Mobile whilst pregnant?

[mcintyre85]

Hi, I’ve been hairdressing for a total of 16 years, the last 8 I’ve been running a successful mobile business, travelling fairly far and wide from my home town (all within 35 min drive). I’m now 34 and thinking about starting a family, it’s got me thinking about how I would manage whilst pregnant. I carry a LOT of heavy equipment, am not always able to park right up close to client’s houses and sometimes carrying it up two flights of stairs in blocks of flats, making two or three trips back and forth from the car. I really can’t reduce my load as I market myself as a ‘high end’ mobile hairdresser, bringing absolutely everything with me that’s possible to make the experience as close to a salon one for my clients. I also do colouring so heavy bottles of liquid are in there too. I bring my own chair, mirror, floor mat, towels, shampoos, everything, so the client has to provide nothing. I usually keep fit so i can carry all this stuff fairly easily, but it’s already sometimes a struggle and very tiring. I charge what London salons charge, so I’m not prepared to sacrifice any of my supplies as I think it could be damaging for my business, I have high expectations from my clients who have plenty of money to go elsewhere if they felt like it.
But how will I do all this whilst pregnant? I also can’t afford to take a lot of time off, so I would be working absolutely til the full term.
Anyone else have experience in this?
Sorry for the long post

 

[Traveller75]

Hi there, I'm not a hairdresser but I do work mobile and have been pregnant.
You need to be realistic about this situation.

If you struggle a bit now, being pregnant is going to make it harder. It's also very hard to predict how you are going to feel when pregnant. Some people sail through pregnancy without having to adapt much at all. Others really struggle with morning sickness, aches and pains, and various other issues.

You may find you are a lot more tired even at the very beginning of your pregnancy. But most importantly carrying really heavy items should be avoided.

The bottom line is you just don't know how you're going to feel and one person's experience is not representative of how someone else may feel. It's very much a 'find out when it happens' situation. It's entirely possible to work right up till full term, but not for everyone.

First and foremost is your health and wellbeing and that of your baby. There's no easy answer to your question and it's difficult to plan for every eventuality. But be prepared to make sacrifices and alter how you work just in case.

 

[mcintyre85]

What I can imagine working best is if I temporarily had my clients coming to my house, but I’m not sure a lot of them would because I travel pretty far to some of them I reckon if I suggested them coming to me I’d lose them.

 

[LianneM06]

Like pp said it's too hard to predict. I have been so sick whilst pregnant I've been signed off work and low bp means fainting & unable to stand for long. I also had low b12 & iron so I felt exhausted. I would suggest saving up a fair amount of money for you to be off if need be and put the feelers out to clients. It's hard to find a hairdresser you trust so they will probably come to yours while you're pregnant. Good luck x

 

[LianneM06]

You may be one of the lucky ones who sails through you just can't know until it happens x