Yin and Yang: How do you balance work and family?
I try to stick to working during regular work hours, but this isn’t always possible. Usually weekends are work free to give us family time together – it’s always a bit of a juggling act with young children! I’ve learned that children who don’t have full engagement from the adult they are spending time with will usually resort to attention-seeking behaviour to get the attention they are craving… so I do my best to leave work to when they are either at daycare, asleep, or have the full attention of another adult.
The drive: What challenges have you overcome?
Google Ads! I spent weeks myself trying to get my head around setting these up before admitting defeat and outsourcing this. I’m reasonably time poor, so my to-do list is the length of my arm, and learning to prioritise tasks that are most important (even though they may not be the most fun) has been a challenge, but I’m getting there.
For better or worse: What are the pros and cons of running your own business?
The pros are definitely making my own decisions, the excitement of a sale coming through never seems to get old, and being able to work from home – around the needs of my family. The cons are making my own decisions (yes, a pro and a con!!), the realisation that the success of the business is dependent on the time, energy and capital I put in, and the time involved in actually setting up a business from scratch. There were several months where this did put a serious strain on our family, with me working all hours fulfilling my clients’ needs within my contracting role, along with getting the business up and running. Thankfully, this is a lot more stable now, even if my to-do list never seems to get shorter.
Hopes and dreams: What next?
Business wise, with a couple of other exciting products in the pipeline, SNOOZE will slowly grow in range. Our next step is to see our products stocked by retailers, something that is being a little held up by manufacturing delays due to COVID-19, which is making some electronic parts hard to source. Family wise, we are in the process of building a house – just another little something to add to the craziness of our lives!
Head to the SNOOZE website to find out more about their products and follow them on Facebook and Instagram.
