When my daughter was just 8 months old, I made a massive decision. I took the leap and left my decade-long corporate career in collegiate athletics marketing for the opportunity to be present with my little one and to begin building my dream career.
When I first launched my business, I had less than 2 hours a day, during naptime, to coach clients and grow my tribe. I found some immensely helpful tips that I want to share with you.
Here are the top 5 ways I grew my business while raising my baby:
1. Focus on top priorities daily
In the beginning, it felt like there were hundreds of things to do – and there were. It was a steep learning curve, but being a mama led me to need to learn how to prioritize.
First things first: make a list and prioritize by importance and urgency of the projects on the docket; then set deadlines and get workin’ to maximize your precious (and limited) time.
2. Ask for help
This was absolutely crucial to my success. I learned that it was okay to ask my husband for help at home or to ask our parents to spend some extra quality time with their sweet granddaughter once a week or on a weekend when I needed the space to crank out deliverables.
As mamapreneurs, we can have the world on our shoulders and feel like we should be able to carry it alone, but the gift we give others by asking for their support is priceless.
3. Learn how to be uber-efficient
When I learned about block scheduling and hired a Virtual Assistant to the team, the game changed. These two things were life-savers and I was able to pass off techy tasks that were not in my zone of genius and zone in on my genius during those naptime windows when I had to get content out to my tribe.
I could’ve spent hours trying to get things done, or tried to fit into everyone else’s schedule. Instead, I found what worked for me and got a lot more work done in those small pockets of time.
4. Ditch the comparison game
I realized, very quickly, that comparing myself to my non-mom friends and online idols made zero sense. I grounded in to gratitude every day and celebrated the fact that I traded in my daily commute for the moments I could never get back with our girl.
I made a pact with myself that it was, perhaps, going to take me longer to achieve my career goals…but becoming a mama was a life goal that I wasn’t willing to squander for anything.
5. Build an amazing tribe
Soul sister power for the win! I could not do this without my tribe of incredible visionary women and cheerleaders.
I deeply value relationships and spend the time cultivating and caring for them as a major part of my weekly schedule. Spending an extra day on a trip to meet up with a friend (taking the online life to real life) can be the meeting that leads you to your next client or key business contact.
Parenthood is one of the greatest blessings and gifts I could ask for. I left my corporate career to be more present for my life and the people in it, and over the last 4 years, I’ve done just that and grown a successful business that has served thousands of women worldwide in the process.
Amber Lilyestrom
Transformational branding strategist & business coach, philanthropist and lifestyle entrepreneur
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We just had to ask Amber to join us as one of our guestbloggers. She’s a mamapreneur who is gettin’ things done, while balancing her family life too. She has been featured in Entrepreneur, Startupcamp.com and Working Mother magazine and is the host of the Amber Lilyestrom Show. She helps women entrepreneurs position themselves as sought-after experts and thought leaders through social media, engagement marketing and the creation of a soul-connected online brand presence. She’s helped thousands of women worldwide and built her multiple six-figure business as a full-time mamapreneur.
Be sure to check out her website and find her on Facebook and Instagram where you will find lots of inspiration. And don’t worry ladies – Amber will be guest blogging for us again in the future, so stay tuned!
