Most mothers work at home because they want to be home with their young children. And I was no different: I left a great corporate job to be around my two children.
But then you put a lot of work into your business and it works! Yes, you get orders and make some money, but the flip side is that you don't have as much time for your little one. How do you balance your time then? Are you still putting your children first? Or you go on a "hold on baby!" line and hope they can't tell the time?
It happened to me: one day, during my first Christmas season in business, I was busy ordering 150 gift baskets. It was hard work and the stress was rising. The deadline was approaching and I didn't have time to stop to tidy up the room.
There were produce boxes, empty boxes, and gourmet food everywhere: a true disaster area! And just then, my 4-year-old daughter (now 11) came to me with her big brown eyes full of tears, "Mommy, I'm bored and lonely... Can we play a little?" What could I do? I was home alone with her and if I stopped playing there was no way I could finish my order in time.
So I quickly thought on my feet how I could play with her and work at the same time. And I came up with the idea of building her an office right next to mine out of used/damaged boxes. She was ecstatic! And SHE did all the work! I told her where to go to get the boxes and made room for her at my desk. She built a table, improvised a chair and even had things for sale in her shop.
This allowed me to continue my work without interruption most of the time. She liked to watch and copy me: when I picked up the phone to talk to a customer, she picked up her imaginary phone. When I needed to make a basket, she made one of her own. When I calculated the price for my baskets, she picked up a pencil and calculated her own prices.
Over time, her office evolved: the old, damaged boxes were replaced by real wooden drawers. The stock I was unable to sell became her store's stock. She even got an adding machine and a couch. Now her office is her favorite place to play. And it's not just an office anymore: it's a whole building with different shops. It has a restaurant, a bath and body shop, a bookstore, and a toy store.
The store has helped her in many ways:
– learned about maintenance and ordering supplies
– learned about telephone etiquette
– she learned addition and subtraction
– learned organizational skills
– she learned to be creative (pieces of ribbon, irregular baskets, empty containers became a great asset to her business)
Could you use your business to teach your kids the basics of business while having fun? I'm sure you could. Take some time to think about how your situation can be used to plant some business seeds in your child.
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