Professional Mermaiding: Being a Parent and Running a Business

[Mermaid Corabelle]

I searched for a thread on this but didn't find much. If this is posted somewhere else I apologize for duplicating something that's already been covered. I saw a thread on here about doing gigs/mermaiding while pregnant, :D (which I support, and is amazing in my opinion) but what I was really searching for was a way for me to gain some insight from any pro mers on here who are parents. How do you juggle raising your children and running a business? What challenges do you face?

I had my little merbaby a little over 2 months ago, and I am still adjusting to life as a new mom. :) I am curious to know about the obstacles mother/father mers face while trying to work as merfolk. Before my child, I had so much flexibility; now I have to worry about arranging childcare when I need to do gigs/events. Her dad works full-time, and while he would be able to look after her, it would only be during weekends or after 5 p.m. during the week. He has offered to be my mertender, which would be lovely, but he has to work too. Should I hire someone?

Do you find that most gigs are scheduled on weekends? Evenings? I want to be able to accomodate all times, but I am not sure how to do this given my current situation. You see, I don't have a lot of support. My family is located elsewhere, and my boyfriend's family doesn't approve of me. :mad: They certainly do not like my decision to mermaid and start up an entertainment business either, and have made it very clear they would not watch my daughter while I worked. :(

I am very driven to see my vision for mermaiding in this market become a reality, but I worry about how I will be able to afford the costs of daycare/mertender while trying to launch the startup of my business. My company is in its infancy now, and while I try not to get discouraged, I wonder how I will be able to manage my time, and do everything I'm setting out to accomplish. Am I too ambitious? Do I need to be more realistic?

If there are any mer-parents out there who have been able to successfully run their business, I'd like to hear from you. Comment here please, or PM me if you like, I just need some words of wisdom and/or tips you've learned along the way. Also- while this post may not apply to everyone (non-parents) I would still like to know what suggestions you might have, or what methods you implement to run your business successfully. I really believe that I can do this, I just need some encouragement.

[AniaR]

Mermaid Dottie has a son and is a mermaid. Mermaid Bonnie is about to have a baby and has been a mermaid all through her pregnancy. Mermaid Kariel has a daughter and was a mermaid through her pregnancy and still is. There are more I see on facebook, but I'm not sure if those people are on here.

[Mermaid Corabelle]

Thanks for showing me that there are other mother mers out there who are working moms Raina. :) I know Maria (Firemaid) is expecting too. I really find it inspirational that they've continued mermaiding after having children. I wonder if they struggle with the same things I have. (i.e. getting back in shape after baby, time management, managing childcare etc.)

Not that these other mermaids didn't have a tough time balancing everything to do what they do, but I feel like trying to do this may be harder than I originally thought. I wasn't already established as a performer by the time my daughter was born. Not sure how much it really matters, but I didn't expect this kind of adversity. I thought I would have support from family.. But it just doesn't seem like they can see a mermaiding business as being potentially successful. I want to prove them wrong.

[BayouMermaid]

NeCole the mermaid is expecting :) She was still doing parties at 5 months pregnant and is plans to still do it after she has the baby :)

https://www.facebook.com/necolethemermaid

[Mermaid Corabelle]

NeCole the mermaid is expecting :) She was still doing parties at 5 months pregnant and is plans to still do it after she has the baby :)

https://www.facebook.com/necolethemermaid

That's awesome. Thank you for sharing that. So many merbabies! :)

[Mermaid Amelia]

Hi Corabelle, I see this post is about a month old but I only just saw it. I'm a professional mermaid and mother of 1yr old twin boys from Australia. Starting out a business is hard. Being a new mum is full on! And well being a mum of twins is insane! It is possible but you will have to make sacrifices. It might be that you do have to put your child in care if you want a particular gig or maybe you can't do the gigs you really want to do. The only way I managed to survive this last year is having a partnership with another mermaid. Mermaid Jessica Pearl and myself are both co owners of "Perth mermaids". I had been mermaiding longer than her so I showed her the ropes when she first go started (she is also my best friend). And in return she handled the admin side of the business while I was trying to catch my breath motherhood wise. I didn't get back into mermaiding until my boys where about 3months old but that was mainly because they where premature and underweight they had to stay in hospital for 6 weeks after they where born. I'm lucky to have a great mum and mother in law who did help out a lot and still do. My husband on the other hand well..... I don't want to post anything on the internet I will regret. Let's just say I've been a professional mermaid for almost 3 years and he's never seen me in my tail once *sigh*


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[shimmygoddess]

You will have to find a balance. I am a mom to 3, but my kids were older when I started mermaiding. However, I started bellydancing 6 weeks after my second child was born and continued to perform after my daughter was born 3 years after that. Luckily I have a supportive husband and he helped alot, but I was nursing so I had to always work that around my schedule too. I passed up alot of gigs, b/c life changes after kids and it is hard to accommodate everything. You will figure it out. Good luck

[MermaidBonnie]

Corabelle I'm just now figuring out mermaiding and being a mom. I'm nursing as I write this :) Getting my body back has been tough. If you want support u can message me thru fb its quicker there for me. I am having to adjust like crazy. This is a hard business, my family still thinks I'm nuts for doing it lol. I'm trying to figure out my balance as I know you are. For me I've chosen to be more laid back in the business bc I want to focus on my baby. You're starting a business so being laid back is not your option. Heres some ideas: join mommy groups. These women will become your friends and clients. Give them special deals so you get more publicity. Some moms even help watch each others kids, everyone takes a turn. Find a pool gym that has daycare. They can watch your baby while you work and it gives you another avenue for marketing who u are. Moms would rather hire another mom, you know? Usually gym pools have bday party packages. I used to offer the people who worked the front desk commissions. I'd say "How'd you like to make an extra $20 at no cost to you?" When anyone books a pool party tell them to mention there is also a pro mermaid available. If interested they give the person your contact info. Then the client books with you, tells you who referred them and you give that person $20 just for a minute of work. Before you know it these people will become salesmen for you. I mean if they get you 5 parties a week thats $100 extra in their pocket. Most gigs are on the weekends so you have to book back to back parties which is exhausting. You will need help at these parties so if hubby is watching the baby then bring a friend and give them money too. I personally have my first gig after baby in Dec and am soooo anxious for several reasons but excited too. I hope my baby does ok when I'm underwater...