If you’re an entrepreneur and pregnant, you will have to make up your own maternity leave. Now that you know you’re pregnant, plan ahead so that you can enjoy quality time with your baby without worrying too much about your business.
When you change roles from an employee to an entrepreneur, the safety net of your job vanishes and you have to find your own security. That’s why new moms who are business owners too hardly take much leave after childbirth, because they can’t afford to be away from work for long. Despite this, you can prepare in advance so that you get the best of both worlds.
- Draw up an action plan: Now that your pregnancy is confirmed, you can’t bask in the beautiful news because you’ve got a company to run and work to do. But you can start making notes about how you’re going to combine motherhood and work in the coming months. Create an action plan for the future: Work out who’s going to run the show in your absence. Make a list of all the tasks you will handle and fill in people’s names who can fill in the gaps. Of course, inform your clients too that you’ll be mainly out of the office, but they can always contact you.
- Think of a back-up to you: If you work on your own, you will now begin to look at some trusted person who can handle the bulk of your work while you handle your little bundle of joy. But if you have a full complement of staff, you should now begin to prepare your staff to handle the show in your absence.
- If you land a dream project, hire help: Your clients are obviously not going to work to your schedules. So, though you may be going into hospital very soon, you may still land the dream project you’ve been hankering for. If this happens, don’t refuse the project, but hire someone as soon as you can to handle it in your absence.
- Move away from office duties gradually: The person who will take over from you should now be getting into the thick of things, trying to work on his or her own and asking questions, if any. Try to give up control as much as possible as you shift gears into a relaxed environment.
- Refuse new business for a while: While you stay out of action for a while, don’t take on new business. Instead, just keep on with your current roster of clients or you might risk losing some of them for lack of proper attention.
- Stay rooted to your baby for a few months: Though your business is as much your baby as the one you’re soon to deliver, yet the first must be set apart as you spend all your time and attention on your little one. These moments are precious for any new mother, so spend enough time with your baby because you’ll never get them again.
- Get back to work gradually: Now that you’re getting used to your baby’s schedule and adjusting to life with him, don’t get back to work full throttle. Instead, go it slowly until you’re ready to work a full day. You can meet with department heads to discuss solutions to knotty problems and slowly prepare for a full day’s work.
- Adjust to your baby’s nap time: You will have to tailor your sleep time to suit your baby’s. Though this might initially irritate you, ultimately you will find your nap time matching your baby’s and this will bring you the peace you need.
- Change your sleep times to accommodate some work: Change your sleep time so that you can finish your work and perhaps reply to letters and messages. This will make you feel useful to your company once again and you can fit in 40 winks too!
- Take up that offer of help: If someone did offer to help while you unwind, take it up now. True, it means you’ll be away from your baby for a while each day, but don’t refuse this offer. While you work on a few important projects, your friend can tend to your baby.
Conclusion
The moments moms share with their babies is absolutely priceless. When you look back at them, you realize that money isn’t as important, but the bonding is. So, take your time before you get back to being a full-time entrepreneur.
