July 20, 2015
First things first: There’s no thing as “typical” when you have two kids and are running a full time business from your home.
My girls are 3.75 and (almost) 11 months old. I work full time from my home studio, and my husband works full time outside of the home as an engineer. I hired a full time caregiver shortly after Chloe was born in 2011. I love being able to give 100% of my attention to my clients, 100% of my attention to my kids,and 100% of my attention to my husband. In order for me to have a work-life balance, I need help — and that’s where our caregiver comes into play! Having this balance makes me feel refreshed (most of the time!) once the evening rolls around, and I feel less stressed knowing that I have a plan in place. Being a working mama is no joke!
My typical work week
Daily: I start each morning, before the girls are awake, by checking social media & scrolling through my emails. I make mentally organize emails by priority, and by the end of the day I’ve responded to each and every one of them personally. I have a system on place to streamline emails – I’m a huge fan of gmails extensions, Boomerand and Snippets – which saves me oodles of time when responding to vendors, manufacters, and clients. I have an iPhone, so I pin and Instagram throughout the day to keep my social media presence relevant.
Monday: Mondays are normally spent working on new products. Every July I begin working on my Fall collection, so by September you’ll see my Halloween prints, invitations and accessories roll out. I’ll have my entire Christmas collection done by the end of this month, and will have the base of my 2016 wedding collection done by the end of this month, too. I am usually distracted by emails, coffee, texts and messages from my designer friends. It’s great having someone to bounce ideas off of, collaborate with, and chat with throughout the day!
Tuesday: Tuesdays are for hustling. I spend the day working on Etsy orders, manufacturing stamps, responding the more emails, proofing wedding invitations, collaborating, and have consults with brides. This past Tuesday, I designed two very different wedding suites for my lovely fall brides, had a phone consult with a 2016 bride, schemed with a local photographer to plan an August photo shoot, worked with a planner to finish up a fall 2015 wedding, and started designing stamps for a deal I just had with an online deal site. I run on coffee!
Wednesday: Wednesdays are a lot like Mondays, sprinkled with a little bit of Tuesdays!
Thursday: Thursdays are a repeat of Tuesdays. It’s when I get the remainder of the bulk of my work done, finish proofing orders, send the rest of my files to production, schedule more consultations, and do my book work. Running your own company is also filled with lots of boring financial book work, too, and I have to stay on top of it!
Friday:If I’m all caught up on my work, I try to take Fridays off. I spend them hanging out with my kids. We have play dates with our friends, go to the zoo or pool, build forts, swing on our swings in the back yard, play in the dirt, go for walks, to the park, or visit grandma or out to lunch. Fridays are our Fun Day, so anything goes!
Extra, Extra!: I completely admit that I am the worlds worst cook, and you wouldn’t want me to make you dinner, ever! This is where my husband and I play on our strengths and weaknesses! I am really organized, and great at couponing and making a grocery list. He’s better at grocery shopping (I’m an impulse buyer, he isn’t!) and cooking. He makes dinner while I pick up the house and entertain the girls. After dinner is our family time, then it’s bath time and bed time for the kids.
