Running a business is a tough gig, right? Most might argue it’s second to being a mom, one of the hardest jobs out there. Well, now picture juggling both... Yeah, it's a pretty high-stakes balancing act. As we celebrate Mother’s Day this year, let's give a big shoutout to all our amazing moms who keep smashing through barriers, conquering obstacles, and setting the gold standard for what it means to be simply incredible humans.
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- Obtain Applicable Licenses & Register Your Business
In honor of this Mother’s Day, tune in as one of Vagaro’s Social Media Managers, Michelle, sits down with Jennifer Hatcher, owner of Maven + Co, and more importantly, mother to 4 children, to discuss the importance of balance and involving your children with your business. Be sure to watch our Vagaro Visits with Jennifer and the Maven + Co. team, below, and give them a shout if you're ever in need of a little pampering!
Q: Hey, Jennifer! Tell me a bit about your family life.
I’m a very hands-on parent, and really mindful of involving my kids in conversations about work. I try to bring them to the salon as often as I can. My daughter even loves to organize the retail shelves and make sure everything is all lined up and beautiful! I personally love that my kids like to take ownership in the business. Maven + Co. is very much a family business between them and myself. We all have a part to play!
Q: How do you balance work life and family life.
That phrase is such a challenge. Some days I feel like I do it better than others. I do my best to take advantage of scheduling things when my kids are at school and utilizing that down time from mom-life to dive as much as I can into work-life. It’s a constant dance. It’s a seasaw, like, even when I can achieve balance, it's not sustainable. You’re balancing on points and you're constantly going up and down. But, including your kids in important conversations and giving them that heads up that like, “Today is a really busy workday and mommy might be on her phone a lot” definitely makes a difference.
After dinner we'll be able to set those kinds of expectations as well. With my children heavily involved in the business, they realize that it’s what makes our world run, you know? This is what makes soccer available. This is what makes competitions, tournaments, and volleyball, or softball—all these fun things we do happen because we’re working so hard.
To be honest with you, achieving a work-life balance as a mother is something that I struggle with every single day—it’s an honor, and it’s a struggle.
Q: What support systems or resources are essential (aside from coffee) for you as a mom and business owner?
Leaning on my business partner, Mr. Maven, is definitely a huge one. He runs a lot of the back-of-house, which helps me focus on the front-of-house. He’s really deep into the forms, the analytics, and things like the Dashboard report in Vagaro to really dial in and optimize everything that we have within the business. With my aim on the front house, I’m also able to emphasize my work on things like the culture within our business.
I also run automations that make a really big difference for my day-to-day. Not having to go through and manually send your emails, reminders, texts, or forms, and having all of that automated helps so much.
There's only so many hours in the day, and the sacrifice is always your sleep when it comes down to it. So, being able to lean on automated resources makes a really big difference.
The automated resources I use make more room on my plate, allowing me to take on bigger and/or traveling projects, training courses, or put time into developing other stylists. Without automations, none of these things would be possible.
Q: In what ways do you involve your kids in the business?
It really started when my youngest was 3. He would come with me to work since he didn't have preschool. Even later, after preschool, he would come in and he’d walk around to every guest and say, Can I get you some coffee? Do you need a snack? We called him the mayor. He's very charming and adorable. That sense or level of customer service is already ingrained in him now. And he still does that!
My children come in and they help us take pride in our space. I think that's something in a business sense, and even a personal sense, that’s important. Taking pride in what you do and how you do it is a really big deal. We talk about care and concern a lot in our house, too. So, from a parenting perspective and from a business perspective, we’re teaching empathy to our kids.
When they walk into the salon, they’ll already have jobs, too. They know they might have to sweep the bathroom, or have to make sure that the retail and the front-of-house are organized, or need to grab anything that might need to be washed at home. We like involving them in little tasks like that. And, of course, there’s usually a little something sweet in it for them.
Q: What do you hope to teach your children through your example as a mom and as a business owner?
The most important thing to me is to teach them that they can do both. I grew up with a mom who was a teacher, and I would watch her be really sad going to work and it gave me these conflicting feelings like, “Can I be someone who loves what I do and be a good parent the same time?” I remember having this moment when I got back to work after my first daughter was born, and when I did, I was like, “OMG, I love being back!” Does that mean I can love my career and love my daughter at the same time?
As parents, we take the experiences we have from our childhood, and use them to try to do what we think is best for our kids.
For me, I want to instill in my kids that they can absolutely do what they love and still be a good parent. You can love what you do, take pride in your work, chase big & scary dreams or these big aspirations in your career, and still be a parent who loves their kids and goes to the soccer games.
Sometimes there’s sacrifices on either side at different seasons or times of your life, but it's so important to me that my kids grow up with that principle in mind. It’s hard work, but I want them to grow up and look at their career with this fire they have for their industry, and know that they can do that and still be present with their family and love their kids. That’s a huge drive for me.
Q: Do you have any advice for other mom-preneurs or mothers in business out there?
I think a lot of times, whether it's laid out for us or if it's just a knee-jerk reaction, we tend to keep work and family separate. My advice would be to involve your kids. Show them the work you're doing. Bring them into your world if that makes sense. Let them see the space you work at and let them take some pride in what you do the same way that you would. Show them your hard work.
Instead of feeling conflicted about why you’re not there with them, your kids can say, “Oh, my mom's in LA today because she's doing this awesome class that she's really excited about and I can't wait to hear about it.” It turns the narrative around a little bit and gives them an opportunity to feel proud and feel empowered by the work you're doing. So, my advice would be to involve your kids in those conversations. Let them know what you're doing. Let them know not only how hard you're working, but why you’re doing it.
Jennifer, thank you so much for taking the time to sit down and chat with us. We’d like to give a special shout out to you, and all of the moms around the globe whose job never really ends—our real-life superheroes. Thank you, moms, and Happy Mother’s Day!
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