subject: Letting go of the "I can do it all" me [print this page] Letting go of the "I can do it all" me Letting go of the "I can do it all" me
Having a business, especially a new business, is a lot like having a child. You spend many hours nurturing it to grow. The hope is that one day it can become something completely mature and self-sufficient.
There are business owners like myself who are nurturing a toddler business and an actual, human toddler at the same time. This presents many unique and tricky challenges. I've found the best option to keep the business running smoothly and avoid a lot of the "mommy-guilt" is to really research and use my resources. In other words, ask for help. While we all strive to be the perfect dynamo woman of the new millennium, stop and ask yourself, why? Why are you trying to kill yourself on this? There is no prize for doing it all yourself. Regardless of how good we are, we all only get 24 hours in a day.
Let's start with child care. You cannot run a business from your house if you child is there. Plan on daycare, play dates, nannies, babysitters, whatever it takes for you to have the alone time to get work done. You will be able to do it more efficiently without the distraction. The bonus is, your child will learn to function without you, which sounds terrible, but they really do need time away from you to be healthy.
Second, get resources to help you out in the office. Interns, part-time employees, and family that just want to help out can do all sorts of basic tasks. Having someone come in and help you out as an assistant might cost $8-$10 per hour. That is money well spent for you to do more of the decision-making, meeting new clients and other business owner tasks.
Your time and your business are yours to control and this type of delegation is the only way you can have it all. You may have to loosen the reins of perfection. Your assistant may not have filed exactly the way you wanted it, but it is workable and it is done. Your husband may have skipped the bath time and fed your child Cheerios for dinner, but everyone is safe and happy to see Mommy when she is done working.
Let go of the "I can do it all" mentality to enjoy the best of the personal and the professional worlds.
This article may be reprinted when the copyright and author bio are included. 2010 Catherine Lang-Cline, Portfolio Creative, LLC.
