Maybe you are a stay-at-home mom, and you want to start a business. Maybe it relates to the career you had prior to motherhood, or maybe it’s a completely new idea. Whatever it is, you want to create something new. Maybe it’s to contribute financially to your family, maybe it’s because you want something that’s “just yours” and the adventure of business sounds fun/exciting to you, or maybe it’s for so many reasons that you can’t even pinpoint them exactly, you just know you’re feeling called to this, passionate about this, and you have capacity to add something else to your plate. If that’s you, this episode is for you. I’m sharing four pieces of advice I’d give the Stay at Home Mom Starting a Part-Time Business. Let’s dive in!
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Are You New Here? Hi! I’m Elizabeth.
I’ve been a business owner nearly 9 years now, and have been freelancing longer than that. I started my business before becoming a mom, which is probably different than your situation if you’re reading this. I design and sell website templates, so if you need a website as you start your business, I’m your gal! You can shop for those here. I also teach in online courses — one for designers (Booked Out Designer) and one for podcasters (Podcast Success Blueprint). I’ve also hosted this podcast for almost 5 years now.
I have two boys, and at the time of recording, I have a 3 years old and a six month old. I’m also a Christian and my faith is important to me. Plus, since becoming a mom, I have just so felt God calling me towards a vision of helping more women do exactly what I am talking about in this episode: starting a business that fits around your family life versus one that takes you AWAY from your family and costs you time that you want to have with your kids, and stress that makes it hard to be present as a mom.
So that’s me in a nutshell.
Now, let’s talk about you — and let me first say CONGRATULATIONS on wanting to start a business (or have already started one). I know it’s scary, and it’s a BIG deal. I know that you’ll look back on this season of your life with fondness and hopefully see beauty and strength in yourself as you made this decision.
It feels vulnerable, and also can be a weird thing to add into your schedule when you’re already a busy mom, so just GO YOU! I hope this podcast is a resource to help you with the work of it all.
I could give a million tips for you — but here are four pieces of advice that were on my heart as I thought about what I would tell a stay-at-home mom who wanted to start a business.
1. Know that your career prior to your career pause for motherhood is valid and relevant, even when the world and your industry changes.
This is a big one. Go easy on yourself diving back in. You’re not irrelevant. But things like AI have popped up, or maybe the software you used back 5 years ago doesn’t exists anymore, or maybe you feel like “I was once good at X, but now I’m not sure if I am anymore”, etc. I know how that feels and my advice for you is to just go easy on yourself.
I know for me, even when I’ve just taken pauses for like 5 months for a maternity leave, things chance drastically! During my first maternity leave, two of my everyday business softwares completely redesigned their interfaces while I was gone. So those types of shifts will make you feel potentially “out of touch” and maybe there is some learning to do, but it’s okay. Do the learning! Don’t tell yourself the lie that prior experience, your prior degree, prior courses taken, whatever it is, is irrelevant. It isn’t. It’s super relevant still. And pieces of what you used to do will come back to you and practice will give you back more confidence.
In addition to that, the skills you’ve learned while on a career pause are incredibly relevant as well.
Moms are super humans, I truly believe that, and I admire stay-at-home moms so much because it’s a ton of work. A true daily grind. But you have developed skills in your motherhood that are going to apply to your business endeavors. Things like organization, time management, discernment, and managing a family calendar—that’s all still very relevant to starting a new business.
2. Focus on deciding what the business is, who you want to serve, and then go find clients. That’s your first step.
I have a friend, who I bet will listen to this episode, who has been a stay-at-home mom for about four years, and who worked in copywriting before stopping to stay home. Now she’s starting a business. She’s absolutely wonderful, and talented, and I’m so proud of her. She’s the inspiration for the episode!
It can be hard to figure out “what the heck is the first step” because the reality is, there are a million first things you can do. So what do you pick is a real question!?
- Do you go register your business with your city?
- Do you make a business card?
- Do you hire a designer for a logo?
- Do you come up with your packages?
My advice is that you shouldn’t do business cards or registering your business (before you even start earning money) as the first step.
The first step is actually deciding what you’re doing to do — maybe it’s website design, maybe it’s copywriting and SEO (like my friend), bookkeeping services, photography, social media management, another type of design like wedding stationery, illustrations on Etsy, making bread and selling it from your home (I have another friend who does this business!). Whatever it is — decide.
Maybe it has to do with your previous career, maybe it doesnt, but just decide.
Next, decide your niche. I’ve done a recent episode on this topic, go back and listen to that for more because I don’t want you to niche down too much. Then, go get some clients.
And in the “going to get clients” — that might involve a website first or it might mean just marketing from social media for a few months. Regardless, a website should be an early step, but it might not be the first step. I have templates that can help with that (take this quiz to see which one is right for you!).
There are lots of potential early steps that are just distractions. For example, I think print collateral like business cards is a distraction, registering your business is a distraction, and obsessing over which software to use is a distraction. Just go!
3. Don’t let this new venture affect how you show up as a wife and mom, take it slow! It doesn’t have to be all or nothing.
I really love this quote: “Children are not a distraction from more important work. They are the most important work.” - CS Lewis. I also believe that this is how Jesus lived his life and ministry if we look at the Bible. Kids were not in the way, in fact, Jesus said to be more like children. That doesn't mean that we can't hold two things true, you can really care about your motherhood and your family life, and you also want to start this business.
Adding something to your plate as a mom when you probably have systems that work for you right now in your motherhood can feel taxing. And it’s absolutely OKAY to have hustle as you get going. There’s a lot of “Soft CEO” content out there from people who absolutely did hustle in the beginning.
So as you start a business, maybe you’re working more after bedtime, maybe a day when the kids are at Mother’s Day Out when you normally do house duties, maybe you’re letting some things go and working on your business instead, that is all good and great and normal.
I believe getting a business off the ground takes hustle, drive, and time. But my advice would be to know what your goal is for this season for how much time you’ll be working. It’s easy to let work overtake your life if you let it. Businesses, especially work-from-home businesses, are tough on boundaries. I also think that you need to be OK with slow growth so that you don’t get stressed out to the max and feel like you can’t manage it all. Your business should fit into your life, make you money, and bring you joy.
Read more: Why Traditional Productivity Hacks Don’t Work For Moms (5 Things to Remember Instead!)
4. Surround yourself with people who believe in you.
Especially when it comes to who you’re talking about your business with. It’s hard enough getting back into work as it is, but even harder when you’re putting yourself out there as business owner. I hope that your spouse, family, and friends all believe in you!
I’d also say, practice telling a close friend about this goal and idea, someone who you know will lift you up, and lean into that energy they have for you that “you can do this”. And if you talk to someone about this and they’re like “are you sure??? Sounds like a bad plan” or is especially negative about it, block it out, you don’t have to listen to them. That doesn’t mean you’re not their friend, but that does mean that they are not who you’re going to for business advice right now.
Advice for The Stay at Home Mom Starting a Part-Time Business
Lastly, I just want to remind you if you're a stay at home mom starting a part-time business, that your career is a long game. Your motherhood's a long game. Enjoy the ride. Enjoy the changes and shifts and the interesting endeavors that this new season brings of trying something new.
I hope that when business starts to feel stressful, because it will, that you can also find joy in it and know that you're choosing this. And if at any point you decide, “I don't want to choose this anymore”, that's okay too. That's worth saying. If you start and then decide you don’t want it or it doesn’t make sense in this season, it's okay to say, “I'm going to pause on this and go back to this and I'm going to try it again later”. It's a long game. Your career is a long game. Your motherhood is a long game.
Links Mentioned:
Listen to Episode #271 About Niching Down
Not sure which template is right for you? Take the quiz!
Listen to the Breakthrough Brand Podcast
Thanks to our sponsor, Christian Heathcare Ministries! CHM is a health cost-sharing ministry and is a faith-based alternative to traditional health insurance. My family has been using CHM for our healthcare for 4+ years now, and we couldn’t be more pleased. As a business owner we all know healthcare is outrageously expensive with CHM you can save money on your budget and know if a medical situation ever arises CHM will be there to take care of you and share 100% of your eligible bills. Learn more here!
