Life has a way of putting you in odd situations – like you becoming a parent (or soon-to-be one) just
when you’re committed to starting your own business. If this is happening to you, you’re going to have
to stay on your toes to balance family time with the needs of your business. Here, the Nanny League
offers advice to new (or soon-to-be) parents on taking care of their child while running a business:
Understand what your newborn needs
Newborns sleep for up to 16 hours a day, going by a BabyCenter report, which means you won’t need to
spend every waking hour with your child. Still, your child has needs – including diapering, bathing,
feeding, playtime, massaging, and more. You’ll have to anticipate said needs (it takes practice) and
manage your time to adequately care for your child and business.
Introduce your child to a routine
Routines can be your best friend – not only do newborns thrive on routines (it offers a sense of
consistency and security), but they also allow you to organize your day optimally for work, child care,
and, hopefully, personal time. Happiest Baby recommends a flexible routine, starting about a month old,
with activities like designated feeding times, monitored naps, and sleep cues.
Organize your space
Organizing your space makes it easier for you to look after your child and work simultaneously. For
instance, consider setting up a home office next to the nursery. That way, you can keep an eye on both your business as well as your child and quickly walk over when they need you. Also, making your home
baby-friendly will make it easier to tend to your child.
Follow a business plan
Having a business plan can give you clarity on what you need to do to be successful and give you
concrete goals to aim for, short-term and long-term. This document contains details about your
company, your monetization strategy, the structure of your company, your funding sources, financial
projections, market research, and other key details. By making this document, you’ll be able to use your
time constructively and avoid missteps.
Make your business processes more efficient to save time
There are only so many hours in the day. Making your business processes more efficient is essential to
getting the most out of your time (and becoming more profitable). Some ways to bring in more
efficiency are automating processes, redesigning processes, digitizing, using business utility apps, and
using data analytics for decision-making.
A simple but powerful suggestion is re-organizing your files by using just one of many free PDF merger
tools. If you have multiple projects involving multiple teams or clients, you will likely have to work with
countless individual files for each client and project. You can make life easier by using the PDF merger
tool to re-organize various individual files into one (or a low number), having a primary PDF file for every
project. You can move page orders around in the PDF as you like. It cuts down on the time it takes to
find important documents and information.
Don’t do it alone – ask for help
You shouldn’t do everything on your own. You should, ideally, work with your partner (if applicable) to
take turns looking after your newborn, and you can always ask for help from family or friends. When it
comes to your business, you should delegate. If your budget is an issue, you can hire part-time
employees or outsource work to freelancers.
Last, but not least, consider acquiring a compassionate helper from The Nanny League! We staff
newborn care specialists and nannies who help with infant care. Also, we provide household managers
and personal assistants to look after day-to-day tasks and chores, leaving you free to focus on key
business tasks.
Conclusion
Being efficient and organized is how you’ll have enough time to take care of your child as well as your
business. Don’t forget to take care of yourself while you’re at it – being a parent-cum-entrepreneur is
hard work. Leave enough time for rest, follow a self-care routine, and ask for help to avoid burning out.
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