Women entrepreneurs: Coping with business and family
“My day starts at 5:00am daily. After my morning devotion, I head to the kitchen to cook breakfast. While that is cooking, I wake the children up to take their bath and prepare them for school. After taking breakfast, I drop them off at school and return home to prepare for work. Though I own […]
“My day starts at 5:00am daily. After my morning devotion, I head to the kitchen to cook breakfast. While that is cooking, I wake the children up to take their bath and prepare them for school. After taking breakfast, I drop them off at school and return home to prepare for work.
Though I own my business but I have clients that come in as early as 8:00am so I leave home by 7:30 daily to be there at 8:00am. I am a lawyer and own my own chamber. I don’t return home until 6 pm, almost every day.
Maimuna’s story is not different from many women’s experiences. Balancing business, work and family is the goal of many entrepreneurs regardless of their gender. But this goal becomes tougher with women who have to combine their businesses with the running of the home front; having to take care of the children, siblings, parents, house chores, husband and other dependants.
Some women entrepreneurs who spoke with our reporters explained how they combine the two without having to fail in either.
Ota Akhigbe of Business Square Concept said she combines her business with family affair well by putting in place effective time management strategies. “I do my best to write out my daily routines with the time to do everything because I hold a six to eight hours job, own a business and also teach public speaking as well as organise forums for building entrepreneurs,” the mother of three said.
The CEO of Hatlab Place, Abuja, Mrs Latifat Balogun, shared her own experience thus: “I don’t have a very large family. I have two kids and it is deliberate. Also, the gap between the first and second is four years. Again, family and friends have been there to support us through the years. And what is important is that the children also know what we do. So, when they were much younger, when they were not in school, we were all at the shop. But now, they are all grown up and are in higher institution so I am freer. My husband has been very supportive,” she said.
However, Miss Ejura Okpanachi, owner of Chubby Snail in Abuja said the challenges women face with managing business and family are not limited to married women alone but to all women who are into one business or the other.
Okpanachi, who has been into business for the past two years, said though she is not married yet, she is a daughter, a sister and an aunt in a tight-knit family. “I have parents, siblings and nephews that need my attention just as much as I need theirs,” she added.
She said the main challenge she faces as a woman is that she gets consumed with work and constantly obsessed with new ideas or new ways to get things done right and perfectly to move things forward.
“I’m still at a stage in the business where I do almost everything myself. The work never seems to end and it can be overwhelming. As a result, it tends to take a toll on my health, puts a strain on my relationships with family and friends and leave me with no personal life.”
Okpanachi, however said she is able to overcome the challenges that come by the day by taking care of herself, adding that she has personal Sabbath day when she refreshed and focused on family, friends and other interests and hobbies.
“I realize that there will be times when I will have to make choices and decisions at the expense of my personal desire, family or the business. There is no such thing as balance. I’m learning time management skills.
“I have realised that the earth will not stop rotating on its axis if I’m not able to do all I think I have to do. I also utilise what technology has to offer to make things easier,” she said.
She advised other women in business to take care of themselves, body, mind and soul while saying that balance does not just happen. “You have to make deliberate and intentional choices. Develop yourself and learn new skills. Technology is great! It literally puts your business in the palm of your hand.”
Hauwa Bello, proprietress of Mumtaz International School Lugbe, Abuja, said while it is challenging managing a business and a home, she finds fulfilment doing what she loves.
“The school is eight years old and I have now diversified to e-commerce while the school is running. When you do your own business, your mind is at rest because you are doing what you love. It’s your passion. When you do what you love, whether you are paid for it or not, you enjoy it.
“The joy I feel doing my own thing is the reason why I own a business and I try to balance my time well to take care of the family,” she said.
However, Balogun says as women thrive in their businesses, they should never compromise the success of their businesses at the expense of family.
“I am a strong advocate of family. I believe that whatever we want to do and be happy, the people around us have a stake and they matter in what we do. I will suggest women should always have a common ground to get things done. Even if you have passion for business, and you don’t have the support of your husband which is most important, you are not likely to move too far. So it’s important that you carry the man and family along. Let them see the benefit of the business and why the business is important to the family,” she explained.
Similarly, a former vice chairperson of NECA’s Network of Entrepreneurial Women (NNEW), Abuja chapter, Mrs Abiola Olumodeji, said by having more women entrepreneurs, they will grow their own businesses and help grow the economy and the nation’s GDP as well.
“More women need to own their own businesses so they can earn money and have something to hold on to. We believe a woman should not be idle. A woman should have a job whether informal or formal.
“We believe that if you have a skill or a passion, you should build on it. It will generate income for you and will also be a platform to mentor other women,” she said.