Running a business with a newborn.

[LouF1985]

I recently went through a miscarriage which naturally left my husband and I devastated. We have a gorgeous little boy (who attends nursery) and really want to extend our family. Since the miscarriage happened I wanted a distraction and something positive to focus on so I decided to buy a business (retail shop). I am now questioning if I have done the right thing. How am I going to run a business which needs my daily presence whilst having a newborn? I have little to no childcare/family support available. I have 1 employee but unfortunately they are not able to take on more hours and I don't really want to take on anyone else at present. Has anyone successfully ran a business whilst having a newborn? Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can make this happen moving forward? In an ideal world I would have more time to grow the business and take on more staff but I'll be 39 next year and feel like time is against me. Your thoughts and suggestions are much appreciated.

Not exactly the same but I opened a dog walking business with only my mum helping me in 2017, I then fell pregnant with my son. I kept working until my waters broke, had my son, took 3-4 weeks off (my mum did cover some work and some just had to be put on hold, I could do some stuff from home but not the physical side while I healed) then off i went back to work with my one month old! I done all night feeds etc, it's hard but you can do it x

Not what you want to hear, but this will be very hard in retail, unless you can rely on your staff.

I used to own a small retail business (and had 1 PT staff member), and it was such a tie. You have to be present between your stated opening/closing hours, with no real room for flexibility. And it also depends whether you do all the 'other' stuff at home/in the evenings - stock ordering, financial stuff, admin...). With a newborn (or a child of any age not in childcare) it's going to be very, very hard. Essentially, without good staff, I think you're asking for trouble.