Balancing Motherhood and Entrepreneurship

by Tshego Dludla

I love how people make being a boss lady and a mom look so glamorous, don’t you? They have routines that they stick to religiously. They have children who have tight schedules and nap times that they never miss. Oh and my personal favourite, they take lovely family vacations at the drop of a hat. Not to mention the exercise, healthy eating, plenty of self-care, hair and nails freshly done and on it goes. I mean they own their time right…WRONG!

You see starting a business when you are already a mom is very different from starting a business before having children or being a man. The pregnancy and sleepless nights mean that we have already fried a few braincells and dealing with toddlers mean that those braincells are not coming back. I can imagine you nodding and smiling because you know exactly what I’m talking about. Three main things that pose major challenges come to mind. To be honest they each deserve their own article, but we will just touch on them a little. All three of these lead to some unbelievable mom guilt.

1. Energy

Starting a business requires long hours of dedication and hard work, concentration and odd hours of the morning or night as well as emotional strength as the ups and downs of the business world come thick and fast. There is barely a chance to breathe and somewhere in the middle of all of this we must have the energy to play with the children and help with homework. Making sure that the house is clean, and everyone is fed doesn’t help the situation. How are we supposed to somehow fit in self-care too? Seems a bit much wouldn’t you say?

2. Time

For the above to make sense we need at least 30 hours in a day and 9 days in a week. If by some fluke, we got granted that crazy wish, everyone else would use the time and still get ahead of us. We have so much to juggle, and it pains us to miss school events because we have a meeting with a potential client who is only available at that time. Having to choose between playing outside or packing orders or doing admin. If the business is in the early stages, there is a lot of research and networking to do. This means we end up either missing some important milestones or missing out on business opportunities. No Fair!!!

3. Money

One that that seems like it will help all the above is money. Yes, I said it. We need money. Money can get us some help with the cooking and cleaning and maybe even a tutor for the homework. Money can also get us assistance for parts of our business that don’t necessarily need us but alas, the economy is not at its best. Even worse when you are starting a business, resources get reinvested to grow the business.

Solution:

We try to juggle all these balls and the truth is that some will fall. What we need to remember is that not all the balls are glass. Some balls will bounce, and we can catch them later, but some are glass and if they fall they will break for sure. Ours is to know which balls are glass and protect them first.Take a moment and identify which balls need your energy, time and money first. The rest can take a number while you hold on to some of your sanity and try to build that empire. It is for those precious children after all, right?!

Tshego Dludla is the founder of The Tshala Foundation (NPO), as well as RoboSTEAM Train in South Africa. Both enterprises are making maths and science fun using robotics and coding, one catering specifically for underprivileged children. Tshego has a passion for learning and empowering young ones. Being a mom of three children herself has forced her to face the reality of what it takes to thrive as a mom and entrepreneur and she therefore started a mommy blog addressing mom guilt and how mothers can support each other along this journey in a world filled with judgement on everything moms do. Find out more by visiting the website www.robosteamtrain.co.za

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