Navigating Small Business Ownership while Planning an Adoption
Navigating an adoption is both wonderful and challenging. Owning a small business and navigating adoption can be chaos. I made the leap to running my pet service business full time right before we started our adoption home study.
The dynamic of being a small business owner can be challenging when trying to create what I’ve coined a “match plan”. This is essentially a how-to guide of what-if scenarios for different adoption matching situations. A match plan consists of five parts: your time away, who will cover for you, how you will communicate, plan for success, and flexibility for failure.
Your Time Away
Do you plan to take parental leave? For any new parent, leave can help foster a life-long bond between parent and child. As a business owner, taking a leave from a business you’ve cultivated can be a challenging experience.
My Match Plan:
My goal was to take three months “away” on a reduced schedule.
What Actually Happened:
That timeline was modified once we brought Everett home from the NICU. While in the NICU I was able to work bedside. Once home I found it challenging to completely step away. I finally settled on a modification of my original plan. I would check-in early each morning and review the schedules, billings, client communications, and staff messages. Then monitor throughout the day to stay on top of the most critical management aspects of the business. I relied on my business partner and staff to provide additional support. Finding a balance that worked for me and my business was crucial.
Who Will Cover for You While You’re Gone
This is the perfect time to find people that will step up and fill those extra roles in your business. Do you have a business partner, manager, assistant, or another employee that you’re able to cross train?
My Match Plan:
I’d planned to have my assistant and former business partner take over my day to day duties for the first six weeks.
What Actually Happened:
Due to COVID business was reduced at the time and I was able to handle most of my duties. My current business partner was also helpful in the transition from boss lady to mama. I found it helpful to have an assistant even though I have a co-owner and several contractors that work for me. Someone I could count on to stay on top of customer inquiries and the daily schedule. I also found it useful to promote one of my contractors to a lead position to provide coverage.
How Will You Communicate
Decide what methods of communication are going to work best for you after bringing a newborn into your home.
My Match Plan:
Rely on email and texts as much as possible for communication. Let my business partner, staff, and specific clients know ahead of time.
What Actually Happened:
I relied heavily on email and text as planned. This worked well and the people around me were ready. I made sure I had strong WiFi connections and a care plan in place for Everett, should I need to take care of a critical issue.
Plan for Success
Get all those what-if scenarios out there. Prepare for last minute or out of town placements.
My Match Plan:
I brainstormed, wrote down, and considered any adoption scenario I could think of. This helped provide a sense of control in what is a waiting game.
What Actually Happened:
We had a last minute placement. We were selected by our son’s birth mon from the hospital and the baby had already been born. The child was in critical condition when we were first notified. I relied on my Match Plan to help guide my decisions, and step away from the day to day activities of the business initially.
Flexibility for Failure
Adopting a baby while running your own business can create opportunities for failures small and large.
My Match Plan:
My what-if scenarios took into account who would back me up for day to day business activities. It outlined how I would work in a remote and mobile environment if I had to travel to be with our new baby. It also helped me make decisions to simplify my activities and what I took on in the business.
What Actually Happened:
COVID-19 brought a large change to our business. Even though this wasn’t related to the adoption, it did force me to be flexible to a new environment that I hadn’t planned for. It also created many additional hurdles when visiting my baby in the NICU.
Final Considerations
Consider how adoption is a part of who you are becoming and how your family is changing. Depending on your industry, this can be a part of your business’s story. It can help clients or customers better connect to your mission and vision. My business, Platinum Leash, is a pet service company. However, my clients were really excited to be a part of our journey and follow along with our story. This experience has taught me that although planning is key, flexibility and communication are just as crucial.
