There are a lot of overlaps between running a creative business and having a baby. Sleepless nights? You bet. Responsibility? Tons of it. A whole lot of learning? Absolutely.
As a sole founder, navigating the two simultaneously can be challenging. For all their similarities, there are plenty of competing priorities that make it hard to juggle.
The good news? It isn’t impossible. You can retain your identity as a small creative business owner and be a present parent at the same time, and you don’t need superhuman powers to do it. Let’s take a closer look at how.
Rethink How to Use Your Time Differently
Having a baby definitely shakes up your routine. Sticking to a traditional 9-5 work schedule becomes unrealistic, and so, as long as you’re simultaneously looking after them and working, neither will you.
As a small creative business founder, flexibility is your advantage. Instead of long work blocks, shift towards shorter, focused bursts of productivity.
Jen Lithgo, jewellery maker, found this approach essential:
“I spent a lot of his naps in the studio making jewellery. It was my hour a day to focus on something for me.”
Micro-sprints (30 minutes here, an hour there) while your baby is sleeping – you might be surprised by how much you get done.
Typically, your newborn will sleep for between 8 and 18 hours a day in blocks of around 3 hours. They rarely stick to a routine, though, so rather than planning uninterrupted work sessions, shift to micro-sprints when running a creative business with a baby.
These are smaller work sessions with uninterrupted focus, and they can be excellent for boosting productivity.
However, as your child grows, your routine will shift again. As Jen Lithgo explains:
“As he’s grown, it’s much harder to juggle everything, especially now that he no longer naps! I’m fortunate that my family are now close by, so I can ask for help when it’s needed, and he still occasionally attends markets but only an hour or so at a time!”
The key takeaway here is that, while you’re looking after your baby, you’re not going to have control over your work schedule. It’s important to adapt your expectations alongside your child’s development. By embracing flexibility, you might just find a new way of working that suits your parenting lifestyle.
Set Clear Boundaries Early On
When you’re a solo creative business founder entering the new era of parenthood, everything can quickly blur together. Work schedules, time with your baby and even rest for yourself can all start to feel like one long (sometimes messy) overlap.
That’s where setting clear boundaries early on will be your saviour. Not so much rigid rules, but structures and mindful planning will help you switch between roles more intentionally.
Just because you’re at home doesn’t mean you’re always available. When you need to knuckle down, whether that’s sorting inventory or doing your accounts, having a system in place prevents everything from overlapping.
One simple place to start is with your finances. For solo artisan business owners, using a dedicated business account helps to create a clear mental and practical divide between your business and personal life. It’s a small shift, but one that makes it easier to stay organised and gain a sense of control during an otherwise unpredictable time.
The same thinking applies to your daily routine. Talk openly with your partner or family about when you need focused work time and when you’re “on duty” as a parent.
These boundaries won’t always be perfect. As Ellie, Deryn Wen Gifts, shares:
“I had to tell my mum and dad really early on because morning sickness meant they had to take over market stalls for me.”
Asking for that support and being clear about when you need it can make all the difference.
To navigate boundaries, it always helps to prepare in advance. Planning can make things easier. That might mean looking into business tools that take some of the workload off your plate, arranging childcare, coordinating with your partner, or calling in family support during particularly busy periods.
Create a Routine for Quick Changes
Working and parenting require different mindsets. When you’re constantly switching between the two, though, it can be hard to keep up. This is where a quick transition routine is super helpful.
By taking just 30 seconds to consciously adjust your mindset, you can switch between responsibilities with ease. This stops you from taking the stress and efficiency of work-mode into parenting, and gets you back in the zone when it’s time to work.
Try a quick visualisation exercise. When your baby needs you, close your eyes and imagine you’re changing out of your work ‘uniform’ and into your parenting clothes, whatever they may be.
If that doesn’t work, visualise a curtain around you. On one side are your work responsibilities, and on the other are your parenting responsibilities. When you step through that curtain, you leave the other self behind.
If you’re struggling to use visualisations for your mindset, try an actual visual cue instead, like a photo of your child. Look at the picture and let all the emotions in as you switch out of work mode, and then go and be the parent your child needs.
When Work and Parenting Overlap
Running a creative business with a baby from home is one thing. Heading to craft fairs and food markets is a whole other ball game.
Markets and events often require your full attention. Things can get busy and fast-paced, which can sometimes make juggling both responsibilities tricky.
Trying to network, handle payments, and package products while your child needs you is overwhelming and leads to both your work and your baby not getting the attention they need.
Where possible, try to keep work outside of the house separate from parenting responsibilities. This might mean ensuring your partner’s available to look after your baby or hiring childcare, leaving you free to focus entirely on your creative business for that period of time.
That said, flexibility still has its place. Many creative solo founder parents make it work when needed. As Jen Lithgo, jewellery maker, shares:
“He came to markets with me from 4 months old—breastfed behind the table and nappies changed on storage boxes!”
If there are quieter, low-pressure situations where bringing your baby feels manageable, you can make that call.
Let Your Identity Evolve
Becoming a parent changes who you are, but it doesn’t mean losing your identity; it means reshaping it.
As a creative business owner, you might feel split between two people: the entrepreneur and the parent. In reality, though, it’s not about choosing one or the other, but about blending the two.
Ella, at Ellastrated, reflects on this shift:
“Being an illustrator is such a huge part of my identity, and I really didn’t want to lose that.”
Now a mum, her perspective has evolved:
“The balance is hard, but she is my biggest inspiration.”
Naomi, founder of Morgan and Wells, found renewed energy in her work:
“It made me realise how important work was to me… it gave me space and made me more excited to take on parenting.”
This can require a bit of a gear shift in terms of how you view success. What previously felt like achievement (long hours and saying yes to every market and event) might not work anymore.
Rather than beating yourself up when you can’t do what you used to, take a step back and look at what you can do.
Redefine What Success Looks Like
Success might now take the form of saying yes to one market a month or taking customer orders at a slower pace. At other times, the achievement is simply keeping your creative business going as you navigate parenthood.
As Ellie, founder of Deryn Wen Gifts, explains:
“I flicker between having an immense drive to grow Deryn Wen so I can be home more and wanting to shut it all down to help my partner grow the family farm to also make sure we can all be home more with Tomos but over the last couple months have decided this is completely what I want to do, I’ve started pricing up and searching for a brick and mortar shop too.
Being pregnant and unable to make as many of my own products, it kind of happily forced me to start diversifying more into bought-in products, expanding the Jewellery range and kid craft sets. I’ve also started stocking products from a variety of other independent makers such as Clemency Bunn, SH_Designs and Jade Fisher. Tomos is now 10 months, his 1st birthday will be right in the middle of markets starting to ramp up for me, so many more markets for him to attend!”
Rather than trying to keep up with your old life, give yourself space to build a new one that reflects both your creative ambitions and your role as a parent. Success might now mean slower growth, fewer markets, or simply maintaining your business during a demanding season of life.
That’s where a more sustainable, fulfilling identity begins to take shape.
Shel, founder of Mermaids and Dinosaurs is a mum to older children now and here is her persepective:
I started my business when both of my children were very young and having the flexibility to work around school runs, sick days and school holidays is something I’ll always be thankful to my small business for.
Of course there have been tough times, either through juggling busy periods and keeping on top of the normal day to day life whilst staying present with the kids. Or the quiet times when I’ve doubted everything and wondered if I can provide enough for my family.
As the children have grown up with my business they take a keen interest into how it all works, they want to see my videos for Instagram or new designs that I make. My daughter is present at pretty much every craft fair now as she wants to get involved and is taking inspiration into what she may like to do when she’s older. I think it’s given them both an appreciation for the amount of work needed to run a small business.
Final Thoughts
Balancing parenthood as a small creative business owner requires work, but also being kind to yourself.
Nobody said that having a baby or owning a business was easy, after all! Remember these tips, set boundaries, and give yourself a break – you’re doing an excellent job.
If you run a creative business, consider joining Pedddle. Connect with other creatives and join markets around the country, opening new doors as you adjust to being a new parent.
Written by Kate Sheppard (@KateSheppard90) exclusively for Pedddle.