I posted a reel on Instagram all about a week in the life with my schedule in the last year and a half working part-time as a mom who owns a business. Today, I want to expand on what I explain in that very short 90-second clip to tell you more of the nitty-gritty details about what my week is like running my business, taking care of my son, recording this being very pregnant, and how my team and my husband fit into this.
We have had three days of childcare since November of 2022 and that’s been working well for us. Before that, we had no childcare at all. I know I’ve been asked questions about it so today I want to talk about my work week, what it looks like running a multiple six-figure-year business on part-time hours while I work from home without full-time childcare. And we're also going to talk about that “40 hour work week” and some mindset stuff around that. So let's get to it.
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Sharing BTS Of My Part-time Work Schedule
In case you’re wondering WHY I’m sharing this, let me explain. First of all, I get asked about this stuff all the time. Second, I know I personally love hearing how other people schedule things and make their lives and businesses work together. I’m an open book and happy to share what it looks like for me to be working part-time as a mom.
A few things I want to get out of the way before we dive in. Every week does NOT look the same. And for the interest of transparency, having only three days of child care instead of five IS harder on my business. I don’t want to sugarcoat that. I’m not choosing this because it makes the most sense to grow my business as fast as possible. Instead, I’ve structured my business and goals around having an intentional and fulfilling life for our family.
Read More: Bible Verses to Encourage You in Goal Setting & Vision Casting as a Business Owner
Challenging the Idea of a 40 Hour Workweek
So let's talk about this idea of “full-time” real quick. Maybe you do want a 9-5 schedule and maybe you don’t want to have any stay-at-home parent days besides the weekend because that better aligns with your personality or desires. That’s TOTALLY FINE! I sometimes feel cautious sharing stuff like I am now because I don't want to come off as though I’m trying to say this is the only way to do things because it’s certainly not. I know everyone picks their life schedule and things differently and for different reasons and I also know for a fact that this will not always be the way I do things either. I’m about to add another baby to the mix and everything will kind of get thrown out the door as we adjust to our new family. All of this changes as our seasons of life change.
With that said, I also feel like we as entrepreneurs say that we’ve “ditched that 9-5”, only to find ourselves still feeling like we need to work 40+ hours a week (and that might not even be enough if you’re early on in business and feel like you need to hustle).
But the truth is, this idea of a 40 hour work week actually came from the Industrial Revolution in the early 1900s, so it’s not like it’s actual science or evidence that we all need 40 hours of work to get everything done. The industrial revolution is also what brought men out of jobs that were in their homes (like farming) where they were likely around their kids a lot more. From there, mothers became the childcare solo providers in so many families. And then now we have a situation where as women, we're blessed to also be able to work, but where is the childcare going? In general, it tends to be harder on women who want to work because you might have a situation where childcare falls on you more depending on your family dynamics.
An Alternative to Working 40-Hour Workweeks
I would also challenge you to try to reduce your work hours while increasing the productivity in the organization (and ultimately the revenue and profits of your business). That's more of my goal. And if you want to research some more about the Industrial Revolution stuff, I read this INCREDIBLE book called “Take Back Your Family”. It's really, really excellent, and in it, he explores how this shift in the way we work has changed the dynamics in families now.
My point here is that if you are someone who desires to have your kids home more (or you want to do something else with your time), I just want you to know that it’s possible. I’m proof. And I don’t think people talk about it enough.
It feels like our society has committed to either or (as in, you need full-time childcare if you work OR you are choosing to stay home), and what I want you to know if that it can be a bit of a mix. Maybe you’ll find you actually really enjoy life when it’s a mix. You have more options if you want to set up a schedule that allows you to be working part-time as a mom.
What My Life in The Last Year Has Looked Like Running a Business Full-time on Part-time Hours
First, let me just say that I would never say “I run my business part-time” because it is a full-time job and full-time mental headspace to run a business. BUT - I do not put in full-time hours every week as a business owner, which is different! I can be working part-time as a mom, but that doesn't mean my business is only running part-time.
And in addition to that, I was the sole breadwinner for our family while my husband was in graduate school for about three years. Now we both are earning, but that was also an element of my story as a business owner. My business has grown steadily over the years without me putting in tons of hours every week even before becoming a mom. So I want to say too, I don't know what it's like to start a business and already have children because that was not my story. I started my business when I was 22 years old, newly married, and had quit my first 9-5.
So, I've had my business the whole time I've been a mom, but before becoming a mom I was probably averaging 30 to 35 hours a week of work. And since becoming a mom, it's more like 20 to 25 hours a week. So I didn't build my business on 60 hours a week and then stopped once I had kids. I say that because I really would love to encourage you that no matter what season of business you’re in, especially if you are in the early stages of business while already being a parent, there ARE ways to make it work on fewer hours.
OK - let’s move on to what my schedule looks like (right now, as a parent to one two-year-old son while pregnant with another baby boy).
We Have Childcare 3 Days Per Week (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday)
My son Colin goes to a preschool, so he is out of the house and I typically have the house to myself when I’m working! Adam drops him off around 8-8:30 am and then I pick him up around 3:30-4pm. We sometimes switch is up but for the most part I think that’s a nice thing to be 50/50 in your marriage where one person is doing one and the other is doing the other.
Because these are the days when I have the house to myself, those are the days I focus on having meetings. If you look at my calendar, the only time I will schedule meetings outside of those days is if that’s what the other person needed (and then I will double-check with Adam to confirm he can watch Colin). The same goes for Adam. He’s a mental health counselor and he sets his schedule with a group practice in Nashville, so he will try to only see clients on Monday-Wednesday-Friday so that we both get our big work things done on those days.
What I Focus On To Move the Needle in My Business
I don't do intense block scheduling where “Mondays are always this” or “Wednesdays are always this”. It really depends on the week, but I am really intentional about planning ahead and deciding on my big focuses for the week, and sometimes my big focuses for each particular day. I also go with inspiration. Today, as I'm talking to you right now, I did not plan to record this episode, but I was feeling in the mood to record some podcast episodes, and I felt like I had the energy for it, so I did it.
Other tasks I do during these days are:
- Lately, it’s been making my new podcast course and I’ve been focusing on outlining lessons and recording them! Any big project is usually my biggest focus during these uninterrupted days.
- Any meetings are on those days, and I often try to either batch my meetings or schedule them at the beginning or end of my work days so that I can still have uninterrupted work time. That’s really helpful because when you are working three days a week, those days can fill up fast.
- Besides big projects (which can change), I’ll also do things like record these podcast episodes, work on designing new templates, and work on my own new website design that’s coming in 2024!
- Making some social media content. Once every few weeks, I will try to batch record reels, for example
- Lastly, I will spend time doing admin stuff (which there’s always way more of than you’d think!). From goal setting to payroll, there’s a lot!
On these days, I typically work from around 8:30 to 3:30 with some breaks in there for lunch or to workout or take a walk. On average I’m working around 6 hours to 7 hours!
Two Days a Week We Don’t Have Childcare
Then, Tuesday and Thursday, are when my son Colin is home with us and I so cherish these days. It is so much fun. He loves it. He loves being home, he loves being with both of us, he loves his playroom, and he loves going on adventures around town. We have some spots we hit almost every week!
Typically on one of the days (either Tuesday or Thursday), I’m working, and on the other day, Adam’s working. Or sometimes, we will split half days which I usually like. Lately, I’ve been working more because I’ve been working on Podcast Success Blueprint, which has been a busier season for my business and I would say that Adam has been with Colin a bit more on those days. We also have days where neither of us work much except nap time and we're together more as a family, which again is something I really, really love.
Right now, in this busy season where I'm like, okay, I've got just a few weeks until I have another baby and I have all these things to do in my business and all these things set up in my personal life, we do that a bit less. But I do think in this next season where we have a newborn and a toddler, we’ll spend more of those days where we are just spending time together as a family.
Read More: Juggling too much? 4 Keys to Maintaining Your Sanity as a Mom and Business Owner with Ashley Freehan
When I’m Working With My Toddler at Home
Even when it’s my time to work, I get less done when Colin is home. With the arrival of the new baby, my office is now right next to the playroom so I’m getting interrupted a lot more. Because of that, I try to save tasks that are more easy to jump in and out of vs. tasks that need a lot of heavy focus time. So this might be a day where I tackle all the random little to-do list items instead of sitting down to record a podcast or trying to work on a new template.
Another thing I appreciate is that Adam also tries to be gone at least 2 hours straight on these days with Colin, so there WILL be a chunk of time where they are both gone and I’m solo even on these days. That way, if I am trying to record something, that’s when I’ll do it.
I will also add, that even on “my day to work”, my work day ends earlier, usually more like 3:00 pm, and I’ll go hang out with them as a family or relieve Adam early for an hour or so that he can get back to emails/client messages or go to the gym or something. Plus, I’ll also usually always eat all the meals with them if I’m home that day!
When I’m Having a Solo Parent Day
Then, on Tuesday or Thursday when I’m in mom mode, here’s what that looks like. Firstly, I do like to get ready for the day. Ironically, I care less about getting ready on days when I’m working solo at home (when I will often not wear makeup or real clothes) than I do on mom days. But the truth is, I’ve found it helps my mood and energy levels to do my makeup and wear some athleisure clothes. Plus, it takes less than 15 minutes.
I also like to plan something for me and Colin to do outside of the house. If it’s warm, we will usually do things like go to a park or playground, or just enjoy walking around the neighborhood. Or, when it’s cold, like it is lately, we go to indoor places.
For us, we will often do outings in the morning and then stay home in the afternoon. I also will try to run errands on these days (like an Amazon return or a quick trip to the grocery store).
Then, while we are at home, I try to encourage Colin to do activities I want us to do. I love planning fun little crafts and stuff, but toddlers want what toddlers want, and I could have the most fun outing or activity ever planned, but there are some days that he doesn't want to go and do it. And that means that sometimes we don't!
Working on Mom Days
From a work perspective, I'm still engaged on Slack with my team and I will often get on Instagram too, and post some things if I need to. I will sometimes reply to emails and be in my inbox just from my phone, and I often do those things while Colin is playing independently in little spurts. I would love to be on my phone less on my mom days too, if I'm being honest.
Then, during his nap. I am almost always working on things in my business in this current season, or if I need to, I'll do things around the house like cleaning up from lunch or laundry or something. But I also try to do house chores as much as I can while Colin is awake because right now he does so well at helping with a lot of those tasks. For example, while I'm folding laundry, we have a peekaboo game we play that he really enjoys. Then, he helps put the laundry away, so that's an enjoyable task for him. He only naps for 1-1.5 hours so it’s not a lot of time. If I can get the house stuff done while he’s awake, I prefer to use that nap time for some business things or even just to relax and read a book or something.
I Try to Avoid Working on Weekends
Speaking of working part-time as a mom, now talking about the weekends, 90% of the time I don't work on the weekends except to plan a little for my week ahead and maybe to check my email and clear out messages or something. But again, it's all seasonal. I've had some nap times lately on the weekend where I'm doing things like working on maternity leave prep or outlining a lesson for my course. It's all about my mood, but I try to be unplugged from work generally speaking. But again, I feel like I'm in a busy season right now with my work (even during a busy season, I’m still only putting in 25-30 hours per week).
6 Tips for Running a Multi-Six Figure Business Working Part Time Hours
If this schedule is inspiring to you and you would love to create a balance of time at home and time working for yourself, here are some things that I think can help make working part-time as a mom happen for you.
1. This did not happen by accident.
This schedule took a lot of intentional planning and a lot of conversations between me and my husband trying to figure this out. It also meant saying no to a lot of things. I think that if I just had five days of childcare, my business would grow so much faster. And it's worth noting too that the reason we don't do full-time childcare is not because we couldn't make it work financially. Again, if I did that, I think my business would grow a lot faster and would easily cover any cost that full-time childcare would add. But we don't WANT to do that. We want Colin and our future kids home more.
So because of that, it takes a lot of intentional planning and again, does not happen by accident, and it doesn't happen without intentional desire. So again, this is what I want as a mom. I knew I didn't really ever want to be a stay-at-home mom (that’s just personally never been on my heart), but I did know that I wanted to be home with my kids more often than not.
Honestly for me, I wish I was with Colin even more than I am currently. While at the same time, I know it would be easier on my business if we had even more childcare. And if I had no childcare, I couldn't run my business. So it's all about gives and takes. I love what I do. So much of my work, I can't imagine not doing, and I also know that my kids will eventually be school-aged and at that point, my work schedule will look so much different.
But I just feel like it’s important to say that this doesn't happen by accident. It starts with an intentional conversation with your co-parent or spouse and saying, “Hey, here's what I'm thinking. How could we make this work?”
2. As I Commit To a Schedule, I Know It’s Not Forever
When I commit to a schedule, I know it's not forever. We are constantly tweaking how things work. So for example, I have felt a pull lately to take on more mom time on Tuesdays and Thursdays than I have been lately. That's one of my 2024 goals after my maternity leave is over. Plus, adding a baby will change all of this.
My advice to you as you think about what you want your schedule to look like is to think in terms of months, not years. Your schedule WILL change as a mom because at least part of your schedule will be dictated by another human’s schedule.
3. I Have a Team
This is a BIG part of how this all works for me at this point. So, in reality, there are probably around 40-50 hours a week of work going into my business, it's just not all ME pulling those hours. I want to be transparent when I’m saying that I’m working 20-25 hours a week, there is MORE work going into my business to make this all work.
Yes, that changes the “profit” numbers but for me, it’s so worth it. I don't want to be doing everything myself, and I also can't do everything myself and create this lifestyle. I'm trying to structure my business so that I get to be in mom mode more. And that's something that happens over time. I started with one team member and now I have a few team members (contractors). They all have their own businesses as well, but that is something that really helps make this all happen.
Read More: How to Host a Team Vision Meeting to Kick Off the Year (or Quarter!)
4. My Business is Highly Systematized
My business is highly systematized, which again, did not happen by accident. My business has a lot of products that I'm selling so that I can make money while I'm not working. Those systems allow us all to work smarter, not more. And that's always been my goal. I always want to try to work smarter with what I have than to try to pull more hours for the sake of pulling more hours.
5. I Have a Husband Who is ALL IN on This Plan With Me
Seriously, it's his idea just as much as it is mine. He also only works part-time hours in his job, like I already said, which really helps us make this happen. We got on the same page about this, and I know I cannot speak to everyone else's marriage or how you figure out and navigate that, but for us, we had the vision before we became parents that this was what we wanted to do. Of course, then we've refined it over time, but this is something we talk about frequently and he's really helpful.
6. It Does Not Feel as Easy as it Sounds
Lastly, I feel like in some ways when I say the schedule it’s like, “oh, it’s so nice and clean and organized and systemized and wonderful!!” But in reality, a lot of the days I do feel like there’s not enough time to get everything done in my business that I feel like I need to or want to. I do struggle with the pull between wanting to be with my son (and next son) and also wanting to do everything I can for my business.
Building a Life-First Schedule
Like I said earlier, I really do love my work. I'm not just working to make a dollar. I truly love what I do and cannot imagine not doing what I do. I just want to acknowledge that because I'm sure a lot of you guys feel that same tug-a-war emotionally as you try to figure out a work-life balance.
Lastly, one thing that's helpful for me when I'm in mom mode is to remind myself that “there's nothing more important I could be doing right now”. Whether it's that I am playing with Colin's train set with him, or if I am trying to get him into the car seat when he doesn't want to, there's nothing more important I could be doing right now.
And then when I'm working, it helps me to know and remember that Colin is being loved on and well taken care of by whoever he's with, whether it's my husband or with his teachers at school. I also like to remind myself that what I'm doing now when I'm not with him is also super important and impacting the lives of other people. So it's both.
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