Being employed when you have children is exhausting. Constantly juggling work, children and home life. As a mother, we are expected to be ‘expert’ jugglers at well, everything in life. The reality is, this is not the case and leads to burn out more often, than not. We get lost, we feel like we are failing and eventually the pressure gets too much.
I found this even harder being a SEN mum. My eldest son has Cerebral Palsy. When I was employed, even though work life balance was widely advertised, this was not the case. I don’t really believe there is enough education and understanding in offices about everything you need to be present for when raising a child with special needs.
Constantly I was being told, I wasn’t a team player, I was taking too much time off work and then the opportunity to progress my career was stopped as I couldn’t work full time hours.
This should not be the case.
Sick of having to ask permission to take my own child to his hospital appointments, sick of feeling guilty that I was failing my employer or worse, my own son, I decided to take a leap of faith.
I was made redundant and could not face going into another employed role. I did not want that kind of restriction.
I decided to set up my own Bookkeeping business, as I am a qualified bookkeeper. It started small at first, just enough to tide the month over and then it boomed.
I now run my bookkeeping business, Best Kept Books and Consultancy Limited, and my Money Strategy business, which you can find on Facebook as ‘Managing My Money,’ where I help female entrepreneurs gain financial control and security, it’s important as an entrepreneur to know your numbers!
It has not been an easy road, there has been a lot of work, late nights and networking events. When you want to make a change you have to work for it – but trust me, it is worth it in the end.
I have used and continue to use time blocking techniques to manage my day from wake up to bedtime. I work when my children are in bed but being self-employed also allows me to take time off when I want. I can go for lunches with friends, I can spend time with my husband on his days off and still make money.
We need to lose the 9 to 5 belief and take control. There is another way, and you can have time freedom.
Now, I can take my son to his appointments, and I can be there for my children, with no guilt and no pressure.
Dinners are prepared and cooked during the day and I take time out to look after my own mental and physical health. Running my own businesses has given me full control over mine and my family’s life.
