Business Confessions: Family and Starting a Business
Let’s do the dang thing(s)!
Welcome back, everyone! For those who don’t know me, I’m Yasmine. The owner of Robles Designs and the founder of Digital Hustle Tribe. A friend requested that I discuss this topic so shout-out to her! I want to chat about business and family and how to intertwine the two; what has worked for me and what hasn’t.
Where I started #CubicleLife
My life changed drastically when I decided to ditch the cubicle and my job working for a corporate retailer and begin my own business. I was contracted into my position but I knew I wanted a change so I went out networking to find my client base. While working in corporate America, I realized my life was in blocks. Workin’ 9-5 (shout-out Dolly Parton) and then switching over to family mode from 5 until bedtime. My husband was working a job where he goes out of town Monday-Friday during part of the year so we didn’t take the kids out of childcare. Switching from corporate to the business made a HUGE difference in my life!
Boss Lady
In my experience, the main difference between corporate jobs and having your own business is that you bring your work home with you because there is something you love about it. Your work life and family become intertwined and fluid. Whereas, in my corporate job I was either at work or at home. My life is no longer in blocks and guess who gets to control that? You guessed it, I do! Because life can change at any moment, #IGotThePower to adjust my schedule and adapt to whatever happens, depending on what works for me.
The beauty of it: When it’s your business, YOU can decide
Before my children were in school, I would hang out at home with them and then take breaks to get work done while they had quiet time. When I needed a break from work, we would get to have family time again. Now that they are back in school, my typical day looks like this: drop the girls off, go to my office, and then when I realize I am craving my 3rd cup of coffee (and feeling the migraine come on) at around 3, I leave to go pick them up from school and family time starts! While they do homework or play, I have time to work out and get things done around the house. Then when they head to bed at around 7, I finish out a couple more hours of work. At first, it was difficult to realize that I AM in charge of everything from the morning to evening, but my business has allowed me to learn how to shift away from the 9-5 mindset.
Takin’ it one step further
As I mentioned, we all go through phases… At points, the kids have taken up more of my time when there just isn’t room for childcare in our budget. This is when I got even more creative about how I can intertwine my business and my family. I have not just one, but TWO little (future) employees helping me out with website design! My 8-year- old daughter loooovvvvees playing around with Squarespace and sketching out logos. It’s also taught her to love following directions; talk about a win-win! Of course, it is a little trickier for my 5-year-old to focus on the direction aspects, but she loves playing with wire-frames and drawing out her own version of brand logos. When you are passionate about what you do, your loved ones notice-- no matter what the age!
I want to know the ways that YOU are intertwining business and your family. Is there anything you want to ask me about my methods so far?! Let me know in the comments. I’d love to hear and share more!
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