As a Life Coach, Naydeen Frecklington specialises in guiding women and teenagers towards their true potential.

In this article, Naydeen explains how the changing role of mothers can be a positive and successful one.
Crossroads Life Coaching

The 1960s Women’s Liberation Movement opened up endless opportunities for women

It was not long ago when a mother was defined as a woman who stayed at home and took care of the health and wellbeing of the children. She looked after the daily running of the household, the cleaning, cooking and generally kept things in order.

In the 1960s the Women’s Liberation Movement revolutionised what it was to be a women and opened up endless opportunities. In the years that followed women stretched and moved within this newfound freedom and underwent amazing personal change and growth. One of the greatest areas of change has been in defining the role of a mother.

Becoming a mother is like undertaking a new job without a clear position description

More often than not a mother is still in charge of the abovementioned duties, however, she now undertakes a variety of other tasks which can include working part-time or full-time, with an increasing trend towards running a home business to fit in with the children’s busy schedule.

A mother is often on various committees, is involved in social groups and after school activities, as well as being involved with the in-school activities so that she can ‘stay in touch’. Quite broadly a mother is all things to everyone, the list of duties are almost endless and a mother holds herself accountable to each and every one of them.

After undergoing such a rapid transformation it is little wonder that women are increasingly at a loss to measure their success as a mother. It is like undertaking a new job without a clear position description. How can you ever be sure that you are doing what is expected of you if you don’t know what those expectations are?

The greatest wish of every mum

The greatest wish of almost every mother is to be a good mum and experience success in this area of their life. Increasingly my clients are coming to me and saying, “I am a terrible mother, I yell, I’m unorganised, the house is never clean, I’m always late, the car needs a service, I can’t seem to get dinner ready on time and I missed my son’s soccer game because of a last minute problem at work!”
I tell my clients, and now I’m telling you, take a moment out of your hectic schedule to define “your” role as a mother, write your own position description so that you can achieve this goal of being an amazing, successful mother in your eyes.

The response is always the same “But how do I do this, where do I start? The problem is that I don’t know what the description is, so how can I write it?

Gain perspective– Write a mother’s position description 

It helps to take the focus off yourself, let’s say that this position description is not for you, it’s for your daughter, for your granddaughter, for every new mother to come. Imagine that your daughter has just come home from hospital with her first child and she looks at you with tears in her eyes and asks, “Mum, how will I know if I’m doing it right, how will I know if I’m a good Mum?”.

Now write from the heart with your daughter in mind, write her a letter starting with “You will know you’re a good mum…”. Then read over ‘your new definition of a mother’. Take some of your own advice and ask yourself some questions such as, what changes do I need to make so that I am doing more of the things that are important for me as a mother? What things can I stop putting so much pressure on myself for? Where is my time needed the most and what can I stop doing?

It is my great hope that this process will help you realise that your already well on your way to achieving your dream of being an amazing mother!

Naydeen Frecklington
www.crossroadslifecoaching.net.au

Hally Brandle is a life-coach, coaching people in their personal and business lives.

Hally believes in helping people create balance and synergy in their lives at Creative Balance.

Hally, what was the idea that first got the ball rolling?
It was waking up and wanting more. It was having over almost twenty years worth of experience at every step on the corporate ladder and not being satisfied. It was knowing that I could be so much more and make a difference in the process. The challenge was in answering how I was going to do this. It was around this time I discovered coaching and as soon as I started my journey down this road I knew this was the answer I had been looking for.

What got you excited enough about the idea to put it into motion?
When I started coaching and I noticed the change in the clients. I could not believe what I saw happen before me. People being empowered to create change and I had helped them discover this within themselves. It was like the best kept secret. It is like watching a flower bloom. The fact it happens in such a short amount of time still amazes me to this day.

Where did the name for your business spring from?
As the founder, I am a big believer that as a person only when we work in synergy with all of our different aspects of ourselves will we be able to move forward. So, I found coaching to be a powerful way of creating balance in your life. Hence, Creative Balance was born.

What would you say makes Creative Balance different to other similar businesses out there?
Creative Balance has the ability, knowledge and expertise to create balance to anyone and everyone that is looking for change whether personally or professionally.

Creative Balance is ready to take on every challenge with the same passion, integrity and determination in aspiring, achieving and succeeding the balance for each person that walks through the door and is ready to embrace their potential.

What was the most difficult part in getting your business off the ground?
It was getting out there, doing the cold calls, networking and generating sales. Personally I had never done sales before so I was really testing myself on so many levels. But like anything, once you are in there and you find your rhythm, it is absolutely magnificent.

Has any part of your business gone down a different path than you first anticipated?
No, not really. We started with a vision of “let’s see where this can go” and ensured to remain as lucid as possible to allow the business to develop naturally.

What do you enjoy most about running your business?
In essence it is our clients. They are truly amazing. It is in that split second that the light bulb goes on and they see themselves for the first time as being truly amazing. It is one of the most beautiful things I have seen.

We have had one client want to do nothing other than sit on a couch and feel sorry for themselves. When we were done the client was out there running their own business, meeting people, embracing who they were and loving life.

The rest that comes with running a business is a bonus.

Do you belong to any networks that have helped you grow your business?
Yes, we belong to a number of networks. Some of the ones we are part of are:

Network Central
Women’s Network Australia
Australian Board of NLP

What are your future goals for Creative Balance?
Our core focus will remain the same – to help people help themselves.

For us at Creative Balance, it is about always stepping it up, taking it to the next level, pushing the bar and delivering more to our clients. It is never accepting status quo because we want to make sure that every client gets the best that we can be so we can help them be the best that they want to be.

What advice would you give another woman wanting to start a business of her own?
Do you homework on what you need to make your business successful such as drafting a business plan, doing market research, learning about your competitors and knowing what skills you can bring. Don’t be afraid to do a course if it is going to give that extra bit you need.

Most importantly, above all else– never give up! You will get rejections and there will be days where you think “what is the point” But have a vision or a mantra, something to remind yourself why you are doing this and what it will give you. Because when tomorrow comes, it will be a new and fresh day.