Motherhood is a great balancing act, but add to that running your own business and suddenly you鈥檙e juggling many more balls. Despite this challenge, more and more moms are choosing the role of business owner and mother.
Chances are you might know one of these busy ladies because, according to a recent survey by Sage North America and Mompreneur, 33.8 per cent of small businesses in Canada are solely or partially owned by women.
However, the idyll of sitting at your desk while well-behaved children play at your feet is rarely the case. In fact, there is no blueprint on how to run a business while being a mom. From running a market stall on the weekend to working while little ones nap, 麻豆社国产moms, in particular, are doing it their own way鈥� and doing it in a way that suits their lifestyle.
Kimberly Daniels, DONA certified doula and owner of Lunamama Doula Services, can be called out any time of day or night to attend to the moms who need her help.聽
鈥淏eing on call for births can be quite challenging,鈥� says the mother of two. 鈥淚 am extremely fortunate to have an incredibly supportive husband who is able to care for our children while I am attending births. Balancing caring for my family and my doula families requires having a 鈥榲illage鈥� of聽family friends who are willing to step in at a moment鈥檚 notice.鈥�
Andrea Lamont, registered traditional Chinese medicine practitioner, has been practicing for 13 years and operates out of Garibaldi Health Clinic. She treats a wide variety of ailments using all aspects of traditional Chinese medicine from acupuncture to moxabustion, and cupping. She鈥檚 also a mother of 16-month-old twin boys and finds time management to be particularly tricky.聽
鈥淥ne of the biggest challenges of being self-employed is the feeling that you could always be doing more. It seems that motherhood comes with the same feeling.鈥�
As difficult as the juggling may be, it鈥檚 not without its rewards, Andrea says.聽
鈥淚 love and am passionate about both my family and my life鈥檚 work. I am so grateful that being self-employed affords me the ability to decide on the right ratio of work-home life.鈥�
For Daniels, the reward is doing something that she loves and is proud of.聽
鈥淢y children know that when I have to leave them that I am with a mama who is going to have her baby soon, or caring for a mama and her new baby.鈥�
And just like motherhood, becoming a mompreneur can be a journey in itself.
Lamont鈥檚 journey has taken her from training in China to practicing in New York City to owning the award-winning Glow Acupuncture and Wellness Center, in Yaletown, for nine years.聽
鈥淚 decided to sell the business so that I could both live and work in Squamish. A decision I am so glad that I made.鈥�
The notion to go out on her own first occured to Daniels after witnessing the birth of her first niece eight years ago.聽
鈥淚 was drawn to everything that had to do with pregnancy and birth,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 attended the DONA doula training five years ago and have been supporting growing families ever since. As Lunamama evolved, I created Apr猫s Baby, with a focus on the transition into motherhood through postpartum care, as well as founding and facilitating a peer support group for new moms鈥� a free group that is open to all new mothers in the community.鈥�
Having experienced postpartum struggles herself, helping others through this is very close to her heart.聽
鈥淢others struggling with postpartum depression do not have to go through it alone. I know first-hand how debilitating the realization that things are not going as you expected can be.鈥�
Despite working incredibly hard, Squamish鈥檚 mompreneurs still find time to support one another. Helped, in part, by groups such as 麻豆社国产Mothers in Business 鈥� run by local mother of three, Shannon Lorenz.聽
鈥溌槎股绻鶰others in Business was created to bring mothers together to share stories, inspire聽each other and learn valuable lessons,鈥� she says.
The group comes together four times a year and the free events are always at capacity. The next meeting is on Tuesday October 14 at 6:30 p.m. at the Howe Sound Brew Pub, and has a great panel of successful mompreneur speakers including Jenn Segger from Challenge by Choice, and Grace Macleod from the 麻豆社国产Chamber of Commerce.聽
For moms wanting to start their own business, Lorenz has some advice.聽
鈥淲e live in a town where entrepreneurship is all around us, so I would encourage everyone to get out there and connect with聽each other. I truly聽believe that mentorship and valuable connections keep you inspired and motivated to lead you to achieving your goals and objectives,鈥� she says. 鈥淏e聽strategic with your business development, it will聽save you time in growing your business and allow you to spend more time with your family.鈥�
If you would like to attend the next 麻豆社国产Mothers in Business event on October 14, email Lorenz at [email protected].
