I remember stepping up on the graduation stage after getting my last degree, so excited about the upcoming opportunities that awaited me. I had gotten a job offer from a prestigious firm, was done with classes, and was so ready to move on to the next phase of my life. I even had scraped my last dollars for the month to purchase my first suit, and my friend had chipped in for a new Enzo Angiolini square-toed pumps for my first day…I was ready, or so I thought…Little did I know there were many things I would come to wish I did know as I was starting my new career.
Every time I speak with fellow working women and men, one of the most prevalent remarks I get is: “I wish I knew this before I started my career”. Hindsight being 20/20, there’s always something we can learn. I believe it’s our responsibility to go back and share these lessons, especially with those who may just be starting out, or may be wondering if their own lessons are valid.
Here are 20 of the things I wish I knew when I started my career:
You can pick the career of your choice
When I started out in my own career, I thought I didn’t have much of a choice. It made sense to enter a profession that was in accordance with my prior curriculum, was well-paid and offered decent, if not great, advantages and benefits.
After all, that’s the advice that many, if not most of us, are given as we head to college and into “grown-up” life. We’re told to get a good job with solid benefits, make a good living, climb the corporate or business ladder, and settle down.
What I wish I’d known:You don’t have to pick the most reasonable, or best-paid career around. What you have to do is be faithful to who you are, and choose work that aligns with your skills, talents, personality and ultimately purpose. If you don’t know what that is just yet, know that you can experiment, while still paying your bills, until you find the right career for you.
You should get information about your career before entering it
Imagine purchasing a home without ever visiting it first? Or entering into a long-term contract without reading it entirely, including the fine print? You probably wouldn’t. Yet, how many of us enter careers we know very little about. We learn about the theory to apply in these jobs, yes. Yet, we have no idea what a day-to-day looks like at said jobs, what companies are in the market, what the responsibilities are, and how to navigate the related politics (yes, there’s such a thing).
The result? Employees who start and stay in careers they loathe, blaming everything that possibly goes wrong, on everything and everyone around, from the boss to the sabotaging co-workers and sucky weather.
What I wish I’d known: Like a new car, a career can be the object of a test-drive. You can find someone who is already in the career you’re getting ready to enter, or think about entering, and ask them questions about their day-to-day jobs. In more formal “career speak”, it’s also known as an informational interview. You can also conduct your own research, speak to your college professors or even consult social media to get more information about your prospective career. Not only will you be better prepared, but it will help you avoid many career heartaches.
You should get a mentor early on
I didn’t realize the power of mentorship until I was well into my corporate career. Neither had most of my corporate sisters. It wasn’t until the concept of mentors and mentorship started making it into the mainstream, with the whole “women empowerment” and “lean in” theme that I started looking into it.
The reality is, mentors seem to be reserved to a select few. While some companies are making great strides in implementing official mentorship programs, most working women (and men) struggle to find the right mentor for them. That is, if they even have time to think about it.
What I wish I’d known: Getting a mentor does not have to be an exercise in sheer frustration. There are mentors everywhere around you. The trick is to learn to recognize the right one for you. Basically, anyone that you may be looking up to can serve as a mentor for you. Besides, you’d be surprised how much people in higher positions (well, at least, some of them) are willing to help you. It can be as simple as sending an email to an executive you admire and whose career you’re inspired by at your company or in your industry. You can also tap into your network to find the right mentor for you.
You can mentor someone (even as you start your career)
As you can find the right mentor for you, you can also serve as a mentor. The misconception is that until you’ve reached astronomical levels of success yourself, you cannot mentor someone else. Right? Wrong! You don’t need to reach CEO level to help someone on your way up, or share some precious lessons you’ve learnt along the way. As a matter of fact, every time you learn something, you should teach.
Besides, serving as a mentor can also help your own career, as it’s a sign of leadership that management may be looking for to promote or advance you. It’s also a great way to solidify what you’re learning yourself, and build your own platform if you’re in business.
What I wish I’d known: In the same way that a sophomore has much to teach a freshman about the college experience, you also have much to share about your own experience. As a working woman, it’s actually your responsibility to keep the door open for other women coming behind you. After experiencing serving as a mentor, I wish I had done it sooner. It’s much less intimidating and so much more rewarding than it appears.
It’s not about how hard you work…
Now this one hurt to realize, even in hindsight. Starting out in the corporate world, I thought success was all about hard work. As in pulling in late hours (and being seen doing so), and sacrificing everything else at the altar of professional achievement. I know I’m not alone in this, especially in the era of the over-achieving, ‘do-it-all”, “empowered” woman…
Don’t get me wrong, work, hard work is important! You can’t just coast your way through to the top of your field, unless you’re willing to crash at some point. However, it’s not the most important part of career success and fulfillment.
What I wish I’d known: Working hard, at times too hard, at the detriment of being social and managing office politics (see #6) can actually make you look lacking at best, and incompetent at worst. Especially as a working woman, professional over-eagerness can easily be perceived as poor time management. Being more balanced in your approach to hard work can actually help, in addition to preserving your sanity, eye health and greying strands.
But it’s more about how you manage office politics
Office Politics: there should be an entire class around this one subject in college. How to manage office politics in a smart, non-debilitating way eludes many at work. Since there is no college major for office politics so far, at least to my knowledge (although I still have hope), I would like to share it as one of the areas in which I have scored my most humiliating career moments, and one I definitely wish I’d known more about when I stepped into my very first cubicle.
Office politics are tricky. They’re definitely not an exact science; however, there are some fundamentals that everyone, especially working women, need to know upon starting their careers.
What I wish I’d known: I wish someone had told me to study the office politics of every company/department/team I worked in harder than I did their procedures and policies, it would have saved me some interesting moments, to say the least. What this means is to pay particular attention to the chain of power where you work, i.e. who reports to whom, whose interests are at play, and how inter-personal dynamics work. The point is to learn to manage people as well as, if not better, than you. More concretely, it’s about understanding the power plays in your work environment and navigate these in a smart way. This is where your emotional intelligence, and not necessarily your IQ comes into play!
Networking is important…
Let me say it again: Networking is important! As an introvert, I used to dread networking and avoid it at all costs. What I didn’t realize was that not making it to the Christmas party, or regularly and consistently missing after-hours, was hurting my career more than it was helping it.
Is networking the end-all-be-all of your career? No (introvert breathing deep sigh of relief). Yet, it can help you in more ways than you think. Connections, genuine connections that is, can make the difference between you scoring that promotion or being subtly forced out.
What I wish I’d known: Investing time, effort and sometimes money in active networking can go a long way. As a matter of fact, it can have a big payoff in your current and future careers (see #13). Even as introverts, spending a limited (but effective) amount of time networking can help you meet great people who will impact you in many ways. Joining associations and groups in and outside of your field can also be extremely beneficial. If you must, schedule your networking ahead of time. Plan to attend at least one networking event a month, and follow up on the connections you make.
But it’s more important to build genuine connections
Yet, networking doesn’t have to be this mechanical process whereby you meet random people and talk about the weather while finding ways to benefit each other. If you start out with this idea, chances are you’ll equate networking with root canals or sugar-free candy.
Networking is a great opportunity to build genuine connections and meet fascinating people. It’s a give-and-take process through which you can find the fulfillment of helping others while also being helped. A win-win overall.
What I wish I’d known: You network with human beings, not robots. Which makes the whole thing less intimidating and daunting, and even fun! Focus on the human interaction, not just the benefits or costs. Be open-minded, show up as yourself and let it be what it will.
Don’t hesitate to speak up…
If I could get a penny for every time I had an idea to share but instead decided to keep quiet at work, I’d probably be rich (in bitcoins). When you start out in your career, speaking up can seem daunting. It can be challenging to feel confident enough to share your thoughts, views and opinions, especially as an introvert and newcomer.
It took me years to tackle my fear of speaking up. I was scared of being perceived the wrong way, not knowing my stuff, or even be fired for saying the wrong thing. The result? I either listened to someone else get the credit for the ideas stewing in my brain, or buried them so deep I couldn’t remember them afterwards.
What I wish I’d known:Speaking up requires effort, yes, but it’s also necessary. For those for whom it seems absolutely impossible or too hard, there are organizations or groups such as Toastmaster that can help with this. For the rest who think that keeping your head down and crunching as much work as humanly possible will make up for it, think again!
But know when it’s best to keep quiet
As much as I’m an advocate for speaking up at work, I also believe there are times when it’s best to keep quiet. Such as when everyone is gossiping about one thing or the other. Or when the rumor mill is at its most active around. Or when conflicts and office politics are raging and speaking up would only help you dig an early professional grave.
In general, speaking up against your boss, especially behind their backs, is not a good career-advancing strategy. While there are instances when integrity will actually get you alienated and excluded from the group, taking the high road and keeping your peace is always the best solution.
What I wish I’d known: Part of managing office politics is knowing when to keep quiet. When power plays are raging and negativity is around, it’s best to keep mum!
Make your boss’s life easier
When in doubt, ask yourself what will make your boss’s life easier. As you may have found out, a lot depends upon your boss. Which is why so many careers are (temporarily) damaged by bad bosses (see #13 for relief). The point is, don’t see your boss as a distant figure that intimidates you. Rather, learn to think and devise ways to make her/his job easier, which in turn will make yours more rewarding and easier.
Are there exceptions to this? Certainly. However, it tends to pay off more than hurt you in the end.
What I wish I’d known:There’s no point in being scared of your boss or playing intricate games to win their favor. Do your work as best as you can, take things off his/her plate, and keep crushing your goals!
The Queen Bee Syndrome is real (but you can work it)
As I’ve come to learn, the Queen Bee syndrome is alive and well, especially among women of color at work. Its premise is to make women (and everyone else) believe that there is only one spot at the top of the corporate or business ladder for women. This in turn reinforces the competition and animosity between women at work.
One of the reasons why many women don’t trust other women at work is because of this Queen Bee Syndrome. However, there are many opportunities to shine and sit at the table of professional success.
What I wish I’d known: You will face harsh opposition from some women at work. Yet most of the time, this will have less to do with you than with the environment you’re in. This is why it’s so important not to take it personally, and not to allow it to deter you from your goals.
You are never stuck (you can have many careers)
Many tend to think that once you’ve picked a career and have been in it for some time, you’re basically stuck. Sometimes, if that’s the career of your dreams, then being stuck can feel like a blessing. However, if your career is less than fulfilling, it may feel like a professional death sentence.
What I’ve learnt is that you’re never professionally stuck. Career reinvention is not only possible, sometimes it’s necessary. You’re not limited to one career either. Many have gone from corporate cubicles to entrepreneurial ventures, from company to company and industry to industry. You’re never stuck!
What I wish I’d known: Seeing the many possibilities in your career can go a long way towards having a fulfilling experience. You should never be afraid to explore other career opportunities, or even start over.
If you don’t ask, you don’t get
People are not mind-readers. Which also means that if you don’t ask for what you want, chances are you may never get it. You may have been too intimidated to ask for the promotion, raise or the flex schedule. However, the simple act of asking can change your career in dramatic ways.
Opening up to ask for what you need at work also demonstrates powerful leadership skills.
What I wish I’d known: It’s OK to ask for what you need. Whether it’s vacation days, more money or more flexibility, your requests have value, and can help you perform better. Besides the worst answer you can get is “No!”
You can negotiate for a lot more than you think
Negotiation is not just reserved to salaries and perks. You can negotiate for pretty much anything, in a sensible way of course. A few years back, I was actually surprised to learn that you can negotiate extended maternity leaves.
Negotiation is a skill, as well as a two-way, give-and-take process. I’ve learnt that in order to receive, you must get. Which means preparing for any negotiation conversation a list of everything you have brought or will bring to the table, in exchange for what you’re asking for.
What I wish I’d known: The right timing is paramount for effective negotiation. So is being adequately prepared with appropriate research and documentation. For instance, performance review time is not the best salary negotiation time. Instead, budgeting season is a better time to ask for more money, for the simple reason that it’s the time when money is allocated to departments and teams. Researching the market and preparing adequately will also give you an edge, as well as muster your confidence.
Your job is paying you to learn
There are no bad jobs because every single job has valuable lessons to teach. From how to manage a team, deal with office politics, or learn about business writing, the skills you can get from any occupation are numerous. Once you have this mindset, then you will learn to leverage any job you have.
The most powerful success secret is the ability to leverage every experience and extract the best lessons out of it. Learn to treat your job, any job, as an opportunity to learn while being paid to absorb knowledge.
What I wish I’d known: You are paid to learn. Not to please your boss, score the promotion, or even make more money. Don’t get me wrong, these are important goals to have! However, the brightest (and most important) side to any job is how much you can learn from it. As you’re learning (and being paid to do so), use this as an opportunity to excel, develop yourself and re-purpose all the skills you’re acquiring in the other areas of your life.
You should start a side hustle
Had I known the many benefits of having a side hustle, I would have started sooner. Despite the additional investment of time and energy, there are numerous advantages to starting a side hustle. From extra income to learning how to run a business, your side hustle can also help your career.
This blog was born out of a side hustle which later turned into a business. I also learnt so much about myself and developed abilities I didn’t think I had, which I was able to re-purpose in my jobs.
What I wish I’d known: It’s OK to explore other sides of your personality, talents and skills through a side hustle. Although you have to ensure that your side hustle is not in conflict with your job, you can greatly benefit from the business and entrepreneurial lessons a side hustle can provide.
It’s OK to fail (and start over)
Career failure, and failure in general, is not fatal. As a matter of fact, it may actually be a great way to improve yourself and start over in a better way. Instead of beating yourself up over every mistake, every negative remark from your boss or co-workers, change your outlook from career failure to opportunity for improvement, and even mastery.
What I wish I’d known: There is no point in dwelling over career misses and failures. Instead, keep moving forward and apply the lessons learned to your next professional challenge.
Sometimes your only means of transportation is a leap of faith
Your career will not always be a straight, predictable lane to the top of the corporate or business ladder. Neither should it be. There are times when you will actually have to take a (or many) leap of faith into the unknown.
As a conservative woman concerned with financial security and stability, taking a leap of faith in my career was unthinkable. However, going from the corporate world to entrepreneurship and teaching proved to be much more rewarding and fulfilling than I thought.
What I wish I’d known: Taking risks in your career is not only OK, it may even be necessary at times. Whether it’s changing jobs, industries, or entire sectors, change, as risky as it may be, may just be the impetus needed in your work to reach the next level.
20. Being a Black woman at work changes the career game.
As a Black woman at work, there are unique professional experiences very few, besides other Black women at work, will be able to relate to. Things such as being judged by the way you look, or having your competencies assessed through your appearance, and yes, sometimes having to work twice as hard to be considered “good” at what you do.
While I’ve been fortunate to experience positive and bias-free environments, I’ve also lived through the other side of the “professional coin”. Although it’s left me frustrated, doubtful of my own capabilities, and at times scared for my future, it’s mostly taught me some of the most precious lessons about human resilience, courage and dignity.
What I wish I’d known: As a Black woman at work, your professional journey will be unique. There are times when you will not understand it, and others when you will want to throw in the towel. However, it’s also your responsibility to uphold the highest standards of excellence, and keep the door open for other women as and when you make it through.
What did you wish you would have known when you started your career?
Many tend to believe that our regular jobs and careers are at diametrical opposites from our existing or potential businesses. As a matter-of-fact, many, if not most, will draw a strict line between their 9-to-5 and their side hustles or businesses, as if the first had nothing to do with the latter.
Don’t get me wrong, there are instances when you must keep your day job and business, if you happen to have both, separate. Some companies are not keen on having their employees grow side hustles that may be in conflict with their main job responsibilities. Others just fear that their employees will not be as committed to their day jobs if they have a business on the side.
However, your job is not as diametrically as opposed to your potential business as you may think. Actually, your current job may in fact help you start and grow your next business. That was the case for me, as the mission for The Corporate Sister was born out of my experience as a career woman and the needs for mentorship, guidance and resources that I experienced as a working woman.
If you’re wondering how you can use your job to start and grow your next business, here are 5 steps you can undertake:
Make an inventory of all the skills you’ve acquired at your job
Whether you like your job or absolutely dread going to work in the morning, the fact is you are acquiring invaluable skills on a daily basis. For some, it may be dealing with customers, or managing a team. For others, it may be developing analytical skills or public speaking abilities. Whatever these may be, the added talents you’re gaining through your job on a daily basis are opening unlimited opportunities for you.
Take some time to periodically sit down and make a list of all these skills. This will require you to analyze your job activities so you can really understand what and how much you’re learning, even if on the go. This regular practice will also allow you to update your resume on a regular basis, and present yourself in a more comprehensive way professionally.
Make an inventory of all your natural skills and talents
There are also those natural talents and abilities that you’ve always had. You may not even fully realize you have them, since they come to you so naturally. For some of you, it may be a writing skill or unique communication abilities. For others, it may be an ease with public speaking or an unusual acumen for numbers.
In this case as well, you may want to take some time to analyze your natural talents and abilities. Think of what people come to you most often for. What are you most known for? What do you do with such a natural ease and pleasure that you don’t even have to think about it? Most often, this is also what you wouldn’t even mind doing if you weren’t paid for it? Another good indicator consists in your hobbies and those pleasure activities you excel at.
Write them down as completely and in detail as you can. If need be, you may take a few days to complete your list. Don’t hesitate to probe people around you, from your management team and co-workers, to your family and friends as well.
Assess the market for any needs that your skills can fill
The next step is less introspective, as it will require you to take a look outside of yourself into the market that surrounds you. What do you think people around you need the most? What would you like to see implemented and acted upon around you? Remember that many businesses start out of a personal need first.
Make a list of the market needs you’re identifying around you and connect these with your skills and talents, whether acquired through your job or naturally.
Proceed by elimination
As you go over the various lists you’ve now created, start picking and choosing between the opportunities that are most attractive to you. You may undergo a process of elimination involving your highest priorities, as well as your likes, dislikes and general preferences.
As you go through this process, remember to keep in touch with your own internal compass. What stirs your soul the most? What appeals to your intuition? What would bring you the most joy and fulfillment?
Rinse and repeat
This is not a once-and-done type of process. It may actually require many iterations over time to come up with the right business or side hustle for you. Don’t hesitate to rinse and repeat as much as you deem necessary.
A great side-effect of this is that you’ll tend to stay in touch with your growth and experience, which in turn will help you update your resume and elevator pitch more often and accurately.
For more on this, check out The Corporate Sister on Youtube:
How can you use your current job to start and grow your next business?
There is no doubt that becoming a mom is a life-altering event. Your entire existence, from your schedule to your life plans, not to mention your surroundings, changes in the most drastic way. Nothing is ever the same again, in a good way. Not even your career…
I didn’t realize how much my independent life of an ambitious career woman would be thrown upside down before my babies came to the world. As much as I made sure to have the main logistical components covered, from the paint on the nursery to the babywear colors, there was still (and still is) a huge component that was left to chance, although I didn’t quite know it yet. As I sat in the doctor’s office a few weeks before each of my babies made their world entrance, I had specific plans laid out. How I was planning on giving birth, what I would do during my maternity leave, when I would return to work, my schedule after baby, etc….
Needless to say, nothing happened as planned, from emergency surgeries to being late for every doctor’s appointment thereafter. I still smile thinking about how little went according to plan, and how pretty much everything else just happened.
Yet what I wasn’t expecting as much was how motherhood was going to change my career in some of the deepest ways imaginable. It wasn’t until I left my first baby with the babysitter the first time around to head back to work after my maternity leave that the reality of this change started dawning on me. Months and years later, as I re-visited my perspective on work and what it meant to me, I could really grasp how much becoming a working mom had altered what work meant for me, mostly in these seven ways:
I started asking myself about the purpose of my work
After becoming a mom, and contemplating the smallness of pretty much everything around as compared to the miracle of carrying and nurturing life, I started thinking about Purpose more and more. One morning, Dear Daughter asked me: “Mommy, why do you go to work?” I stopped in my (already late) tracks, foundation brush in hand, wet wipe in the other, contemplating if I should answer and lose my job due to excessive lateness.
After this morning interlude, one question that kept popping in the back of my mind was: “Why do we get up every single day to do what we do?” Yes, bills have to get paid, and one must work in life. Yet, there has to be more to life and work than simply checking the career box and making money. As we raise children who look at what we do more than they listen to what we say, how important is it to us that what we do inspires them in a good way when we’re not even sure why we do it?
For months afterwards, my answer was something along the lines of “To take care of you and the house.” Yet her reply was always: “But why?” It prompted me to think about why I was doing what I was doing, besides paying the bills. Which is how this small question also prompted me, without me even knowing, to change my career path to writing and teaching, because that is my purpose.
It became important to teach my children about the meaning of work
Work occupies such an important part of our lives. From an early age on, I saw my mother work hard as a single mom, in and outside of the home. It was important to me to follow her example and build a successful career as well.
Yet, after having children, as they asked about the work we did as parents, it became important to share this part of ourselves with them. Growing up in conservative Senegal, West Africa, my parents never really told us much about work. It was just something you were supposed to do, along with taking daily showers and cleaning up after yourself. I didn’t really understand it, or questioned it, until I started working myself and the unanswered questions turned into personal and professional dilemmas.
As a parent, I make it a point to open the lines of communication with my children as a way to bond and share more with them. When it came to the question of work and career, interestingly enough, I didn’t know what to tell them. This is where I started re-evaluating my own understanding of my career and what it really meant for me. Only by understanding it better myself, could I share this meaning with them. It also forced me to make changes to the way I viewed my work, and the direction of my career path.
Being fulfilled became more important than making money
Growing up in a single-parent family, it’s always been important for me to have financial security. While my mom was a hard worker and we never lacked of anything, I understood earlier on that the line between having and not having can be really thin. I made it a priority to always be financially secure as a woman, which directed me towards a career in finance and accounting. Making money and achieving financial freedom as I started my career was more important than getting married or even starting a family.
Fast-forward a few years, and motherhood managed to turn my priorities upside down. While financial security is still important to me, fulfillment takes a front seat. It became obvious that lack of fulfillment in my work would negatively impact me as an individual and a mom. That’s when being fulfilled and joyful in my work beat any amount of zeros on that bi-weekly paycheck…
I had permission to chase my dreams
As I speak to many moms around me, it seemed as if motherhood is the signal to stop living for ourselves. Somehow, after becoming moms, it seems we ought to give up on our individuality and stop chasing our dreams to dedicate ourselves entirely to the task of raising our children. I was tempted to buy into it as well….
Until I remembered that you cannot give what you don’t have. How could I as a mom, give my kids the hope, joy, ambition and anticipation of going after their dreams if I abdicated mine? How would I explain to them someday that I didn’t live the life I wanted to because of them? Way to make them feel falsely indebted as opposed to joyfully equipped….
Interestingly enough, it wasn’t until I had children that I gave myself full permission to chase my dreams. Not just because I owed it to myself (because we do), but also because I owe it to them to at least try…
The goal is more freedom
The first time I dropped off my baby at the babysitter’s to head to work post-maternity leave, one word popped into my mind: “Freedom”. In that case, the lack thereof. Like so many moms out there, I didn’t exactly have a choice. While many of us can now negotiate phased-in returns from maternity leaves and even work for home longer, most of us are not in a position to choose.
That’s when the pursuit of time and space freedom became a priority for me. Flexibility was now so much more important, and had to become a major part of any career I would be in. The goal became to create more freedom in my work, not just money or advancement.
Being the best version of myself became crucial
I’ve secretly already planned Dear Daughter and Dear Son’s wedding, locale, outfits and all. Ok, I may be over-exaggerating, or maybe not. The point is, becoming a mother also made me gasp at the thought of missing my babies’ milestones. For someone who only got gym memberships because the exercise outfits were cute, and would rather go for a root canal than doing a set of abs, becoming the healthiest and most present version of myself was scary at first.
Even more than exercising and breaking up with bread and cheese, it also meant doing my best and most fulfilling work. Which also translated into letting go of so much professional stress, re-directing my work in a way that allowed me to be present, healthy, grateful and, ultimately, happy!
Leaving a legacy is key
One of my favorite Bible verses is Proverbs 13:22 “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children.” As moms, and parents in general, most of us work to leave a legacy to our families, whether in monetary form, examples or memories.
Considering how much work occupies our existences, it forces us to think about the legacy we’re leaving our kids when it comes to our careers. What are we teaching them about work? What are not teaching them that we should? How are we impacting the important work they will be doing? It certainly pushed me to consider what I was leaving my babies to ponder upon when it came to work and careers, of which the most important: “To do work with purpose on purpose, and lead by serving.”
Welcome to our career, entrepreneurship, lifestyle and fashion weekly news roundup! Think of it as your online watercooler/work gossip station/coffee break spot for now…Want to add anything to our list? Email us at corporate@thecorporatesister.com!
Summer is perfect for summer reads! Business Insider shares 17 books Barack Obama thinks everyone should read this summer;
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Being a mompreneur comes with its challenges. Combining the pressures of running a successful business with that of raising kids can seem impossible for many. You never quite sign off of being a mom. When you’re an entrepreneur, clocking out of your business is rarely an option as well. When you add to it the fact that many, if not most moms, have an abbreviated schedule in the summer as kids are out of school, it can even be more challenging. And then, can we talk about the hear, shining sun and lack of motivation as the weather warms up as well?
As a mompreneur myself, I’ve found myself slipping away from my business responsibilities in the summertime. Between organizing kids’ activities, beach days, cookouts and other fun distractions, keeping up with my business responsibilities has been tough. The pressures of enjoying the great weather with the kids, or simply relaxing, were way too great to ignore.
So how do you manage your business effectively in the summer as a mompreneur? How do you still work smart while being present with your family and taking the time to relax? After many weeks of teetering on the edge of complete inactivity and frantic multi-tasking, here are a few pointers I learnt from experience and other mompreneurs about managing our businesses in the summer:
Change your mindset
I’ve found it necessary to change my mindset in the summer in order to be productive and present with my family. Instead of an “I can do it all” type of mindset, I’ve willfully switched to an “I can do it well” one.
What this means is that instead of trying to fit in as much as possible in my schedule, I focus on quality. It also means that I’m taking on fewer projects in the summer, and reduce my client workload on purpose. This allows me to spend more time with family, but also to allocate more quality time to my activities, whether professional or personal.
Automate as much as you can
Automation is any mompreneur’s friend. Remembering to return a client call or pay the mortgage can seem like yet another chore, unless it’s automatically scheduled. Since you’ll have less time to spend on work and other responsibilities, make sure to take your precautions and schedule as much as you can in advance.
For me, it means automating most of my bills, setting auto-responder sequences in my business and automatically scheduling my social media posts. In addition to giving me peace of mind, it also allows me to still be effective in less time yet with as much, if not more impact.
Set reminders
There are a lot of competing priorities when you’re a mompreneur. You may just not have the bandwidth and energy to remember them all. This is why setting reminders for yourself is not just good planning, it’s necessary to keep your business running as smoothly as possible!
I set daily, weekly and monthly reminders of important meetings, events and deliverables to ensure they don’t slip my mind. Additionally, the brain space I can save by doing this is better used cleaning up the mess the kids make.
Target priorities
In the summer more than ever, setting priorities in your business is key. Not everything is going to get done, and that’s ok. This is when you must start thinking in terms of your desired impact and results.
What are the clients that are important for you to service? Which projects are top of mind? Wat tasks are most instrumental and can yield the biggest results in the shortest amount of time?
Take care of yourself
While summer is the proverbial relaxation time, it’s easy to get drowned in a myriad of activities as well, especially as a mompreneur. Faced with an irregular kids’ schedule, lack of motivation and business demands, it can be tempting to overwork yourself to get it all done.
Instead, you should invest some time in your favorite self-care activities. For those of you who like me don’t get much of a summer, enjoy the outdoors and take the opportunity to wind down.
Pick your devils
In other terms, pick your distractions. There are many distractions out there in the summer, especially with kids. Avoiding them all is nearly impossible. Pick the ones that will not ruin your entire productivity or prevent you from having fruitful family time.
Enjoy the process!
Last but not least, don’t forget to enjoy the process. Summertime is a wonderful time to make family memories, so take it easy on yourself, be compassionate with yourself and have fun!
Now your turn: How do you manage your business in the summer as a mompreneur?
Burnout happens to the best of us. Yes, even the most organized and diligent among working women. While there definitely are slower times during the year, like the month of August when professional and business life seem to come to a standstill, it’s not always the case. There are, on the other hand, times when all professional and personal aspects of life break loose, and we’re left with the pleasant burden to figure it all out.
When it comes to workload and personal responsibilities, peaks and valleys are inevitable. You will go through periods when you feel like there are not enough hours in the day (and you may be through these as we speak). You will also have times when you may feel like you’re not as productive. As a result, we tend to burn out during extremely busy seasons, as we try to get everything done well.
I’ve been a victim of burnout too many times not to know the horrible feeling it leaves you with. Much of it was also self-imposed, which prompted me to look for ways to avoid it. As a working mom, I’ve also realized that it doesn’t just affect me, but pretty much everyone around me. It’s no fun being around a cranky, sleepy, frustrated mom, wife or sister.
Here are a few ways to avoid burnout or face it when it’s already too late:
Set your priorities straight
One of the main reasons why we tend to burn out is that we take on too much. As we fail to set our priorities, whether personal or professional, straight, we often put ourselves in unbearable situations.
Instead, set your own priorities straight, and take some time to understand and define what really matters to you. These are your non-negotiables, or the stuff that you NEED to do. It may be your mandatory department meeting and deliverables, or your gym time in the morning. Whatever it is, don’t just write it down on your to-do list. Schedule it and strategize in order to accomplish it as successfully as you can.
I’ve learnt the hard way not to allow everyone else’s priorities to become mine. Instead, I take some time every day, week and month, to make a list of my minimum requirements. I usually try and tackle these first thing in the morning to ensure that they don’t slip under the radar.
Delegate!
Repeat after me: You can do anything, but you CANNOT do everything! Burnout is also often a consequence of not being willing to delegate some tasks and responsibilities off your plate. As a result, you end up committing to way too much, and not being able to deliver in addition to driving yourself insane in the process.
Don’t hesitate to ask for more support and delegate tasks you may need help with. It may even be worth paying for it so you can focus on important tasks, save your time and energy while avoiding burnout.
Self-care
Self-care is a priority when it comes to avoiding (and healing) burnout. However, in order for it to be effective, it’s important to turn it into a consistent habit. Do something for yourself each and every day, whether it’s fitting in 30 minutes of exercise or managing to sleep for at least 7 hours a night.
The trick is to include self-care in your calendar as you would any other important commitment, and to stick to it.
Add meaning to what you do
One of the reasons why you may be feeling burnout is that you may not be motivated because you don’t see any meaning in what you do. You may not feel as accomplished as you’d like because you don’t see how you contribute to something bigger. Lacking purpose is one of the ways we can incur significant burnout in our lives.
If it’s the case, then consider taking up a hobby. Sign up as a volunteer as a food bank, or simply commit to helping someone else. Volunteer for a project that excites you, or one that really makes a difference.
Invest in people
Doing it all on your own can feel quite lonely. Instead, decide to invest some of your time and energy on the people around you. Nurturing your relationships is a great use of your time.
Instead of powering through work all the time, consider going to lunch with a co-worker. Organize playdates with friends, and watch the kids play while you chat (and sip on cocktails). The point is to make the time to be with friends and family, and invest in the right relationships for you. Not only will you benefit from the natural networking, but you will also enjoy the simple pleasures of fun company.
Find out what drains you
When was the last time you really paid attention to how you spend your time? If you do so, you’ll find out that you may be engaging in activities that drain you. You end up feeling burnout when you engage in too many activities that drain you.
Find ways to spend time on projects that increase, instead of decreasing, your energy. Get the support you need, delegate some of the chores or tasks that drain you, and start really enjoying the work you do.
Be at peace
Not everything will always be perfect. Actually, very few things, if any, will be. So make peace with the mess, the disorganization and the occasional snafus. Develop your mental strength to accept those things you cannot change, and instead focus on what you can work on making a difference in.
There’s always an option. You can always find another job, ask for a change in schedule, ask for help, and so much more. Things may not change overnight, but your life can look very different next week, month of year. Keep going!
Welcome to our career, entrepreneurship, lifestyle and fashion weekly news roundup! Think of it as your online watercooler/work gossip station/coffee break spot for now…Want to add anything to our list? Email us at corporate@thecorporatesister.com!
Business Insider shows us how to be fearless at work and how you can get over your fear;
The Guardian shares the self-help guide for Black women “Slay In Your Lane: The Black Girl Bible”;
Don’t have the right degree? Recruiter advises you on getting the job without the degree to back it up;
Ellevate Network highlights how you can boost your career goals this summer;
The Muse shares how to get ready for work in 10 minutes;
Workology tips you off on how to command a room as a woman at work;
The Glassdoor Blog lists 5 interview questions employers trip you up with;
Got the travel bug? The Indeed blog recommends 15 careers that satisfy your wanderlust;
Want to get C-suite buy-in? Read this advice by Forbes;
