Moms in Business
Often times I ask myself, what in the world are you doing Yvette? Honestly, I lose sleep over striking the right balance between being a mom, a wife, a business women, a friend, a daughter, a sister, and everything else in between. I have came to a conclusion that I cannot do it all perfectly, but that I will be successful if I can just be average in everything I do, and all the roles that I play in this life. To my surprise being just good has also shown its difficulty, but I will continue to strive to be good in what I do.
I was a working mom since my children were about 12 weeks old. I remember working long hours on my feet while pregnant with both of them. It was hard, but I needed a job to support them. Although I was driven and I climbed the corporate ladder, as time passed I felt the guilt of leaving my children in a daycare. I felt like someone else is caring and raising my children for me and I started to resent the corporate America for the fact that I felt I had no choice and no say of my schedule, my growth, and taking time off was becoming a hassle.
The security of a job was taken away as I experienced layoffs time and time again after average of 3.5 years at three different companies. I thought, what is the point? Work for a company, give them your skills, grow little to no wealth, never get to raise my children, and only to be laid off anytime the company feels it's the best things to do for its investors.
I decided that there have to be a better way. I was still a single mom at the time, so I had to find a job or a business that will allow me to make an income and be able to see and be with my children. I started with a financial services self-employment type of business, but that required me to still find childcare when I was meeting with potential clients. Well, the potential earnings were great, but again I was away from children. Then I started to think about some jobs that I could do from home that were legit.
I was able to purchase my home 2 years after my divorce, and I figured that I can potentially start running a daycare in my home. Not only that I will be able to see my children every day, but as a business owner, I could have deduction benefits that will allow me to deduct some business costs associated with my place of business (my home).
I inquired to be a licensed childcare provider in the state of Idaho. They told me that the process would take 6 months. At the time, I was facing another layoff, so I had a sense of urgency. I was able to obtain my license in 3 months time. I ended up leaving the job I was at and accepting another position that paid me less, but it offered a work schedule that allowed me to do both the job and the daycare. I worked at the job from 5:30 am to 2:30 pm. I hired a neighbor friend to come at 5 am so I can leave and go to work. She would get the kiddos ready for school and feed them breakfast and she would watch any daycare kiddos that I had for me until I came home around 3 pm. I would then work the daycare from 3 pm to 10:30 pm.
Sure enough, a few months after this arrangement, which was tiring but rewarding financially, my job announced a lay off. I decided that was it! No more jobs, no more bosses, and now it was the time for me to be a MOM in BUSINESS!
