A lot of freelancers are women, especially women with children, who want to spend as much time with their families as possible. For them, the freedom of being a freelancer is golden.
Working from home means that they can work on their own schedule and be there for their children when they need them to be. However, it isn’t always easy to juggle everything. There are children’s doctor appointments and other activities that can get in the way of work.
When an unexpected event arises like this one, it’s difficult to stay on task and complete everything on time while also taking care of your family.
New mothers often find themselves in this situation when they have taken maternity leave but want to continue working from home just as much as before (if not more): how do you manage both tasks without becoming overwhelmed by either? The following tips will help:
| Takeaways |
|---|
| Balancing freelancing and maternity leave requires careful planning and time management. |
| Communicate with clients early on about your maternity leave plans and discuss project timelines. |
| Consider adjusting your workload and setting boundaries during your maternity leave to prioritize self-care and bonding with your child. |
| Explore financial planning options to ensure a smooth transition and financial stability during your leave. |
| Transitioning back to work after maternity leave may require adjusting your schedule and revisiting your business goals. |
Don’t Work Full Time
You’re probably going to want to spend as much time with your new baby as possible in the first year or so. It’s also important that you take care of yourself, so don’t feel guilty if this means not spending hours a day on your business.
Be realistic about what you can achieve in a day. Don’t try to work full-time when you have a new baby around; it won’t work!
And don’t think it will be easy to set up everything again once you return to work full time you’ll need lots of energy and help from others around you for things like childcare and housework (not just freelance admin) so as not to suffer too much while they’re left alone during the weekdays while everyone else goes off doing their own thing!
Building a successful freelance career while on maternity leave requires careful planning and effective time management. Check out our guide on how to freelance while on maternity leave to discover practical tips and strategies to balance work and motherhood.
Enlist Help For The Baby
Hire a nanny or babysitter. If you don’t want to spend all day with your baby, consider hiring a nanny or babysitter to help out. You can use websites like Sittercity or Care.com to find qualified sitters in your area who are willing and able to take care of your child while you work.
Ask for help from family members and friends. If money is tight, reach out to various family members and friends for additional support; many people will be more than happy (and honored) to pitch in with childcare duties while you’re away from home!
Work with local churches, community centers, daycares, preschools, and schools that have services available for expectant mothers on maternity leave. Depending on where they’re located within their respective communities (i.e., cities vs suburbs).
These organizations may offer valuable resources such as food pantries that provide free meals throughout each week along with other necessities.
Such as diapers & formula which can be difficult financially if not impossible otherwise due solely to financial reasons alone without any type of outside assistance whatsoever which often leads back into financial hardship even after getting back into employment again after recovering from postpartum depression.
Prioritize Your Projects
As a freelancer, you have to manage your time carefully. While you may enjoy working on every project that comes your way, it’s important to prioritize those that will bring in the most money and clients.
If you have projects that aren’t as profitable or don’t have a lot of potential for referrals, avoid these if at all possible!
Here are some tips for prioritizing:
Prioritize projects by profitability. If a project isn’t making much money for you, pass it off as quickly as possible so that you can focus on more lucrative work.
Prioritize projects by client base and referral potential. Are there any clients who could refer others easily? Will this particular project attract other businesses? Do they tend to work together often?
Freelancing while on maternity leave can provide valuable insights and experiences. Read our article on what I learned from freelancing while on maternity leave to gain valuable tips and perspectives from a freelancer who navigated this unique journey.
Decide When You’ll Work
Once you’ve decided what type of freelancer you’ll be, it’s time to decide when you’ll work. Think about the times in your life when you felt most productive and then plan around those.
If you’re a morning person, maybe mornings are for writing or researching new clients; if night owls are more your speed, perhaps evenings should be devoted strictly to that side of things.
If this seems like too much work already, don’t worry there are plenty of options! One solution is to just mix up when each thing happens every day:
If mornings are better for writing but evenings are better for researching, start by working on one task during one part of the day and then switch to another task while continuing with the first one later on in the day.
Or maybe even take things a step further by doing both each day you could get into some research mode first thing in the morning and then switch gears once lunch rolls around.
So that afternoons can be spent writing a project proposal or doing other administrative tasks related directly back toward getting paid (without having any sort of overlap whatsoever).
Create A Home Office Or Work Space
A home office is a great idea. It’s a space that is yours, and you can arrange it however you’d like. You can make it into a quiet space where you can work without distractions or keep it more casual and open to the rest of your house.
Depending on your personality type, this could be incredibly helpful in keeping focused while working from home.
If this isn’t an option for you (or if it’s something that will take too long to set up), then just designate any room as your work area for now! You’ll still be able to make use of these tips below no matter what kind of room or desk setup that has:
Get The Right Equipment And Software
It’s important to get the right equipment and software for your job.
A good computer is essential for any freelance work. Look for a PC with fast processing speed, plenty of RAM (memory), and lots of hard drive space. If you’re using a Mac, make sure it has the same specs as a Windows-based machine.
A printer that can handle large documents and photos will come in handy when sending out bids or proposals to potential clients.
Also, consider getting a scanner so you can scan photos into your computer directly from the print shop or copy center rather than having them mail them over separately (which will cost more money).
A video camera along with sound capture equipment is essential if you plan on shooting your webinars or tutorials as well as recording interviews with other people in person or via Skype call as part of content creation duties.
Such as writing articles about best practices for running an online business from home while caring for infants/toddlers/siblings under five years old which leads us nicely into our next point…
Balancing freelance design work with paternity leave requires effective planning and communication. Discover the strategies employed by a freelancer in our post on how I started freelance design work while on paternity leave and learn how to make the most of your time away from a traditional job.
Buy And Install Wireless Internet Services
A good router will cost you $50 to $250 (you can often find them on sale), and installation is simple: plug it into your home’s modem, then connect the Ethernet cable to your laptops or other devices.
You’ll want to place the router in a central location so that its signal reaches most of your home. Make sure it has a window; this helps ensure that there are no obstructions between the router and any devices connecting with it. The higher up you put it, the better its coverage will be.
Learn To Say No
You don’t have to take on every project that comes your way, work every day of the week and every hour of the day, or even work every week if you don’t want to. Maternity leave is an opportunity for you to re-evaluate your freelance business and decide what works best for you.
By planning out your schedule in advance (ideally with a spreadsheet), it’s easier for both yourself and potential clients/clients’ employers because they know what to expect from you and vice versa.
And this also means that there are fewer chances that someone will be disappointed or angry over something unplanned happening at an inconvenient time!
Advertise When Sales Are Down
Don’t be afraid to ask for referrals. You have a built-in network of friends, family, and other people who know and trust you. Ask them if they know anyone who would be interested in your services or if they could introduce you to the right person.
Don’t be afraid to ask for testimonials. Testimonials are often one of the most effective tools freelancers can use when advertising their business: people trust what other people say about a product or service more than they trust what is said by the company itself (or even by experts).
This can be particularly effective when used with social media marketing because it proves that others are satisfied with your work and willing to vouch for it publicly!
Don’t be afraid to ask for recommendations. It may seem awkward at first, but most people will probably agree if they like working with you and if not, then maybe it wasn’t meant to be from the start!
The best part about recommendations is that you don’t even need direct contact info from those providing them; just include links back into your website whenever possible!
Don’t be afraid of reviews on sites like Yelp or Google+. While these sites are often dominated by businesses rather than individual users (that’s why local restaurants score higher).
There will still likely be some content posted here throughout the maternity leave period as well which could provide some extra exposure once again after giving birth during this period too 😉
Take Advantage Of Technology So You Can Work Anytime, Anywhere
The way you work during your maternity leave will largely depend on how much time you have to spare.
If you are fortunate enough to be able to take off for an extended period, or if only need to work part-time, these tips will help get the most out of your time away from the office.
Use Technology So That You Can Work Anytime, Anywhere:
If possible, bring a laptop or tablet along with a wireless connection. This way, if there is somewhere quiet where you can go (like at home), or if there is someone who can take care of things while you’re gone (like your partner).
Then it’s easy enough to get some work done remotely. If this isn’t possible yet needs must be met quickly and directly then consider using a smartphone that has similar capabilities but lacks much more in terms of screen size and power than its larger counterparts.
With these tools at hand though one could still easily manage several tasks simultaneously without feeling too overwhelmed by them all at once!
Pregnancy shouldn’t halt your freelance career. If you’re expecting and want to stay on track with your freelancing projects, check out our guide on freelancing when pregnant for practical tips on managing your workload, maintaining client relationships, and ensuring a smooth transition during this transformative time.
Consider Hiring An Assistant Or Using A Virtual Assistant Service To Handle Some Of Your Tasks
When you’re on maternity leave, it can be difficult to find the time to do everything that needs to get done.
On top of all your regular responsibilities, you have a tiny human who depends on you 100% of the time and may not understand why mommy isn’t home when she promised she would be.
But even if your baby is perfectly happy at daycare or with a babysitter while you work, having some extra support in these first months is crucial.
You might not want to hire anyone full-time (and there’s no need since child care costs money) but consider hiring someone part-time or using a virtual assistant service instead.
These services are inexpensive and will allow someone else to handle some of your tasks so that YOU aren’t doing them which means more time for yourself!
Tell Clients How They Can Contact You When Necessary And When They Can Expect A Response From You
Make sure your clients understand how you work. For example, do you have to be in the office? What happens if you work from home? How much time do they need to give if they want to meet with you face-to-face versus over the phone or via Skype?
Make sure your clients know your schedule and keep it updated for them too! If there are times of day when it’s not practical for them to call or text with questions about their project.
Because of traffic noise or other distractions, let them know so that no one is surprised by delayed responses or missed calls.
Also, let people know what times are best for making calls and sending emails so that everyone can get on board with being more efficient during those periods (and avoid wasting hours).
Work On Relationships With Past Clients To Keep Them Returning To You For More Business
- Keep in touch with past clients. Past clients can be great sources of referrals and new business. Follow up with them, especially if you have a new project or service to offer.
- Ask for testimonials, referrals, and reviews online. You should ask your past clients to write reviews about their experience working with you on websites such as Yelp or Google Plus Local.
- Keep track of which days/times of the week are most popular with customers and try to schedule more jobs during those times.
- Send thank-you cards after each job is completed by handwriting them (not emailing) because it shows that you care about your customer’s wants/needs!
Network With Other Freelancers In Your Field
If you want to network, then it’s important to understand the difference between a social and a business network.
Social networks are built around getting to know people, while business networks are built around exchanging value with other professionals in your field. This can come in the form of learning from each other or collaborating on projects together.
The best way to build a professional network is by joining local meet-ups for freelancers in your area. These groups tend to be very friendly and welcoming, which makes them easy places for newcomers like yourself to get their feet wet!
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be a freelance professional in the manufacturing field? Our comprehensive article on what’s it like to become a freelance in the manufacturing field explores the challenges, opportunities, and insights shared by experienced freelancers in this industry.
Conclusion
Freelancing while on maternity leave can be a great way for women to start their own businesses. It allows them to earn income when they may have little or no childcare or other support.
You also have flexibility in terms of working hours and location, which is especially important for new mothers who have babies at home. If you follow these tips, we think that starting your own freelance business will be easier than ever before!
Further Reading
Here are some additional resources for further reading on the topic of freelance maternity leave:
IPSE – Guide to Freelance Maternity Leave: IPSE provides a comprehensive guide to navigating maternity leave as a freelancer, offering advice on rights, benefits, and practical considerations.
The Guardian – Advice for Maternity Leave as a Freelancer: This article from The Guardian offers insights and tips on managing maternity leave as a self-employed freelancer, including financial planning and maintaining client relationships.
Doing It For The Kids – Planning Maternity Leave as a Freelancer: Doing It For The Kids provides guidance and practical advice for freelancers planning their maternity leave, covering topics such as finding cover, managing finances, and transitioning back to work.
FAQs
Here are some frequently asked questions about freelance maternity leave:
Q: What are the rights and benefits of maternity leave for freelancers?
A: Maternity leave rights and benefits for freelancers can vary depending on the country and specific circumstances. It’s important to research and understand the legal provisions and entitlements available in your jurisdiction.
Q: How should I plan financially for maternity leave as a freelancer?
A: Financial planning is crucial for freelancers during maternity leave. It’s advisable to create a budget, save in advance, explore insurance options, and discuss your plans with a financial advisor to ensure a smooth transition and adequate financial support.
Q: How can I prepare my clients for my upcoming maternity leave?
A: Communication is key when informing clients about your maternity leave. Notify them well in advance, discuss project timelines and handover plans, and offer recommendations for alternative contacts or freelancers who can provide continuity in your absence.
Q: How can I maintain my freelance business while on maternity leave?
A: Maintaining your freelance business during maternity leave requires careful planning and delegation. Consider reducing your workload, setting boundaries, and leveraging technology and automation to manage client communication and administrative tasks.
Q: How can I transition back to work after maternity leave as a freelancer?
A: Transitioning back to work as a freelancer after maternity leave involves gradually easing back into your workload, adjusting your schedule to accommodate childcare responsibilities, and revisiting your business goals and strategies. It’s important to be flexible and prioritize self-care during this period.
Costantine Edward is a digital marketing expert, freelance writer, and entrepreneur who helps people attain financial freedom. I’ve been working in marketing since I was 18 years old and have managed to build a successful career doing what I love.