I n Person Story

of your life may temporarily see slightly less of you.

In my experience, the first few years of running a business are the hardest, and the demands on my time have continued even when my businesses became more established. The juggle is real, no matter what stage you’re at. How I spend my time has become the most important lesson for me and has helped in getting that balance right. Before I had children, I could spend hours working on creative projects, but now, that’s not an option. So, I work smarter and more efficiently. I also ensure that the way I spend time with my children feels like quality time. Even if it’s only twenty minutes, they get my undivided attention. When I need to fully switch into work mode, they understand, and I feel less of that “Mum guilt.”

Of course, life is messy, and things don’t always fit into a neat little box. There are days when work and family life are chaos. Children and staff might be off sick, and there may be pandemics or teacher strike days. This is where I remind myself of the importance of my children seeing me work hard and understanding that I have interests and passions outside of our family. Being a business owner is all my children have known, and while it comes with some compromise for all of us, I believe it helps to instil a strong work ethic in each of them. They see that there is so much more to life than getting great school grades, and if you work hard, you can work at something you love every single day. ■

Maggie Bolger CEO & Founder of b_together www.b-together.com