Congrats you’re pregnant or wanting to be pregnant. Being a small business owner and pregnant, has some pitfalls. Here are some of my pregnancy tips.
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Finances
Make sure your personal and business finances can handle your pregnancy & birth expenses plus time off.
Having a baby is expensive and without paid medical benefits can be hard. Medical complications can happen and extra doctor appointments can be necessary. I have insurance, not great insurance but enough. I ended up having a C-section when I had my daughter which is more expensive. She had jaundice and had to be tested at the hospital frequently until she recovered.
Your business needs to be on a strong financial position so you can have money while you take time off. If you are thinking about becoming pregnant, an established business of 3 years or more is a good idea.
Strong finances in both your business and personal life will relieve a lot of stress.
more personal finance tips:
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Morning Sickness
Most likely you are going to be nausea or sick maybe only in the morning or all day. Nausea could last your entire pregnancy or for several long months.
I was sick to my stomach all day from when I found out I was pregnant to around the 8th month. It was worse in the beginning, if I threw up I would just keep throwing up all day long. Anytime I would get up to work on something, I would have to rush to the bathroom.
The doctor’s office should give you a listing of nausea remedies, like fresh ginger, ginger ale, crackers, peppermint and more. Producing hand-on items is really hard when you keep having to run to the bathroom.
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Plan Ahead
Finish all your projects or items before you give birth, by the 8th month would be good. You might think you have 9 months to get ready but babies come when they are ready. Another woman in my birth class was having twins and she delivered at least a month early. An unplanned C-sections is a possibility. Recovery time for a C-section is longer.
Plan for when you go back to work. My baby was born right before the new year. My projects were finished and it was a slow time for my business. I have an established business, so I was not concerned about taking a little time off.
You will want to cram as much work before your baby arrives so you can enjoy some time with your newborn and keep your sanity. A newborn has their own schedule and you will likely feel a lack of sleep. Friends and family will want to visit.
You will need help. Keeping up your previous workload and spending time taking care of your newborn will be impossible. Get free help, maybe your mom, mother-in-law, or best friend. My partner in my business is my mom. We made a schedule so she would come twice a week for 3 hours to watch my little girl so I would work. I don’t know what I would have done without help.
Have your husband help out. Arrange for a babysitter, nanny, or daycare. Hire an assistant. Train your assistant before you deliver.
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Work Flow
Now would be a good time to review your work flow. When you run your own home based business, you are the boss, maker, shipper, marketer, designer, photographer, and more. If you haven’t already, streamline each part of your business now would be a great time to see where you could cut time out.
Social media marketing can be a big time suck. You can be drawn in and lose track of time, which before might be fine to sit down with some coffee and while away a half hour or more but time will be all important after the baby is born.
Another time leach can be organization. Organize your supplies in the correct place. Keep shipping supplies all in one convenient spot with everything that is necessary to send your packages out.
Now is the time to look over any products that are not worth your time. Do you accept to many customized and complicated orders? Do you let you customers make unlimited revisions? Rethink any long and complicated projects. I lengthened my turnaround time to 3 weeks so I would have extra time to work on my items.
Wrap your projects up by 8 months or have a plan on what you will do if you go into labor early.
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Be Flexible
You are going to find some days you are tired and nauseous. Doctor visits will be frequent. You probably will have uncomfortable and sleepless nights. I know I did the last month of pregnancy. I felt really pregnant and restless at night.
You might need to change how you offer your product. Go with the flow. Allow yourself some leeway.
Enjoy this exciting time and get ready for your new little one. Love your baby and your business.
More Tips:
A pregnant business owners plan
How to manage a small business and be pregnant
Advice for the Pregnant Entrepreneur
How to Manage Manage Maternity Leave
Productivity Tips for Work at Home Moms
What pregnancy tips do you have?
Pregnancy Tips for small business owners