Running a Business as a Mom with a Disabled Child

Hey, I'm Alicia, a mompreneur and the co-founder of Mango Marketing Co…until Natty gives me a baby. (this is an ongoing joke between us)I’m a parent and full-time caregiver to my daughter, she is Nonspeaking and has Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Some may say, “I have an autistic child, a child with special needs, a child who has a high-support disability, a child on the spectrum, etc.” However you describe your children is for you.

Balancing my roles as a parent, a caregiver, and a business owner is hard. Some days, the mom life wins. Some days, the business wins. Most days? Nobody wins, and we all just go to bed.

Here's the thing we don’t hear enough as moms with children who need extra support: you cannot do it all. And that is perfectly fine. My daughters are different, I am a different parent to each of them, and that’s okay.

Working while your kids are in school or in childcare or in therapy, or whatever downtime you have alone, if any, is essential to business owner life. For me, it all overlaps, and here are some tips for balancing the inevitable overwhelm that comes at times with client expectations.

When life happens, here are some things I have learned about how to handle clients without oversharing, because yes, being a parent/caregiver is a priority, but so are your clients:

• "I have a family situation, I'll follow up by [specific time]."

• "I need 24 hours, I'll have everything for you by tomorrow evening."

• "Something came up on my end. You're not forgotten. I’ll get back to you by [specific date]."
  

That's it. No details needed. Clients respect boundaries more than excuses. They value communication instead of feeling like they are left in the dark. Even though oftentimes, I want to overshare just to be transparent. Clients need communication and information so they can adjust expectations.

Always remember, you are not behind…you are building something real, in real life, with a real child whose needs may not be known to those who have no experience with what you do on a day-to-day basis.

Keep going, mama. We got this. (Also, an OOO vacation responder is always helpful for additional communication).