Mommys Company: Double Doodie - Working From Home

I believe it was Hemingway who said, “All things truly wicked start from an innocence.”

That explains my work situation.

The idea to start a business from home; or work from home (ironic as that term is to me now), came to me soon after my daughter was born. Like many new moms, the thought of jumping into the rat race and leaving my helpless offspring with a licensed but undeserving stranger was about as attractive to me as a freshly-birthed placenta.

After much thought, a voice of genius (who I now refer to as “The Devil”) whispered to me one evening: “Why not start a business?”

Fast forward six months to me engaged in a perpetual dance between my laptop and very curious 7 month-old who would love nothing more than to chew through every single document on my desk.

Don’t get me wrong, I feel very privileged to be able to catch all of those Kodak moments with my daughter: Seeing her discover her feet for the first time, listening to her giggle as I make breakfast and leisurely cuddling with her in bed at an hour when more serious types are buzzing about in offices and on freeways.

I’m lucky and I know it (clap your hands).

I’m sure there are many moms who are pondering ditching their day jobs to work at home, whether it is to telecommute or start a business.

A word of advice: Don’t trade your Ann Klein power suit for sweats just yet. Working under the supervision of a child, or children, is not for the faint of heart. There are things every mom and mom-to-be must know before hanging up their time card.

1. Your children are not your coworkers. They are not dedicated to your corporate mission statement and purpose.

Getting everyone “on board” to make mommy’s business dream a reality may seem like an appropriate preliminary step, but let’s take a giant leap into reality. If your kids are under five, hell, even if they’re old enough to drive, the truth is that they don’t care.

Children are first and foremost concerned with being children. If your chain emails are going to create a kink in their lifestyle, they’ll unmercifully let you know it.

This is not to say that there won’t be moments where they will be great little helpers and lick envelopes, but don’t fool yourself, having mom half there is not better than having mom not there at all. Mom’s business hours are usually during naps, in the middle of the night, and during play-dates.

2. You only have so much energy and no combination of wishing and/or Red Bulls can change that.

If you decide to join the thousands of entrepreneurs who create businesses every year, be prepared for one thing: to end everyday exhausted. It is a self-satisfied exhaustion, but exhaustion all the same.

The tenacity that accompanies a fresh, exciting business idea forgives the late nights at the drawing board. Six months, 18 months, three years into a business and many owners not only feel the burnout, they embody it.

Symptoms of spreading yourself too thin include: your family hating you, hating your family, hating your business, and “the shakes” (an involuntary twitching that is more commonly observed in drug rehabilitation centers).

The #1 way to avoid burnout is to develop the ability to say three words that will revolutionize the way you do business: “It can wait.”

Sometimes, dropping everything to roll around on the floor with your kids, have a conversation with your husband (remember him?), or enjoy a Frappuccino break is essential.

Running a business is like having an extra child: it needs grooming, feeding, and attention. But unlike the real children tearing through your office, your business is not your reason d’etre.

This leads me to my last point.

3. Where your ego lies, there your heart will be to. Run your business, don’t love it.

It can be very easy when you’re burning the midnight oil with only the soft glow of the computer monitor to warm you to begin to have strong feelings for your business.

You two have been through it all: the first customer, the first newspaper write-up, the infamous Hardrive Crash of 2004…so many memories.

Unlike the human beings in your household, your business is also a constant ego stroke which can allow a rational mother to transmutate into a selfish, stressed workaholic.

One can learn from the literary work of Mary Shelley. Your masterpiece will soon become your Frankenstein if you fail to control and remain the master or it. Remember who created who.

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If a stranger were to peer into my window to find me in front of my laptop at 4 a.m. answering emails and noting invoices, they might deduce by the tired skin around my eyes and the colorful mugs filled to various levels with stale caffeinated beverages strewn about my workspace that perhaps I am over my head.

Maybe. While being a mom business owner does add one more trip-inducing Lego to the proverbial playroom that is my life, I just remind myself that the essence of motherhood is not mastery and calm, but learning and taking joy in the mess.