Managing a Business in Summer With Kids: What Actually Works (And What Completely Bombed)
Managing a business in summer with kids home is one of those things that sounds completely impossible until you realize you have been doing impossible things all along.
School is out. Your clients still need you. The kids are bored by 9am. And somewhere in the middle of all of that, you are supposed to run ads, answer emails, show up for your business, and also be a present mom who is not glued to a screen.
This post is not going to give you a perfect system, because there is not one. What it is going to give you is an honest look at what actually works, what sounds good in theory but falls apart immediately in practice, and how to set up your summer so you can get the work done without missing the whole season.
This topic comes straight from a recent episode of the In the EllaMents podcast. If you would rather listen, scroll to the bottom for the link.
First, Let’s Be Honest About What Managing a Business in Summer With Kids Actually Looks Like
It is loud. It is messy. Some days, you will feel like you got absolutely nothing done. That is just the reality, and pretending otherwise does not help anyone.
My kids are 11 and 13, which means they can mostly take care of themselves. They make their own food, entertain themselves, and sleep until 10am in the summer, which actually gives me solid morning work time. But they still interrupt. They still want me around. And they still need me to be clear about when I am available and when I am not.
If you have younger kids at home, some of this will need tweaking for your situation. But the core tension is the same at every age: you want to be present, you also need to pay your bills, and your clients do not care that it is summer. So the goal is not perfection. The goal is a rhythm that keeps your work protected and still leaves room for the actual season.
What a Real Summer Workday Looks Like
Most of my important work happens in the morning. I am up before my kids, not because I am a 5am warrior type, but because I am naturally an early riser, and my teens would sleep until noon if I let them. I get my workout in, get ready, pour my coffee, check emails and ad accounts, and get into client work before the house wakes up.
Here is something that surprised me: my mornings are actually less interrupted in summer than during the school year, because I am not spending an hour on school drop-off. That uninterrupted window in the morning is where the real work gets done.
Afternoons are a different story. Once it gets warm and my kids are restless, I stop fighting it. We are in Oregon, so we are talking pool days and hikes, not Arizona heat, but still. Afternoons are lighter. Sometimes I do some admin work. Sometimes I just close the laptop and take the afternoon off entirely, and this summer I am done feeling guilty about that.
The Systems That Actually Make Summer More Manageable
Morning and evening resets
These do not happen every single day, but when they do, they make a real difference. Morning reset means the main spaces are cleared before the day starts: dishes done, counters wiped, and the living room reorganized. Evening reset is the same before bed, so mornings start fresh. For me, a clean space means a brain that can actually think. If the house is chaotic, my focus goes with it.
Kids who help around the house
This one was a game-changer. My kids do dishes, help with meal prep and cleanup, and handle their own laundry. It is not a military operation, it is just the reality that if I am working full-time and running the house solo, I will burn out. They are old enough to contribute, so they do. Simple as that.
Batching your own content before summer starts
This is probably the highest-leverage thing you can do before school lets out. You cannot control when clients need things, but you can get your own marketing done ahead of time. Social posts, newsletters, and podcast content, if possible. That way, when a spontaneous pool afternoon happens, you are not scrambling to keep up with your own business on top of everything else.
Keeping afternoons flexible by design
After multiple summers of trying to force afternoon productivity, the conclusion is the same: it does not work. So instead of fighting it, the plan is to front-load the important work. Client stuff, focus work, meetings, all of that gets done in the morning. Afternoons are open by design, not by accident.
The Advice That Sounds Good But Does Not Actually Work
Working during nap time. If you have littles who nap, this advice has some merit. But if your kids are past that stage, you are not getting quiet work time in the middle of the day. And honestly, some of that quiet time needs to just be quiet for you, not another work sprint.
Keeping kids busy with activities all day. This sounds like a solution, but it is exhausting to execute, and older kids often do not even want it. Mine are happier with a slower summer, freedom to be bored, time with friends, and the occasional camp thrown in. They do not want me to be their entertainment director for three months, and truthfully, I do not have the capacity for that either.
Rigid screen time rules. Last summer involved making detailed rules about devices: schedules, requirements, time limits, the works. It turned into a constant battle and took more energy to enforce than it saved. This summer the approach is looser. There are still boundaries, but the rigidity is gone. Kids get older. What worked one year does not always work the next, and adjusting is not failure.
Taking the whole summer off. This would be lovely. It is not realistic for most of us. Clients still need you, bills still exist, and disappearing for three months is not actually an option at this stage. The goal instead is to work smarter, batch more, and build in flexibility wherever possible.
How to Handle Clients During Summer
Most clients either have kids, too, or have worked with you long enough to know your summer schedule looks a little different. The work does not change. Deadlines do not change. Availability for last-minute requests might be a little tighter, but that is a reasonable boundary to hold.
If you are traveling, give clients a heads-up. A simple note about dates and how to reach you if something urgent comes up is all they need. Most of the time, they are navigating summer schedules of their own and are not expecting the same level of availability as September.
One thing worth trying this summer: not taking on new projects. Past summers of saying yes to everything and then working through time that was supposed to be protected have led to resentment and regret. Keeping current clients happy and not overloading with new work for three months is a completely reasonable boundary to set.
The Permission Slip Most Work From Home Moms Actually Need
Here is the truth about managing a business in summer with kids: something has to give. You cannot be the business owner who is always available and crushing it, and also the mom who is always present and planning amazing activities. That version does not exist.
What can give is your own marketing. Your content might slow down. Your social media might get quieter. That is okay. Your client work does not have to suffer. Your relationships with clients do not have to suffer. But the work you do for your own business can wait if it needs to.
Summer is short. It is a few months. Your business will still be there in September. These days with your kids at this age will not come back.
If the mental load of managing a business in summer with kids sounds familiar, this post on building a business in motherhood goes deeper on the rhythms and tools that help across every season of parenting.
Three Things to Do Right Now Before Summer Hits
Batch your own content. Look at your marketing calendar and get as much of your own content done as you can before school lets out. Social posts, emails, whatever you can get ahead of. Future you will be grateful.
Talk to your kids about what you need. Have an actual conversation about quiet during work time, what interrupting a client meeting means, and what the plan is for the summer. Kids can handle more than we give them credit for, especially when expectations are clear up front.
Give yourself permission to do less. You do not have to plan the perfect summer. You do not have to keep up with anyone else. Work, be present when you can, rest when you need to. That is genuinely enough.
Want Support Getting Your Marketing in Shape Before Summer?
If summer is coming and your marketing already feels like one more thing on an impossible list, that is a good sign it might be time to get some support in place before the season hits.
Whether you need ads management taken off your plate, a strategy session to figure out what actually needs your attention and what can wait, or ongoing Fractional CMO support so your marketing keeps moving even when life gets loud, that is exactly what Social EllaMents is here for.
Learn more about working together ->
Want to Hear More?
This post is inspired by a recent episode of the In the EllaMents podcast, where I talk through my actual summer routine, the systems I use, the stuff that bombed, and what I am doing differently this year.
Listen to the full episode wherever you get your podcasts.
About the Author
Written by Alishia Egenhoff, Founder of Social EllaMents Marketing — helping small business owners grow through clarity, strategy, and authentic digital advertising.