Vida Glow founder Anna Lahey’s 5 tips for managing motherhood and business

Juggling career with motherhood can feel like you’re running a marathon every single day. And while it may seem like you’ll never truly get the hang of it, here are some tried and tested strategies and mindset shifts that you can implement to help.

Whether you’re starting your own business or growing your career, when you add children into the mix your day becomes infinitely harder and messier. You’re likely to have days shrouded in self-doubt wondering how in the world you’re supposed to do it all – that’s normal. But so every day doesn’t feel like this, we’ve asked our very own in-house entrepreneurial mother of three to share her best tips for juggling motherhood, female leadership and a growing global business.

While different things may work better for certain people, here are 5 tips on managing motherhood and business from Vida Glow’s founder and mum of three (soon to be four) Anna Lahey.

Let go of the idea of balance

I gave up trying to achieve balance a long time ago. I’m not sure it’s possible with three toddlers and a growing business.

For any working mother, my advice is to go easy on yourself. Try to overcome mother’s guilt and be comfortable knowing that balance in not always achievable.

Lead with kindness

As women, I believe we have an ability to tap into a natural sense of community and womanhood. This is a huge strength in business and leadership. We acknowledge one another, we create comradery and community, and we rally behind each other.

When it comes to leadership, I’m all about empowerment, but I personally don’t relate to a “boss bitch” mentality. You don’t have to exert yourself, or be hard, to be a successful leader. There is so much strength in kindness and compassion. The way you treat people is everything.

Be patient

Success does not happen overnight. It takes an unwavering commitment to your goals, a wholehearted belief in what you're doing and, of course, time. This advice has been invaluable to me – both in business and motherhood. 

Accept the small wins

When I’m in the thick of juggling it all – work, family, friendships – I can sometimes feel like I’m doing a mediocre job of everything. When I feel like this, I try to take a step back and reframe what I perceive is a win. If I can tick off one thing on my list in a day, then I accept that as a win. If I get the kids to school on time with everything they need that day – that’s a win. Allow yourself to feel good about the wins – big and small.

Welcome the competition

If you’re wanting to start a business or a side hustle, whatever you do, be innovative and be authentic. It’s too late to be following a trend. When I launched Vida Glow 8 years ago, there were very few ingestible beauty brands on the market. As the years went on, the category grew and we had competition and competitors in other ingestible beauty brands. In the early days, and still today, I make an effort not to be dissuaded or influenced by what others are doing around us. I welcome competition, because it’s evidence that there is demand for what we’re creating, but I make sure we stay focused on our brand goals.