My husband and I are partners—not just as the co-owners of our business, but also as the parents of our two young boys. Through our experiences in both roles, we’ve found that starting and growing a business presents many of the same challenges as raising a family, and many of the same skills and attributes come into play in both pursuits.
In fact, we firmly believe that parents are uniquely suited to be entrepreneurs.
Skills and Traits that Make Parents Great Entrepreneurs
How do parenting skills translate into strong entrepreneurial efforts?
- Passion: Every day, as a parent, you strive to be a better leader for your children; you’re willing to dig deep within yourself to go the extra mile toward ensuring your children’s growth and ability to thrive. Similarly, dedicated business owners strive to be better leaders for their team, and they care passionately about seeing their company meet and exceed its potential.
- Flexibility: As a parent, you may need to switch gears at a moment’s notice; the willingness to be open to change and creatively adapt are invaluable skills in running a business as well. If something doesn’t go according to plan, these traits help you reach a positive solution, rather than become frustrated or stagnant.
- Self-drive: You know how to pick yourself up when you’re down because you know someone’s relying on you. You don’t expect recognition or obvious appreciation for your tireless effort, but you aren’t driven by praise. Parents are driven by the reward of seeing their offspring grow and succeed—even small victories are well worth the effort. Leading your own business is similar; you may not have someone patting you on the back all the time, but you will find fulfillment in watching your creation thrive.
- Leadership: As a parent, you develop leadership skills like clear communication, personal accountability, and the ability to listen without judging, all of which not only serve to raise healthy, happy kids, but also a healthy, successful business.
- Patience: This one is a no-brainer (and a big deal). Patience is perhaps the most important skill parenting teaches you, and when running your own company, you don’t have the luxury of being angry or frustrated; you have to keep a straight face and remain in control.
- Education: You’re always looking for opportunities to not only educate your kids, but to educate yourself on how to be a better parent. If you have a mindset that’s open to constant education and learning, this will serve you well as an entrepreneur.
How to Utilize these Skills and Balance Business with Family
Gaining excellent skills as a parent is one thing, but balancing parenting with entrepreneurship seems like a conflict of interest. How can you juggle both?
- Keep your roles separate: Running a family and running a business are both about teamwork, and a key aspect to making teamwork work is establishing roles and responsibilities for each person involved. At home, you may determine who runs certain errands and attends school events. At work, designated tasks are also important. In our business, my husband and I wrote down our strengths and made a division of labor—and then stuck to it. This way, everyone is aware of who’s in charge of what and who has the final say on a given subject.
- Keep family matters at home and business matters at work: I cannot stress this enough. It’s too easy to work constantly when you run your own business (especially if you happen to be married to your business partner), but to establish a healthy business and a healthy home life, the two must be kept separate. Setting up specific times to discuss work matters and family matters can be a helpful way to ensure that everyone’s thoughts are addressed, but at a designated time that doesn’t spill over into the rest of your life.
When we first ran our business together, it wasn’t easy. Following the above steps worked for us, and I’m confident they will work for you, too. After all, when it comes to entrepreneurship, as a parent, you—with your passion, drive, patience, and leadership skills—are already steps ahead of the game.
Published: May 29, 2014
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