15 Tips on juggling Mum-Life and an online business

Make my CLAY with these mum-life online business tips!

As part of our inspiring ‘Build-her’ stories, see below 15 tips on juggling mum-life and an online business, gained from my experience with a start-up called reCLAYm.

Prior to ‘MUM-LIFE’ my best friend and I started an Australian CLAY based skincare company called reCLAYm.

reCLAYm was the first to introduce the trending PINK clay mask – conveniently packaged for the consumer to use mess free and in portions.

Timing is always of the essence. Whilst in the throws of the business, at this time in our lives, one of us was expecting while the other was set to get married and move overseas. Balancing this all on top of full time work became a rather arduous task. And so, we decided to put reCLAYm on hiatus.

Combining this experience with ‘now’ mum-life, here are:

15 Tips on Juggling Mum-Life and an Online Business

Get clear with your goals. Sounds like standard knowledge, but seriously know what you want out of the endeavour at first. This was entirely a creative project for us without proper consideration as to our capacity. Have a plan in place to achieve some desired work-mum life balance, especially if you are still working elsewhere on top of mum life!
Have a growth plan. If your business grows and you aren’t clear on resource allocation, then you will surely get overwhelmed. We were both working full time whilst working on reCLAYm. In time, one of us began planning a wedding (including an overseas move!) and the other expecting. All while juggling product creation, product development, financials, product reach, orders, packaging and customer care.
This leads me to the third point, don’t spread yourself thin. If you need to hire someone else, hire someone who excels at your weakness.
Don’t let the business overwhelm you. If it does, you may start to lose the passion you had. This brings me back to Points 2 and 3. In hindsight, the business started to overwhelm us as we also lacked belief in ourselves and the endeavour to see it through. I cannot emphasise enough how important it is to work on your internal structures (mindset) in the early days of a business start up. This includes identifying any limiting beliefs and working on removing blocks, through to aligning your beliefs with your passions. Even though the implementation of a clear Action Plan could’ve assisted us with getting through the overwhelm, our beliefs such as a ‘go hard or go home’ attitude left us with little room to lighten the load. We couldn’t see the blindspot at the time that hiring some more help to ease the workload was okay – as long as it coincided with the ‘Growth Plan’ (Point 2).
In addition to Point 4, particularly for the mothers out there, set up a business that will be able to grow with your lifestyle. If you have a transient life, you will need a business that does not need you to physically be there 24/7. Think long term! How do you envision your life in the long run? Adapt the business model to this. Rather than start the business model one way and assume it will give you the financial freedom to leave you working at arm’s length.
Stick to one idea! Simple but true. We found ourselves getting a tad too excited and creatively indulgent, that a plethora of ideas would roll out of our minds. For example, the introduction of the Salted Chocolate Face Mask came at a time when the focus should have been centred around our original Rejuvenating Pink Mask.
There’s no such thing as perfect. Perfection is elusive, a hindrance that exists as an illusion in your mind. If your idea is 80% complete to your standards, then launch! You don’t want to lag out the time to market. There will always be need for improvements.
Go easy on yourself, start small. Ensure you also set some time aside for rest. Check out my other article on the importance of rest to avoid burnout and overwhelm.
Customer service is key. Always listen to your customer and their needs, wants, desires.
Know your target market. Do your research in the formative stages of the business and continue to investigate into your target market. Furthermore, don’t forget about the importance of organic reach. Share your product with your circle (if they fall within your target market). Ask for truthful feedback.
Create a product to cater to a need or a pain point. reCLAYm provided easy to use natural skincare for the modern conscious woman. We ensured for easy to use portion sizes and no mess, with reusable jars.
Don’t get deterred if others copy. Clearly, you must be doing something right. Just keep being you! Inspiring others is a blessing. Adopt an abundance mindset – there’s enough room in the world for success!
Link website to social media accounts and if needed, an online secure payment system. Know that Instagram is now a content saturated market. If you are just starting an online business, look into other social media avenues. This doesn’t mean avoiding Instagram, but keep your options open.
Be present with your child(ren). Ideally, work on your business when you’re alone. That is, if you get the chance, such as when your child sleeps. Try your best to be present with your child and not behind a screen in front of them. Ensure clear boundaries are set between mum-life and work life.
Set boundaries. If working with a friend, make sure you can distinguish between friendship and business. Seek honest feedback from one another. Write up a contract to avoid any misunderstandings and differentiate between business meetings and time to hang out as friends.