I only run my business in term time
I’m the boss, my husband thinks I work too hard, and I still feel guilty when he finds me on the sofa at 5pm. Blame my corporate years and my ADHD brain.
This used to make me feel naughty, but not any more: I only run my business in term time and (generally) school hours. Building a business around school holidays sounds sensible on paper, but my brain took some convincing.
Even in term time, I'll have worked flat out all day and finally closed my laptop just before 5pm. I flop on the sofa with sudoku on my phone and Netflix on in the background (ever the multi-tasker), and then Ashton arrives home from work ten minutes later to find me there and I feel like I've been caught out, as though I need to justify why I'm not still working. He thinks I work too hard, by the way, so I have no idea who I'm explaining myself to. My ADHD brain has decided I should feel guilty when I'm working and guilty when I'm not, so I can't win either way.
I blame the corporate years
These days I call myself 'unemployable' and I don't miss the rules of corporate life. Time off had to be approved, and I spent a lot of energy trying not to be inconvenient to anyone. I was once told off for leaving "early" because I'd mentioned I was going out to meet friends. It was 6.30pm and I'd been at my desk since 8am. WTAF?! 🤯
Running a business around school holidays was a big change
For years I took LESS time off as a business owner. I'd work through the school holidays and watch the kids head off to do fun stuff while I "caught up" on emails and sales plans. No fun for me, plus a big dollop of mum guilt for not being with them.
It took me until last year to figure out I'm allowed to choose not to work in the school holidays. Last year FFS! Now I do it properly, and it's a total no-brainer.
... I've changed how I deliver client support so it only happens in term time and (generally) school hours.
... Most of my offers have implementation breaks built in, because I know it's not just me juggling all this.
... And I push sales back to dodge holidays - recently moved a launch a whole week because it landed on half term.
Breaking those long-held habits was tricky at first - I had to give myself a talking to and set some boundaries. When someone asked me to "squeeze" a call in, my people-pleasing instinct was right there, ready to say "sure, I'll just switch some stuff around and see you on Tuesday afternoon". I didn't. I stayed strong, and I'm calling that proof I've gone full rebel.
Jimmy the skeleton, a flooded dining room and a shed
Only working term time got easier when ...
I radically simplified how I run my business (practising what I preach to clients):
🙌🏻 I've got fewer offers but with loads more structure, and clearly communicated boundaries.
🙌🏻 I got even clearer on exactly who I help and how.
🙌🏻 And I show up with the same message every time:
I help plate-spinning female founders stop ricocheting around their business and life by making it safe to do less and earn more.
That single consistent message is how I'm getting known for one thing, and it's the same shift a client of mine made when she stopped reinventing and her diary filled up.
Pre-Flight Week starts soon, and it's how I can help you do some of the same in just one week
One week won't simplify your whole business, but it does get your messaging sorted, which is the bit I'd start with. It's 5 days of doing the work with me alongside you: an intro call, a podcast episode, an AI-guided worksheet, co-working if you fancy company, and I'll keep you going with personalised support.
And to prove I'm no 'perfect guru' (ha, I wish!) here's full story of how real life keeps rearranging my plans, from when I wrote about missing my own sales targets this year.
