{“Mama + Biz Owner” — Remembering what’s most important in life, part IV.}

Just the other day I wrote how partnering with other businesses makes my world go round — it’s that sweet satisfaction connecting with other business brings me. This is the fourth post in my Mama + Biz Owner series, and I think based on your response I’ll be extending it a bit longer than I had originally planned. Becoming a mama, pairing that with my “business owner” status, has brought a totally new perspective to my day-to-day, and it is so exciting. Today we’re featuring a dear friend, I love the insight she shares — so enjoy! xo.

My name is Lisa and my boys are Matthias, age 8 and David, age 10. David is smaller than Matthias, but he’s actually the older one! My husband and I own Lisa Leonard Designs where we create handmade jewelry and gifts. You can find our shop at lisaleonard.com and our blog at lisaleonardonline.com/blog.

I can’t really remember a typical day before I had kids — but I suspect it looked like teaching kiddos with special needs {I used to be a specialist with our school district}, thrifting, painting furniture, decorating our little apartment and trying to talk my husband into taking me out to dinner {instead of cooking}. Now my days are spent trying to juggle making jewelry, engaging with facebook and blogs, taking care of our two boys, making meals and trying to squeeze in time with friends here and there. My days are full and crazy!

Our first son, David was born with special needs and I wanted more flexibility. I was working for our local school district and I wanted to do something more creative—so I decided to start a jewelry business. It began as a small hobby business. I did home parties to show my jewelry and local boutiques carried my creations. It was fun and looking back, I laugh at how little I knew about jewelry and business — but I threw myself in and learned as I went.

I thought working from home would be perfect but I quickly began to feel that I couldn’t care for a newborn and get any work done at the same time. I ended up hiring a babysitting to help with the kiddos a few hours a week and at the same time, I hired someone to help me with shipping and emails so I could take some of the workload off my plate.

While I thought being a stay at home mom would be perfect for me, I’ve found over the years that I actually need to work and have my own thing — it makes me a better mom. I tend to work too much, but I am constantly going back to my priorities — which are my husband and boys, and making decisions about what is best for our family.

Balance is the hardest thing — but always remember what is most important, and that’s family! My husband is incredibly supportive, so I am able to do lots of amazing things and travel, but there have been opportunities that I’ve passed up because it didn’t work well for our family. I love the flexibility that owning our own business provides — but it can be stressful too! At the end of the day, I want to make sure I cuddle my kiddos, that they know they are loved and that our home is a cozy place to be. It isn’t perfect {not by a long shot} but it’s good and I’m so thankful!

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SHARE WITH US: Have you ever turned down a business event or opportunity because it didn’t fall in alignment with what is most important to you? Was it hard for you, or easy? Has it always been hard or easy to make these kinds of decisions? How do you know when to say “no” to something? When do you take a risk? Share with us how you incorporate your family into your business.