When business babies meet actual babies: Navigating adland through parenthood
The Remarkables Group’s founder Lorraine Murphy reflects on navigating parenthood whilst running a company, including why blending is the new juggling and why a baby is the most effective productivity hack.
I had my firstborn child on the 16th May 2012. I called it The Remarkables Group.
It was all-consuming. I thought about it all day and many times all night (due to excitement at times or deep, dark worry at others). I eagerly looked forward to its little milestones, and it dominated conversations with friends and family. Through it, I connected with new friends and we would spend hours comparing our business babies, trouble-shooting problems and coaching each other through the shit bits.
So what happens when a real baby comes along?
On the 13th June this year, our little girl Alexis joined us. Getting the business to a place so I could take some time to be with her was a six-month process before her arrival.
In February I brought a partner into the business with me (Natalie Giddings, formerly MD of Society Melbourne) and we embarked upon an intensive three-month plan to transition the reins over to her while I headed towards Baby Land.
Murphy and Giddings
After Lexi arrived, I stepped back from the business for three months and spent another month on a study tour in the UK, and have been back in the business now for two months.
Many people have asked me how I’m finding the “juggle” of having a baby and a business, to which I reply that I’m instead “blending” the two. “Juggling” in my opinion is far too precarious and unachievable, whereas “blending” feels an awful lot more attainable.
There have been some pretty solid ‘aha’ moments over these few weeks of blending the business with a tiny human, and the similarities between developing each of them are uncanny.
It takes a team
I often advise up-and-coming entrepreneurs to build a rigorous external support structure around themselves, and to invest their time heavily in growing a strong team internally. Teamwork makes the dream work, etc.
I have never seen this to be more true than now.
From Natalie and team running the business during my “low touch” months, to my husband taking a day away from his business each week to take care of Lexi while I go to work, to our nanny driving Lexi to me in the office for feeds (while she got used to taking her bottle), it simply would not be possible without a team.
Shared values are everything
One of the major benefits to having your own business is that you get a say in who you work with – and you fast gravitate towards those with a shared value system to you. This has been even more patently clear since we became parents.
When in London in September, I booked a series of meetings to find out about the local market there in order to bring learnings back to our team and clients in Australia, and flagged with each of them that I would have my little sidekick with me.
One person’s response was not so positive, and it was a timely reminder again to be very selective with who I (and Lexi) spend our time with.
‘I’d rather not meet’: The awkward email exchange (Click to enlarge)
The legendary Kat Thomas, founder of One Green Bean, reached out via my LinkedIn post on the incident and seamlessly filled the gap Lexi and I suddenly found in our schedule that week.
Thomas (left) happily took the meeting
Time must deliver an ROI
Time is our greatest asset, regardless of who we are or what our role is. In order to move businesses forward, it’s essential that our time is spent – as much as humanly possible – on the activities that will be for the highest and best good to that business.
As such, I have always been conscious of where my time is going, so that what time I am spending on the business will have maximum return – be that securing revenue, building our profile or spending time with the team.
Becoming a parent has made me hyper-aware of where my time in the business is going. I’m currently spending three days a week in it, so if I’m going to devote an hour to something it simply must deliver on the ROI front. If it’s not moving the business forward then it simply doesn’t justify leaving my baby for it, in both in an emotional or financial sense.
Recently I was interstate for a speaking gig and had Lexi with me. I had a lunch in with a client for the day after the gig, so rather than flying back to Sydney the next morning, I booked an afternoon return flight. The client cancelled two hours before our meeting, meaning that whole day was wasted. Pre-baby that wouldn’t have had such an impact, whereas now when time is at such a premium that it really rankled.
Short, focused bursts of productivity are more effective
We’ve all heard that tasks expand to take up the time allocated to them and there is tonnes of data to support the fact that when tasks are planned, they can be executed in half the time. I’ve been a sponge for productivity tips over the years, and faithfully knock over my Most Important Tasks (MITs) first every day for example.
I have never encountered a productivity hack quite as effective as a baby.
When I’m working at home, her naps are the start gun to a crazily-productive couple of hours, in which I’m firmly convinced I can get through the amount of work that would previously have taken me all day to complete.
It has underlined to me again how important clear focus and a sense of urgency are to get shit done. I look in genuine wonder at the queue for the ping-pong table in our co-working space and marvel at all that free time those people must have.
With a now five-month old, I’ve still got my training wheels on when it comes to this new gig. I have a feeling they’ll be on for quite a while yet… Especially when this tiny CEO has such a stellar track record in sudden changes of direction, sleeping on the job, highly vocal objections and hogging all the office milk.
Lorraine Murphy is founder and MD at The Remarkables Group
Easily said when you run and agency and can make the rules, what about parents that don’t have that privilege/money/freedom?
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A blessed life.
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I don’t like this for three reasons
There’s no insight (if I’m not the boss how can I use this article) so it feels like it’s just a look how great I am article. Which in itself is fine but when writing about children it can start to feel like you’re exploiting them for a few column inches,
and it also has the counter effect of making most of us who do struggle massively balancing both feel even less adequate.
Sorry to be so negative.
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Hi AA, thanks for the comment. If I didn’t run the agency I wouldn’t be going back to work until April/June next year. I’m not saying one situation is better or worse than the other, however there are definitely pros and cons to being the business owner or the employee.
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Thanks for your comment Sally. The only perspective I can speak from is from my own – there are far smarter and more experienced people who have written about it from their perspectives as either employers or employees. I would also hate to be misleading anyone here – the last few months have been the toughest I have experienced and I’ve spoken about that very openly. Regardless of what we’re doing, each parent is doing the best they can for their family.
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This was an interesting read.
I find the whole “I’m so much more productive since I came back to work after kids”, is a kinda dangerous area though.
Creativity and productivity don’t always go together (and I’m not talking only about people for whom creativity is their role; we all have to be creative, solve problems, think our way out of stuff).
Sometimes it’s not about ticking something off every single hour, it’s allowing your brain a bit of time to stew. Allow the kitchen chats, side shows that are actually where a lot of great ideas come from.
And it’s dangerous for those of us who are parents and employees rather than business-owners. If ticking things off a list, having tangible things to prove my worth so I don’t feel guilty about leaving ‘early’ to get my kids, becomes more important than really thinking things through, that’s potentially dangerous for business and career alike.
I get that babies do put a whole different skew on time management I just fear that ‘more productive’ chat becoming another stick to beat ourselves with.
Anyway, better go, day care calls…
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Sally, perhaps you’re not the target audience for this article then. There are other working mothers who are bosses, who would take some good tips from it. There’s no need to put others down because you took it personally.
For what it’s worth I’m not a boss, am a mother, and still found value in it. I don’t feel exploited or less adequate because of her experience.
(And no, I don’t know Lorraine at all.)
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Articles like this make many others feel worse. Period.
This area needs empathy. Not gloating.
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Hi Lorraine,
This article could not have appeared at a better time for me. I am a business owner and am expecting my first baby. I was thinking I would temporarily scale things back for a few months when the baby is born and pop back into the picture later on without my wider network seemingly noticing – not sure the stress of overheads, staff and client demands is actually what I want to be dealing with alongside a new baby and similarly steep learning curve. I have YET to find a business partner to share the load as you did, but you are so right about the “team”.. work related or not. Thanks for the inspiration – I knew it was possible to juggle a business and a baby, just wasn’t sure how.
Thanks, Jo
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Kat Thomas is nice
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We could spend our time picking out every point of this article, but as busy working Mums… who has time for that, am I right?
More importantly the underlying shift is well on its way, and this is exciting! The opportunity to blend work into life is absolutely crucial to our society. It’s about time we humanise work to produce better results for business and for families.
Lorraine, a huge congratulations on the success of your business, for trying your best whilst you navigate your new role as a Mum. It’s the toughest gig you’ll undertake. Wishing you all the best!
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Come on ladies!
Lorraine is offering one perspective here, but with plenty of tasty tidbits you can apply as needed/ where suitable.
Example – my kids aren’t babies – they’re 9 & 11, so taking them to meetings wouldn’t work for me. But, “blending” my time between work, mum and wife, (don’t forget the other half – not just kids need our time) does. I structure my day to either start on emails or MIT’sbthst need urgent attention. Then it’s school drop off. Then meetings, follow ups and sports training drops odds where more I use my time to respond to more emails. Getting really good at working agile helps. Any of us working mums can do this – no nannies required. Just very good time management.
So take from Lorraine’s article what will work for you and applaud her on her growing business – which supports other working mothers. Perpetuate the myth of the working mother and show it to o be fact, not fiction.
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So good to hear Jo! Please do reach out if you’d like any tips.
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Love your sentiment Sharni – thank you! I’m excited to be part of this, there’s definitely a bit of a zeitgeist going on here. Thank you for the kind words.
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But, “blending” my time between work, mum and wife, (don’t forget the other half – not just kids need our time).
^^ Yes!!!
Thanks for this Gabbie.
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Couldn’t agree more. Thank you. 🙂
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She most certainly is.
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Thanks for your input No. Gloating certainly wasn’t my intention but every piece of writing will be interpreted by the reader.
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