Being a parent is a full-time job on its own, and life becomes so much busier when you include a career. This is especially true if you start a home-based business.

For many parents, a home business is a great opportunity to earn some extra income while remaining flexible enough to keep up with their children. As your kids get older and go to school, you might be able to dedicate more time to your business.

However, it’s still easy to get overwhelmed and burnt out, especially when you’re juggling two different responsibilities. Things might fall through the cracks, whether it’s your family life, your business or even your own well-being. 

It is possible to balance your responsibilities. Here are some tips to help you to do this.

Set a Schedule

Successfully running a business and balancing it with your life requires the ability to set priorities. Your children do take priority, as you need to keep them happy and healthy, but it doesn’t mean you have to spend every single minute looking after them.

The handy thing about running your own business is that you can be more flexible. If your children go to school or daycare, then you can easily dedicate a few hours to your business during that time. You can also work in the evenings or during naptime.

The trick to getting everything done is to set a schedule and include everything in it. Work out when you will be free to work and when you can get chores done. If you schedule your work hours, then you start and stop at set times. It’s easier for you and your children to stick to a routine.

Organizational tools are incredibly helpful when it comes to setting schedules. Even better, some software and online workspaces can help you to organize other aspects of your business, making it easier to work productively and get things when you can. Look into the best option for your business, such as comparing Craft vs. Notion and other types of software that can help you to run your business more smoothly. 

As your children grow up, your priorities will change. While you’ll still put them first and foremost in your life, they will be less dependent on you and more understanding of when you need to focus on your business.

As well as scheduling work time, make sure that you schedule your free time with your children. This ensures that they are always a priority, no matter how old they are. You can also schedule a few hours for yourself, as everyone needs to recharge, especially parents.

Seek Help

Rome wasn’t built in a day, and it wasn’t built by one person either. The best way to juggle your business and family life is to make sure that you don’t do it all alone. If you have a partner or spouse, then you have an in-built support system. Divide your family chores and responsibilities as fairly as possible, and have frank conversations about it.

You could also broaden your support network. If you have other family and friends who are willing to help you, then consider it. Whether it’s a shopping trip while you’re overwhelmed or an offer to look after the children for a few hours to give you a chance to catch up on life, it’s all helpful. 

Once your children are old enough, you may consider daycare. The benefits for your child include an opportunity to socialize with other children their age. But it also gives you a few extra hours in the day.

As your business grows, it will become more complex and may need more people on board to tackle different tasks. If you intend to continue to grow your business, then it’s potentially time to hire an employee or freelancer to polish off some tasks. 

Expanding your business this way is a big investment, but it can potentially double your productivity. Depending on the type of business you run, you don’t even need to move out of your home office to hire someone else, as they can work from home as well. 

This gives you the ability to offload some of the business tasks onto someone else, so you have either grow your business in other ways or dedicate more time to your family.

Set Up Your Workplace

During Covid-19, many were forced to work remotely. You might be familiar with the classic technique of working from your kitchen table, the living room or even your bed. While these setups were fine on a short-term basis, they aren’t viable for a long-term work situation.

If you are serious about setting up a home business and you want it to become profitable, then you need to give yourself the ability to work efficiently and productively. This is where a proper workplace comes into the picture.

The good news is that the home office setup is still a fantastic option for working parents. It’s far cheaper than renting out commercial space and has no commute, which saves you some all-important time and money. You’re also nearby to handle any emergencies that crop up.

While a home office allows you to be available, the idea of a good home office is that you’re free from distractions when you should be working. Ideally, it should be in a quiet, private part of the house. A spare room or a garden room are great options for home offices, as you can dedicate that room to running your business.