Do the school run, dance and send out those invoices!
Being a business Mummy, by Tiffany Matthews
‘Put your school shoes on please’, I yell whilst rummaging around with my head in a PE bag looking for the lost plimsoll. Whilst at the same time flicking through class registration forms with my other hand, to see what new dancers I have attending my session that morning.
So how did this all end? Disaster! The plimsoll was lost in another land- probably the land where all the odd socks go! One school shoe was on, and my daughter was shimmying around the room singing (as usual). And the registration forms? Well they were scattered randomly across the hallway and I was frantically trying to collect them, before my youngest picked them up and thought they would be a good snack! Familiar? I’m sure there is another business parent out there like me! Just this mere snapshot makes me laugh, (after the event, obviously!). The main thing…they got to school and I got to my class!
Amongst all this carnage is a calm, much less stressed, organised (to some extent) Tappy Toes business Mummy that is having an absolute ball!!
I’m in my 4th term teaching Tappy Toes and I'm having a blast! I chose Tappy Toes because it wasn’t just one style of dance- it was dance and creative movement at the same time. I have always loved the creativity dance can offer and knew this would suit me. After having my second daughter it was time to come out of full-time teaching and try to establish more of a work/life balance doing the thing I love-DANCING!
So how is it working?
How is running my own business working out for me? I have created my own timetable of classes on days and times that are convenient to me. I fit things between the school runs so I can do my parent duties in between my work. This is a dream, as I always wanted to be able to pick my children up from school.
I use the weekends for party bookings, as I have my other half at home for childcare. I do my admin tasks here and there each day, as I can fit them in! I am often responding to enquiries or sending the odd invoice whilst cooking dinner, emptying the dishwasher or tidying the mountain of toys. I do what I can, when I can!
Sometimes it’s tricky to juggle, but building my Tappy Toes business is something I really want to achieve. I want lots of little ones dancing with us and enjoying our personalised approach! Sometimes I cannot get my head around the fact that my day job is being a monster, dinosaur or jungle animal!
So although life is busy, it is good. I’m at home more and see my little girls more. They also love Tappy Toes, and we can often be found having a Tappy party in our living room with all sorts of crazy moves going on!
The things I love most about my Tappy business?
I love the smiles, the wiggles and I love seeing the little dancer that was hiding behind their mummy for the first 3 weeks come out of their shell and come up to me!
So my advice to any parent thinking about their own business…do it! Push yourself out of your comfort zone, dream big and spend time with your ever-growing children! And the answer is YES, you CAN have your cake and eat it!
Check out Tiffany's Facebook Page here
