7 working, mother entrepreneurs share tips on work-life balance

Mothers are superheroes who handle household chores and professional work with aplomb.

They juggle between house and office work, look after children, make sure nothing is neglected. Apart from working in offices, many women also give wings to their entrepreneurial dreams.

They walk a tightrope and are excelling in managing offices, running an organisation and managing affairs at home.

On Mother’s Day, women entrepreneurs share how they nail it and where does all this energy comes from:

1.Suchi Mukherjee, Founder & CEO, LimeRoad

“Instead of chasing that balanced state, I am just highly deliberate about how I spend my time, the way I allocate my hours, the trade-offs I make, the choice of place to live, the type of staff I choose, etc. These decisions made wisely will help minimize the frictions that tend to heighten the sense of imbalance. When I set up home in India, I chose to live as close as possible to my nearest family. To find reliable domestic staff, I approached my extended network of friends. Some of the trade-offs can be hard. For instance, after years of knowing that I am a die-hard Delhi girl, I decided to move to Gurgaon driven by a single reason – to spend more time with my kids in the mornings and making sure I am dropping them to school. Moving home was also the only way I could see my kids before they went to bed! Finally, you need a supportive family to ensure you aren’t guilt-tripping due to the unavoidable imbalances. On this one, I am blessed with a highly supportive partner, parents and in-laws for which I am utterly grateful.”

2.Jimmy Kaul, CEO, Shopotox

“Since my childhood, I was always being inspired by working women, particularly mothers. Even my own mother had to work and I have grown up seeing how women are great at managing their profession and family and can have a balance in their lives. Though the decision was tough as I had a toddler to handle, but I must admit I didn’t give much thought to the added toll it would have on my family when you have a kid at home. For me, my venture is another baby that needs my full-time attention. We still live in a society where people say that as a mother we should spend more time with children. I really think that having a family, motherhood and career building are correlated. But this is also true that managing both family and career demands a lot of patience and learning. All we women need to well organized and wilful to fulfil both the roles successfully.”

3.Priya Kumar, co-founder, Rummy Passion

“There has never been a better time in history to be a woman entrepreneur in India. We face fewer challenges now than ever before. Things have changed but it is still a tightrope walk for all working women who try to balance family life and work, let alone women entrepreneurs. It's helpful to have a good support structure at home and at work. Waking up early helps me to prioritize, organize and delegate. With two teenagers in the house, life can be a roller coaster ride. Though both our kids are quite independent, its crucial to make sure that they are never shortchanged for time. Juggling schedules and PTMs with work related meetings have to be done on most days. As parents, my husband and I often split our responsibility and pitch in. It’s very important to have each other’s back on this one. Time management and good planning is key. My strength comes from my team which is my hat, my husband who is my cloak and my kids who are my magic wand.”

4.Purba Kalita, Co-founder, SaleBhai.com

"Growing a startup is like nurturing children - your life centres around it. Joy, pain, worry, excitement, and fear that you experience with your children are felt as much with a startup. Your family's support becomes the bedrock as they make sacrifices and adjust themselves to your world. It's common for a working mother to feel guilty when she's unable to devote time for her children. It’s during such moments that I remind myself of my mother whom I have seen make personal sacrifices as a doctor. I remind myself of the larger objectives with which we started Salebhai.com. I want my children to be rounded personalities with humanitarian values and I hope they pick up the positives they observe at home - whether passion about work, drive for excellence, or the desire to touch lives."

5.Prachi Kagzi, Founder, Littlepassports

“Seek support! Contrary to common belief, I think a successful mom is empowered by a great support system. It could be her husband, parents or even a good nanny! Above all, I feel the key for me is to not feel guilty about being a working mom, and I come back to my son with a renewed sense of spirit after a fulfilling day at work.”

6. Kanchana TK, Director General, Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India

" As a single parent, I have been so busy juggling career and home that I never really caught with the super involved moms. I struggled with parent teacher meetings where I was a lost and confused person, who did not have her child's scores or number of assignments that weren't done. But I was there. I joked with my child on how paranoid schools were on scores and how it finally did not matter! Later on, I struggled when she became a teenager. I again never understood how to implement curfews and deadlines. She said I was living in my generation. Be true to yourself, you may find you are not a part of the crowd it's okay. Be financially independent, give your career your everything, a job will never wake up one morning and say it's over!

7. Ratna Chadha, Chief Executive, TIRUN

"Being an entrepreneur, I have flexible working hours. This is something which allows me to take care of my children, as and when they need me. I quit my job when my kids were very small so that I could take care of them. They went to a boarding school when they were 10 or 11 years old. When they come back during the two-month-long term breaks, I keep all work aside and be with them throughout."