Running a Business and Raising Young Kids? Here's What Your Accountant Wants You to Know.
Liz bundles her two school-aged children out the door every morning at 8:15 am. By 9 am, she’s put the baby down for a nap, opened her laptop, and started work. For the last four years, Liz has been working for herself as a consultant. She’s not chasing the biggest market share in her industry, but has built something that fits her life, and she’s doing it well.
Running a business while raising young children requires deliberate decisions about how much you take on. You trade certain kinds of growth for presence, flexibility, and sanity. This is a strategic choice, but it’s often not recognised by advisory professionals who only value aggressive, linear growth.
Steady or stagnant?
A business that ticks along steadily during the early years of parenting can look unproblematic from the outside. You have consistent revenue, happy clients, and no urgent decisions to make. Sounds ideal.
But making the most of this phase includes ensuring your financial foundations keep pace with where your business is headed, maybe not in the next few months, but in the next few years. Whether it’s school-age, reduced care hours, or a change in family circumstances, at some stage something opens up, which means your capacity increases and you feel ready to ramp it up.
When the season shifts
I see this pattern regularly. And what matters in that moment is whether your business is ready to move with you.
This doesn't happen by chance. A business that hasn't been structured appropriately, that has no clear financial picture, and that has deferred tax planning tends to create friction at exactly the wrong time. The opportunity to grow is there, but the foundations make it harder than it needs to be.
What we see in practice
A few patterns consistently come up among clients navigating this phase.
Profitable but unclear
Your business is making money, but you don't have a clear picture of what you’re actually earning, what you can afford to invest, or what a pay rise would look like from a tax perspective.
Structure that no longer fits
Your original setup made sense at the start, but the business has outgrown it. The wrong structure can create unnecessary tax exposure or limit your options to bring in a team member or to change how profit is distributed.
Ready to hire, but not set up for it
The capacity is there. The work is there. But the payroll, employment obligations, and cash flow forecasting haven't been put in place, so taking the step feels like hard work and riskier than it should be.
If any of these sound familiar, it means your business has evolved, but your foundations haven’t evolved with it.
Four things worth addressing now
If you deal with these during the steady phase of your business, the eventual transition to growth will be smoother and less stressful. It also tends to be more profitable.
1: Business structure review
The structure that worked at the beginning, when you were a solo operator, may not be right for a business that's now generating real income or preparing to bring on staff. Reviewing the structure now gives you time to make changes without being under pressure.
2: Financial visibility
Understanding your numbers means having a clear, simple picture of what's coming in, what's going out, what you're taking home, and what's available for reinvestment. This makes decisions easier at every stage.
3: Tax planning that anticipates growth
One of the more jarring experiences for business owners who accelerate quickly is the tax bill that follows. Income growth without planning can leave a significant gap between what was expected and what's owed. Getting ahead of this, even when growth feels like a future problem, changes the outcome considerably.
4: An advisor who knows the business
When the moment comes to move, having someone who already understands your business, its structure, its finances, and its history means faster decisions and better advice. Building that relationship during the steady phase pays off when things start to shift.
Advice that respects your choices
If you’re in this life stage, I see that you’re making real trade-offs, often without acknowledgement from the professionals you work with. Too much business advice is built around a model of assertive, sequential growth that doesn't account for the realities of running a business alongside raising a family.
At Accounting Heart, we work with clients across every part of this journey. Whether you're in a steady phase, approaching a transition, or already in the middle of one, the goal is the same - a business with solid foundations, clear numbers, and a structure that supports wherever you're headed next.
If your business has been ticking along and you're not sure whether the foundations are where they need to be, that's a good conversation to have now.
Get in touch to talk through where your business is and what might need attention.
Disclaimer: This is general information only and is not advice of any sort. No warranty or representation is provided by Accounting Heart Pty Ltd as to the accuracy, currency or completeness of the information contained in this blog. Readers of this blog should not act or refrain from acting in reliance upon any information contained herein and must always obtain appropriate taxation and/or other advice as may be appropriate having regard to their particular circumstances.