Can you be a strategy consultant and a mom at the same time? What you should watch out for.

Noëmi Schöni founded her own legal consultancy in 2007, immediately after her law studies, with the aim of converting it into a law firm at a later date. When she realized that the legal profession is too problem-oriented, she reoriented herself relatively quickly: as an expert in digital positioning, she develops digital marketing strategies for other consulting companies that are legally compliant, thus combining the two areas of law and marketing in a unique way. As a single mother, Noëmi is raising a three-year-old daughter and is therefore a true mompreneur.

For Noëmi, freedom is the greatest value in life. It was always clear to her that she wanted to start a business as an entrepreneur. So she didn't become self-employed because of motherhood, as is often the case with mompreneurs. Instead, she wanted to start a business from the very beginning, with or without a child.

However, Noëmi realized early on that she had underestimated the impact of motherhood on her and her business. After a difficult pregnancy combined with physical exhaustion after the birth, she suffered a burnout. With her young daughter, she was much less flexible than before and always had to rely on someone else to take care of her daughter so that she could work at all.

Her consulting work requires a great deal of flexibility and mobility – it is not a nine-to-five job and the customer decides when and where to meet. At the same time, childcare in a crèche is generally not very flexible, is only open during normal office hours and, in the event of an emergency or illness, someone must always be nearby.

Despite being an entrepreneur, she wanted to spend as much time as possible with her daughter, who was going through a major development phase during toddlerhood. In addition, childcare in Switzerland is very expensive. So, before any money comes in from a customer, Noëmi has to spend money. This soon raised doubts: is the business still financially viable? Even driving to another canton now costs her even more than it already did.

As a mompreneur, Noëmi is not only responsible for herself, but also for her daughter and, for the past year, for an employee, whose salary also has to be paid. So her responsibility has increased more and more in recent years, which in turn creates pressure and stress.

In the interview, Noëmi says: “I should either have built up a business with regular working hours and a fixed place of work, or I should have chosen a different man who would have supported me more in looking after my daughter.” This shows how important family support would have been for her, especially during her daughter's toddler years. Noëmi also makes it clear that the mompreneur's everyday life would be easier with a child who is older and therefore more independent.

The company's activities themselves also make a difference for Noëmi. Much of her work cannot be planned because she is very dependent on customers and has to be very mobile. In other industries, where a nine-to-five job is also possible for self-employed people or in an online business, she can imagine that the advantages of being a mompreneur may be more realistic.

Noëmi found the exchange with other mompreneurs particularly helpful. She recommends finding people who have experience as a mom and as an entrepreneur and talking about it. She also emphasizes the importance of your social network, which actively supports you in your decision as a mompreneur. It's important to have people around you who not only support you as an entrepreneur or as a mom, but also in both capacities.

Otherwise, it is essential to prepare for entrepreneurship itself with a good strategy, medium- to long-term business planning and a well-thought-out positioning. Self-employment brings with it many different challenges because you are responsible for everything. So you should acquire knowledge in advance on topics such as accounting, taxes, insurance, legal matters (such as liability, contracts and data protection) and administrative matters, or get external experts. For the past year, Noëmi has had an employee who takes over delegable tasks such as e-mails, social media and finances for her.

Noëmi emphasizes that setting up your own business takes a lot of time, energy and discipline. You can't assume that it will run smoothly from the start and that you will be 100 percent busy immediately.

Noëmi sees insurance as another important point to be aware of after setting up a business. As an employee in Switzerland, you are very well protected, but as a self-employed person, although you pay unemployment insurance, you are not entitled to it in the event of unemployment. This can result in financial problems, which can be devastating, especially for a single mother. Financial planning is therefore particularly important.

• Have a vision: You should always be aware of why you started your business and what your values are. This vision can also change over time. Keep asking yourself why you are doing this and what your goal is.
• Reality check: Do a reality check before you start. Is what you are planning realistic or is it just a dream? How will it all work out in reality? What costs can you expect? To do this, gather information from mompreneurs/women entrepreneurs, create a business plan and think through and calculate everything.
• Plan for a buffer: You should always expect the unexpected. Therefore, build up reserves for lean times and manage your income carefully.