Your Business is Not Your Hobby

You started this business because you felt passionately about something, and you loved it so much that you needed to create it, to bring it life.  You probably saw a need to be filled, a product to be crafted or a person you could help with your idea.  So here it is.  What are you doing with it?  Are you doing it in your ‘spare-time’?  Tell me, in what universe, does a mom have ‘spare-time’?  So it’s time to get real and make your thing happen.

1. SCHEDULE YOUR TIME

There are a lot of things you can do while multi-tasking, like checking email in between school lunch-making, or updating Twitter on your phone while cooking dinner, we all do it.  It’s a necessity, plain and simple.  But if there is one thing we can all do better, is to physically set aside those two hours to work ON your business.  Write it down, book a time.  Stick to it.

2. DO OR DON’T, THERE IS NO TRY

You don’t try to write an email, you just do it.  You don’t try to make the sale, you make the call, you send the email, you follow up, and you give it your all, you just do it.

3. FIND A PLACE TO WORK

It’s nearly impossible to update your business plan, increase your prospect list or make sales calls while your kids are requesting snacks, knocking at your office door, or Dora’s blaring in the background.  Pick a place, take it to Starbucks (ironically, where I am writing right this very moment) or make the calls when they are napping.

4.  HIRE CHILDCARE

This one is a big hurdle for many mom entrepreneurs, as paying for childcare feels like you’re putting your business before your child.  The reality is that if you want to generate revenue, you need to dedicate some time to your business, taking the time to do that means having some child-free time.

5. GET REAL ABOUT HOW MUCH TIME YOU’RE SPENDING

At a recent business evening for moms, the speaker encouraged us all to dedicate two hours per day, with one task in mind, to grow our business.  I’m fairly sure he wasn’t referring to two hours on Twitter, Facebook and email.  Right?  Get real about how much time you’re spending on certain tasks and re-align your daily schedule to insert two focused hours on your business.

6. ASK FOR HELP

Talk to your spouse first, make sure he understands how serious you are about your business and provide him with general sales targets or goals for the year.  Then tell him exactly what it is from him that you need to help you get there.  It may be as simple as taking the lead at home so that you can get out of the house to a coffee shop for a few hours per week, or making dinner several days a week.  If your spouse is not available or unwilling, talk to your mom friends or nearby family members to do kid-swap days, where you take turns hosting play-dates.

Give yourself permission to call yourself a CEO.  Take it to the next level this year.