News articles

July 10, 2016

The rise of the ‘parent-preneur’

For some people, having a family disrupts careers; but for many others, it can make them. There is a growing number of ‘parent-preneurs’ that have found becoming a mother or a father is actually very good for business. Far from stifling their career development, having a family gives them that extra bit of motivation to start a new business or to grow their existing business.

In fact, according to reports, a recent survey found that 79% of parents consider their business to be ‘very successful’ and ‘quite successful’ compared with 67% of non-parents.

Here are eight key reasons why being a parent can make you a better entrepreneur:

1. Parent-preneurs are not solely motivated by monetary gain; instead the goals shift to factors such as getting a good work-life balance, spending quality time with the family and being in charge of their own destiny.
2. Parent-preneurs often have the benefit of age and experience having worked in a number of professional roles over the years.
3. Parent-preneurs benefit from a much wider social circle as a result of having children – either through antenatal classes, NCT or meeting other parents at toddler groups or at pre-school. They can get connected with interesting people and make valuable contacts, perhaps meeting future collaborators, employees, suppliers or even potential mentors.
4. As a parent and an entrepreneur, time is a precious commodity. Parent-preneurs therefore have to work smarter to get things done and ensure they’re not wasting time on things that don’t bring added value to family life or their business.
5. As an entrepreneur and parent, you are conscious that you have dependents relying on you to ‘bring home the bacon’. You have a real vested interest in making sure your business venture succeeds.
6. The juggling skills necessary for parenthood translate well to the multiple demands of running a business. Entrepreneurs need to be able to multi-task or things just won’t get done.
7. As parents, quite often we feel as though we’re thinking on our feet and sometimes ‘winging it’. Raising children, you never know what’s around the corner and challenges present themselves on a daily basis. Rather like running your own business, you have to learn to go with your gut feeling, be decisive and offer clear direction.
8. Entrepreneurs can sometimes lose all sense of perspective thinking nothing matters more in the world than the success of their business. Children have an amazing way of reminding their parents what really matters in life, keeping them grounded and showing them what’s important to worry about – and what’s not.