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The best piece of advice I received
I am sharing a lot today because there is a lot to share when it comes to being a mom and business owner. The first thing that I want to talk about is the best piece of advice that I got before I became a mom.
This advice wasn’t given to me in a one-on-one conversation but from an Instagram post or IGTV. I was watching Chalene Johnson talk and she talked about FOMO as a mompreneur. I started feeling this “fear of missing out” a few months after Lauren was born.
Let me explain… At the very beginning of this year, I joined a new coaching program. There were only a few of us in the group and some people were completing things like so quickly! I did not understand how they were completing things so fast!
It really helped for me to understand that what I was experiencing was FOMO. It didn’t mean I was less successful because I was doing things at my own pace. My family is my number one priority, above business, and I was honoring that.
There isn’t one right way to be a mom or a business owner but spending more time with Lauren and less time on my business was the right choice for me. And our business is still growing! So you can do both but you can’t compare yourself to other people.
You have two choices as a momprenuer
The big thing that I learned after coming off of my maternity leave was that I really had two choices. The first choice was to hire childcare so that I could work more hours. The second choice was I could work less hours by hiring more help in my business. I choose the ladder but again, one isn’t better than the other.
At the very beginning of 2019 when I found out I was pregnant with Lauren, I had two people on my team. One was my assistant, Madison, and the other was my copywriter, Monica. Right before I went on maternity leave I hired my operations manager, Carolyn. Hiring her was one of the best things that I’ve done for my business because Carolyn allows me to not be in the weeds all the time or have to worry about stuff getting done.
Most of this year we have continued to have that team but I realized very quickly that we needed to grow the team if we want to continue to grow the business. So recently we’ve hired two more people, a marketing assistant and a customer service success champion. And it’s really exciting to see all of our team members really take ownership of the different areas that they are leading.
I want to be fully transparent with you though, even when I was pregnant with Lauren I never thought that I would be a full time, stay at home mom. But it has been the best decision for me. As a mompreneur, you can make the best choice for you!
The biggest mistakes I’ve made
In the United States, we have this timeframe for maternity leave of 12 weeks. So when I was planning my maternity leave for Lauren, I planned on taking 12-14 weeks off. Now as business owner you don’t usually step completely away but for the most part I would be off.
After about a month or two, I started really working in the business again because we decided to launch this podcast on January 1st. I am so happy we launched this podcast but I do wish I would have taken more time off before diving back in.
I know that I am so lucky that I was able to decide when I started working again and be able to not just go back to work, but also still be able to watch Lauren. I specifically remember when she was 12 weeks old, holding her in front of the window at our house, and just crying because I felt so bad for all the moms and dads that have to go back to work but aren’t ready.
There’s no way that 12 weeks is enough to be with her newborn infant.
Now I know that’s how I feel but I know some people are totally ready to go back. I get that, but I really can’t believe that we have this idea that only being home with your newborn for 12 weeks is enough. It makes me so sad and it makes me really want to change laws and continue to share the opportunity that I’ve had with so many more people.
Honestly, that is what drives me because there are so many Advisori Insider Pro members who just want us to be able to stay at home with their kids, but they also want to work. They have so much more to offer the world and that’s why I think owning your own business and being your own boss is the best thing ever because you get to make those decisions. The next time around I definitely plan on taking more time off.
Mindset is essential every step of the way
Whether you’re a side hustler or a seasoned entrepreneur, I bet you have discovered that being successful has a lot to do with having the right mindset. And no matter what stage of business you are in resetting your mindset can help reveal what shifts you need to take in order to hit the next step and level in your business.
That’s why I’ve put together the 5 day Reset Your Mindset challenge. It’s completely free and it’s going to help you get clear on what you need to do in your business to reset your mindset, make the shifts that you need and help you reach the next level in your business. If you’re ready to hit that reset button, head to AnnaKonchar.com/freechallenge!
I would NOT recommend doing this
The second mistake that I made over the last year was launching too many new things after having a baby.
I spent most of 2019 planning for Lauren’s birth and then being on maternity leave. So when my maternity leave was over, I was ready to execute on all the ideas I had over the last year! I don’t regret launching this podcast or Successful Solopreneur School but launching them both was probably not the best idea.
Over the next year, I’m going to be focusing on fine tuning and growing the programs we currently have. I’m really excited about the things that we’ve launched over the past year but I also would probably not recommend doing that as you start your journey as a mompreneur.
What my daily schedule looks like
Once Lauren was born I started looking for information on how mompreneurs watched their kids and grew their businesses at the same time. I really couldn’t find one! So once my maternity leave was ending, I tried getting into a good rhythm with Lauren.
Now before Lauren, my daily schedule looked completely different. I spent a lot of the morning just working on myself. Sam and I would take the dogs on a walk and I would spend at least an hour journaling, meditating, working out, and just getting ready for the day.
Before Lauren, I didn’t start working until about 10:00 AM. That is not possible when you have a tiny human! Haha. I have now figured out a daily schedule that still allows me to do that stuff because it is really, really important to me.
So what does my daily schedule look like? Right now Lauren typically gets up at 6:30am. We spend a little bit of time in the morning waking up, having some coffee, and going on a walk (especially since COVID-19 has hit!)
After our walk we have breakfast, play a little, and then Lauren typically goes down for a nap around 9:30. Her nap schedule has changed a lot over the last year but right now her morning nap is consistent so it is when I get most of my work done.
One of the best things that I have learned is that because you have such a short amount of time during nap, it really helps to know what you need to get done during that time. It’s crazy how much you can get done when you stay focused!
How to do more in less time
One of the things that I have learned is I used to have all the time in the world to work on my business. Now I only have a few hours a day and just because you have all the time in the world, doesn’t mean that you’re being more productive or more successful. You’re just filling that time with more stuff where now I am very, very focused on what I need to do to get the best results for our business in 90 minutes.
It is amazing what you can get done when you put your head down and have a plan!
Making time for the most important things
I have really struggled figuring out what time is the best time for me to workout. I love being active and although we walk everyday, I also like weightlifting and doing yoga.
Now, I tried to squeeze it into nap times but I was just finding that I really needed to dedicate the nap times to really focusing on the business. So now for workouts I get up at 5:30am a few days a week.
A secret weapon to growing my business this year
Do you know what platform truly helped me build my 7 figure business? Kajabi! Kajabi has everything that you need to build a digital product business. If you want to add passive income to your business model, then you have to check out Kajabi! You can set up landing pages, build automated sequences, set up webinars, and build sales pages! It does everything that you need, including payment and processing for your members, clients and customers. Kajabi is seriously what has made my seven figure business possible.
You can try it and get a month free! All you have to do is head to AnnaKonchar.com/freemonth.
My biggest lesson this year
Time goes soo fast, especially after becoming a mom. I specifically remember about a month after Lauren was born one our neighbors came over with their daughter who was a year older. I remember looking at my tiny newborn and then looking at this one year old and I literally just could not believe how much change and difference there was from newborn to 12 months later. And I think that’s the thing about having kids, they really make you realize how fast time goes by.
Time is your most valuable resource and your most limited resource. And the number one thing that you should be prioritizing is how you spend your time.
If you can do this, you can start a business
I’m going to be real with you guys here. Raising a human is the most amazing thing but it’s not the easiest. If you can take care of a small human then you absolutely can grow a successful business. I think that is one of the biggest things that I have learned is that there are so many people who slide into my DMs or send me emails and messages who wonder if they can do this.
I will say this, if you are a parent, you 100% have everything that you need in order to be your own boss and be successful at it. If you are having doubts in your mind at any point, give yourself the pep-talk that you would give your children. Would you encourage your children to follow their dreams? Absolutely. If your children aren’t feeling like they can’t do something, you would tell them that yes, yes you can. You just have to put your mind to it.
Having hard days is part of it
The last lesson that I have learned as a mompreneur is that babies and businesses are a lot alike. You’re going to have really good days and you’re going to have terrible days. You’re going to have days where you feel like you don’t know what you’re doing and other days where you feel like this is the best thing ever. It really is all part of the journey.
This last year has definitely been a journey for me. I’ve learned a lot about myself. I’ve learned a lot about my relationship with my husband. I’ve learned a lot about myself as a business owner and as a leader. The biggest thing that I have learned is that you can truly do it all. You just have to have faith and believe in yourself! I am so grateful for every minute that I get to be a mom, be a business owner and help others grow their businesses so that they can achieve the life that they want. That’s exactly why I’m here.
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