A Small business with The 4th Trimester
29% of small businesses in the UK are female run! and female-owned small businesses rose by 18% since 2017, compared to 14% growth in male-owned small businesses for the same period! Although I am not entirely sure just how many of those women are going through their 4th Trimester while running a small business, I bet there are quite a few….
Many small business owners would say that their business is their first baby and may put off having children until they feel it is the “right time” for their business, only to find that there is never a good time. Pregnancy is unpredictable, business is messy and babies are too!
A small business owner may have the mindset of “I can send emails in labour right?” or “I can pay staff from the hospital bed”. It will all depend on how you have set your business up, if you are still very much working within the business then it may be harder to step away than if you have the business working more for you.
You may be looking at things and thinking will I have a business to come back to? It would break your heart to see the business go as you have put so much into it over the past 5 years. I hear you, I have had all of those feelings and yes I have paid staff from the hospital bed! But I have also seen my turnover double while having two children under two.
Here are my top tips for all pregnant small business owners:
Once you know you are pregnant start to document everything you do, put it all on Dropbox/Google Drive so staff can see it and it can be regularly updated during your pregnancy- Logins/passwords, accounts, procedure manual, contact numbers, suppliers you use, cleaning company, handyman, energy accounts, etc……
Be realistic when you will work up until- and stick to that date. Boundaries are very important to create, and to withhold…
Set boundaries with staff and clients: They are used to coming to you when there is a problem, so it’s a natural reaction. Many who haven’t had babies will have no idea what the 4th trimester is like, a simple “I am signing off now, to have my baby. Please don’t contact me unless there is a fire. Thank you so much for supporting me through this time, I know you have got this and will do a great job while I am gone” – You are now gone
Any payments that may need to be paid during a 6 week period starting a week before the due date either set them early or arrange a later alternative - Then once baby comes you don’t feel pressured to log on.
Gratitude- Your staff and clients love being part of your journey, they want to support you, bump and your business. Getting staff together, sending personal emails and texts are a great thing to do in the 2nd/3rd trimester. Increasing staff morale and appreciation before you leave will have a massive effect on the company while you are gone.
To help reduce your anxiety about what will happen to your business when baby comes here are 3 positives that having babies did for my business:
It forced me to step out of the business and start to work on the business- I had been trying to do this for years but it was just too easy to work in the business as that is what I knew, so having a baby forced me to learn new skills about how to run a business.
The lack of time as a new mum actually does become your super power- You hyper focus on what is important and put things into action
Naturally your priorities will shift, you will get super clear about what you want for your family and your business.
If you are a small business owner and you are nervous about how you will manage a newborn and a business, then book a free discovery call with me and see how I can coach you through your 4th trimester with baby and your business.
You got this!