'The Era of Mom-preneur' by Fatima Agarkar

Family support has been my backbone. While father's broad shoulders gave way to my husband's strong hands, the backing that family has provided has been the empowerment I needed to turn entrepreneur. I moved from the corporate world ditching a secure monthly salary for the excitement of starting something on my own! Not once through my journey, was I questioned about the rationale.

I attended seminars and was humbled to hear of stories where women were not allowed to work. Where women overcame great hardships to step outside of their home to start something on their own with no family support. I salute and admire these brilliant ladies!

Irrespective of our individual journeys, mothers who take this path of becoming owners do have their work cut out. And that's what this blog is about.

The advantage we have though is our ability to multitask. Handling responsibilities be it that of a mommie or an owner, comes with a mindset that everything can be prioritised.

Any entrepreneur will remind you that hard work,  long hours, juggling, tears and trials are part and parcel and the reason we do what we do it purely a passion that drives us to achieve. So when you have this madness that determines your every move, you also have a desire to make it happen and that means you make it work.

Powered by this need to make it happen, balancing therefore is a happier process for me personally because as they say, if it has to be done and you do it with a smile, the process is most definitely more enjoyable.

Apart from being driven, self motivated with a quest for always learning, I also think planning and being organised helps immensely when juggling two seemingly different roles. My son's school sends out a calendar list a year in advance, so i can plan all the important dates to be available, and usually schools today, do accommodate working mums and their needs in terms of scheduling. My iPhone is packed with all the to-dos and i make it a point to be there for those discussions, juggling my work around it. It is a simple matter of time-tabling!

There are days when it isn't possible for me to be there for my son and I try and organise family or friends to be there, organise play dates so he has company etc. Fortunately living in a city it is possible to organise. But one thing that has worked for me is not to feel guilty about not being there. I do know how hard I work to make it happen, and the reality is that at times, it may not be possible to always be there. And this security is critical if one has to move ahead.

Likewise for work, there may be a time when my son is unwell, I have to drop everything to be there for him, but i allow myself some freedom and flexibility by being accessible over the phone or email and attending to all matters if not physically. Through those moments, the attitude that works for me, is literally making the best of variables available and not worrying about what i cannot control!

Communication is a big part of the process for the working parents and it helps that i have only one child who is very close to Ajit and me and he understands and respects the work space that we have and the choices we have made as parents.

Does he miss me? Of course he does, and i can tell from his hug what it means to him that i have returned home after chaotic travels. As they say, sometimes less may actually land up being more!

This is the toughest part to deal with - the emotions but it is a matter of putting it in perspectives and accepting that in life, you simply will not be able to cut the cake and eat it too! With that out of the way, the joy of creating, the beauty of parenting and the excitement that comes with this kind of multitasking has to be experienced to know what it actually means!

And it means the world!