Being a CEO and a Mother
At CreativesAtWork, we don't use the usual corporate titles. We like to call ourselves what reflects our job role the most like for me, I am the Chief Businesswoman. Plus I don’t think I’m the typical CEO as well even my personal habit. I don’t wake up at 5am, work out for an hour, have my morning espresso and continue a full regular day at the office without interruption – the kind that you hear CEO’s often have, and cite as a key to their success.
Not me, because I’m both a Businesswoman and a mom. Even more, I’m an entrepreneur, building my own business from the ground up, while also raising a young child. As a “mumpreneur”, I have a different structure to my days, requiring flexibility and adaptability to balance many responsibilities. It’s not easy, but with some key strategies, it can be done!
My schedule fundamentally revolves around my son. I bring him to school every morning, and then have breakfast with my parent, before I start a day of client meetings for the morning. I pick my son up and make him lunch before my working day starts again at 3pm. I work until 8pm, getting home in time to put my son to bed, and then I work from home until midnight. I do try to adhere to exercising for at least twice a week usually in the morning.
Flexibility has been key to building my business while still tending to the needs of my family. I’m very grateful to be in a position where I can control my schedule, working when it makes sense for me. Having this level of control over my day has taught me to stay focused on whatever task I am doing, whether it’s listening to my son’s day at school, or working with a client to develop a project plan.
I choose what I want to do at when I want to do and how I want to do. When my son is sick, I can be with him. I can even volunteer at his school when they need help, and participate in his school’s Sports day. I will not miss any significant part of his childhood, and I can be a part of his life as he grows. It’s important for me, even as my company grows and more demands are made on my time, to have these moments with my son, as I will never have them again.
I’m lucky to have clients who (mostly) are understanding and respectful of the multiple roles I play every day. Not every client will have the ability to be flexible, but those who understand the demands of family life usually end up being long term relationships, based on our shared experiences of working parenthood!
It’s not all perfect, of course, and I am lucky to have the help of my family. When I have an important client presentation, or a meeting I can’t move, I rely on my family and my partner to help me manage my responsibilities. And when I need to be home with my son, I rely on my team of supportive co-workers to manage the daily tasks of keeping clients and freelancers informed and well-managed in my absence. Learning to trust has been an essential part of my journey, and has allowed me to succeed in both areas of my life.
In my last 6 years, I’ve learned a few tricks that help me keep my workload – both at home and at work – manageable:
1. Maintain a list of to-do tasks which are realistic and achieveable. Give yourself a mental pat on the back every time you check off an item!
2. Keep meeting concise and short. Often, there’s no reason for a meeting to extend beyond 30 minutes, so value your time and ensure that if you are meeting, everyone is getting value from the discussion. If they’re not, cut it short. If you can, take it the next step, and reduce all meetings to actionable items only
3. Leverage technology to work on your own terms. And it doesn’t have to be expensive – while there are lots of project management tools available, my most used technology is Google Drive, which allows me to access and share everything I need no matter where I am.
4. Trust your teammates. I cannot emphasise this enough – you cannot do everything alone, so ask for help, and delegate. You’ll bring the team closer together, allow them to grow professionally, reach your goals faster and keep yourself sane throughout the process.
I won’t say it’s easy, or that we don’t have to go further in supporting working mothers as a society. But personally, I have no regrets, and I wish such satisfaction for every working mother. I hope that my story encourages you to pursue your dreams, both at home and at work.
In honour of all the working mothers out there, I and the team at CreativesAtWork wish you a very Happy Mother’s Day!
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