The challenges of growing a seven-figure business when you’re a mother of young children are numerous, but the most harmful of them isn’t whether you have a great team or enough cash to fund the business. The biggest challenge is being able to overcome “mommy guilt”.
The guilt is endless
For the uninitiated, mommy guilt is that nasty little voice in the back of your head that’s constantly telling you that you should be at your child’s school assembly instead of finishing your overdue blog or magazine article, or that you should’ve skipped that important work meeting to take your kid to a playdate.
Mommy guilt can also rear its ugly head to remind you that you’re a bad mother for not preparing the evening meal for the family, but instead had your housekeeper prepare it. These are bad little thoughts left over from the generations of hard-working stay-at-home moms who came before us, but as working moms today, we have somehow taken these on board, even though many of us now work 40 to 60 hours outside the home.
So how did I tackle mommy guilt in order to grow a multimillion-dollar business from scratch?
I got really clear on what my boundaries needed to be with my life partner, my kids, my family, and my friends.
I’ve always had big dreams, and I’m ambitious by nature, but it takes a certain type of man (in my case) to be able to support a woman like me who wasn’t satisfied with being a homemaker for a profession.
My first husband wasn’t that type of man, but I am very grateful to say that my current husband is 100% supportive of both my career and my ambition, and he works for my business!
I encouraged my kids to see from a young age that my value could be found outside the home in the same way their fathers’ had been measured
I showed them that if a mom wanted to have a career, and she had dreams she wanted to achieve, she shouldn’t have to wait until her children were grown and left home before she could pursue them.
As a result, my children have been used to saying goodbye to me as I head off on a speaking tour or to deliver events for my clients. It’s made them resilient little beings who know that their mom is out there creating great things for their future.
In order to be successful in business as a mother of six (three by birth and three by marriage), I’ve also had to be clear with my extended family and friends that sometimes we’d have to sacrifice attending a BBQ or being there in person to watch a niece or nephew play in a sporting match.
Help at home is the next big thing you need to grow your million-dollar business. I feel no shame, none at all, when it comes to admitting that I have a cleaner, a housekeeper, a lawn guy, and a pool guy. This little army of people behind the scenes I thank with all my heart because they allow me to be present with my children when I’m at home. I don’t have to rush from work to prepare the evening meal, while doing loads of washing, cleaning bathrooms, and making beds. I can just be with them!
I want to be very clear here, ladies: We can’t do it all
And nor should we. Like it was for me, if doing household chores drains you of energy and stops you from doing great things, don’t do them.
Put your energy into the things that light you up, and could potentially change the world. It’s my mission to help women around the world understand that they don’t have to wait to start the business of their dreams, or apply for their dream job. So be #brave. The world needs you now.
