Your Most Important Priority as a Mompreneur – and How to Make Time for it above Everything Else!
Starting and running a business can demand a lot of your time and energy. It can be easy to get lost in the work it takes to build a successful and profitable business. However, it is important to realize that your work as an entrepreneur is not your most important priority.
As a mom, your top priority is your home and how you steward it. And remembering that allows us to keep our priorities in the right order. Home includes your marriage, since you and your husband are the leaders of your home. After tending to your marriage, motherhood is a top priority. Taking care of and nurturing your children requires training them up in the way they should go. And that requires your time and focus.
Your Home’s Structure
God's intention for the family unit is for you and your husband to lead your home. Godly leadership is not just about the leadership you hold in your church and your business, but about how you and your spouse lead your family.
Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” It’s not just a privilege to teach your child, but a requirement. You have a responsibility as a parent to parent your children… which includes intentionally disciple-ing them.
Why Teaching Your Child Should be a Priority
You cannot expect your children to do anything they haven’t been taught. While it is possible for them to learn new things on their own, they need structure and your guidance to learn necessary life skills.
Yes, they need, and you should teach them how to do the things they’ll need to live independently. Things like knowing how to cook, complete household tasks, wash their laundry, budget, drive, and hundreds of other little things they need to mature into capable adults.
Yes, they need to go to school to learn about academic topics. But while your help can support this learning, you cannot rely on school to cover every topic. It’s your responsibility as a parent to teach your children about the more important things of faith and life.
Your first ministry is in the home, where the Great Commission starts. The Great Commission tells us to make disciples of all nations. For parents, your children are your first responsibility for living out this commission. Teaching your children the most important thing in the world and discipling them should take priority over everything else you do.
The Importance of Connection & Relationship
To make an impact on your children, you need to build a relationship and regularly connect with them. It is said that more is “caught” than “taught,” and this is especially true with kids. When they see how you act and speak, they will do those things. That us why it’s important to consistently exhibit the character you want to see in your children. Consistently, not perfectly since that is impossible.
Take time to learn about your children's traits and thoughts, and prioritize spending time with each child one-on-one. When you spend quality time with your children, you build trust that allows them to confide things in you, especially later in life. It's similar to bank deposits – you deposit into their trust bank and you can eventually withdraw from said bank later on. You cannot withdraw from where you haven't deposited.
Model Positive Behavior
You need to model the behavior you want to see in your children. Make sure that you’re tending to your energy and mood. If you want your child to use kind words, even when they’re angry, you need to model the same thing.
How you model faith to your children is so important. Let them see you pray, read the Bible, and make God-centered decisions. When they see you do these things, they’ll be much more likely to emulate that same behavior.
Create Time by MAKING IT A PRIORITY
When planning your work day, set aside specific blocks of time to work on your business. If you use your time wisely and focus on your business during these times, you’re freed up to focus on your home. It’s important to plan your business around your home life instead of planning your home life around your business.
I like to set aside specific times every day to focus on really spending quality time with my children. Every morning I spend quality time while helping them get ready for school. While they’re at school, I work on my business so I can spend time having a snack with them and listening to them share their day when they get home. Time before bed is also a priority and a great time to unwind and spend quality time with them to end the day - and incorporating our faith and prayer around this time. By planning my work around these critical connection points, I make my household a priority and ensure that I am modeling how to incorporate our faith into our lives daily.
The same goes for your time with your spouse. Make sure you have time to spend one-on-one with your spouse. Go on dates and spend time alone away from your kids. Your marriage relationship should remain a priority, no matter how hectic life is.
You may also need to adjust your finances and lifestyle to make sure you’re not operating your business in desperate energy. Are there areas where you can cut back or downsize to create space for more family time? Can you outsource tasks to free up more time to spend at home?
Conclusion
The Proverbs 31 woman is a source of inspiration for mompreneurs. She woke up early, prepared breakfast, and worked diligently throughout the day. We see that she worked to generate income for her family, but always put care of her household and family first. No matter what else you do, make sure your family is a priority.
Download my free daily planner where I share more on how to plan your day and make your home and family a priority.
Blessed & Balanced: How to build a profitable business in less than 15hrs a week (so you can be present and steward your home well)
MAY 5th @ 8.30pm EST