Yin and Yang: How do you balance work and family?
With the nature of my business and on virtual calls with clients, there is an element of planning/scheduling and working with their days and ideal timings. I do make this work in times that suit both me (when the kids are at school/nursery) and their schedule too and it works really well! I also work a lot of evenings; it suits many families and it also suits me to work when my two kids are sleeping!
The Drive: What challenges have you overcome?
I genuinely think there are challenges so frequently when you have your own business! New things to learn, changes that come your way and you need to adapt differently.
One of the biggest challenges for us was this year though. My daughter, who was two at the time, fell extremely poorly and spent almost two weeks in hospital. I was also due to finish up with clients for our family summer holiday and it was all thrown into the air. Juggling the workload and clients while going through such a tough time was a huge challenge. I’m very lucky though – I work with the most amazing families and they were so understanding and supportive. I pride myself on the service I provide and would never like to feel I’d left families unsupported – but it turns out they supported me just as much as I did them!
For Better or Worse: What are the pros and cons of running your own business?
The pros – flexibility is a big one for me and working around the kids. Especially when my husband works away often, it’s important for me to have that for us! I also love that when you have your own business – it’s limitless in so many ways. My brain is always super busy, and I can never be bored! I’m always focusing on new tasks, improvements to be made and how to change things up.
The cons – I’m a one-man band in this just now! So the juggle is real – between marketing, social media, client work and sleep plans, accounting and all of the other hidden tasks it can be a lot. I’m hoping to expand and build out a team in 2024! The other con would be the lack of predictability – and I like predictability! You never know how each week or month can go – a quiet week can be busy very quickly and likewise you can go from busy to quiet!
Hopes and Dreams: What’s Next?
The next part of my campaign and mission to provide accessible sleep support is my new Membership Program! I truly cannot wait to launch this in early 2024. I know baby and child sleep is not linear – it changes so frequently! With new development phases, nap transitions and so much more, things can change quickly. I wanted to provide an opportunity for consistent sleep support to help in these times, but also a place for existing families I’ve worked with to continue to receive this level of support when new phases and challenges occur!
I want to offer a variety of support and value though – so I already have a list of specialist key speakers lined up for this too! From baby first aid to virtual health visitors, return to work coaches and so much more! It’s going to be fantastic.
Visit the Beyond the Stars website to find out more. Follow them on Facebook and Instagram, and join Beyond The Stars – The Sleep Community Group on Facebook.
