The Warzone: Running a Business is a Full-Time Battle, Not a Cute Side Hustle👊🏼

Ever felt like running your business is a war you never signed up for? Like no matter how hard you try, there’s always another battle to fight — another unexpected phone call, another crisis, another moment when everything feels like it’s about to come crashing down?

If you’re a working mum, you know exactly what I mean. And if you’re not — maybe you’re a client, a friend, or someone curious about this life — then here’s your front-row seat to the real, raw grind behind the scenes.

Running a business isn’t some cute, part-time hobby. It’s a warzone. A full-time battle where every second demands your all, and “off the clock” is a myth.

It’s not just doing brows. It’s marketing, client communication, content creation, appointment scheduling, chasing payments, planning offers, replying to DMs, managing bookings, making sure the stock’s topped up, ordering supplies, cleaning between every client, managing accounts, watching your finances like a hawk — all while somehow still being expected to show up online looking polished and on-brand.

It’s last-minute messages. Clients changing their minds. Requests that make your jaw clench. People thinking you “just sit around doing brows.” It’s the full mental load of being the receptionist, the social media manager, the customer service rep, the accountant, the strategist, and the practitioner — all at once.

And then… there’s the dreaded phone call from nursery. The one that makes your stomach drop because you already know what’s coming — your child’s sick, and your entire day just collapsed in 10 seconds.

The Guilt Monster: The Never-Ending Battle Between Business and Motherhood

That call doesn’t just shift your schedule. It wrecks it. You scramble to cancel clients, rearrange appointments, apologise profusely while your child cries in the background and your phone keeps buzzing. And in the back of your mind, you’re already bracing for the backlash. The bad review. The passive-aggressive message. The whisper of “unprofessional” — as if I’m expected to lack being a mother instead.

You don’t see my son tugging at my sleeve, silently begging for a moment of my attention while I’m glued to my phone, replying to bookings, chasing up payments, trying to stay visible, trying to keep up. You don’t see me racing against time, trying to hold this empire together while being pulled in every direction.

And then comes the guilt.

When I’m working, I feel guilty for not being present. When I’m present, I feel guilty for not working. It’s constant. It doesn’t matter how much I get done — the to-do list grows faster than I can tick things off. Even if I give him all of me for an hour, I’m mentally elsewhere. Thinking about clients. Thinking about growth. Thinking about income. Thinking about that one comment that stung, even if it came after 100 compliments.

Nobody talks about how you feel guilty even when you’re doing something as small as replying to a DM while he’s next to you watching a film. You’re physically there, but mentally everywhere else. It’s not that you don’t care. It’s that you’re carrying it all — the business, the income, the household, the pressure — and there’s no switch-off button.

Then there’s the deeper stuff.

He waddles over, ‘ROARRR , T- Rex ‘ holding his favourite toy, wanting you to play ! silently asking for your attention — just wanting you to be fully present.

You smile, but your phone remains in your hand, your thoughts tangled in client messages and to-do lists.

He doesn’t say a word, but those big, patient eyes tell you everything — he’s noticed the distance.

And that’s the kind of guilt that doesn’t fade with a motivational quote or a quick coffee. It stays with you.

You wake up in the night thinking I’ll play all day on … but then you feel sick if your books aren’t full. You’re trying so, so hard to grow into someone amazing and build the dream you’ve always wanted. You fight to grow because it’s your dream for all of you… but then you hate yourself for missing another moment.

It’s feeling like you’re never enough. Not as a mum. Not as a businesswoman. Not as a partner. Not as a friend. You’re stretched so thin, trying to be everything to everyone, and still wondering if you’re doing it right.

And even when you’re winning — when clients are happy, when your content pops off, when the salon is booked out — the guilt doesn’t stop. Because the price of that success is often time away from the one person who matters most.

But here’s the thing: we show up anyway.

Even through the guilt, the exhaustion, the pressure — we still show up. Because we’re building something not just for us, but for them. For our children. For their future. For the freedom we never had.

That’s not weakness — it’s power.

The Weight We Carry Together

We carry so much, don’t we? The constant juggle of deadlines, tantrums, and never-ending to-do lists. The whispered shame when we cancel a client because nursery calls, the silent rage when someone assumes we’re “not serious” because we have a child. But here’s the thing — we are serious. Deadly serious. We’re fighting a battle no one warned us about, and yet here we are, still standing. Still hustling. Still proving that motherhood and ambition aren’t mutually exclusive.

The Unspoken Bond of Working Mums

And there’s something beautiful in that struggle — the rare, unspoken bond with the clients who get it. The ones who don’t judge when plans shift last minute, who understand why you’re juggling a million things and still trying to be your best. They see the person behind the business — the mum who’s exhausted, overwhelmed, but fiercely determined. That kind of empathy? It’s a lifeline. A reminder that we’re not alone in this mess, and that those who matter most see us — not just the perfect Instagram version, but the real deal.

Let’s Get Real and Get Loud

So let’s drop the mask. Let’s stop pretending it’s all easy, all glamour, all smooth sailing. Because it’s not. It’s hard, messy, exhausting work — and that’s okay. What’s not okay is pretending otherwise and feeling like we have to do it alone. This is your invite to share your story, your wins, your struggles, your moments of pure chaos. Drop a comment, send a message, connect with someone who understands the tightrope you walk every day. Because the only way through this is together.

We Are Enough — And We Rise Together

To every working mum out there: you are more than enough. Not because you tick every box or never miss a beat, but because you show up — messy, tired, brilliant, imperfect. We are building legacies, not just businesses. Lives where we don’t have to choose between being great mums and strong women with dreams. So let’s hold each other up, celebrate every hard-fought win, and keep breaking the damn mould. Because when we rise together, nothing can stop us.

And honestly? If you’re still reading this and nodding along, just know — you’re a legend. The real MVP of the madness, the chaos, the daily circus. We might not have it all figured out, but hell, at least we’re doing it with our coffee in one hand, a toddler on our hip, and a swear word on our lips. And if anyone tries to tell you otherwise? Tell ‘em to get in line behind the nursery calls and the 3 a.m. wake-up texts. We see you. We get you. And together? We’ve got this.