A Month of Being a Self-Employed Work-From-Home Mum, in Weekly Snapshots
A few weeks ago, I started noting down what each week running a home-based business around kids and family life actually looked like.
I left my salaried job a month ago to run my two businesses for myself, so I could better fit work around my two toddlers. My schedule fits around theirs… I work early mornings, nap windows when I can, a little some evenings, and a big day on Mondays when my husband’s off work.
It’s unconventional, but it works. Here’s how the first month went.
Week 1: The first Monday with no ‘job’ to log in to
I did love my job that I left. But the demands of that role were not compatible with being a present, at-home mother for my children.
On my first day working for myself, I felt immensely lighter. The pressure of team meetings during witching hour, logging enough hours into my timesheets, and being responsible for a team was gone, and I felt that shift immediately.
Don’t get me wrong, being self-employed comes with pressure and financial worries, to be sure, but that’s nothing compared to the relief that I felt now that everything was on my terms.
What surprised me most was how quickly the stress dropped. What also surprised me was my brain… with nobody else setting the agenda, it wanted to chase every idea at once. I had to put some lane ropes in place pretty quickly.
And yes, I still do the 4am start. It’s my me time and my focus time. I love the stillness of early mornings before anyone else is awake.
Week 2: Opening the doors
This was the week I launched the WFH Mama Collective, and finally got crystal clear on what it needs to be.
For a while, I’d been trying to make it everything: planners, templates, guides, tips. But every conversation I had with mums kept coming back to the same thing. We don’t need more information. We need each other… connection, people who get the juggle, a place to connect, grow, and make progress alongside others doing the same thing.
So that’s what the Collective is. A community for mums building a business or career around family life, with real connection at the centre and practical tools to make the work side easier.
Hitting publish was exciting. A little scary, but mostly exciting. I love what this is going to become.
If you’re a mum about to launch something, here’s what I’d tell you: listen to your gut. You know your people better than any strategy doc (or Claude) does. And don’t wait for it to be ‘perfect’ before launching. It’s okay to shape it as it grows.
Week 3: Finding my people
This week I made it to an in-person Mums in Business event. Getting out of the house to network isn’t easy with two toddlers, so I don’t take it for granted. Walking into a room of women building businesses around their families reminded me how much I missed that kind of energy.
Online, I’ve been having more and more conversations with mums in the same boat on Instagram. Mums squeezing work into nap times, mums who’ve left corporate roles, mums building something and wondering if anyone else finds it as hard as they do.
That’s why I started the WFH Mama Collective: to facilitate connection, community, and collaboration without needing to get a babysitter or worry about the kids making noise in the background. To connect with other mums who get it, share what you’re working on, help each other, and get some more people in your corner.
Week 4: When the plan meets a hard week
Then came the week the plan went sideways. My toddler refused to nap four days in a row. Four days, Tue-Fri, of no nap window.
So I had to decide what to drop and what to keep.
I kept my early mornings. That window is non-negotiable, and it carried me through the week.
What I focused on was my prioritisation. Instead of trying to cram everything in, I planned my tasks around my energy levels and known windows. The things that needed my sharpest thinking and most focus, and the things that would make the most impact, went into my early mornings. Lighter tasks went into whatever pockets turned up later. That meant my afternoons didn’t carry the pressure of anything urgent, so when the nap didn’t happen, nothing fell apart.
Planning around energy has changed how I work. I shared how to do it in this Instagram carousel, and it’s the whole idea behind the Energy Based WFH Mama Planner (if you want to try it yourself).
What the first month taught me
Protect one clear block a day. Even when your time is flexible, this helps actually move the needle and make progress. Even if it’s just an hour. For me, it’s 4 am to 8 am. When everything else goes sideways, that block still gets the important things done.
Write it down so it isn’t all in your head. The mental load of running a business and a household is real. Getting it out of your head and onto paper (or into a planner) frees up more space than you think.
You don’t have to do this on your own. This is the biggest one. The best moments this month all came from conversations with other mums. Building a business at home can feel isolating, but it doesn’t have to be.
Networking that fits around nap time.
The WFH Mama Collective is for mums building a business or career from home. Small online Growth Circles, curated intros to other members, and monthly networking in small breakout rooms. About 2 hours a month, and you come when you can.
50 founding spots · A$29/month, locked in while you're a member
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