Women at work and their tips, challenges, advice, complaints, and experiences

Being self-employed can mean a lot of independence, especially if you are in a field where you are not running a brick-and-mortar shop but are instead working from home providing a service.  While you gain the freedom of answering to no one but yourself and your clients, you also lose the security of regular benefits and legal protection, such as maternity leave options.

If you have a little one on the way like me, this is something that will be weighing on your mind.  If you're an independent contractor you may be able to make arrangements for a leave of absence from tasks, but you won't receive pay during that time.  If you're running your own business and have a staff to support you, it's more likely that you can train someone to take on the majority of tasks and still have income from your business while you take care of the first priorities: your recovery and your new bundle of blessings.  If the countdown hasn't yet begun, but you are hoping it soon will, you're more able to plan ahead and start saving up for the recovery time you'll need to take.

Either way, here are a few tips I've come across that have set my mind at ease a bit.  Hopefully they'll be of assistance to you Workerettes too!

1. Take advantage of any bursts of energy to work overtime and sock away some extra income if you're paid on a per project basis.  This will help you save up for baby's needs and your regular financial needs if you take time off.
2. Get organized while you still can.  Make a plan, get your financial and work affairs in order, and try to account for taking extra time as needed.  You may feel you need to work the day you get out of the hospital, but your body and mind may not be up to it just yet.  Try to plot out some contingency plans for part-time work or back-up associates who can help preferred clients in the interim.
3. Communicate with your clients.  Don't tell them when you get home from the hospital or birthing center that you're taking the next month off for "personal reasons".  Let them know in advance that you are expecting, that you're working out a plan for their account(s), and get their feedback.  Many companies and individual business owners are more than familiar with the needs of a new parent, especially if they are self-employed or small business owners themselves.  Don't worry that they'll freak out and drop you; they may be super excited for you and ready to negotiate and compromise!
4. Establish a support network.  If you're already working with other folks on a team or employ independent contractors, a virtual assistant, or similar service providers, you'll want to sit down and plan things out with them a few months before you're due.  That way things go into motion when you go into labor and delivery.
5. Keep communicating!  Once baby arrives, don't just assume everything is going fine.  Check in with your support network and clients at least once a week, even if it's just to "touch base and say hi".  Even if there's no work to be done on a project, you want them to feel like you haven't just jumped off the edge of the earth.  Near the end of your maternity leave, these calls or emails can turn into a "looking forward to getting back into the swing of things with you soon!" type note.  It will remind your client that you do plan to pick up where you left off - providing them with the excellent experiences they are accustomed to with you from past contracts and projects.