According to recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau, there are approximately 7.8 million single mother households and 2.7 million single father households in the United States. If you’re a single mother or single parent, it’s important to know that you’re not alone in your journey towards a better future for your children.
One of the best ways to create more income and improve your livelihood is to start a business. However, as a single mom, you might be wary of creating a business while still needing to care for your children. Below are some of the ways you can balance being a single mother, while also being an entrepreneur!
Balance Work and Play
It can be tough to create a budget, run a business, and care for your child. When your business begins to grow, you might find yourself becoming more and more occupied with its success. However, it’s important to balance work and play and continue to make time for your child.
It’s also a good idea to provide your child with activities they can accomplish on their own during particularly busy days. Motherhoodcommunity.com has a variety of ideas about activities your child can do while you handle business separately.
Again, these activities are best reserved for those busy days where you absolutely can’t commit to a group activity with your child.
Save Money By Co-Parenting
Co-parenting can be difficult, especially if you aren’t on good terms with your child’s other parent. However, studies show that amicable co-parenting can benefit your child by improving their social skills later on in life.
Co-parenting can also help you save big on day care costs in case you need to travel while creating your business.
Some ways to co-parent include speaking with your partner and setting a schedule that works for both of you. Remember to include weekdays in your schedule, as this will help you set appointments during working hours, which is better for meeting with potential clients.
Explore eCommerce or Digital Marketing Opportunities
Instead of leaving your home at all, there are a vast number of eCommerce businesses you can start from the comfort of your own home. In fact, it’s estimated the internet has around 12 to 24 million eCommerce sites, which account for $55.5 trillion in market value!
If you’re starting a business as a single mom, consider exploring the digital marketing and eCommerce space, so you can save on daycare costs and spend time with your children. This is the best business for mothers that have no other family or support, and must stay at home as much as possible.
Start With What You Know
Some of the most successful businesses are started by people who have a background and are familiar with their product or service. For instance, if you are a chef, you might think of starting your own restaurant. If you love fashion, you might want to open up your own clothing brand store.
If you want to start a business but aren’t sure how, and don’t have time to learn a new industry due to being a single mom, stick with what you know! Whether that’s blogging as a single mom, money-saving hacks, or DIY projects, there’s a niche for virtually anything you can think of!
Create a Budget (and Stick To It)
After you find your niche, it’s important to create a business plan and budget for your small business. Some important things to include into your budget include:
- Cost of childcare
- Cost of promotion
- Cost of continued marketing
- Cost of running or maintaining a store front
- Materials costs
- Overhead costs (rent, mortgage, utilities)
- Necessary items (food, water, clothing)
Creating a budget will not only help you manage the money within your household, but it can also help you manage money going into your business.
By planning out a household and business budget together, you can keep track of your investments, and plan for investing money back into your business.
Ask For Support and Be Upfront About Your Situation
As a single parent, there will be some days where you can’t handle the stress of juggling raising your child and running a business. It’s okay to take time off and be upfront with your clients.
For instance, if your child is sick and needs to go to the hospital, there’s no shame in explaining your setback.
Always ask for help if needed from family and friends, and consider asking your clients for flexibility before committing to projects. The more flexibility your client offers, the better it will be to balance child care and your business.
Final Thoughts
Remember, you can be both an excellent and caring mother and a hard-working entrepreneur. With the help of the right resources and these tips above, the sky’s the limit for your business.
Photo by Sai De Silva on Unsplash
