redefining
success By Elle Roberts
I’M A BUSY MUM OF THREE KIDS. I RUN TWO BUSINESSES, ONE OF WHICH MEANS I HAVE THOUSANDS OF BALLS IN THE AIR AT ANY ONE TIME, WE HAVE TWO DOGS AND I USUALLY FORGET BOOK WEEK.
L
ife is busy, to say the least, but I do not have the monopoly on busy.
I don’t know a mum, or a woman for that matter, who isn’t doing the work of at least three people, and trying hard to do it all with a smile on her face and patience to let the threeyear-old put his own shoes on. The only way this feels remotely manageable to me has been to set my own rules and my own expectations for work and family life.
Redefining Success has been crucial As the generation who were told we could do anything and be anything we want to be, accepting the changes that come with motherhood can be very difficult.
Our priorities shift and we find ourselves questioning our values and whether it’s more important to send off that last email or make it to the school assembly on time. Often we try desperately to do it all, so we can avoid having to re-evaluate anything, instead, we just add to an already endless list of priorities. We try and get all the emails done and make it to the assembly. It is my absolute opinion that young women can have it all but to do that, without damaging ourselves mentally, physically, and spiritually, we need to have some tough conversations with ourselves and our families around what that means in our day to day life. I like Maya Angelou’s definition of Success “Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.” I have goals, plans, and financial targets for my business, I have dreams for my family that require a certain level of income - but none of that can come at the expense of the other values we have determined to mean our life is a successful one. I love working, but I also won’t take client calls after 4 pm on a weekday and I only work weekends when I feel inspired to. Those times are usually saved for family.
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| MUMPRENEUR MOVEMENT
The key is to set your own definition of what success means and get as specific as possible.
Building a business that allows me those boundaries are just as big a part of its success as the profit and loss statement at the end of the quarter. On the flip side, I am currently spending a weekend away, alone, leaving my partner to juggle the kids so I can work on my business. I love my kids and being a mum, but it also matters to me to do work that I am passionate about and to see my business thrive. I don’t share with you my boundary of “no client calls after 4 pm” to make you feel like that’s the thing you need to do to be a good mother or a successful business owner that’s just something that works for me and my family. What I do want you to hear and to understand is you can define for yourself and your family what success is and right now that might mean finding other childcare options so you can spend more time working.
