Page 189 - Talane Miedaner - Coach Yourself to a New Career_ 7 Steps to Reinventing Your Professional Life (2010)

STEP 7: MANAGING THE TRANSITION SMOOTHLY 177

If you have very young children, get more creative about lining up
babysitters, including getting friends, family, and even neighbors
to help out. One of my friends sets up playdates for her daughter
that last four hours. She either pays the other parent a small fee or
reciprocates another day. This setup gives her time to plug away
at her novel, and her daughter is happily entertained. If you have
a spare room in your house, you may be amazed to discover that
you can hire an au pair for a small weekly fee in exchange for room
and board. Many young women and men from around the world
are eager to improve their English skills and gain a deeper under-
standing of another culture. I wouldn’t have been able to write this
book without the thirty hours of service I get each week from our
lovely au pair from Childcare International. It isn’t as expensive
as you may think. We love ours, and she has become part of the
family now.
One of my clients in London, a single mother of a five-year-old,
was making slow progress in starting her own consulting business.
She thought she should be able to do it and look after her daughter
simultaneously, but instead her daughter felt ignored, while she felt
frustrated at not being able to get enough work done. She hired an
au pair, and that made all the difference. Her daughter was happy
to have someone to play with after school, and my client was happy
to be able to direct her attention to her business and support the
family. In another case a friend of mine had an old garage con-
verted into a small house for her mother and father; they take their
grandchildren to and from school and also cover the after-school
hours while she is busy fighting crime as a police detective. If you
don’t have the good fortune of family to help with child care, or
space for an au pair, you may need to think outside the box.
Get creative. A retired neighbor does our ironing and mend-
ing once a week. A local student acts as a gal Friday and runs
around doing office tasks and errands for us. If you plan on having
a family and building a business, you need to delegate absolutely
everything you possibly can. If you don’t, you’ll end up burning
out, and both your business and—worse—your family will suffer,
and you’ll be miserable!