Today, I brought on Rebecca Schor from Mama in Biz, and we're talking about some of the shifts and changes that come when becoming a mom who already has a business and is trying to fit motherhood and business together. If you're a first time mom, expecting mom, or a mom to just one little who's trying to figure out how to make business work with your new role as a mom, then this episode is for you. It can be a lot of balance running your business during the early days of motherhood. Rebecca shares some fundamental reminders about business productivity and motherhood that we often hear, but we don't actually implement. And so this is your encouragement to really do and implement the things we're talking about here today, because I do believe you'll see big results in your life and business when you do.
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Who is Rebecca Schor?
Rebecca Schor is a wife, boy Mama, and a passionate photographer turned business coach for Mamas.
When Rebecca became a Mama in 2022, she realized just how HARD it was to try to manage ALL of the things as a Mama and entrepreneur. Determined not to sacrifice precious time with her newborn son (and learning a lot of hard lessons along the way), she learned how to simplify her business, slashing work hours while boosting profitability. This resulted in Rebecca being able to be more present with her son, witnessing all of his special milestones during his first year.
Rebecca continues to strive to build her business around her life, not the other way around and made it her mission to help other Mama entrepreneurs do the same. That is why she founded Mama in Biz in 2024, which is an online community, a podcast, 1-on-1 coaching, monthly virtual Mama meetups and educational resources to support Mama business owners to THRIVE in both business and motherhood! We were never meant to do it all alone, and we don't have to, Mama!
I know I’ve shared about this before, but productivity looks different as a mom. What are some of your favorite productivity tips for moms?
I can definitely say I have gotten a lot more productive since I became a mom. That's part of running a business during the early days of motherhood. I have a lot more limited hours to work right now in this season. I have my son home with me five days a week. So right now, it's just kind of being flexible and learning to navigate each season. I'm getting work done during my son's nap time, so I have to be very productive with that.
At the start of each week and at the start of each day, I like to make a list of my priorities just to see what needs to get done this week to really move the needle forward. I like to make a list because like I said, with having my son at home with me, I don't really have a set schedule. I mean we have a schedule with his nap time, but it's just kind of getting work done during the little chunks in the day that you find the free time.
So having a list of priorities makes sure that I don’t have a lot of decision paralysis. When you have a million different things on your to-do list, it can be hard to decide what to start with. You can lose the little chunks of time that you have just trying to decide what needs to get done.
Then, when you do have time, eliminate distractions. I turn my phone on “do not disturb” and even try to put it even in the other room if I can because phones can be a huge distraction and productivity killer.
Also, another thing I like to do is take some time to do some breathing exercises and meditate a little bit because it can be hard throughout your day trying to keep switching from mom mode to business owner mode. You can feel very overstimulated at times. So I find that when I get my son down for a nap and I do get that chunk of time to do my work, I can feel overstimulated with all the things. So I find if I take a couple minutes to myself to just breathe, maybe do a couple yoga poses just to reset, I feel I can be a lot more productive than just trying to jump right into it and just staying active as well.
Additionally, I find that if I'm sitting down a lot, I feel physically and mentally tired more quickly. So what I recently got was a standing desk and a little elliptical stair stepper that goes under my desk and that has actually been a game changer, just to help keep my energy up while I'm working. This helps me stay productive because if you mentally have more energy, that's going to boost your productivity as well.
Read more: 4 Pieces of Advice I’d Give the Stay at Home Mom Starting a Part-Time Business
What tasks do you think a lot of us focus on that are big time wasters? What did you find in your own business that you needed to cut and how'd you decide what to prioritize?
When it comes to priorities, I look at two things: what's going to move the needle in my business and bring me closer to achieving my goals? Also, what things are my clients relying on me to get done? For example, with my wedding photography business, I have a specific date and deadline that I need to get photos out to my clients. So if I know that a deadline is coming up that will be closer to the top of my list of priorities. And then if there's something that doesn't fall into those two buckets, something that moves the needle forward or client work, then I take a good hard look at it and wonder why am I even doing it at all? And then I usually delete it all together.
Read more: 14 Things That Make Growing Your Business MUCH Harder (Your New “To Quit” List)
What do you think are some fundamental rules that you would say women should consider as we balance running a business during the early days of motherhood?
If you don't have a CRM, you’re definitely going to want to get that set up. If you do a lot of one-on-one client work, you need to make sure that you're keeping track of every correspondence that you have with your clients, as well as any tasks that are coming up so you can actually make a full workflow.
So basically, everything with my photography business, everything that I do with my clients from the time that they inquire with me all the way to their first anniversary, I have every single little step outlined. So that's a great way to really cut back on the time that you spend in your business and optimizing your time knowing that nothing's going to slip through the cracks because you know exactly what you need to do with each client.
Another thing you’ll want to do is use a task management system. I was an old school girl that liked to make a bunch of to-do lists, but I ended up having to-do lists all over my desks and sticky notes all over the place and it just started getting really unorganized. So I switched over to an online task management system. This way, I can add deadlines and see what’s coming up soon. Plus, if you have a team, you can assign certain team members to do certain tasks for you!
Can you share what your startup and end of the day tasks are?
For my work startup routine, I put in my headphones, turn on some motivational music, I check Asana (update it and add any new tasks), and then check my Facebook for any notifications (I will set a timer so I don’t spend more than 5 minutes). Then, I set an intention for my day and dive into my first priority.
Ideally, you’ll want to set aside one hour, or even 30 minutes, when you first sit down to work, to work on something that is going to move the needle forward (something that's going to bring you closer to your goals). Because if we start our workday checking our email, you're automatically in reactive mode. And same goes for one-on-one client work. Don't make that the first thing that you do for your workday because then you just kind of get stuck working in your business. You get stuck on that hamster wheel.
I've gotten burnt out over the past seven years, several times in my business, and I figured out that often the reason why is because there were times when I wasn't actually working on anything creative or that inspired me. Not that my work isn't creative, but constantly doing just client work that can burn you out really easily.
Any tips for those days when running a business during the early days of motherhood when we don’t feel like we move the needle forward?
I would say just give yourself grace. Just know that this season is going to look a lot different. Your business is going to look a lot different than it did prior to having kids, especially if you have little ones.That's why I like to call it a priority list and not a to-do list because it just kind of shifts my mindset a little bit. Like if I don't get everything done on my to-do list, I don't have to beat myself up about it. I know what my priorities are for the day and I know what my priorities are for the entire week.
Also just remember that your clients are a lot more understanding than you think they might be. I know before I became a mom, I feel like I just had this mindset that everything in my business was urgent. I had to respond to my clients immediately or else they were going to get mad at me or they weren't going to want to work with me anymore.
But after I became a mom, I had to slow down a lot just because I don't have the time to be responding to clients 24/7. I had to set a lot of boundaries in my business and my clients have been amazing and completely understanding. Nobody's mad at me, nobody wants to not work with me anymore if I don't answer them immediately. Sometimes the pressure is self-imposed.
Read more: An Easy Hack for More Satisfying Work Days
Any more time management tips for moms?
I use Toggl to track my time because it’s super simple to use. You start the timer, and you type in what you're going to be working on. That was very eye opening for me. I feel like it has helped keep me more accountable because if I said I was going to be working on this specific thing and then I caught myself starting to scroll Instagram, I catch myself and think—nope, this is not what I said I was going to be working on.
Then, just focus on finding ways to automate stuff in your business as much as possible, so you don't necessarily have to be doing all the back and forth between clients. You can make email templates if there's something that you email with all of your clients by turning that into a template.
Also, try batch-working. You can batch social media content and schedule that. You can batch out podcasts episodes and schedule those. So taking those chunks of time that you have and using them efficiently so that you're not glued to your phone or frantically trying to do things at the last minute if you can.
If you're at the point in your business that you can start delegating and taking things off your plate, it's okay to have help. And that's not even in your business, but in motherhood as well. I know a lot of people feel mom guilt about having someone help them with childcare and especially when you're a business owner because people automatically think you're a business owner, you have a flexible schedule, you work from home, you should be watching your kids full time, but it's okay to get help in all areas of your life. You don't have to do it all. You shouldn't have to do it all.
Lastly, I think the phone is the biggest distraction that we have. Try to take the social media apps off your phone and not have your phone in the room when you're working.
How would you say you maintain boundaries between work and family time when you're working from home?
I would say if at all possible, trying to designate a room or area in your house where you can sit down and do your work is helpful. And again, setting boundaries on your phone. Even though my son is home with me full-time right now, I try to separate work and motherhood stuff. I try not to have my phone out in front of him. I did take the email app off of my phone so I'm not tempted to keep taking my phone out and looking at that.
I also would say setting clear boundaries with clients, with how and when they can get a hold of you, is important too. I stopped giving my personal cell phone out to clients and we communicate through email or if there's something they want to talk through, they know how they can schedule a zoom call with me. I thought that was another thing that was going to make my clients mad at me, but it's been great. There hasn't been a single problem. I actually feel like clients have been even more respectful to me now that they know what my hours are, what my boundaries are, and so just communicating that upfront can be really helpful.
Read more: Juggling too much? 4 Keys to Maintaining Your Sanity as a Mom and Business Owner with Ashley Freehan
How do you recommend your clients handle situations where business demands clash with family obligations?
As a business owner, one of the benefits is having control over your schedule. But on the flip side, it also means you may have to miss certain family events. For example, weddings are often booked a year in advance and typically fall on weekends, so if you commit to work that far out, conflicts with family events are almost inevitable.
To balance this, I always recommend setting aside dedicated family time on your calendar. My husband and I, for instance, have designated every Sunday as a family day. We spend it with both our families, so we know never to schedule work on Sundays.
We also try to plan family vacations and weekend getaways as far in advance as possible. Recently, we started making seasonal bucket lists. For example, over the summer, we listed out activities and places we wanted to take our son. This way, when we have a free Saturday, instead of wondering what to do, we can simply pick something from our list. It’s helped us maximize our free time and create wonderful experiences together.
When people talk about “work-life balance,” it’s rarely a perfect balance. It’s more about adapting to the ebb and flow of each season in life. Being flexible is key, whether that means scaling back or pushing forward based on current demands. And it’s okay to work without feeling guilty; sometimes work is necessary, and that’s fine. Kids eventually understand that their parents have responsibilities. I remember my parents worked when I was growing up, and I accepted it as just part of life. They were always there for the important moments, though.
Ultimately, it’s about making family the priority. Work will still be there after your children grow up, the time you have with them is limited.
Lastly, make sure to find a community for yourself. Community is huge. Being a mama can get lonely. Being a business owner can get lonely. We don't have to do all of this alone. And I feel like just having a community to lift you up, to lean on, to share your highs and lows and get advice from is huge.
Connect with Rebecca from Mama in Biz
You can find me on Instagram, and my website here. We also have a Facebook community that’s free to join where I host monthly biz social hours. Would love to see you there!
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