If you ever want an accurate metaphor for running a business as a mum in November, try this:
Picture Brucey — 700 kilos of opinionated chaos — deciding that TODAY is the day he wants to rearrange the stable while the blacksmith looks on in mild amusement.
That’s pretty much the emotional landscape of every mum I know right now.
Business.
Kids.
Christmas prep.
House resets.
Dance rehearsals.
School admin.
Unexpected illnesses.
Thirty-seven forms that all need signing “by tomorrow.”
And somewhere in the background, you’re supposed to be a calm, polished entrepreneur building a scalable, respectable, modern business.
Sure.
Okay.
Let me just put my hair back into the elastic band I found on the floor of the car and pretend I absolutely have my life together.
Here’s the thing nobody tells you:
You can be successful, brilliant, highly skilled, respected in your industry — and still feel like your business is galloping off in 12 directions.
It doesn’t make you unprofessional.
It makes you a woman with a life.
And most of the successful women I work with aren’t failing.
They’re simply time-poor.
Too many plates.
Too many people relying on them.
Too much emotional labour.
Too much running.
And not enough hours where they can think clearly.
This is where the 10-hour work week stops being a “cute idea” and starts becoming a survival strategy.
Not because you only want to work 10 hours —
but because, honestly:
You only have 10 spare hours.
The rest of your time is already accounted for:
- children
- clients
- partners
- ageing parents
- households
- horses (sometimes literally)
- life admin
- unexpected emergencies
- and the occasional moment where you remember you’re also a human
Most of the women who hire me aren’t newbies.
They aren’t trying to “make their first £5.”
They’re already earning.
Already known.
Already booked.
Their problem isn’t income.
It’s capacity.
They don’t need more hustle.
They need more hours.
They need a business that remains stable when:
- the kids are unwell
- the school rings (again)
- the pantry explodes into the kitchen
- the elves need planning
- the utility room suddenly becomes a full renovation project
- Sunday laundry becomes a life-or-death sport
Time is the real luxury.
And when you give a woman time back, you give her:
- clarity
- confidence
- space to think
- space to breathe
- space to step into her actual brilliance
The 10-hour work week isn’t a gimmick.
It’s a system.
A structure.
A way of operating that allows highly capable women to actually LIVE while also leading a thriving business.
Because here’s the truth:
If your business only works when your life is calm…
you don’t have a business —
you have a hostage situation.
And that’s not good enough anymore.
You deserve a business that keeps running when you’re:
- in the stable with Brucey
- doing a school run
- folding laundry
- dealing with illness
- decorating the house for Christmas
- or simply taking a breath
A business that gives time rather than steals it.
A business that respects your life rather than competes with it.
A business built on systems, automation, and flow —
not on guilt, sacrifice, and hustle.
You don’t need to do more.
You need to do less, strategically.
And when you do that?
Everything expands.
Including your freedom.