What's it REALLY like to be a VA and a mum?
After 6 years in the VA world, I’ve come to realise there are a few misconceptions that crop up around how you can structure your business so you can have flexibility and still be profitable. I’m not going to go into all of the things today, but the one thing I DO want to talk about is motherhood. Specifically what’s it like to be a mum AND a VA.
A lot of the VAs I’ve mentored over the past few years have started their business because they want to work around the school calendar.
They want to be present for their children before and after school, and they want to know how they can make that work.
And if you’re in that position too, here’s my experience of being a VA and a mum:
The positives in a nutshell:
I get to work from home every day, which is a short walk from my daughter’s school. No more stressful commute for me, and no additional before and after school childcare costs
I do every single school drop off & pick up, go to every school events and do all the trips to the clubs she goes to (I truly love that!)
I start working at any time of day that I want. For me that means 9.30ish once I’ve got back, had a coffee and finished my mindset routine
I only work during school hours. Sometimes I do more when I want to, sometimes I do less. I currently have 2 VA clients and the rest of my time is spent on the mentoring side of my business. During school holidays I work when I’ve arranged childcare for Izzy, so I batch work together during those days
The other side (I’m not calling it a negative, because to me this isn’t a negative!):
You can’t work with children running around your feet.
I wasn’t a mum when I started my VA biz but when Izzy arrived I thought I could get by only working during her nap times. At first that worked out just fine because she napped loads, but as she got older I realised that just wasn’t viable. Not without losing my mind, that is.
Trying to work with your children in the same room is incredibly difficult. And if you worked during the pandemic you’ll know exactly what that feels like!
So as much as we’d all like to believe
You’ll get as much out of your business as you put into it
What does this all mean?
The reason I wanted to talk about motherhood this week is because I want you to know that you can have the flexibility AND the financial results you want!
One of the questions I get asked is ‘how much can you earn if you’re only working during school hours?’ Very good question, and you’ll find an entire blog post on VA earnings here. A quick calculator you can use is:
5 hours x £hourly rate x 5 days a week = £X a month
That’s just an example of course, but the point is you CAN work during school hours and have a profitable business.
It might take a bit longer to get where you want to be because you probably won’t be working as many hours as VAs without kids, but that doesn’t have any implication on your outcome.
The final thing I want to say is that even though you might have that annoying mum guilt crop up every once in a while, I’m a firm believer that you’re setting your children an incredible example. You’ve started a business and you’re carving out your own path that allows you to be present as a mum AND fulfilled as a business owner!
