How do you create an online business that fits into your lifestyle ? If you have ever wondered as a stay-at-home parent if it would be possible to have a business that affords you both the time and flexibility freedoms and earn an income, then this article is for you.
To have the ability to work when it suits you and have the time freedom to focus on Parenting is the promise of an online business model. In this article, you will learn how to free yourself from the limitations that hold you back from starting an Online Business. It will guide you through replacing current negative mindsets with business growth mindsets. Challenge the notion that we can only be one thing (so limiting!) and allow yourself to accept that you do not live in a bubble. Like it or not, your home life affects your career, and the opposite is true.
If you can have values that you pull from your personal life into your business, you experience a release from outside pressure to conform and perform.
An Online Business Model allows you to pace your growth, stretch your creativity and strengthen your ability to persevere all from the comfort of your home. You build and control a business modelled after your values and affords you the time and flexibility freedom to do life!
The world wants us to identify as just one thing. You and I both know that we wear many hats. We are Parents, Business Owners, Runners, Bakers, Readers, Writers, Musicians. We are not just one thing. You owe yourself the ability to let your life’s work reflect who you are in totality.
There is a freedom that comes from accepting yourself. A study by the Kauffman Foundation found that nearly 60 per cent of entrepreneurs, has at least one child when they started their first business. This proves the point that there is a space for us to participate as parents and entrepreneurs.
How To Overcome the Mindset That Has Held You Back Before?
Now that you know the importance of time and flexibility freedom. Let us consider the mindset that will help you start, grow and scale your Online Business.
If you are like me, you may have considered many times to start a business. Like me, you were held back because you had these limiting beliefs.
Limiting Mindset # 1: I Am Not Capable of Doing It – It Is Too Hard, Too Techy Not in My League.
Overcoming Mindset: I can learn new things, and I am open to learning
The best way to overcome limiting beliefs is to adopt a growth mindset. A growth mindset, simply put, is allowing yourself to learn. In her Book, Mindset Dr Carol Dweck encourages us to change how we think to fulfil our potential. Dweck explains why it’s not just our abilities and talent that bring us success-but whether we approach them with a fixed or growth mindset. Attitude is everything
Limiting Mindset # 2: My Business Idea Has Been Done By Someone Else There Is No Space For Me.
Overcoming Mindset: My Voice Has A Place In This World, And People Are Waiting And Listening For It.
Here’s the thing, like it or not, there is someone out there who is waiting for you to help them solve a problem. You are a guardian, the one who will help them cross the problem bridge to solution land.
Many years ago, I started dreaming up Hippos to Horses Marketing when I listened to a podcast by Pat Flynn. His Podcast show introduced me to the world of Online Business. At that time, I was sold on the idea of working from home and having the time freedom to pick and drop my kids in school. The word ‘freedom’ really resonated with me. So Pat’s voice gave me my space in the entrepreneurial universe.
I think we are looking for someone to permit us to be present in those spaces. Oddly enough, they may look very different from you, have different life experiences, but their message and how they deliver this message resonates with us. Think about it someone is waiting for you to allow them into a space with your content.
Limiting Mindset # 3: I Am Not an Entrepreneur, Other People Can Do It, Not Me.
Overcoming Mindset: I Am Committed to Seeing this Through to The End.
The overcoming mindset adaptation you need is ‘Grit’. Grit, according to Dr Angela Duckworth, is the secret to outstanding achievement. Grit is but a unique blend of passion, persistence and talent. She’s also found scientific evidence that grit can be learnt and developed. You just need to nature the growth of grit.
As an Online Business owner, you will need to develop Grit. There will be times when you will feel like giving up. You will need to inhale all the grit you can to keep going and take comfort in knowing that the challenges you face are not unique to you. Every entrepreneur has had to deal with discouragement at some point in their journey.
Can you be A Stay- at -Home Parent and Still run a Business?
Can you be a Stay- at -Home Parent and Still run a Business? The answer is yes. Jeff Walkers was a “Mr Mom”, his own words, not mine. He had left the corporate world to be a stay- at- Home parent. In the BookLaunch, he mentions that he did not thrive in the corporate world. Walkers is the Product Launch Formula creator and author of the New York Times Best Seller, Launch.
Jeff is now a success story. From his humble beginnings with an old computer in the basement of his home. He was able to launch and sustain a thriving Online Business.
I love that Jeff acknowledges the challenges of caring for the house and the children, especially when they are little. He encourages us to take the first step and to keep on taking baby steps.
‘If I can go from Mr. Mom with Zero entrepreneurial experience …and can be a success story, so can you!’, Jeff Walker.
How to be imperfect and still make progress!
Perfection and the desire to achieve perfection can be limiting. So many people are waiting for the “perfect” moment so that they can start pursuing their dreams, goals and ambitions. For most of us, this never happens, and I know you know someone in your life who waited for a perfect moment that never came.
Now is the time to live. In the middle of your mess, there is a message. Experience is never wasted; there is always a lesson. The next time you face a similar challenge, you will do better. Your experience can help others to avoid the same pitfalls.
As a stay-at-home parent, you have probably taken the bold move to put your career on hold so that you can be the primary caregiver for your family. You may have moved across the country or continent to support your partner’s career.
Like me, you still have the burning desire to do something of your own and still prioritise family. The solution for me was an online business.
Online Business affords me these three fundamental freedoms :
- Self-acceptance
- Time
- Flexibility.
There is, therefore no excuse, for me and you to stand by the sidelines of life and cheer others. There is a business model that, in my opinion, is great. The start-up costs are minimal. You need a website ( free versions available ), laptop/tablet/smartphone and the willingness to put in the time.
Is it possible not the trade time for money? Yes , but only when you have a Business that works for you .
only when you have a Business that works for you .
How To Align Personal Values to Business Goals?
Have you ever felt that your values do not align with your business goals? Do you ever read about entrepreneurs who have made it big and the sacrifices they made, not just for individuality but at the cost to the family?
I have to confess that I love my business, and I tend to focus on my work. I gravitate towards perfectionism, which limits my potential. If this ‘Parents who Biz’ is going to work for you and me. We have to be honest about our values and priority.
I want to be a present parent who has an online business that serves others. If you look at my content, you will see that it is changing to reflect the values and challenges that I face as Stay at Home Parent.
As Stay-at-Home Parents pursuing entrepreneurial endeavours, how do we handle the barrier in balancing both Parent life and entrepreneurial life?
The answer is simple, articulate and embrace the crucial values. Commit to honouring those priorities that are aligned to your values as you progress through the journey of life.
Everything in your life is connected. If you are stressed on the work front, your family suffers and vice versa. Nothing and no one is perfect.
Everything in your life is connected
If you are honest, there is no balance in the true sense of the word. The word that comes to mind is present. It is turning off the smartphone when your child wants to share something from their day. Presence is also allowing your children to see you enjoy your work.
I have made it a priority to stop working when the children are home from school. I spend that time being involved in their activities and helping them navigate the challenges they face. Is it easy for me? No! Am I tempted to schedule my social media content whilst they are working on their homework? YES!
But I know time flies by so quickly, and they grow up so fast, and I want to be present in the moments that we have together.
I have created a business that should give me the freedoms I desire, time, flexibility and self-acceptance. The model has to work for me and not me working for it. Stay at home parent, give yourself the grace to make progress in line with your values. Do you realise that the fact that you are a parent makes you a leader? It hones your leadership skills. Your leadership skills, in turn, help you in your business. And that these two don’t have to live as separate identities; they can coexist. Everything is so beautifully interconnected.
I have created a business that should give me the freedoms I desire, time, flexibility and self-acceptance.
Parenting and entrepreneurship are not easy, life is not easy, but it is so worth it.
Create Your Own Products to Genuinely Reap the Financial Freedom
Walt Disney’s First Cartoon Character was Not Mickey Mouse It was Oswald the Rabbit. Because Disney did not have the rights to Oswald, he was forced to leave the character behind when he parted ways with Universal studios. Walt learned a valuable lesson and made sure he owned the copyright to his next character, Mickey Mouse. Oswald continued to appear in films for more than a decade after Disney’s departure.
The critical lesson for you is to create your own metaphorical Oswald.
The critical lesson for you is to create your own metaphorical Oswald.
One of the fastest ways is to create digital products, and this could be anything from Blogs to Vlogs. You can make these products in your ‘business allocated time’ and with the assets you already have.
People now place a lot more value on personal experience. This trend transcends to the corporate world, where skills trump academic qualifications. If you want to learn a skill fast, you are better of going to someone who has the skills and experience.
I hired someone on Fiverr who was honest enough to admit that they had no academic qualifications for the job. I hired based on the skill and detail of their previous work.