The Reality of Work/Life Balance

Lessons from founder and new mummy Tessa Day, who runs not one, but two businesses.

Running a business is often described as a balancing act. Add motherhood into the mix and suddenly that balancing act can feel more like spinning lots of plates at once, hoping none of them fall. As the founder of two businesses and a first-time mum, I’ve learned that the idea of “work-life balance” is often far from reality - and that’s okay.

Becoming a mum was something I had always dreamed about. Working within the children’s activities industry meant I spent years supporting families and children’s classes across the UK. Through Club Hub UK, I help families discover children’s activities, classes and events, while also helping activity providers grow and gain visibility. I loved helping parents discover opportunities for their children, but I also longed to experience that world myself one day - taking my own child along to the very classes I spent so much time promoting and supporting. At times it felt emotional personally too, especially as I struggled with PCOS and our journey to parenthood took longer than we had hoped.

When I finally became a mum, I realised I still deeply loved my work and wanted to continue growing my businesses too. That brought a whole new wave of guilt I wasn’t expecting.

I remember going back to work when my baby was just six weeks old to run my long-standing musical theatre kids club, Tessa’s Jazz Hands. It wasn’t a full-time return to work - it was two hours on a Thursday! - and when I resumed my Club Hub work, most of it happened during nap times, in the evenings, or in small pockets of time throughout the day.

I quickly realised that working didn’t make me any less grateful to be a mum. Continuing to build something I was passionate about helped me still feel like myself during a period where so much of my identity was changing.

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is that balance constantly changes. Some weeks work takes priority, especially in the run up to the Club Hub event. Other weeks family comes first because sleep deprivation or teething have taken over the house. Instead of striving for perfection, I’ve learned to focus on flexibility.

What keeps me grounded is remembering why I started my businesses in the first place: to create freedom, flexibility, and a better future for my family. Becoming a mum hasn’t taken away my ambition - if anything, it’s given me even more motivation. I want to create memories, go on more holidays together, build financial security and, hopefully one day, be mortgage free.

I’ve realised it’s okay to love being a mum while still wanting to grow, achieve, and build a successful business alongside it. If you have the passion and motivation for something, becoming a mum doesn’t mean your ambitions have to stop - it can simply give them even more purpose.

Tessa Day is the founder of Club Hub UK, helping families discover children’s activities, classes, and events across the UK while supporting activity providers and small businesses to grow.