Are you running your online business on limited school hours, but feeling guilty that you aren't doing "enough"? In this episode, I’m joined by Erin Thomas Wong, the Life Friendly Business Mentor, to talk about how to build a business that works around your family and wellbeing without burning out.
We discuss why traditional hustle culture fails mums in business, how to use the "three jars of beads" to understand your real capacity, and why taking two hours of CEO time every Monday morning can completely transform how you work.
Capacity Before Strategy
One of my favourite things Erin talks about is putting your capacity before your strategy.
In the online world, it's so easy to see someone sharing how they made £10k in an hour and think you're failing because you aren't doing the same. But what we rarely see is their capacity. Do they have small children, elderly parents, or other commitments? If you only have 15 hours a week around school hours, building a marketing strategy that requires 40 hours of implementation will only leave you feeling defeated.
Erin shares a brilliant visual for this: the three jars of beads (Business, Family, and You). We only have a finite number of beads representing our time, energy, and headspace. If you need to pour 100 beads into your business jar for a massive launch, you have to borrow them from your family or yourself. Knowing how many beads you actually have available lets you build a plan you can genuinely follow.
Stepping into CEO Time
Even if you are a solo business owner, you are the one calling the shots. That means you need to step into the role of CEO.
Erin recommends blocking out two hours every Monday morning away from your desk. Going to a coffee shop gives your "snowglobe brain" time to settle after the weekend and the chaotic Monday morning school run. It creates the headspace to look at your priorities, decide what to focus on, and make decisions from a calm, grounded place rather than constantly reacting to notifications.
Simple Tech for a Life Friendly Business
You don't need complicated funnels or massive systems to have a business that runs smoothly. Erin and I chatted about using simple tech tools to protect your boundaries and save time:
- Booking Systems: Using online booking tools so clients can book and pay without you needing to reply instantly when you're at the school gate or the park.
- Voice Notes and AI: Using voice notes on dog walks or in the car to brain dump your thoughts, then using tools like ChatGPT or Gemini to organise that stream of consciousness into clear plans.
- Clean Boundaries: Using apps like Voxer on a laptop rather than WhatsApp on your phone so you can shut it down at weekends and protect your personal time.
Erin’s Masterclass: The Visibility Ripple Effect!
Erin is coming into the This Mum Loves Tech Membership next week to deliver an exclusive masterclass: The Visibility Ripple Effect.
She will be sharing simple, practical ways to get discoverable across multiple platforms, nail your core messaging, and repurpose your content so you aren't glued to your phone all day.
Inside the membership, we help you simplify your tech so you can stop faffing and start feeling in control. It is £35 a month with a 3-month minimum commitment, and you can cancel anytime after that. You get access to all of our live guest masterclasses, our training library, and weekly live screen-sharing Q&A calls with me on Google Meet to get your tech questions answered directly.
👉 Click here to join the This Mum Loves Tech Membership and join Erin's live masterclass!
Connect with Erin Thomas Wong, The Life Friendly Business Mentor:
Listen to Erin’s Podcast: The Life Friendly Business Podcast (available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon, and YouTube)
🌐 Visit Erin's website here
Follow Erin on:
