Mixing motherhood and a satisfying career is never easy, but it can be especially tough if you’re a self-employed “mompreneur.” How do you balance taking care of your kids and taking care of business? How do you avoid feeling guilty about making work a priority? How can you get stuff done while the kids are around?

The challenges are endless.

So I decided to get some tips on making it work from celeb mommy multi-tasker Erica Ehm. She’s the co-creator and host of Yummy Mummy, a hip, helpful parenting show for modern moms. My goal: find out her secret to raising two small kids, always looking great and having a successful career—without losing her mind.

“I don’t,” she says with a laugh. “I’m always a few steps behind. I have a sense of humour about things, I give myself permission to not be perfect, and I do my best.” The greatest advice she’s ever received was from her friend Ellie Rubin, author of the book Ambition. “She talks about the idea of lowering expectations, not being perfect and being okay with it.”

How does Ehm work at home when the kids are around? She doesn’t try to go it alone; during the day, when her son and daughter aren’t in school or taking part in activities, a nanny takes care of them. “It’s a best-case scenario,” says Ehm. “I’m here when they need me, but I’m also able to work and get the mental stimulation I need.”

Managing the juggle
She's very straightforward about her need for an engaging career outside of motherhood and family life. “I work to pay my nanny,” she says. “It's my priority. If I don't work, I get depressed and I'm not a good mom.”

As many of us know, balancing kids and a career is a constant juggling act. You give presentations on zero sleep, go to meetings only to discover (too late) that someone has recently wiped their hands/nose/face on your shirt, and make business calls while your toddler is having a meltdown in the background. Keeping all those balls in the air all the time can be exhausting, if not impossible.

Ehm’s secret? She knows it’s okay to drop a ball or two once in a while without having everything come crashing down. She has two main strategies to a good work/kid balance:

• She sets immediate priorities. Sometimes the priority is her children, and sometimes it’s her work.
• She has faith that people will understand if something goes wrong.

“This morning is a perfect example,” she says, referring to our scheduled telephone interview for this article. “Today is a PD day, and I didn’t realize that when we set up this interview. When the phone rang, I knew it was you, but I didn’t answer it because I was playing with my son. I decided to wait 10 minutes and finish with my son because he’s my priority. I knew you would understand my reality. More and more people do—we’re all doing the same thing, and it’s becoming more of a reality in our culture.”

Make prioritizing a priority
Not being able to prioritize effectively is one of the biggest mistakes “mompreneurs” make, Ehm says. “It’s about not knowing when to put your business first and when to put your family first.” There’s no easy answer, but it’s important to think about what your priorities actually are.

Ehm feels that our society is definitely becoming more accepting of the unique needs of working moms, but she knows it’s never an easy path. “Sometimes it collides and you just deal,” she says. And when it does collide, she tries to put things into perspective. “When I’m a 90-year-old woman, how important is this minor screw-up going to be in the general scheme of my life?”

Want more tips on balancing motherhood and career, and being a happy yummy mummy? Check out yummymummysite.com and register for the free newsletter. You’ll get info about everything from web services for “mompreneurs” to style tips to help you work better, find balance—and be the fulfilled mom you’ve always wanted to be.

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