of my favorite memories came from one of my adult children when he was asked about joining the Marines and going through Boot Camp. He was asked, “How did you put up with constantly having drills and being told what to do and just the constant working when you’re at Boot Camp?” As he was re-telling me the story, he shared that his answer was his entire life, he had been surrounded by hard-working parents, he didn’t know anything else. Working hard is something that he has watched happen around him, he never considered hard work as optional. 

Pride in your Achievements: Every milestone achieved in your business becomes a source of pride. The sense of accomplishment and the knowledge that you’re building something for your family’s future is immensely rewarding. This is something I’m not always good at sharing with my family or my children… It’s interesting to me in the quiet moments of car rides, whether it’s with my adult children or my younger kids at home, when I bring up an achievement that’s happening in my businesses, my kids give me a “WOW!” In those sweet moments, I’m reminded that if I don’t share it’s only me silently recognizing achievements. It’s much better to create those moments of connection with my family. * Insider tip: when sharing an achievement of yours with your family, (knowing we can sometimes feel a little silly) remember you’re imprinting a memory for their future; that when they have a family of their own, and they're the parent: it’s vital they celebrate their successes. 

Financial Independence: Entrepreneurship can lead to financial independence. It provides the opportunity to create a stable financial future for your family and secure their well-being. I remember the feeling of not being able to afford to go to Target to shop. And when I went to the local Kmart store to look for a sweatshirt for my son, it was still too expensive. I imprinted that memory and vowed then that my goal would be to go to Target on any whim and not be concerned with what my total was. I know that sounds so silly and of course, having budgets and monitoring finances is important, but the bigger picture of achievement I was striving for, was that I didn’t want to ever be worried or limited by what I could spend at the local Target 🎯😅

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Strategies for Success

Define Your Priorities: Clearly define your business and family priorities. (The Race Car Formula again would apply to this.) Knowing what matters most will guide your decisions and help you allocate your time effectively. 

Build a Support System: Seek support from your partner, family members, and/or a network of fellow entrepreneurial mothers. Surrounding yourself with a support system can make all the difference. Remember that what your support system looks like versus someone else’s can be very different. Comparison is the thief of joy, as they say, and it can cause you mounds of stress! Do your best to embrace the love you have surrounding you, rather than comparing it to what you believe someone else has. Even with my support system, I have found that silence and alone time are my secret weapons to clear my head. Taking time to re-center on my own allows me to align myself with what I can do versus what is not an immediate priority. 

Outsource and Delegate: Don’t be afraid to outsource tasks in your business or delegate responsibilities at home. It is OK to ask for help. An example of this is having someone help clean my house or hiring a landscaper. I have to ask myself critically, are those two hours better spent cleaning my house myself, or working a little bit more on my business and hiring it out? •Be able to distinguish between the difference between being a martyr and using your time wisely.•

Set Realistic Goals: Set achievable goals for your business and your family life. Avoid over-committing and spreading yourself too thin. We all know that one sweet mother who spreads herself so thin by saying yes to everything, and then finds herself completely stressed and unhappy because she’s not achieving the goals that she’s planned for. 

Self-Care Matters: Prioritize self-care, to maintain your physical and mental well-being. Taking care of yourself ensures you have the energy and resilience needed for both roles. Do you know how much sleep you need each night? Also, to be brutally honest, ask yourself how you feel when you look in the mirror. I myself had to do this in order to move forward in a positive way around the time of the opening of the salon in 2014. Learning business strategies and growing my team combined with dealing with stresses in my home life meant I’d gained so much weight! I forgave myself for doing the best that I could at the time, but not prioritizing my own exercise and food choices cost me. 

Learn to Adapt: Be flexible and willing to adjust your plans when necessary. Life as an entrepreneurial mother is full of surprises, and adaptability is key. This is one of the most beautiful ways I’ve been able to be an example to my children, knowing when to be flexible and knowing when to prioritize. Now that’s a superpower. 

Entrepreneurship as a mother is an incredibly challenging yet stunningly rewarding journey. It’s a path that allows you to create, grow, and provide for your family while being there for the moments that matter most. 

It’s a beautiful way to model the family values that you want your kids to soak up, and gives you an example for goal-setting that you can discuss together. It makes it easier for your children to understand your decision-making, but also for you to have a clear vision of what you are trying to accomplish personally, and for your household. 

Embracing the unique challenges and triumphs of this dual role can lead to a fulfilling life where you inspire your children, achieve your business dreams, and find a balance that works for you. 

I’ll leave you with a beautiful memory I have of my oldest daughter from when we were living in a tiny little duplex. One day I was sharing with her, absentmindedly, my goals for opening a salon. She paused and looked at me with such sweetness and said, “Wow mom, you’ve really come a long way.” 

Remember, you are not alone on this journey, and with the right strategies and mindset, you can navigate it successfully. (Bonus insight: You can start again as often as you like, just don’t stop. Be relentless in using your talents!)

Cheering you on, 

Quinn

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