Expectant parents are often faced with a difficult choice: staying home with their baby or going back to work and relying on childcare. Another option growing in popularity is to have a home-based business so you can make a living while taking care of your infant. If this is the path you’re planning on taking, follow these four steps to ensure the success of your new venture – written by Amanda Henderson for Real Simple Mama.

Build a Solid Foundation for Your Business

Launching your own home-based business as you start a family will allow you to be there for your little one’s every milestone, and by forming an LLC, you’ll be able to enjoy the benefits of pass-through taxation and asset protection. Keeping business and personal bank accounts separate will make it easier to assess and manage your finances. Each state has its own requirements for starting an LLC, but you can use an online formation service and forgo the need to hire an expensive lawyer as you get your business set up. With less red tape than any other business structure, you’ll have more time to spend with your little one once you launch your limited liability company.

Build a Strong Customer Base

For your business to be successful, you need to find and retain clients. Start by boosting your brand awareness; make sure you use a logo design that is representative of your brand and use it on your website, on your social media accounts, and in your promotional and advertising campaigns. Support your existing clients while looking for new prospects. If you have to work in short increments of time while you care for your baby, take advantage of scheduling options provided by your favorite social media platforms: creating content in batches will save you time and energy as you won’t have to switch between tasks or try to multitask, and your audience will get to see fresh content when it’s most relevant to them, even if you’re in the middle of a nursing session with your newborn.

Develop a Consistent Routine

It may be difficult at first to figure out a daily routine with a newborn, but as your baby grows, you will start to see some patterns emerging when it comes to sleeping and feeding times. So take your cues from your child to come up with a schedule that will allow you to get your work done while keeping your little one happy and healthy. As mentioned earlier, you will probably have to work in shorter amounts of time, so forget about the nine-to-five life and learn to take advantage of early mornings, nap times, and late nights to complete assignments that require your full attention. Adding structure to the first few months with your baby will help you feel less stressed and more confident both as a parent and as an entrepreneur.

Stay Productive While Keeping Your Baby Close

Newborns sleep in stretches throughout the day, so keep a crib or bassinet close to your desk and get some work done while your little one snoozes. Some new parents like to carry their sleeping infants in a sling, a wrap, or a baby carrier, and these options allow you to have your hands free as you work. Once your child is a few months old, he or she may enjoy spending time in a baby swing or a bouncer. Some of them come equipped with visually-stimulating mobiles and engaging soft toys attached, and let your little one explore various textures through touch. You may also invest in a sound machine that plays a variety of music and sounds to keep your baby entertained.

Working from home and launching a business while taking care of a newborn may seem like a difficult proposition. But with planning, organization, and a good dose of adaptability, you can definitely make it work. And you’ll be rewarded by seeing both your business and your family grow!

Looking for real-world parenting advice from moms and dads who’ve been there? Go on realsimplemama.com for real, simple, fun, and honest content!

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Amanda Henderson is a mom to two wonderful, active boys and a preschool teacher. Her hope is that she can combine the knowledge and experience from both to educate others and keep our kiddos safe.