“How many kids do you have?” people would ask.

“Five,” I would answer.

“Five? That must be a lot to handle!” they would say with a look of disbelief so evident on their faces.

I smile.

I mean, I get them. Who, in the world today where expenses have skyrocketed and finding work is a stretch, would bring five humans earth-side.

Well, that would be my husband and I.

Our eldest was born in 2011; followed by our second child in 2012.

I would say that was when we struggled the most.

We were a young couple back then. My husband was a junior officer and I was fresh from college.

People looked down on us.

Even our own families and friends were very vocal about our decision to start a family so soon.

I was the main target.

They said that it was a waste that I studied in a prestigious college only to be a stay at home mom.

For a time, that really got to me.

But, I’m not the type who’d just cry in the corner while people threw rocks at me.

Even before getting married and having kids, I already had a side gig as a product description writer and blogger.

It was a gig I started when I was a sophomore in college to fill the time during my long breaks in between classes.

When I became a stay at home mom, I decided to turn my little side gig into a full blown business.

I managed to grow my income enough to pay our debts and make investments.

By 2023, we already managed to set aside money in mutual funds, invested on multiple properties, and branched out to other businesses.

Now, the question is, how did I do it while raising five children at home?

The quick answer is: Team Work + Automation + Delegation.

This is a strategy I applied in my business and my clients’ businesses.

While it’s possible to do everything yourself, it can easily lead to burn out.

So why not reach out for help? Or utilize technology?

Taking Advantage of Technology Through Automation

With advanced technology readily available for our use, it’s a no-brainer to tap into this resource when managing the house and also when managing a business.

In our home, we have utilized the power of technology to lessen our load so we can focus on family time and growing our businesses.

For instance, we have invested on a heavy duty vacuum cleaner to make cleaning more efficient, and an automatic washing machine to make washing clothes less time-consuming and tiring.

We cook our meals with the InstantPot so cooking won’t require so much of our time anymore.

These have made the quality of our family’s life so much better because we don’t feel like chores are a burden. They don’t tire us out nor do they take too much of our time.

In business, I highly recommend taking advantage of technology too.

There are lots of tech available to business owners that will make mundane tasks like following up on signatures, taking payments, etc. less burdensome.

My favorites are:

• Asana for Project Management
• Dubsado for Contracts & Invoices
• Zapier for Integrating Automations Between Apps
• Calendly for Booking Calls (minus the back and forth emails!)

Tapping The Collective Genius with Delegation

Of course, there are still things that technology can’t do.

That’s when we tap people for help!

For instance, when we don’t have time to do our laundry ourselves, we just send our clothes to a laundromat where we pay someone to wash AND fold our clothes for us. Our clothes are delivered back to our home clean and folded. All we need to do is to put ’em in the closet.

When we want to deep clean the house, we call in our trusted cleaning lady who is amazing at bringing our house back to its squeaky clean state!

In business, we tap the talent pool of freelancers who are ready to share their expertise.

What I love about the world now is that we’re super connected and we can work with anyone from around the globe!

The Power Of Team Work

My husband and I mutually agreed we don’t want an in-house maid, but that doesn’t mean I’ll be the maid.

Since we don’t have househelp, all members of our family help out in the upkeep of the house.

It’s not just the adults doing house chores – everyone, including the littlest member of the family, pitches in. We just make sure that the chores we assign to each member of the family is age appropriate to avoid accidents. We also make sure that the kids are supervised while they do their chores.

The same goes when managing a business. As the old saying goes: Team Work Makes The Dream Work!

The work of each team member is interlinked with each other so if anyone falls behind or drops the ball, the whole system will slow down, or worse, crumble.

This is why open communication is very important in every team. If there’s something that isn’t clear or if one needs help, it needs to be communicated immediately.

Give Yourself Some Grace

To be completely honest, though, things don’t always go as planned.

In moments when you’re having a difficult time at home or feeling challenged in your business, give yourself some grace.

Then try again.

Perhaps with a better strategy in place.

Perhaps with people who are more aligned with you.

The important thing is to always be open to learning and tweaking; to always be curious.