I’m in the bank and I overhear the senior bank manager talking with a customer about having a cleaning person. He was commenting about how much his mother did when they were growing up and how, he realized now, she really needed someone to help. There were four kids and pets for her to manage, along with the house.
I glanced at her and give her a thumbs-up.
As I continued to stand in line, she comes toward me, and I agree that getting a cleaning person is a great idea because we do so much. I tell her I have had someone come to my home two times a month for some time. She tells me how she has been complaining lately about being so tired: between cooking, cleaning, washing, folding, sweeping, changing, problem solving, and working, she just didn’t have enough energy to go around.
I tell her it’s important for her to use her energy on her highest-producing activity.
She tells me that it’s so different than it was for her mother, who was a stay-at-home mom. The pressure comes from the fact that in her culture it is expected that she do it all, so she has been hesitating to hire someone.
We continued to talk and compare notes on the price, frequency, and value of having additional support to get everything completed, when she said, “It helps to hear it from another woman.”
I understood totally.
Especially when it comes to investing in what we may think of as a convenience or an extra indulgence.
I guess I look at it a little differently. I shared the following key advantages to having a cleaning person:
- Clarity of mind: It’s the equivalent of having a clean slate to create on, especially when you’re a woman in business and only have so much time in your day to focus on your business and clients.
- High-producing activity: As an entrepreneur, it is imperative that with the time I have I focus on those activities that will produce results: making cold calls, writing at least one article and email blast, and following up on leads to ultimately generate revenue.
- Time management: As an entrepreneur and a mom, what serves me is having time to work and spend time with my family. There is a lot that competes for my time and energy, but I get to choose how I expend that time and energy.
I can remember thinking that hiring cleaning help was a luxury and it was only for the privileged. Maybe. I now think of my cleaning service as a business decision. I only have so many hours in a day. Spending time with my family, getting exercise, and sleep are all important to the quality of my life, health, and business, and for that I pay for the service. But it’s not like I’m not cleaning in between their visits.
I also know there’s the classist issue. My grandmother was “the help” when I was growing up, which is why I am very mindful of how I respect and honor the (primarily) women who have chosen this as their option, sometimes only option, for work. I pay their wages and tip. I notice them and know their names because they are a valuable part of what makes my life work.
We all have luxuries of one fashion or another: gourmet coffee, nail salons, premium cable packages, very nice cars. We each have to decide what is absolutely worth it for us, our family, and our business.
You are a woman, a mom, a wife, a sister, daughter, a woman in business; executive, expert, entrepreneur, and you are dynamic from the boardroom to the bedroom. You matter. One way to demonstrate that you matter may be that you hire help that will give you freedom and time with your family.
I also have a sacred gift for you where you will be held, honored, acknowledged, and heard. If you know you need a break, you need to take time for you, and you want to invite your family to gift you with a Mother’s Day/Woman’s Day soul retreat to replenish, reconnect, and rejuvenate, this is for you: www.spiritandrichesluxuryretreat.com. Drop me an email and let’s talk about a special rate for TIW women.
Much love and respect,
Rev. Jenenne