Happy ‘Working Parents Day’ this is an annual celebration to take a day to appreciate all the working parents!
Being a working parent isn’t easy – managing several responsibilities at one time. Your job, children, daily household tasks, and importantly, taking care of your own mental wellbeing.
Our Family Business
We Love Pets Founder and CEO, Jo and Ryan are a husband and wife team living in Norfolk with their two children, three Fox Red Labs and umpteen chickens. When you join We Love Pets as a branch owner one of the many benefits is escaping from the usual 9-5 and you gain more freedom to control your work life balance.
However, even when you’re the head of what you do and have the freedom to control your work – life balance, it is sometimes easier said than done.
Here are Jo and Ryan’s top 3 tips for running your own business alongside a family.
1 Delegate and learn to let go of control
Business and family both require a lot of time and attention. However, the sooner you come to terms that you cannot be in two places at once, the better. Ensuring you build and surround yourself with a team that you can delegate your workload to is one of the best pieces of advice, let go of some control and allow your team to help you to avoid burnout. This will also give you time for special occasions or simply being able to take a family day out and know you have a team to ensure everything is running smoothly whilst you’re away.
2 Create boundaries
Set a clear schedule of when you’re working and when you’re spending time with family and keep to these boundaries. This is also a healthy lesson for your children to learn. When you are not available, you aren’t (unless the house is on fire). But when it is your child’s time with you, be fully present for them, not your laptop or phone. Create your boundaries and honor your word. It’s important to control your calendar and not let it control you!
3 Stop and breath before you walk in the door
Switching from work mode to parent mode isn’t an easy transition and both ‘modes’ are exhausting and rewarding in their own ways. Before you step into family life, changing your mindset is key. Sure, you can turn off your phone and put away your laptop but you also need to switch off the mental baggage to enjoy time with your family. If you do have tasks to complete, don’t do this during your family time. Unless the business is going to fall apart if you don’t complete the task, then it can wait.
