The Guilty Mom Entrepreneur

Entrepreneur.com:

Most mom entrepreneurs start their businesses to have a career that’s flexible for family life. We own our businesses so that we don’t have to work traditional hours and can create schedules that support motherhood. There’s no perfect balance, however.

Most mom entrepreneurs I speak with are in a daily struggle. When they’re working, they feel like they should be with their kids. When they’re with their kids, they feel like they should be working. A colleague of mine recently attended a business lecture where the speaker said that excellence comes from total attention. She said that you can’t make it to the top without total focus. That speaker was obviously not a mom. Mom entrepreneurs are split into so many directions. It’s hard to have focus. We are a mom, wife, friend, sister, cook, housekeeper and the list goes on.

The authors of Mommy Guilt: Learn to Worry Less, Focus on What Matters Most and Raise Happier Kids say that strategies for guilt-free mommy-living revolve around seven principles:

1. You must be willing to let some things go.
2. Parenting is not a competitive sport.
3. Look toward the future and at the big picture.
4. Learn when and how to live in the moment.
5. Get used to saying “yes” more often and being able to defend your “no.”
6. Laugh a lot, especially with your children.
7. Set aside a specific time to have fun as a family.

Instead of thinking about all you didn’t accomplish in a day, recognize all that you did. So maybe you didn’t bake the cupcakes for your daughter’s bake sale or maybe you forgot to kiss your husband on the way out. It’s OK. You’re contributing so much to your family. The reality is that most men (no offense guys) go to work, play with the kids when they get home and then they’re done. We are now working full time, being full-time moms that still carry many traditional roles. Let it go.