Hi Em, tell us a bit about yourself. What do you do, how old are your children and what happens with your kids when you are at work?
I’m a strategic business consultant and coach which is lovely now I’m able to work from home lots now. But it wasn’t always like that.
I’ve got one child, Oscar, and I went back to work when he was six months old and have worked full-time ever since. We left London when he was a toddler to move nearer to family by the sea in Brighton which was fabulous – sun, sea and our family nearby! We had great plans of getting jobs by the sea but then the recession hit and we kept our jobs in London which meant my husband and I both commuting four hours every day and taking it in turns to cover mornings or evenings. I’d be on the 6am train to London then would rush back to collect Oscar at 6pm and go into tea, bath, bed and story mode trying not to fall asleep reading The Gruffalo.
I’m very proud of Oscar who is now 14 and a keen cricketer. His school days are long and he’s obviously far more self-sufficient than when he was little. The challenges are different though – from having childcare, packed lunches and trying to fit in playdates to having someone who is growing up fast but needs help on algebraic equations, trigonometry and being driven to multiple cricket matches in the summer instead!
I relish the balance and flexibility that having my own business now affords – I just wish I could turn back time and did this 14 years ago.
1. One word to describe how being a WoMo makes you feel?
Accomplished.
2. What’s the funniest experience you have had juggling kids and work?
Taking Oscar to a “bring your kids to work day” when he was about 10. I had to attend a meeting where he couldn’t join so I left him in the capable hands of a colleague. I get back to find him looking red faced and sheepish after accidentally spilling a yogurt over this poor colleague’s laptop!
3. What is the one piece of advice you could offer another WoMo?
Get your network sorted! By this I mean who do you have to help – partner, parent, childminder, friends – who can step in and either help with childcare or the multitude of other tasks at home and work.
4. What’s the least amount of sleep you’ve gone to work on and how did you cope?
I was pretty lucky with sleep – I’d say, four hours would have been the worst and I’d have tried to shift my diary to have an admin day and reach for the strong coffee.
5. What have you learned about yourself as a WoMo?
I’ve been more focused and driven since going back to work as a mother. I didn’t want to have Oscar in childcare full-time only for me to tread water. It was important that if I went back to work full-time, that I went all in and made the best success of it as possible. Being prepared and planning well makes your life so much easier when you’re juggling scooters, wellies, lunchboxes and laptop bags and you’re trying to dash out of the house.
6. If you had a working mother’s anthem or mantra, what would it be?
You can’t be the queen of everything, so know when to ask for help.
7. What is your guilty pleasure to combat WoMo guilt the best?
Taking Oscar out for an impromptu pizza or ice cream by the beach on a Friday evening.
8. Would you rather be dealing with a tantrum or presenting in a board meeting?
I’d rather take the board meeting over a tantrum any day of the week.
9. If you asked your child what your job is, what would they say?
“I have no idea what you actually do apart from bossing people around. But when you run your business from home, does that mean we can get a dog?”
10. What’s the one thing you wish you’d known before you became a WoMo?
How long the days are. 14 hour working and commuting days followed by trying to be a normal family and see to the needs of everyone and not just crashing out at the weekends. I didn’t realise in hindsight how fast the months and years would go and some were a blur. I would advocate that having a better balance is preferable to maxing out and missing out.
11. To date, what has been your best WoMo achievement?
Using the airmiles I’d accrued from work trips to take a family holiday to Florida – it made the sacrifices worth it.
12. What do you want to teach your kids about working mothers?
Having passion, drive, determination and the ability to show up in your work and with your family. I want Oscar to learn that it’s hard to be everywhere at once and when he has children that he’s as responsible for them as their mother is – especially as a working mother.