GUEST POST BY JENNA SHERMAN
Being a business owner and taking care of a newborn baby are both very challenging and time-consuming tasks, and doing both simultaneously can seem nearly impossible. However, with careful planning and scheduling, strategic decision-making, and a dependable support system, you truly can have it all.
A Tight Schedule
As a new parent and a new business owner, your schedule will likely be difficult at first. Depending on your partner’s work schedule (if you have a partner), they may not be able to contribute very much to help alleviate the demands of the baby or your business. It’s a good idea to use a scheduling application to keep track of your baby’s needs and keep all of your business obligations such as meetings, customer service needs, and work schedules in line so that you don’t forget anything.
Using Space Strategically
You may be surprised how versatile office space can be. If you work at home, consider putting your newborn’s crib and other necessary items in your home office to use the room as a combined space. That way you can run your business effectively while your baby never leaves your sight. However, you may have to be strategic about taking calls and keeping the noise down to get the most mileage out of your baby’s nap times. The difficulty of making this arrangement work depends on the type of business you’re operating.
Utilizing Invoicing Software
When billing customers for products or services, invoicing software can be critical to ensuring that your business is paid promptly and on time. Choose an invoicing tool that allows your customers to pay you through the invoice. You can also receive alerts in real time when customers receive their invoices and pay you, and you can set up recurring payments.
Managing Documents
Managing your business documents is already a challenging endeavor, and with a baby in the mix, you may find yourself needing to become ever more creative in order to make things work. Depending on the size of your business you might have to deal with an influx of documents from a variety of employees, clients, and agencies, and this can become a hassle. Consider using a document management program to create more comprehensive documents, which you can arrange as needed and store on hard drives or cloud servers for safekeeping.
Streamlining
As a business owner, you should take advantage of every opportunity available to you to make running your business simpler and more efficient. One often overlooked way to do that is by obtaining a Tax ID Number for your business. In addition to helping the IRS track your payroll taxes, a Tax ID Number makes it easier to file state and federal taxes, whether quarterly or annually.
Recruiting Help
Taking care of a new baby is hard to do without help, and it can be drastically different depending on the resources you have. If it’s within your capabilities, don’t be ashamed or feel guilty about getting help for your baby or your business. You might have to hire a nanny, a doula, or a babysitter to alleviate your duties sometimes so you can focus on the business, and doing so doesn’t make you a bad parent.
Running an effective business will increase its longevity and let you provide for your family. A new business assistant or secretary can make that side of your life run more smoothly and ease your anxiety, enabling you to parent more calmly and effectively.
Doing It All
By scheduling your days strategically and taking advantage of technology as well as getting help where needed, you can reduce the stress of being a new parent and a new business owner. Doing it all is challenging but far from impossible if you take the right approach.