Mom 1 worked outside the home for many years while her kids were young and used a daycare provider. Now, she runs her online mother-daughter boutique from home and continues to distinctly separate her home and work responsibilities.

Mom 2 is an entrepreneur who founded a successful online maternity store before moving on to help other women who want to own an at-home business through her consulting business. Mom 2 manages to combine her family life and her business while keeping her kids at home with her. How does she do it? Find out when we interview her below.

Read how these moms, both successful business at-home business owners, make their work and family life balance:

Childcare:

Mom 1 – I choose to distinctly separate my work and family life. When I’m at work, I want to focus on it without distraction. But, in the same manner, when I’m with my family, I don’t let work encroach into that time either. My children have always been happy and well-adjusted at the quality daycare we choose for them. They are content to play with friends and engage in activities all day long that I couldn’t provide for them at home while trying to get work done.

Mom 2 – I am able to multi-task and do many things at once. I can be typing up emails or on the phone to a customer while pouring milk and playing CandyLand. For my children and I it is important that I be their caregiver and that they be home with me. When I have to run errands for my business, I often combine it with something fun for my kids, like including a stop for ice cream.

Work Issues:

Mom 1 – Now that my kids are both in elementary school, I work like a fiend from 8:30 to 4:00. I love that I can be home for them as they get off the bus and have their after-school snack ready. This is something I never had as a child and I enjoy doing it for my kids. I don’t work at all in the evening – that is my quality time with my family. But, after everyone is tucked snugly into their beds, I am back at it and often work until after midnight.

Mom 2 – I work all day. Not exclusively, of course, but I am always doing two things at once, minding my kids and thinking about my business. My kids are used to Mommy always working and talking on the phone, but they know I am always there for them.

Getting it all Done:

Mom 1– Sometimes I find myself doing dishes and putting in a load of laundry at crazy times. Usually, I try to get these household tasks in progress while my kids are eating breakfast or playing together. But, many nights I can be found packing lunches and folding laundry into the wee early morning hours!

Mom 2 – Organization. That’s how I do it. Planning what needs done for the next day and making sure everything is where is needs to be. Otherwise, I fear our lives would spiral into chaos.

Prioritization:

Mom 1 – It’s easy to say ‘family comes first’ because of course, it does. But, doesn’t running a successful business and earning money for them also important? And that’s where the line for me gets fuzzy. Pretty much everything I do is for my family (even taking time out as I am a much ‘nicer’ Mom after a lunch outing or getting my nails done) so it is difficult to draw a line.

Mom 2 - I agree with Amber that family comes first. For me and my family, that means begin together as much as possible and doing things together as a family unit.

Being a Role Model for Kids:

Mom 1 – This is very important to me. I want my daughter and son to see me working hard but also able to play and relax and have fun. I didn’t have this balance for so many years and I want my kids to learn that there is more to life than work, work, work. But, at the same time, it is important to work hard. I hope that if they see me doing both, this will instill in them the work ethic and life balance that took me 30 years to discover!

Mom 2- I want my kids to be self-sufficient, well-balanced people who can do for themselves and not have to rely on anyone else for the things they want out of life. As a younger woman, all I wanted out of life was to get married and have children. As I matured, I was compelled by my entrepreneurial spirit and my family gave me the support to try my ideas. I hope my ambition and desire for family and an identity of my own is something my children recognize and enlist in their own lives someday.

Asking for Help:

Mom 1 – I am not too proud to ask for help. I see some women who think they need to do it all themselves and I don’t understand it. When I was pregnant, if someone would have offered to pick me up and carry me to the refrigerator for a drink, I would have let them. I have a cleaning service to help with the house and my husband helps out a tremendous amount. When things get overwhelming, I enlist the help of grandparents and family in the area. I’ve even been known to fly my mother in from Pittsburgh in a crunch!

Mom 2 – I don’t have family in the area and feel a strange (and often irritating) ownership of my house and its state of being. I don’t like to have others in my house to help clean – it makes me feel as if I’m slacking. It gets overwhelming at times, but we keep it together as a family. My husband and kids pick up for themselves and we all have specific tasks to keep the house running smoothly – (even my 2-year-old has responsibilities!).

How do You Feel About Each O