Baby and Business Ready!
Jenn's Blog Entry
July 19, 2010
In case you were wondering... I am still pregnant :)
My due date is 5 days away and I am so incredibly excited to become a mom (not to mention, not being pregnant anymore)! I have been working throughout the pregnancy and have been incredibly fortunate to have had a pretty easy time going about it.
One of the most popular questions I get asked is 'what are you going to do when the baby comes?' Bottom line is that I have never had a baby before and don't have much of a precedence to look at when it comes to being a mom and being a team player. However, being the planner that I am, I have checklists for getting our home ready for baby... and for getting the business to a point where I can be a mompreneur. I will be on a limited schedule after baby, which basically means, baby will be my number one priority. However, unlike many other business owners I am not an independent, Ovaleye is made up of a team. Here is what I am doing to make sure that I can rely on our team to keep the company progressing and be a new mom...
For when baby comes checklist:
- Communicate
- Email: I have an Autoresponder ready to switch on when I go into labor, which can be done by anyone on the Ovaleye team. The Autoresponder simply lets those trying to contact me know that I will be out of the office and provides them with an alternative contact point while they wait for my response.
- Phone: This has been a major personal goal of mine for Ovaleye to complete- a phone system. Amazingly enough, it is almost to a stage of full implementation! Tracy, our Technical Director (and my dad) was charged with building us our own phone system that that supports our virtual team, and he did!.
- Plan
- Marketing Calendar: We are advocates of creating a marketing strategy. I am working on completing our Marketing Calendar through the end of October. This includes the type of marketing we are doing, what type of actions need to be taken, and who is responsible for implementing it. That being said, some of the best marketing campaigns we have done have been thought up and acted upon on a whim.
- Setting Project Deadlines: Aside from Marketing, there are a few other projects Ovaleye is working on that I have larger role in that I have set in place some deadlines for myself, to make sure the projects keep moving forward. Obviously these deadlines may need to change, but at least I have some form of measurement in place to begin with.
- Automate & Delegate
- Manuals: As the Director of Operations I have the bulk of our Operations Manuals complete. The Manuals are intended to maintain the integrity of our brand; if this happens, then you do that type of a thing. Something every business should have in their tool kit, regardless of size.
- Handbook: Along with Manuals we also have a 2010 Handbook that I maintain that is also intended to maintain our brand integrity and promote our Company Culture internally. Another document that should be in your tool kit!
- Tools: Finally, finding and setting up the best online tools for myself and our team has been priceless. For example, my mother and I now use CoTweet to maintain the @ovaleye Twitter Account.
- People Having a support team around you is essential in business. I am in a fabulous position in that the team at Ovaleye is awesome. I have partnered with my parents and we now have an Account Manager, Carissa (find her at caffeinekeyboard.com) who is beyond phenomenal. Apart from the business team, I also have a Mother's Helper lined up for when I will need her around the house.
- Improvise From what I hear, no matter how much planning one does, babies don't always care about your plans :) Which, can be the same in business. So, no matter what, planning to improvise is definitely on my list.
Add Comment
