Part 3: Who Wants to be a Mom-prenuer?

Here is the final piece in our series “Who Wants to be a Mom-preneur?” featuring the expert advice of Lauren & Allison, the duo behind Townsend Olmstead Media Co., a full-service public relations firm.  Having assisted with the launch of  numerous products, they are excited to share some of the tips & tricks they have learned with a new crop of potential entrepreneurs. Mothers are incredibly resourceful and creative out of necessity and that often leads to innovation. With a little homework and a little hard work, your “quick fix” could become the next great idea. Here’s to the next BIG thing courtesy of a Mom!

Who Wants to be a Mom-prenuer?

You Can Do It All!

We work with so many wonderful, successful, fabulous working mothers we are confident in saying that Yes! YOU CAN DO IT ALL! (with a little help of course!)

How to do it all (work from home and be a mom) and stay sane!

Set aside clear working hours and mom hours– We all give 100% all of the time to everyone, right?? Our husbands, our kids, our clients…and that can mean a lot of Mommy overtime, which can quickly lead to Mommy burnout!! Do for yourself what you do for your children.  They have set hours for school, homework and playtime, right?? Set a schedule for yourself so that you can sit down at your desk focused on the task at hand and walk-away guilt free when your time is up. There might be the occasional phone call or two that interrupts, but remember, just because you have a cell phone, doesn’t mean you have to answer it!!

Give yourself a break from both– Mani/pedi’s are always good, go for a walk, get out with the girls or just find a quiet place to rest your mind if even for 10 minutes.  Time for yourself doesn’t necessarily mean a big night out (although that is always fun).   A great trend that can kill two birds with one stone are beauty parties… the modern version of a tupperware party, find an esthetician, manicurist, massage therapist who will come to your home, invite the girls over, crack open some wine and wal-lah – Girls Night In and you got your eyebrows back under control!! If all else fails, find a quiet spot and sit comfortably for 10 minutes – the Buddhists and Yogi’s have been doing it for centuries – let your mind quiet itself and feel the calm wash over you.

Make dinner at 10 am– why crock pots rock! – Our moms swore by them. It always seems that right as I am trying to make dinner the baby melts down, the older kids need help with homework or they need to be picked up from sports practice and I need to make one clean sweep through the house so my husband thinks I am the greatest. Since I can’t be everything to everyone, I discovered the crock pot. It is so easy – I put all the ingredients in at 10 am and let it slow cook all day – now dinner is ready when we are and without any hassles! There are some very easy recipes online so start Googling.

Have meetings at coffee houses– It gets you out of the house and you get your caffeine fix all at once! If you can walk there, you might even get your workout in for the day!! Talk about multi-tasking. While a few years ago, Starbucks may not have passed the cubicle test, those days are long gone. As long as you are prepared and professional, where you are meeting potential clients becomes a non-issue. Even for those who have offices of their own, they often an welcome an excuse to get out from behind their desk. If we had to venture a guess, more business probably gets done at the local coffee house than the golf course these days. And as a working mom, who has time for a 3-hour round of golf anyway!!

Just say yes!– When friends and family offer to help with pick-ups, drop-off, playdates, carpooling, etc. take them up on it! Don’t worry you won’t be able to return the favor, because you will when the timing is right for you. They say it takes a village and “they” aren’t kidding! No one understands the stress and strain of balancing it all than another mother, so never be afraid to ask for help.

It is hard to be a working mom without a babysitter or family to help with the kids. That said, babysitters get sick, family can be unreliable and more often than not, working moms are trying to entertain children and please their clientele. For the days when you are truly doing it all at once, here are a few ideas to keep kids occupied while you are trying to be productive rather than switching on the Boob Tube:

1) Set up a desk in or near your office – if they want to be in there, they have to be “working” too. Keep coloring books, stickers, puzzles, etc. close by.

2) Get them started…whether its painting, stringing beads or playing a game, take 5 minutes to get them completely set up and started and it will earn you at least 30 mins of uninterrupted work time.

3) Work outside! Kids are so much easier to entertain outside. Take your laptop in the backyard or even to the park and set up shop where you can keep an eye on them and you might get a little Vitamin D in the meantime.

4) Invite a friend over.When they have a friend to play with, you aren’t solely responsible for keeping them entertained, just know this may raise the volume in the house, so its not ideal if you need to be on the phone.

PR veterans Lauren Townsend and Allison Olmstead are the duo behind Townsend Olmstead Media Co.,a full-service public relations firm specializing in promoting the people and products setting trends and defining style. After years of strategic media outreach, creative positioning and building lasting relationships with the media, TO Media Co. has been successful in creating PR campaigns and strategies for companies large and small including Halsea, Pixie Dust Décor, Orange Coast Magazine, Bravo Sports and others by taking a “big picture” approach to each client. TO Media Co. has raised brand awareness and achieved measurable results for their clients through coverage on The Today Show, Good Morning America, People Magazine, Coastal Living, Real Simple, The Early Show and more.

Click here to see the other two posts in this series!