Guest Blog: Mompreneur’s Guide to Working With Baby

When you’re a new mom, starting your own business can allow you the flexibility to stay home with your baby while making an income. But if you want to be successful both as a mom and as an entrepreneur, you need to get yourself organized and ready. Here, we outline five strategies to get you started.

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Start Your Business

If you’ve decided to start your own business so that you can achieve better work-life balance and spend more time with your baby, make sure you create a business plan that will help you stay on track and improve your chances of success. Describe your company, how it will be run and what kind of financing you’ll need. To get a good handle on what it takes to launch a new venture, check out this helpful guide on how to start a company with ZenBusiness.

If you are looking to get funding for your business, it's important to have a strong credit history and credit report. This can not only help to show potential investors that you are financially responsible and able to repay loans or investments, but it can also help bolster your credibility as an entrepreneur. To improve your chances of securing the funding you need, make sure you are regularly reviewing your credit report and taking steps to build up your credit score. Activities such as paying bills on time, using credit sparingly, and making regular deposits into a savings account can all help to boost your score over time.

Organize Your Workspace

Then, set up your workspace in a room where you feel comfortable, and in which you won’t mind spending several hours a day. Panda Security points out that a corner of your living room or bedroom will do just fine as long as you can keep distractions to a minimum. During the first few months of your baby’s life, she’ll spend a lot of time napping, so place a crib, bassinet, or playpen close to your desk and get an hour or two of uninterrupted work done while your baby sleeps safely next to you. 

Use Technology to Your Advantage

You set your new business up for success when you choose invoicing software that will let you create financial statements as well as professional invoices quickly and accurately. You’ll save yourself a lot of time by reducing the need for manual data entry. And you’ll also get paid quicker if you offer online payment options to your customers.

And if you work with remote team members, use online collaboration tools that will let you log in at times that are convenient for you, share data and update files and documents in real-time, and keep all your collaborators on the same page.     

Wear Comfortable Clothes

Working from home or working remotely doesn’t mean you don’t get to dress up! Treat yourself to clothes and apparel that make you feel good and look great. If you’re breastfeeding, you can find a wide variety of nursing tops that will look put together and professional whether you’re on a video conference call or at a lunch meeting in the big city. A comfortable pair of leggings is also a must when you’re a mompreneur on the go. It will give you support for your back as well as for your postpartum belly, and it will streamline your silhouette so you feel more confident stepping out of your office and into the world.   

Hire a Babysitter

When you own a small business, there may be times when you have to go out and meet with partners and investors, check out a new supplier, or a number of other instances where you just can’t take your baby with you. So make sure to surround yourself with a good support system. WAHM.com suggests asking your partner and family members if they can pitch in with baby duties, and create a calendar where you can jot down everyone’s available hours when you can ask them for help in a pinch.

And if you need a babysitter, make sure you find one who is experienced, responsible and reliable. Ask other moms if they have any good leads, or find a sitter through an agency that can match you with the best one for your family’s needs.

Taking care of your new baby while launching your business is a lot to manage at once. But you can achieve work-life balance with a good support network and tools designed to make your job easier. So find your people, raise your baby, and grow your business like a pro!

Emily Graham is the creator of mightymoms.net. She believes being a mom is one of the hardest jobs around and wanted to create a support system for moms from all walks of life. On her site, she offers a wide range of info tailored for busy moms -- from how to reduce stress to creative ways to spend time together as a family.