Yesterday I received an alumni magazine from my college alma mater, Clark University. Now I don't know about you, but I love reading about my former haunt.

As I was thumbing through, I realized how nice it was to see what some of my old college professors are working on in terms of their current studies and research results. One of my professors (she helped me on my senior honors thesis… compensation programs in the workplace), has been studying managers who are also parents.

The old philosophy was that managers who are parents are less effective because of the distraction of the kids. However, her new research reveals that managers who are parents are more effective in the office, because they're used to multi-tasking at home.

I bet that this research carries over to parent entrepreneurs and/or business owners. I know that being a mom has definitely improved my multi-tasking ability. I often have to deal with a sick kid and still respond to emails and handle phone interviews.

Do you think being a parent makes you a better business owner? If so, in what ways?