Hustle and Juggle With Jennai Cox
Name:
Jennai Cox
Email:
jennai@dandeliontheatrearts.co.uk
Facebook:
Twitter:
How long have you been doing the Hustle and Juggle?
For as long as I can remember.
What is the Juggle to your Hustle?
Raising seven children on my own, while trying to run and grow my business – a performance school for children.
Tell me more about your business?
We run after-school and weekend drama and dance and vocal classes for school-aged children, and also put on workshops during most of the school holidays. Our focus is on performances. We do not do exams!
What is your Hustle and Juggle story?
There have been too many stories to remember them all, or recall a particularly good or bad one.
The hustle and juggle is daily – getting seven children up and out of the house for university/school (they all still live at home), with the right bags/PE kits/homework completed/school forms filled in, while leaving the house relatively tidy – breakfast cleared, beds made, washing on, dog walked, cat fed, before we all leave the house between 8am and 8.30pm.
Then I go to work. This can be doing admin with my business manager, or alone, or it can be picking up uniform, choosing costumes/music for our next show, visiting a potential new class venue, meeting a new teacher, meeting an existing teacher! It can be discussing what workshop to do next, or the look of our next marketing flyer, or what performance we should put on at the next outdoor event. It could be picking up flyers, keys, photos related to work, while making sure I am not missing a school meeting/uniform sale/parent consultation.
School pick up is around 3pm, and four days out of five I am attending the start of an after-school class, normally also attended by one or more of my own children. After drop off it is home to do supper/homework/bath time, before going out again to pick up said child and see the class ends well and all children and parents are happy. Then home to finish off bedtime routine, get uniforms ready for the following day, packed lunches made, then at 9pm I start any unfinished admin or answer any emails that cannot wait for the following day. I am normally in bed between 11pm and 12pm. Insomnia is not a problem! Alarm goes off around 6.45am to start all over again.
What’s your message to anyone reading this to inspire them to keep going and remain visible?
On the tough days, ask yourself: what would I rather be doing? If you cannot think of an answer other than, exactly what I am doing now, you are on the right track, and the uphill will pay off!
If like Jennai you are Hustling & Juggling and would like to share your story with others please find out how you can do so here. I would love to hear from you.
Lastly on those tough days please remember Jennai’s advice – Ask yourself: what would I rather be doing? If you cannot think of an answer other than, exactly what I am doing now, you are on the right track, and the uphill will pay off!!
Love, Dee
xx
