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30 Tips for mums starting a business from women who’ve been there 2019

30 tips for mums starting a business
Posted on by Claire Witz

I asked over 1,000 mums in business what would be their top piece of advice to someone considering starting a business to run around their family…

This week as part of our “Promote your Bizday” weekly activity in our Facebook group, I asked everyone what would be their top tip for a mum starting out in business for the first time. We’ve all been there and there’s a huge amount of experience in the group from over 1,000 women who’ve already taken the plunge and are “living the dream” of juggling a business around family life.

So here’s some of our advice and tips, I hope they help. Please share this if you know someone who’s taking the plunge or might find them helpful.

30 tips for mums starting a new business…

1. Accept that you only have a limited amount of time…

…and that this will change as your kids go through different stages of their development. It’s tempting to want to aim for world domination from the outset but allow your business to develop to fit in with the time and energy you have available.

2. Ask for help and support if you need it and give it willingly…

…to other mums in business with and without being asked. As mums in business we all need to help each other out as much as we can. So be one another’s customers, recommend a fellow MIB, like, share and comment on one another’s social media posts and all that other stuff. Whatever you give out usually comes back to you in other ways.

3. Give yourself time off

If you need a break, have one. Trust me on this. Otherwise you’ll be ill, grumpy, make mistakes and lose the love for your business, which is no good for you or anyone else.

4. Get yourself a business buddy

There’s a pretty strong chance that your non-business owner mum friends, husband and family don’t really “get it”. So finding a fellow mum in business who does to bounce ideas, plan, hold each accountable, cheer on and commiserate with is one of the best things you can do. Read our blog about Business Buddies if you want to find out more about how this can work.

5. Involve your kids

At the end of the day one of the reasons you run a business is to pay for their school shoes / trips / clubs / birthday parties / holidays / food etc, so get them to help out! For little kids it might be as simple as sticking on labels and punching holes in things. Ask them for their ideas (they sometimes have REALLY good ones). Get them to help you load the car up. And your older kids probably know more about social media, apps and tech than you do so make the most of your in house expertise! You never know, you might spark something in them too.

6. Give yourself a bonus, rewards and pats on the back

There’s no one else to after all. If you do an amazing job, pay yourself a little bit extra and take an afternoon off to buy those shoes, have lunch with a friend or go for that massage. Why the heck not, you earned it.

7. Plan for the school holidays well in advance.

You’ll have maybe 14 summers with your kids before you’re too embarrassing to be anywhere near them. So make the most of them. Plan exactly when you’re going to work and when you’re doing stuff with them and stick to it. Arrange childcare or activities for them well in advance so that you can plan your diary. Adjust your marketing in advance if you need to quieten things down for a bit. It might even need a whole shift in your business offering so that your peak times don’t fall slap bang in the middle of the school holidays for a few years.

8. Try not to do everything at once

“It takes time to learn how to run a business. Give yourself time to implement what you learn.”

9. Go to mums in business networking events…

“…to learn and to meet other people going through the same thing.” (We run them so check out our events).

10. Keep your time separate

“That might mean turning off phone notifications to avoid being distracted by work when you’re with the kids. It’s a juggle but it does get easier.”

11. Make sure you prioritise looking after yourself

“If you’re running a business, looking after your family and the house, it is easy to forget to look after yourself. The best way to do this is to add self-care activities to your to do list, which means you’re more likely to remember to do them.”

12. Meet other mums in the same boat

“It is so important to have an avenue of women to talk to. Girl power!”

13. Create a block schedule so you are giving time to everything you need…

“Work/family/cleaning, socials & errands. It makes you feel like you have achieved lots and gives you a time limit so you get it done quicker.”

14. Believe in your skills and experience

“You’ve probably gained it over many decades, qualifications and sectors. You have a lot of expertise to offer – it’s important not to forget that and the value that brings to others.”

15. Just be realistic and not try to achieve everything in one go

“Looking after your own health is the most important thing. You want your business to be running for many years to come, so don’t try to do it all at once.”

16. Don’t wait for a finished product before putting it out there

“If I had have waited to feel that everything was perfect then I think I might’ve lost momentum!”

17. Remember we are not superwoman

“Set boundaries, let that be a set time for admin/ social media/ clients but you also have a life behind your business so make time for your family, but more importantly you! Running your own business is blinking tough especially if you have little people needing dropping off and collecting from here and there but don’t feel guilty when you need to take some ‘you time’……. now to practice what I preach!”

18. Progress not perfection

19. Always be open to learning and growing…

“…taking advice from people that have the knowledge and experience, and challenging yourself. Find the people that can elevate you.”

20. Put systems in place as you start

“Accounting, social media scheduling, goals setting – everything. It’s much easier to do this while you’re at the start (rather than playing catch up like I am right now).”

21. Plan your time effectively and be very active on social media…

“…but pick 1/2 platforms only and focus on those. Good luck!”

22. Work-life-balance because it’s so hard to juggle all of it

“If I’ve decided I’m having time off with my son then that’s what I’ll do and I won’t feel guilty about it (easier said than done!). Modern life expects us to be 24/7 all the time and it’s so difficult to do it all. Many of the people I’ve spoken to have said they find it easier to come out of their home to work with very focused time and that it helps them to relax and feel less guilty when they’re at home with their children or chilling out and most say they’re more productive that way too!”

23. Time blocking…I call it box thinking…

“…when you are in the box to spend time with your children that is what you do and nothing else so when you get to the business box you will not feel bad.”

24. When you decide you are not working …don’t!

“It has taken me many years to feel OK saying to people “I’m off tomorrow but I will deal with this the next day” but you do need family time too. Likewise I think my children have grown up knowing that I work for myself and if I don’t work I don’t get paid, so they do have an understanding that if I say I just have to do X it’s for a reason.”

25. Don’t try and do it all

“With my first business I wanted to do EVERYTHING and it felt like I changed my focus so much that I never made much progress on anything until I decided what my priority was and really put all my efforts there.”

26. Stop procrastinating…

“…and always worrying about things being perfect and to go for it!”

27. Love what you do and have a powerful WHY.

“You’ll need those as it’s hard work and they’ll get you through.”

28. Time management…

“…which can be tricky when you are passionate about what you do but to try and have balance between work and home life is essential.”

29. Go networking

“There are so many fabulous connections to be made with like minded women. It’s a great help and motivator on our business journey.”

30. “Be in love with helping others and it’ll shine through!”

Mums in Business vs other entrepreneurs

A lot of those tips are relevant for everyone starting a business. But there’s definitely an underlying theme there of the need to compartmentalise business, self care AND kids – being a mum in business is definitely distinct from being an entrepreneur without that extra facet to their lives, which is precisely why MIB Network exists and why we get together every month.

If you’d like to find out more about who we are and what we do, check out our events and/or sign up to receive invitations by email. We also have franchises available if you’re interested in setting up a MIB Network community in your local area.

Thank you to our tipsters

A big thank you to the following ladies who shared their tips for this blog:

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