Balancing Act: Entrepreneurs Juggling Work and Kids During School Breaks and Beyond Part 1

Finally, British Summertime is here! While this is fab news for our kids and their teachers, this can be a daunting time for us ‘Parentpreneurs.’ This month’s Two-Part Special Summer Edition of Visionnaires’ blog will give you a confidence boost. You do not need to put your business on hold while the kids are off school or wait for the kids to grow up before starting a business. Let’s show you how! 

Some people think that business and children absolutely do not mix. Actually, having children can spark the motivation to change our lives for the sake of our families. The sudden shift in focus and huge responsibility can be the boost we need to start our own businesses.  In fact, the results of a 2016 Yell survey may surprise you. Yell revealed that “small business owning parents make 18% more annual profit than non-parents”. So, how can this be done? 

Firstly, ask for advice! According to a survey of more than 1,200 firms conducted by the 2023 UK StartUp Awards and Starling Bank, people whose parents are entrepreneurs, are more likely to become entrepreneurs themselves. This is not only an incentive to set an inspiring example for your children, but statistically, there will be someone in your life that you can turn to for free advice. Think about it, do you have a parent, grandparent, uncle, aunt, neighbour, friend, or acquaintance you can turn to? Ask them the following questions: 1) What inspired you to pursue your entrepreneurial dreams? 2) Did you have children before or after you started your own business? 3) How did this impact your business journey? 4) What do you wish you had known then? 5) What would you change? 5) How did you balance family life with business life? 6) How did you cope with financial worries? 7) What happened to your business during the school holidays? 8) What are the pros and cons of working from home versus outside premises while being a parent? 9) Has being a business owner affected the career choices of their children? 10) How has your family benefited from you being a business owner? Ask as many people as possible and make the most of this free advice.  

We aren’t going to lie. Running a business is tiring. Running a business while parenting is exhausting! According to the Yell Small Business Survey of 2016, 81% of parents work on the weekends and 63% work 7 days a week. We need to face reality. It is hard to keep to ‘business hours’ when we own the business! The same survey revealed that 53% checked their emails throughout the evening and 32% checked them even while on holiday.  14% never take breaks. But it’s not all bad news. Being a parent helps us to view success and contentment in a more balanced way. 79% of parent business owners class their businesses as successful while just 67% of the non-parents do. As parents, how should we measure our business success? 

By Stef Cozens

Look out for part 2! In it, we will share how to measure the true success of your business and how to pass your skills on to the next generation.

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