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I don’t know how you do it!

OK! So now that we have put it out there that we are crazy mompreneurs going after our dream…how do we do it all?! We get asked this question about 10 times a week.  This is something we both struggle with here on the daily! Honestly, we never have a good answer. We usually just shrug our shoulders and say, “we have no idea! “ And that’s the honest truth… we literally have no idea how we get it all done. So let’s try to break it down.

  What does it really look like to run a new business, have 4 kids each…oh, and also still hold our original jobs? This is a big question to tackle.   It’s a huge balancing act… Every. Single. Day! Just like every mom, we are always questioning ourselves… are we doing enough? Not only for our business… but first and foremost, for our families? The juggling act never ends. There are groceries, and laundry, never ending cleaning, and driving all over God’s green earth to activities!  Then there are wedding inquiries, and inventory… social media, business plans and employees! We are needed ALL THE TIME…and honestly it can get exhausting. But here’s the thing… THIS is what we are passionate about. We are passionate about our kiddos just as much as we are about making our business ridiculously successful! So we embrace the hustle.  We are busy with a purpose and that makes all the difference.  

  Let’s take a quick second to really think about that…busy with a purpose.  For us, that means thinking through the things we say yes too. Is it worth our time?  How will this benefit us/ our families? Is it going to take us away from another commitment?  What is this opportunity going to teach us? Our time is our most precious commodity. It’s truly how we measure success!  And we know first hand that it’s not guaranteed. And so we cherish it!  

  We are hustling to create a life we love!   We know that we are teaching our kids some pretty important lessons along the way.  We aren’t letting fear and self-doubt creep in…because we know that it can be crippling.  We are teaching them that their passions and talents were given to them for a reason and that doing what gives you joy will lead to success.  

  So let’s get real for a minute… what does this look like practically speaking?  Well…it means setting aside your pride and asking for help. That might seem so simple, but it doesn’t always come naturally to us…that’s for sure!   We look at time more objectively and decide…”is this worth my time?” And if it’s not truly how we want to spend our time…we outsource! (Well…not so much the parenting part…although sometimes that sounds like a good idea!). We play to our strengths and don’t spend too much time on things that we know we just don’t enjoy… Like building a website, setting up e-commerce, SEO, Pinterest… just to name a few.  We get babysitters, we ask Gram if she can do the gymnastics pick up… we send the kids to Papa’s for a little bit after school. And guess what… the kids are happy to have all of these extra people in their life who love them just as much as we do!  

  So sometimes this looks like throwing some chicken nuggets in the microwave… or wearing dirty socks… or leaving the dishes until the next day.   In the grand scheme of things, this is OK! For us, this is so much easier said than done. We’re at our best when things are organized around us.  Neat and tidy makes us feel at peace…but we all know this can’t be reality all the time. So we have to give up a bit of control…let the little things go because we just don’t have room for everything.  Our shoulders may be broad…but we honestly just don’t like carrying heavy things 🙂 So this is something that we continue to work on and remind each other of daily. The truth is, our kids could care less if there are dishes in the sink or crumbs on the floor…what they truly care about is that someone they love is there to get them off the bus and tuck them in at night.

  The bottom line here is- give yourself some grace!   The kids WILL be ok if they miss their veggies or wear mismatched socks… and the business wIll be ok if we respond  to that inquiry tomorrow or delegate that project. Our kids already know that life isn’t perfect… but what we want them to mirror, is how we respond to it. Our reaction to the stress, and the hustle, and the grit is what’s most important. We are absolutely not doing it ALL, we are prioritizing what is most important to us while we create a life we love!

  We would love if you left us a comment with YOUR advice to staying sane!  We want to foster a community of support and encouragement here…because nobody is doing it right ALL THE TIME…just better the next time!

 

Welcome to the OPD Blog!

Hi! We are Heather & Dianne and we’re the proud owners of Only Prettier Design...wedding florists and designers! Our shop in the greater Boston area is filled with fresh blooms and all the home decor to make your heart swoon. Besides entrepreneurs, we are also busy moms to 4 kiddos each! Our lives are crazy, but beautiful. We are excited to share our story with you, all while keeping it very real. While we’re super excited to show you how to execute a beautiful tablescape and design a stunning floral arrangement...we also want this to be a place to share the real struggles of balancing work and life while creating a life we love!

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1 Comment

  1. Nicole

    I love your store and follow your business on Instagram. I’m so impressed by all you’ve accomplished with growing families and other careers. I think what it comes down to is prioritizing – you make time for what’s important to you. I think it also means that your priorities can shift day to day or hour to hour. Someone gave me advice once that some days, work takes most of your focus and some days it’s family. That’s where the balance truly comes from.

    If you all need to outsource any communications or events projects, that’s my wheelhouse and I’m local. I’m just another working mom looking for more to do. Ha! 😉

    Reply

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