Women.

We're pretty good at juggling itall.

From work, or kids, and even study: what's one more responsibility on top of everything else... right?

For many Lady Startups, side-hustles and micro-businesses are the perfect avenue to monetise a passion without sacrificing a steady income.

They can be as time-consuming as they can be rewarding; as fulfilling as they can be exhausting.

So we chatted to 13 women to see how they fit their own side-hustle in around other work, exercise, social commitments, school pick ups and everything else in between.

Here's what they had to say:

Nikki

I work 2 days per week as an Executive Assistant and have been with the same company for 20 years (I was full-time before having kids).

The other 3 days I could say I dedicate to my side-hustle, Grey Pebble Designs, but my reality is that the housework, the washing, the bills, the school activities, the kids and the food shopping all take up a lot of my time.

Whatever is left I spend on my side-hustle! And that’s still enough time to get it all done.

I’m really happy with the balance and the “low hustle” life I have.

I actually have another side-hustle up my sleeve (which is why I did the Lady Startup Activation Plan course, taught byMamamia’s Mia Freedman, earlier this year, which I'd definitely recommend taking) so I know I’ll need to change my priorities if I want the new one to be a success. In the course Mia shares lots of tips and time saving hacks to help you find time to work on your side-hustle.

(Very important PSA: If you're keen like Nikki was to launch a business or side-hustle of your own, and have Mia Freedman herself help you be sure to check out Mamamia's Lady Startup Academy. They offer a range of courses to meet different business stages and specific needs. The Activation Plan is an entry level course to help you build your idea, brand identity, establish your plan and launch it into market. The online, self-paced course takes you through 5 modules, with guidance and golden nuggets from Mia along the way. You can make real progress with just 2-3 hours on it per week. And if life gets in the way, you have lifetime access to the course too).

Maggie

Last year I gave up my law job in Sydney, packed up my apartment and moved to an apple orchard in the Adelaide Hills. After a few months of 'finding myself' while working full-time in an office job there, I started my side-hustle LOOSELIPS.

Living in the country means I spend a few hours driving back and forth into the city for work each day. Oh yeah, I also got a puppy recently.

In other words: I am pretty busy!

A standard day for me includes, waking up and packaging orders that came through overnight. During the day I'll respond to customer queries and DMs while also doing business admin. Sometimes this includes sneaking off to the toilet to answer customer queries while at work! I usually head over to the post office to lodge parcels during my 30 minute lunch break.

I'm currently in the process of launching new products so evenings are filled with designing labels, emailing suppliers, managing finances, restocking products, product photography, creating social media content, packing orders and responding to queries.

A lot of time is also spent looking at ways I can improve the business.

I'm still up to midnight most nights, but I always try to take Friday night off. Ultimately you get out what you put in!

It's definitely not easy, but it's definitely worth it.

A few tips:

1. Try to learn as much as you can, don't just outsource it.

2. Time management is important (make a plan).

3. Close your eyes and trust the process when you see your Facebook Ads bill.

4. Take breaks to play with your pup.

Lauren

I chose to start my side-hustle, Work-Life Virtual Assistance, because I wanted something that allowed me to pick my own hours and work it around my lifestyle.

I am a mum, a sports coach and I work 3 days a week at a local hospital.

I work the equivalent of 2-3 days a week in my side-hustle but because of the nature of my work, I can work it around my existing commitments.

I plan my work in advance and try to batch my tasks to maximise productivity, like doing my inbound queries, my client emails or my invoicing in the one hit.

I specifically set up my business in a way that would allow it to work around my life both now, and down the track when my son goes to school so that I don’t have to miss out on anything.

Dana

I work full-time in my job which is my current only source of income, however, over the last 12 months I have been working on my side-hustle which will be launching in 2 weeks!

The business I am launching is called Naked Weekend which will be at home beauty face mask kits.