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The Nitty Gritty:

• Why seeking solace in work and home life when your office is your home is really important
• How she built a business that was truly a family affair
• How her company grew due to her diligence to preserve her uninterrupted time for the highest priority tasks

This week on the Profit. Power. Pursuit. podcast, I talk to Maggie Lord, founder of Rustic Wedding Chic, author and sought-after wedding expert, about the juggling involved with being a business owner and a parent. Maggie shared how she’s managed to build her business to what she dreamed it could be while at the same time following her passion to be the best mom she can.

Seek solace

It’s really important for moms to seek solace when they are on their mom duty and also within the business world as well.

– Maggie Lord

Maggie talked about how seeking solace is one of her secrets for balancing motherhood and entrepreneurship, one she also shared in an article featured in Forbes magazine. Since she works out of her home, her work and home life are constantly intermingling. When she sits down to work, it’s not just about carving out physical space, but also carving out space mentally to be focused on her business. Even something as simple as taking a shower and getting dressed for the day as if she was leaving the house to go to the office helped her create distinction when it was time for work. She also found that her breaks throughout the day when her mom responsibilities took precedence, allowed her to be a better entrepreneur.

Family affair

When Maggie and her husband started their family, business was booming. Instead of picking one over the other, she just created a plan that would work for her. Her young son became a part of the business, joining in on meetings and traveling to book signings. She’d pick locations for business travel where she had family or friends who could help her out.

People understand that you don’t have to give up one thing in order to be driven about something else. For moms and dads who think they have to choose one or another Maggie has this advice:

“It’s really your own game plan. You are the quarterback. You drop a play that works for you and your company. You will find the opportunities that work for you.”

– Maggie Lord

When she takes conference calls, she’s very upfront to explain that it’s possible a kiddo might wake up from a nap or need something from her during the call.

Maggie’s mom was an entrepreneur as well, so she had a good role model to know that you could make things work the way you want them to and it is possible to be a business owner and a good parent.

There is no way to have true separation when you have a family and own your own business, so you might as well find a way to mix the two together.

– Maggie Lord

Growing business and growing family

Maggie coined the term naptime entrepreneur to describe the way she used her precious uninterrupted time to propel her business growth. She upped her productivity level when her kids napped or were at preschool and focused on the most important—business building activities—to get done.

She decided to expand her website to include the Rustic Wedding Guide, a resource for couples planning their rustic wedding, because of the hundreds of emails she’d receive each month from couples who were desperately searching for rustic wedding venues and vendors. In the podcast, she explains her process of breaking a larger project into smaller, achievable pieces so you’re able to keep up with all your responsibilities and still grow your business.

Anybody who is trying to launch another project or a big project, break it up into pieces. It’s going to make you feel so much better and you can celebrate those little wins along the way.

– Maggie Lord

I hope you listen to the full episode to learn more about how Maggie juggles her demanding business with her growing family, how she’s built her team and what’s on the horizon for Rustic Wedding Chic.

Tune in to the Profit. Power. Pursuit. podcast each week to join me as I speak and learn something new from enterprising entrepreneurs who are building the businesses and lives of their dream. Just subscribe on iTunes.