How to run a creative business whilst juggling children and neurodiversity.

Can it be done? The answer is yes! Here's some advice...

Hi friend, I’m Sophie, an introverted coffee loving creative. Welcome to Finding Simple & Calm, a place where I share the harsh realities of motherhood and being neurodivergent in my pursuit of a simple life in an overwhelming world. I’m also passionate about creative businesses, and I love writing about, and teaching, methods on how to simplify and organise your business, reduce the overwhelm, and spend more time being creative.
My whole-hearted mission is to build a business baggy enough to live in, a business that works for me, not the other way around. I hope you can join me?

As a parent to 3 children, and a creative business owner, let me tell you the juggle is real! I’ve been a parent for almost 11 years, and a business owner for 8 years, and the biggest truth I could tell you is: no matter how prepared you are in your business, your children are in charge.

Ok, that’s not very helpful, I’m sorry. Let me give you some actual advice that’s worked for me.

1. Simplify your services/products
   Keep your offerings small. When I first started my print business I sold allll sorts of prints to alll sorts of people. Once I’d created hundreds of designs and sold just as many, I figured out which ones I enjoyed creating, which ones were the easiest for me and sold only those.
   Now, as a service based business, I’ve reduced my services down to a select few - based on 4 key areas which I really enjoy working on - Organisation, Substack, Canva & Pinterest. I could (and at one time I did) create endless amounts of services for all areas of business, but it’s not sustainable and it’s confusing to your audience. Simplify what you offer, reduce the overwhelm and make things easier all round.

2. Done is better than perfect
   This one is hard to accept as I like things to be perfect, especially with my neurodiversity, but it’s important to understand that I’m NEVER, ever going to be on top of my business, take care of myself, my family and the house all at the same time. It just isn’t happening. So, if I’ve managed to do a few hours work, feed the kids and get washed up, then that’s a very productive day for me. It’s ok to quickly run the hoover around instead of deep cleaning the entire house. Give yourself permission to let some things be ‘good enough’.

3. Set boundaries
   I’m still working on this one when it comes to my family. I feel guilty if I have to work on a weekend and struggle to say “I need some time to get some work done”. But through the week when baby is at childcare, I put my Focus setting on my phone to minimise distractions (apart from the childcare and school phone numbers) and let myself get fully into deep work mode. I also don’t work on the days that I have my baby home with me. It’s a clear boundary that I’ve set in my work and it lets me be fully present with him, not to mention it would be impossible 🤯. I would really like to set a few hours a side on a weekend to work though, I think that will help me massively during the week. Especially while I don’t have a lot of childcare, and then change things up when I do.

4. Keep tabs on your schedule
   My memory is terrible, and there’s so much I need to remember all of the time! Therefore, I’ve learnt to put everything in my calendar as soon as it’s in my head. And I mean everything. Every appointment, meeting, school event, dates that I need to send invoices, dates I need to pay invoices, days off, school holidays, reminders to buy birthday cards, when my car MOT is due etc. I personally use Asana to organise my business and my life, and, although I would love a paper diary, I need access to it at all times, so a digital calendar works well for me. It also helps to get everything out of my head and stored somewhere safe. It takes a huge mental load off.

5. Automate or delegate
   On the back of point 4, I would highly recommend automating as much of your business as you can. Emails, social media posts, Pinterest pinning, Substack posts - if it can be scheduled in advance, do it.
   And why not look into a VA to delegate some of your workload to? It’s not as expensive as you think, and I don’t mind paying to free up my time to concentrate on other areas of my business that I can’t delegate. Let me know if you have any questions about hiring a VA, I could talk about it forever.

6. Be flexible
   This is the most important bit of advice I could give you. Be flexible. Especially if you’re a mum who’s the first contact when your child at school or childcare becomes unwell. (sidenote: why does it tend to be the mums and not the dads?!)
   Can your routine or business day to day handle an unexpected interruption? Can you leave some space in your schedule to allow you to fall back on if something comes up? I’m working more on this myself for 2025!

7. Build/find a community
   As small business owners, we tend to work by ourselves. Add to that how isolating and lonely being a parent can be, then we can end up spending days at a time by ourselves, or solely with our children. Find a network of people who get it, and understand the challenges of being a business owner and a parent. I love the community that we’re building here on Finding Simple & Calm. It’s so reassuring knowing there’s a safe space to vent or to ask for advice and to know I’m not alone. You’re more than welcome to join us, we’re in the chat!

8. Celebrate!
   Running a business is hard. Being neurodivergent is hard. Being a parent is hard. Put all three together and feels nigh on impossible! So it’s important for us to stop every once in a while, remove ourselves from the picture, look back and see how far we’ve come. Look at all that we’ve achieved. Look at what we’re doing despite the challenges we face. We’re pretty incredible humans, aren’t we?

What would you add to this? Please share your advice for others to read in the comments…

If you’re just starting out in your business and you’re wondering if it’s possible to be a parent, a creative and neurodivergent, the answer is yes. It’s hard, but it’s possible, and I’d love to be there for you on your journey.

Your business doesn’t need to look like everyone else’s. You can make the rules. You can decide what success looks like for you. If you have any questions, leave them in the comments on this post and I’ll get back to you. And please come and join the Chat (via the Substack app) if you want to join a supportive community.

We’ve got you, and you’ve got this!

Speak soon,

If you’re ready to simplify your business, reduce overwhelm, and create a work-life balance that works for you, I’d love to help. Explore my services, courses, and resources designed to support creative small business owners like you. Visit my website to learn more.
Let’s build a business that’s baggy enough to live in.