Creating Your Work-Life Balance: Perspectives

from Three Entrepreneurial Mothers

CATHERINE PEARLMAN, PHD, LCSW

ELLIE WERTHEIM, ESQ.
ELIZABETH FINE, LAC, DOM, MSW

MARCH 20, 2015

 Catherine Pearlman

• Founder of The Family Coach, LLC

• Started company in 2006 after
working for 14 years as an
administrator in Nonprofits
• PhD in Social Welfare from Yeshiva
University
• Licensed Clinical Social Worker and
Assistant Professor at Brandman
University
 Ellie Wertheim

 Co-founder of Family Mediation, LLP

 Started in 2005 when youngest was 1.5

years old

 JD from University of Pennsylvania

 Elizabeth Fine

• Licensed Acupuncturist, LAc

• From Emperor's College of
Traditional Oriental Medicine
• Started private practice in Women’s
Health and Acupuncture in 2002
• Hospital privileges at Cedars-Sinai
and runs a private practice in Los
Angeles
 Relevant Research

Working married women (not necessarily mothers):

 Spend more time on housework, taking care of
family members
 Less time on leisure activities than their husbands.

Working women become mothers:

 Their household responsibilities rise
 Working fathers home responsibilities decrease

(Coltrane, 2000)
 Women in the Workforce

 Women now make up the majority in the American

workforce (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2014).

 Nearly 71% of all mothers with children under the age of

18 worked in 2012 (BLS, 2014).

 Only 2% of bosses of Fortune 500 companies are women

(Dunlop, 2009).

 Studies of women business owners show that the

prevailing motivation for opening their own company
was improved work-life balance, flexibility, and
independence (National Women’s Business Council, 2013).
 Why become an Entrepreneur?

 Difficulty leaving stress from work at work

 Long hours took time away from family

 Passion for work and passion for family divergent

 Wanted ability to engage in child’s life in more ways

than dinner/bedtime

 Wanted more flexibility

 Considerations for Starting Business

 Overhead costs

 A business that was evergreen

 How much time you want to work/week

 Strengths, passions, skills and making business a

reflection of those
 Self-Discipline

 How many hours to work

 Leadership abilities
 Support Systems Needed

 Business partner

 Extended Family

 Supportive spouse who does part of childcare

 Money in the bank for erratic pay schedule

 Great babysitter who does some housework and

cooking as needed
 The Learning Curve

 Business builds over years

 Mistakes are made

 Business side: Billing, networking

 Changing services

 Promotional Materials: Website, brochure

 The Benefits

 Family First
 Flexibility to create own schedule and hours
 Passion for one’s own business
 Being more “present” when home with the kids
 A level of respect in the industry
 No Boss
 Many family vacations without limitations of set number
of weeks
 Work toward meaningful achievements that are self-
prescribed
 Ability to pursue additional training at will
 Challenges

 There is always work to do. You never finish.

 Stress trying to fit in parenting and work when the
boundaries are loose
 As the boss no one else there to make decisions of hold
responsibility
 Working too many different jobs and avenues at one
 Trying to decide what projects to do and what to pass on
 Financial pressure
 Constantly generating business
 Insurance benefits
 What We Wish We Knew Before

 Find time for your self-care

 Exercise, Hobbies, Mindfulness and Yoga
 Healthy Eating
 Time with friends, family, etc.
 Live near family if possible
 Have partner receive healthcare benefits
 Don’t compare yourself to others
 Have patience and flexibility with building your
business
 Learn to say “Sorry, I can’t”
 Summary

As entrepreneurs, working mothers were afforded

 More opportunities to create a balanced schedule
 Delegate work
 Choose assignments
 Attend to important parenting tasks
 Have more flexibility
 References

Coltrane, S. (2000) Research on Household Labor: Modeling and Measuring

the Social Embeddedness of Routine Family Work. Journal of Marriage and
the Family, 62, 1208–1233

Dunlop, C. (2009). Female Power. The Economist. Retrieved from

http://www.economist.com/node/15174418

National Association of Women Business Owners. Women Owned Business in

the United States. Retrieved from http://nawbo.org/section_103.cfm

National Women’s Business Council, Advisors to the President, Congress, and

the SBA. (2013). Annual Report. Retrieved from
http://dev.nawbo.org/pdfs/NWBC_2013.pdf

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2014). Women in the Labor Force: A

Databook. Retrieved from http://www.bls.gov/cps/wlf-databook-2013.pdf
 Contact Information and Questions

Catherine Pearlman, PhD, LCSW

Founder of The Family Coach, Inc.
Assistant Professor of Social Work at Brandman University
catherine@TheFamilyCoach

Elizabeth Fine, LAc, DOM, MSW

Fine Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine
Elizabeth@fineacupuncture.com

Ellie Wertheim, Esq.

Family Mediation, LLP
eswertheim@gmail.com