Episode 228: How to Run a Business Around Kids Learning Virtually

This week Bella reaches out to fellow parents everywhere. This episode is for all the overwhelmed pet business owners who are also busy moms and dads juggling their busy schedules, parenting, relationships, a household, and…kids who are also learning virtually. As we start to see a possible light at the end of the pandemic tunnel, it’s also worthwhile to remember that many of us are still working from home and have children who are attending school via the e-learning platforms. But, even before the pandemic, moms and dads have always struggled to balance home and work. That’s why this week’s episode is dedicated to helping you find some peace and balance in a crazy busy world. Biggest Takeaways You Don’t Want to Miss: Special Webinar on How to Get More Dog Walking Clients in 2021  Before we dive into today’s material, Bella gives another opportunity to get in on the powerful webinar she hosted for pet business owners this week. The webinar was all about how to get more dog walking clients in 2021 and offered a TON of bonuses and other materials successful pet business owners are maximizing. (See show links below) The Importance of Giving Yourself Grace and Not Allowing Guilt In this section, Bella spent some time emphasizing the normalcy of feeling guilt that so many parents experience. Often, we are so wrapped up in our businesses that we realize a good portion of the day went by and we didn’t take time to focus on our kids. Bella shares what has helped her in her own struggles. When It’s Hard to Ask for Help and Setting Strict Goals. Bella gets it. She’s been in the fire managing a very busy company while being a single parent and handling all the challenges that come with it. It’s very easy to blame ourselves or just feel guilty for not being able to do more. Frequently, we find ourselves needing some help and not reaching out to resources that are all around us. We can often find ourselves missing out on opportunities to get ahead or gain ground in certain areas because we aren’t asking for help and because we haven’t been intentional with the time that we have.  Bella offers some ideas to consider. InstaCart, Meal Prep Services and Grocery Delivery - A New Friend? Some people balk at using these types of services. Often, they feel that paying a little extra is a waste. Bella gives some very reasonable advice on why these services are actually great ways to save money, create time and help you in your business. Personal Development and Moving Your Body...Why You Should Be Doing Both You’ll enjoy this section on the importance of getting outside your own head, improving your mind, and the benefits of just moving your body. You’ll learn that it doesn’t have to be something as intense as doing an entire one-hour strength training routine several times a week but baby steps you can take to add up to big results. Show Highlights Bella hits us with value as soon as she introduces the topic when she also invites you to get in the business savvy How to Get More Dog Walking Clients Webinar in 2021. [1:00] Parenting guilt and how to deal with it [3:00] When it’s hard to ask for help [4:30] Setting intentional goals [6:00] InstaCart, meal prep services, home delivery: how they help business owners [7:30] Self-growth and personal development tips [9:55] Easy ways to move your body and feel more alive [11:30] Tweetables: [Tweet "Perfection is a fairy tale."] [Tweet "Done is better than perfect."] [Tweet "You have to be the best version of yourself in order to be the best parent for your kids."] Links: Get access to theHow to Get More Dog Walking Clients in 2021 webinar Atomic Habits by James Clear Subscribe: Did you enjoy the show? We would love it if you subscribed today and left us a 5-star review! Click this link –Bella In Your Business Click on the ‘Subscribe’ button below the artwork Go to the ‘Ratings and Reviews’ section Click on ‘Write a Review’ Transcript: This is episode 228 of Bella in Your Business. Hi there, I'm Bella Vasta from Jump Consulting. You might know me from CBS, NBC, Fox, Huffington Post, Entrepreneur, or maybe you've seen me speak on stage or read my book, The Four Dogs That Every Business Owner Needs. In any case, get ready because you're about to get your hashtag Bella Butt Kickin' in this next episode of Bella in Your Business. So what do you say? Let's get ready and jump. Welcome to another episode of Bella in Your Business. My name is Bella Vasta, and today this episode is for all you mamas or papas, you single moms or pops, or the ones that have a spouse who might not be in the house a lot and you just kind of find yourself drowning. You find yourself trying to keep a hold of your business, the household, the kids, and not to mention virtual school. Dear God, this has been a long time coming, and I've kind of wanted to talk about this. I was originally building out this episode thinking of virtual school, and as it is February and we are finally kind of starting to emerge from this pandemic—or at least the vaccines are starting to go out and there’s a light at the end of the tunnel—I do still acknowledge and realize that a lot of you might actually be working from home still, and your kids might be working from home still, or things just might be interesting. Even before the pandemic, it was always interesting to try to juggle kids and work. I get it, and I kind of wanted to address that today and give you some of the things that have worked for me, as well as some of the things that I need to try that I know will work, but for whatever reason, I haven’t done it. So in no particular order, I just kind of wanted to get right into it. Yesterday, we actually did a really amazing webinar. A lot of you guys showed up for it—it was absolutely awesome. It was all about how to get more dog walking clients in 2021, and I dropped a lot of different examples of things that actually were working. If you missed out on that and you want to grab it, it's only $7 and it came with a ton of bonuses. You can just go straight to JumpyBot and ask, “How do I get it?” Basically, just go to jumpconsulting.net/workshop and JumpyBot will get you all signed up for it. Or you could just DM me and ask me to. But I just want to make sure you don't miss out on that because if you're a podcast listener, that tells me that you are into self-development, you want to be better, and you want to do better for yourself and your community. All right, so let's talk about how to run your business while your kids are virtually learning—or they're just kind of here in the background and looking at you saying, “Play with me.” Right? I mean, let's talk about all the mom guilt or dad guilt that I'm sure you have by maybe not paying as much attention as you think you probably should. I want to just take a step back and say kudos to you because at the end of the day, they're alive. And some days, you guys, I’m not kidding at all—some days it’s just about keeping them alive and keeping yourself alive. But I want to talk about a couple of things. The first one is going to be routines. I think that routines could be so incredibly powerful. I encourage you to consider that you already have a routine—it might not be a healthy one, it might not be the routine that you want—but somehow, either you are making the routine or life is creating a routine for you. This also leads to habits and patterns and all of that stuff. It just depends on whether you’re becoming a part of the routine or not. For kids, it’s especially difficult, right? Because it seems like they’re always hungry or getting into something or they always need something. If we can try to establish structure or certain areas of the house where we do things and where we don’t, that definitely could be a really good start. What kind of routines can you establish? Even if it’s a simple wind-down before bed where you cuddle or read books for 10 minutes before going to bed and turn off screens or the TV. Maybe it’s just spending five minutes a day with each kid and having special time with them. Think about it—are you establishing the routine with intention, or is life creating your routine for you? Another thing that I think a lot of us might struggle with is asking for help. It’s very difficult, and you may or may not have family around that can help. Some of you are very fortunate to have family members who are very much involved or really good friends. Some of you are isolated and you want a village and just feel so alone. I really want to encourage you—go to care.com, ask your church, ask a local moms group on Facebook. It’s okay to get a babysitter, or just go sit in your garage for five minutes before coming into the house. Don’t feel bad about not spending every waking moment with your kids because you can only be the best for them if you are the best version of yourself. We have to ask for help, whether that’s a babysitter, a neighbor, a playdate—maybe you just get together with another mom and say, “I’ll drop my daughter off there for two hours, and next week you drop your son off here for two hours.” Get creative. Asking for help is really important. The next thing I want to encourage you to think about is setting stricter and clearer goals. What’s going to actually move the dial? When you’re a busy mompreneur or dadpreneur, you can’t afford to waste time. You have to strike while the iron’s hot. Use your limited time wisely—do things that move the dial, not just busy work. Be in tune with your goals so that when you get those precious 20 minutes or an hour, you know exactly what you need to do because you’ve already planned it out. Another thing—Instacart. Especially with kids, it’s hard to go to the grocery store because you can’t have a full sentence in your head without “Mom! Mom! Dad! Dad!” I used to be against things like Instacart or meal prep services,