The Business of Babies
Sonia Cuff is the proud mum of a new baby daughter. Today she shares her experiences of caring for a newborn while continuing to run her own business, a feat not for the faint-hearted! Congratulations from all of us at SBO, Sonia!
Whoever said ’sleep when your baby sleeps’ obviously didn’t run a small business. So, through a sleep deprived cloud I found myself weighing up the pros and cons of not only being a WAHM (work at home mum) but also a small business owner:
Pros:
- No maternity leave to be requested and approved, so I can ‘finish’ when I like.
- Husband can take whatever time off he likes.
- Enjoyment of still being part of my industry and it’s latest developments AND not missing out on those early months of my baby’s life.
Cons:
- No maternity leave to enjoy relaxing time off to myself prior to the birth of my baby.
- No maternity leave payments – stop working=stop generating income.
- Ditto for paternity leave.
- Dividing my daytime between working and taking care of my baby means the only pure ‘me’ time is 5 minutes in the shower.
- Weekend = 48 more hours in which to accomplish work that didn’t get completed during the week.
Hmm.. now realise that I have more cons on my list than pros! This is mainly due to the fact that both my husband and I operate the same business (read: we ARE the business), so we get a double-hit on the ‘no work, no income’ thing.
Fortunately the items on each list do not carry equal weight as the joy of being involved in my industry and also seeing my baby grow is absolutely priceless. This negates everything else for me, as long as we can still pays the bills. In fact, with my ‘non-billable’ role, we’re actually taking less of an income hit that those leaving a paid salary.
This decision carries as much controversy as any topic debated in parliament though. If you thought you’d been bombarded with opinions about your pregnancy and how you are raising your baby, try announcing to the world that you’re also a work at home mum. Throw in ‘small business owner’ and try to answer the standard ‘when are you finishing/returning to work’ questions.
When it’s your own business, you never really leave, even to the point where I was tracking emails on my mobile phone in the hospital. The cries range from ‘you must be crazy’ and ‘how could you think about working when you should be spending time with your newborn’ through to ‘oh how wonderful, what an idyllic situation, I wish I could do that you superwoman’. But through all of that, this rings true … it’s hard work and we’re happy. Note there was no ‘but’ in that sentence.
Like my first child, bub number two will see me when she wakes for a feed or a nappy change. She’ll also accompany me to the bank and the post office. I’ll forgo my naps when she is sleeping and forgo evening TV when I can be writing articles, but not every evening.
Work will wait if my children need me first and there will be times when technology is ignored in favour of family day trips or mummy/daddy ‘dates’.
It is a bit of a juggling act, but it works for me and it works for my family. My husband and I see our kids more than most people and that’s why we made the decision to step away from corporate life and the accompanying dizzying salaries and become our own business instead. I love the adult interaction that it gives me and I love taking the girls to swimming lessons mid-week.
It’s not easy and it’s certainly not glamourous. It’s crazy, hectic, stressful and fun. Not everyone can do it and heck, not everyone would want to do it. But if you can, and if you want to, ignore the critics and go for it!
Sonia Cuff, Owner, Computer Troubleshooters Aspley
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What a fabulous post, Sonia! I don’t know how you found time to write it, given all you’ve described.
I thought it was a drag driving my Jack Russells to the vet. Now I have an even greater respect for you and your business.
Many thanks for this wonderful insight. P.
Thanks for your kind words, Paul. I can’t help but look at single mums (& dads) and think that they are the superheros, trying to raise children on their own. I’m blessed to have a support network of family around me.
I also happen to know a fabulous lady who has 3 school-aged children, two businesses with her husband and has just written a book and is developing a program for teenage girls, as well as started training for marathons/triathlons etc! What I do pales in comparison!
-Sonia
This motivating and inspirational story rams home that the value of our business is not always tangible. It isn’t always about dollars, the lifestyle and the enjoyment/satisfaction factors can carry equal or greater weight depending on your circumstances.
Well done Sonia for taking on both baby and business commitments.
In fact you have just inspired my next article – how service providers create value on the run. Will give you a copy when it’s done.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Paul Hassing and Sonia Cuff, Megan Wilson. Megan Wilson said: Blog: Juggling your own business and a new baby, by Sonia from @ctaspley http://bit.ly/11MN8P [...]
Mike, I’m humbled that my writing is worthy of the ‘motivating and inspirational’ tags. And, as a service provider, I’d love to read your next article – always looking for ways to add value.
-Sonia
I couldn’t agree with you more Sonia!!!
I have, like you operated a home business for 15 years.
I have a 15 year old, 5 year old & a 22 month old. In between my God Daughter lived with me for 2 years, I watched my “foster” daughter get married & have a baby, had another lass live with me for 10 months, got married & built a house. I have also inherited through my marrage 3 Adult Step children & 4 Grand Children. I wouldn’t of been able to survive let alone have the fantastic quality of life that I have if I worked for someone else. But I do have an extemely full & detailed diary!
As a hugh bonus I also have an independant 15 year old who assumes that everyone has a work ethic & cannot understand why his peers have no life skills eg banking, time management, budgeting etc.
The longer you Live/Work from home not only does it become easier but better & better as well. As your adventure unfolds it will become more exciting & fullfilling.
Have a great day!!!
Soozie
A very interesting blog post. What would you say was the most common problem?
Soozie, thanks for your comment and what an amazing lifestyle you have! I’m certainly not a trail-blazer in this field, but ‘business owner at home mums’ are very rare to find, so I’m so pleased to meet someone else who feels it’s all worthwhile.
-Sonia
Olga, I think the biggest challenge is not feeling like work is interrupting your family time, or the kids are interrupting your work time. I’ve found the key to that is to be flexible, especially with yout work committments. try not to work on anything with a deadline, or make sure your deadlines are realistic. Then if one of the kids are sick, or if you just decide it’s a nice day to go to the beach, you won’t be stressing that you have a work committment that’s unfinished and must be done by 5pm.
-Sonia
Hi Olga,
The biggest challenge is exactly as Sonia descibed it, & I deal with it the same way. The second biggest is the Husband, particulary if he works in a “normal” job.
Have a great day!!!
Soozie.
Hi Sonia,
I think your article raises some great points for women looking at other options for maternity leave. Flexibility once your baby arrives is so important and having your own business sounds like a great choice. I marvel at your ability to juggle both and work with your husband.
Your point about staying informed in your industry and keeping the adult conversation in your life is so true. That was something I really craved being a stay at home Mum. If I am blessed to have another child in the future I would definitely create some way to continue working in some form – full time or part time to keep that adult interaction and work mentality ongoing. Another thing that you can add to your pro list is confidence.
There’s nothing like a 2 or more year gap on your resume to really knock the confidence out of the most successful of career women! I have written on the subject for the company I work for from my first hand experience.
Cheers,
Marcelle
Thanks for your comments Marcelle, and great website!