Managing Work & Mom Life!
As an entrepreneur, & a mother that was raised in the millennial generation, I feel I’m always being tortured with high expectations, joys, demands, judgments and revelations.
Side Note: Millennials have been characterized in a number of different ways. On the negative side, they’ve been described as lazy, narcissistic and prone to jump from job to job. Well Excuse me, I am the total opposite of these negative characteristics! Click Here for all the positive attributes we have!
With the longest list of goals & too little time to accomplish them, I always feel overwhelmed. Yet, regardless of the madness of my business and my personal life, I feel absolutely certain about a few things:
I OWN MY AGE!
I’m 35 years old, Mother of 2 owner & founder of F & M Events, & CTC Workshop also working on starting my Business classes. There is no age limit to when you can start your business, with or without having children, there are pros to being able to work for yourself & stay home and attend to your kids. You can coordinate your own schedule, you don’t have to miss out on any milestones, you can do as you please. From one perspective, this makes me a tremendous success story, from another perspective, I am in over her head.
When I say I own my age this is what I mean, although I started young in motherhood & in business, there are a ton of opportunities and challenges that come with this. Sometimes I work with people older than me, & they may assume or think I have no clue what I’m doing.. My thought is Yes, I am 35 years old, but I am also much more than that. I am a natural leader. And I am fully capable of steering a company and it’s workforce into the future.
WHAT I LOVE!
Even as the mother of two children, I’m not afraid to say that I LOVE WORKING. In this country-these words don’t exactly roll off the tongue. Sure, work may be necessary. It may feel like a chore or a duty. But, if it takes you from the responsibilities and joys of home and family, how could a woman possibly love it? How could she possibly want more of it?
In many ways directly and indirectly, I encounter this negative attitude on a regular basis from certain people. The often-implied implication is that mothers who are ambitious and passionate about their full-time careers are somehow less invested in their family’s well-being. It may be 2020, but this sentiment is apparently the norm for some people, I still do often get the common questions “How do you manage it all?”, “How do you make time for your kids?” etc. etc. But some people actually cheer for us Momprenuers…Me, Myself & I for Example, I will be your Number 1 Cheerleader! I LOVE hard working Mommas, we are taking over!
Learn how to FLIP THE SWITCH-LIKE DRAKE!!
It took years to balance personal life & my business, now I try to make sure when I’m home, I’M HOME. Because I work hard during the week & INCREDIBLY hard most weekends, so my weeknights are with my family, & sometimes friends. There are always emails and texts that need to be checked, but while when I’m home I try to set the phone aside and I close the laptop. It’s like flipping the switch, from work mode, to home mode. Its easy, try it, walk into your home, flip the switch and suddenly everything is different. It may sound stupid, but it helps to have a physical anchor that reminds us we’re no longer under the pressure of work. At home, you should be lighter and more present.
There should be a respect at home for our families, & this is created after some time. I run my entire business from the living room and have no separation between these two competing aspects of my life. It took a toll on my well-being, as an individual and as a family, and I learned my lesson. I can finally say that today, my home is my sacred space – free from the endless notifications of my professional life, it really helps you stay sane. I’m thankful for being able to work from home & also enjoy my home, but I’m relieved to know that home will continue to be our safe haven as the future comes, both as business and as a family.
Side Note: According to recent research by the Kauffman Foundation, the average age of an American entrepreneur is 40 years old. So guess what I still have a few years to really get my shit together, by then I hope to be where I want to be financially & lead an even bigger business, while I sit my ass home!
Click Here to View/Purchase all the Shirts we launched, & Wear it proudly!
What is Support?
Why is it hard to show support to your Friends & Family? Is it your duty to support your friends?
Honestly, No it’s not your duty, but it should be important to you as their friend or family, to show them support as best as you can especially in today’s world! When it comes to them creating, sharing and pursuing their dreams, you should be front and center, cheering them on, it shouldn’t be only when they ask you to.
Unfortunately, I know so many artists, entrepreneurs, innovators, teachers, etc. who don’t get the support that they need and deserve from the people who say that they love and support them the most. It’s too often I see so many creatives trying to find the support that they need even though they have “many” friends. And quite frankly, it makes NO sense to me.
I can’t even count how many times I’ve had this conversation with people in my own industry & just Entrepreneurs in general. People are so quick to support the well-known famous artists that they don’t even know personally, before showing up for the entrepreneur in their immediate or not so immediate circle.
My question is Why not? Why not support your loved ones?
How can you claim to be someone’s friend and not support, but you’re quick to spend your dollars, time, energy, and support to someone you don’t know at all? It’s beyond me & it truly pisses me off. I used to stay quiet but I just don’t even care to offend anyone cause if this offends you then you know this message is for you!
As their friend & family, you should be beyond proud to, firstly, have them as your friend, & to have a friend that is going after what they were put in this world to do! You get to see the struggle, the growth, the failures & all the triumphs first hand, that is something you yourself should be proud of! You get the “behind the scenes” footage into their life & work. You see the progress and that alone should inspire you to SUPPORT YOUR FRIENDS.
Then again “Maybe people don’t know how they can support their friends”.
To make it easier I’ll share a few reasons and ways to show support below:
WHY SUPPORT:
- Believe it or not, being an Entrepreneur is HARRRRD AF! We are basically giving our all for everyone to see over and over again, and sometimes it goes unnoticed!
- It takes A LOT of guts to share our passion, to follow and pursue our dreams, to fall on our faces and get back up again.
- They are your FRIENDS (Enough Said)
WAYS TO SUPPORT:
- LISTEN to them, READ their work, POST their achievements, SHARE their business pages, BLAST their Music, TRY their Products, PROVIDE Feedback, GET invested… PHYSICALLY ACT LIKE YOU CARE!
- Share their work!
- You can “repost” on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram & that’s FREE!
- Stop Asking for Discounts/Free Work – “NO MORE FREE SHIT”
- If you value the work or art, why are you asking for discounts? Chances are, your friend feels conflicted about charging you anyway. Help them help themselves.
- Hire Them.
- If money is an issue, when you finally get the money to support their business, art, etc., Hire Them! Treat them as the professionals that they are.
- Believe in and Encourage Them.
- To hear from a friend, “I see you. I believe in you. I support you. You’re doing great. You’re growing. You’re learning. You’ll get up again.” Means the WORLD.
- Support them more than you would a well-known person.
- Why is it so easy to support artists and businesses that you have no personal connection to whatsoever? You have some dope friends: businesswomen/men, hair stylists, make-up artists, writers, photographers, professionals, event planners and coordinators, videographers, counselors, designers, dancers, technicians… all in your own circle. Why not represent them just as hard?
For all of my fellow entrepreneurs, artists, businesses, and everything in between; we need to support one another. If anyone knows the struggle, it’s us. There is enough room for all of us to make it, especially when we link together and use all of our resources.
