Mamapreneurs, you ARE your brand.
Originally published on Mamapreneurs, Inc.
-I have insomnia and I’m tired.
-I work 7 days a week but Mondays and Fridays are my FT kid days during the summer.
-E-mail is the best way to communicate for me; if you leave me a voice
mail, you honestly might not get a call back. If you leave me an
e-mail, you will definitely get a response.
I tell you all this not because you are my friends, my family, my
colleagues or my clients (although you may be one or all of these
things): I tell you this because being transparent about who I am as
the owner of three companies and as mama to two kids is essential to
the success of my businesses and peace in my personal life.
Being a
mamapreneur means that my businesses don’t just rely on the products or
the services, they rely on the entire brand package—and that includes me as the owner. As mamapreneurs, like it or not, we ARE the brand.
When I meet with mamapreneurs who want PR help but tell me they can’t
mention their kids in any press releases or bios, or when mamapreneurs
say they have to lie about their odd work hours because their clients
wouldn’t understand, I am more than disappointed. Maybe it was growing
up with Elizabeth Cady Stanton as my hero, but I’ve always felt that we
have a responsibility as women not to conform to the rules but to help
MAKE the rules. As a mamapreneur, I feel immense pride in being part of
this amazing group of women who run businesses and raise families. I
came from the corporate world where I’d pretend I didn’t have a life
outside of the office persona, to the life of a mamapreneur, where
personal and business often gets all tangled up. Why? Because I am the
boss.
It doesn’t matter whether you work from home or are the owner of
a multi-billion dollar company with thousands of employees: you are
still a mom who runs a business, you are still the one who calls the
shots. You have a family at home. To pretend that part of your life
doesn’t exist when you’re in business mode is doing a disservice not
only to yourself, but to the entire business world and to your fellow
mamapreneurs in general. Once I understood this, accepted and embraced
it, I found the balance, the harmony, the peace I have always been
searching for. It’s right there, if you’re willing to let go of
traditional corporate thinking and just BE YOU.
One of the reasons I chose to make Mamapreneurs, Inc. an S-Corp
instead of a non-profit was because I know that American corporations
can do better. We CAN come back to a time when corporations aren’t
looked at as mega-monsters, but as teams of individuals who are working
to make the world a better place. My goal is to have Mamapreneurs, Inc.
model what corporations SHOULD be. Mamapreneurs Inc. is about following
through with family friendly policies and not just maintaining rhetoric
on paper for appearances or awards. We’re about supporting the success
of employees and members as moms, women and as business professionals.
Here, working toward your version of success is important, but in doing
so you don’t have to pretend to be the perfectly glossed CEO or the
perfect mom.
I am human to the core, with quirks, many flaws and I will always make
mistakes. I also have kids who sometimes get sick and I need to be
there for them; they have doctor’s appointments and school events that
take precedence over work. Work that I love dearly, but know can wait
whereas many family issues cannot.
Sometimes I think we mamapreneurs
forget that we’re the ones calling the shots; we are responsible for
whether or not our lives are in harmony or in discord. If a design
client seems hesitant to work with my hours, even though I would do a
fabulous job for them & even if they would pay larger corporate
rates, I politely decline the project. If a potential member doesn’t
seem to “get” that Mamapreneurs, Inc is more about collaboration,
support & building relationships than about hard core cold
networking, then I am ok with them not joining the group. The right
clients and customers will always be out there.
There is enough
business to go around, and if you are true to yourself, your family,
and your passion for what you do, then I firmly believe transparency in
your business will help lead not only to great professional success but
also to personal peace and fulfillment. And that, my friends, is what I
believe “balance” is all about.
Marlynn is a Portland mom who writes about issues facing mamapreneurs at her blog www.mamapreneursinc.com
And she knows what she’s talking about. She’s the owner of a funky little design shop in Portland, Urban Bliss LLC www.urbanblissdesign.com
and is also the Editor of Mama Lit www.mamalit.com
Call
us working moms, mompreneurs, work-at-home-moms, hybrid moms…
whatever the label, we think you CAN have it all, with a little
ingenuity and a lot of persistence. Business Channel Editor Liz
believes it’s all about finding the balance, pushing the tipping point
and having a sense of humor about it all. She writes about marketing
and the media at Spoonfed and writes about being a mom at What Happens in Stapleton.
Editor
Megan Jordan
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July 7th, 2008
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Category:
Author- Mamapreneurs, Inc., Business, Entrepreneurs, Channel- Business, Editor- Liz Easterly Spoonfed, Marketing, Promotion, Branding, Mothers, Moms, Motherhood, Parenting, Women in Tech, Work, Career, Working Mothers
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I own several “stream of income” businesses, meaning none of them on their own completely finance my life, and I have raised businesses as investments to selloff. I love entrepreneurship because I have complete autonomy to define or experiment with my processes. Though I think for most mamas and most of their businesses it is true that mama can be a powerful part of the brand, the real power of contemporary life is that we truly can have more than one brand, and we have many options. Why would we want to limit women to mama-defined or mama-inclusive brand IDs? Assessing when that is not the smartest tactic to emphasize is a very evolved move for women business directors.
Interesting post and comment. I think there’s room for both…in my mind feminism has always been about what the woman wants to do instead of society telling them what they have to do.
Great post! I can’t avoid talking about my family at work (be it my own biz or my day job)…my family is a huge part of my life. I don’t feel true to myself if I pretend they don’t exist.
I am proud to say I am a Mom-owned biz. As a photographers, I work hours around my family’s needs. I tell my clients that “Family is First”. I love seeing that come through in your article.
I have never thought of the term Mamapreneur before, but you have just described me and my business to a tee! Thankfully my business is family orientated and my clients accept that I work from home without question. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I’ve got one foot in the entrepreneurial world and one foot in corporate America. I lean toward entrepreneurship in my goals because it feels like I would have more control over my time. Yes, the time still has to be invested, but like you said, you call the shots. When I was consulting full-time, I said when I was and wasn’t available. As swim lesson season approaches, I miss that.
I’ve maintained since I hit mid-career that my resume speaks for itself, and if people want me to work for them on a freelance or consulting basis, they will work with my schedule. Teach people how to treat you — with respect.
The link to mampreneurs Inc. isn’t working. Just thought I’d give you a heads up. Great post about authenticity as one of the keys to success.
Helene
Thanks for the great post - I have quit numerous “day-jobs” on account of having to put my family first. It still boggles the mind that there are employers like that who still exist!
Hopefully with “Mamapreneurs” at the helm - they’ll one day “get it”!
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