Balancing entrepreneurship and parenting: how to become a successful dadpreneur

dad-preneur
Father works from home office while babysitting with toddler kid. Dad sits at the desk with a little son on his laps and typing on keyboard

Juggling parenting and family life, whilst running a successful business and maintaining work-life balance is no easy feat!

To invest in your dreams and kick-start your side hustle whilst maintaining your day job – may feel impossible! However, to successfully juggle work, life, family and a side-hustle – in synergy – takes commitment, time management, self-discipline and prioritisation.

The secret to becoming a successful dadpreneur is to ensure you’re following your passions.

It is true, the combination can be overwhelming, resulting in round-the-clock pursuits full of irregular hours and multiple stress factors. There are many secrets to finding success whilst combining both parenting and entrepreneurship.

Here are my tips on how to go from Dad to successful entrepreneur.

  1. Prioritisation: Family always comes first! It’s a matter of priority and balancing. Try not to focus on the “perfect”. kids are only young once. Enjoy those little moments.
  2. Be passionate: If you’re an aspiring entrepreneur it is critical to understand that success does not happen overnight. A successful entrepreneur has experienced: hard work, resilience amongst failure, passion towards their project and a vision for the future.
  3. Work / life balance is key: Work on your side hustle at night once you have put the kids to bed. As important as having efficient procedures in place of hard work, big ideas and a rigorous work ethic, don’t forget to implement a work-life-balance system. Keep your mental health top of mind during this challenging time and a positive attitude at the forefront of your business structure.
  4. Have a strong mission: When bringing your small business dreams into reality have a strong mission behind the brand. Get as creative as possible during this unique time with the methods that work for you. If you are looking to bring your side hustle dreams from the ideation phase into reality, you need to believe in your brand and have a strong purpose behind your actions. I strongly suggest outsourcing what you don’t have time for or aren’t good at. For me, there was no point in wasting time, effort, and sanity coding a website. Rather, I chose to focus on the design and sales activities, and hire talented people to run the site and our marketing efforts.
  5. Open communication: Whilst juggling your career and side hustle with family life, you must maintain open lines of communication with your partner!
  6. Ups and downs as an entrepreneur are inevitable: Remember; it’s not going to be easy! When stuck in a rut, try these five tips to pull yourself out: practice gratitude, remind yourself of ‘why’ you started, focus on past victories, walk it off and make a new plan with a fresh attitude. Having gratitude on your side is a powerful tool to elevate yourself and utilise your potential to the highest ability. When feeling discouraged, focusing on the feeling of gratitude for your struggles and for the constant learning experiences you are exposed to can aid in shifting your mindset.
  7. Switch off: As a dad first and an entrepreneur second, you are going to have to put in an immense number of hours into your business. You must remember to switch off and look after your health.

Successful entrepreneurs take risks and maintain hope for their future successes. No system will work perfectly for every aspiring entrepreneur as all individuals have a unique standard workflow.

However, whether an aspiring or seasoned entrepreneur, ensuring your attitude is set up to maximise your talent will make the journey towards success an enjoyable one. All it takes is the first step to make your dreams a reality. You will never know what opportunities are out there unless you push yourself out of your comfort zone and make it happen.

Marcus Marchant, Founder, Bondi Joe and CEO, Vistaprint Australia