Work and Family: Find Joy in Finding the Balance

At a steadily increasing pace, women are going into business for themselves. It’s exciting to watch, speaking as a woman entrepreneur myself, and it will be especially interesting to see how our culture here in America shifts over the next decade or two as a result of it. After all, if a greater number of women are lining the business landscape, they will be setting the tone for exactly what doing business will look like, and we women lead some full, productive lives.

Let’s face it: for quite some time, we were told that we couldn’t have it all, shouldn’t want to have it all. We were asked to choose – motherhood or career. And after enough Murphy Browns and celebrity supermoms became part of the scenery, it grew to be apparent that maybe we didn’t have to choose but simply plan ahead.

Balancing family and business isn’t any different than the art of practicing smart, sound planning, prioritizing and forethought in your business and marketing strategies. I have a young son already and am about to have my second child. Like lots of other female and male entrepreneurs out there, I already know that raising a family is one of the most rewarding things you can ever experience. And I also know that running a business and helping a company surpass their goals is exciting and rewarding, too.

I feel fortunate because I live during a time when I don’t have to give up one to have the other. Business goes on, even when big events like having children or getting married enter your life. As with any other professional with a big event happening down the road, we simply plan ahead and make arrangements to keep all of our customers happy – at the office and at home.

I’ve asked an old friend to stop by and serve as a guest blogger for a little bit, and she’s just dying to say hello again. And get a treat. As my trusted Snickers pops by to share some of her wisdom, I’ll be continuing to share insightful articles and observations on current business news as usual. But I’d like to offer a toast (Welch’s white grape juice, of course)…to all the women and men out there who prove every day that we can wear a mommy or daddy hat while we’re conducting a data analysis or plan a big client event while on our down-time we’re planning a three-year-old’s birthday party.

Living and working in balance is just good business, and as small business owners, this is a wonderful area that I plan to be focusing on more in my blog in the months ahead, to offer some tips and resources for helping you continue to prosper and grow your business even as your life circumstances or household changes.

So stay tuned, get ready for Snickers and you might want to arm yourself with a Pupperoni, too.