Mom - Wife - Employee - Entrepreneur .......... Our Options are Endless!

No matter your personal political views, you've got to agree that this is an awesome time to be a woman in the United States!  And even if we don't get an infusion of estrogen in the White House this time, it's not far off!  Women today have so many choices!  Do we want to have a family?  A career Open a business?  Advance our education?  The possibilities are endless!

I, too, dealt with the tempting 'buffet of life-options' twenty years ago, when I was newly-married. While I knew I wanted to have a family, I was unsure how I'd juggle a career and raise children. This dilemma was actually the catalyst that thrust me into the scary, unknown world of entrepreneurship.  And, it was the best decision I've ever made!  While it hasn't always been easy working for myself, it's truly been a blessing.  Being an entrepreneurial mom allows me complete control of my life and the flexibility to enhance the quality of my family's life. 

Entrepreneurship means many things to many people.  It may mean running your own small graphic design business from the spare bedroom of your home home.  It might mean running a catering business on the weekends, while your husband takes care of the kids.  It could mean running a full-fledged business with dozens of employees and a national customer base.  And it just might mean eventually franchising your business and selling the rights in every state or even every country!  The great thing about entrepreneurship is that it can be whatever you need, and whatever your personal circumstances!  It evolves and takes on a new shape and a new identity, whenever needed, based on your own desires! 

Talk to ten entrepreneurs and you'll likely get ten, different answers as to why they started their own business, in the first place!  And, surprisingly, 'money' is not always their biggest motivator!  Today's entrepreneurs want control of their lifestyle; freedom to steer the course toward their own destiny; the ability to create and exceed their own goals; and a direct responsibility for their own personal growth.

Owning my business has offered me a freedom and flexibility that I wouldn't enjoy being a nine- to five- employee for someone else.  For nearly fifteen years, I've been at every school play, piano recital, football game and spelling bee for each of my children.  I've been able to stay home if my daughter woke up with a fever or when my son had an asthma attack.  I've controlled my schedule, allowing me to be with the kids during the summer and take family trips during Spring Break. And, as moms, we know that these are the things that really matter, and these are things that we, moms, worry about! 

As an entrepreneurial mom, I am absolutely passionate about talking with other women about their entrepreneurial options, so they, too, can enjoy the dual roles of 'mom' and 'career woman,' rather than having to sacrifice one for the other.  But, to be fair, I always mention the flip-side of the stroll down the path to entrepreneurial freedom....

With all the great things that entrepreneurship has to offer, I've learned that profits come somewhere between the initial passion and the pain!  During my seventeen years of entrepreneurial highs and lows, I' m certain that I've experienced every emotion and uttered every hushed expletive, known to woman!  I can look back on these times with humor, and consider them 'learning experiences,' on my long, winding, and sometimes, uphill,  road to personal freedom!

To get the 'real' feel of a hands-on entrepreneurial mom, you'll need to picture my life in the early stages, as I set-up and learned the ropes of my flooring-turned-interiors business.  After several years of attempting to have children, wouldn't you know that we got the blessed news when I was only a few months into my new business venture?  And, as any entrepreneur will tell you, there's no turning back at that point!  Somehow, I was able to get through the pregnancy with a grain of sanity (if not, energy) left, after hoofing-it daily making sales calls; dealing one-on-one with tough-talking flooring installers; and learning to drive my forklift while seven-months pregnant, and barely fitting behind the steering wheel!

When our daughter arrived, I thought it could only get better, from that point. (And, it DID..........just, not right away!) A new business requires LOTS of hours; and a new baby requires LOTS of hours!  This meant lots of teary-eyed 3:00am diaper changes (for ME!); juggling diaper bags and flooring samples; and plenty of mornings when I was grateful to locate the Cheerios dispenser in my daughter's carseat, as I dashed to the office, fueled only by a cup of coffee and sheer determination to be both a successful entrepreneur and  a good mother!

While my choice of business was definitely unusual for a woman, there was a need for a reliable flooring company in our area.  And I'm a big believer that where there is potential, there also lies opportunity.  So, if you are a mom, wrestling with which direction to take your life toward, consider being your own boss, steering your own ship and creating your own success!  Start your own business!  I guarantee that after you get over the first, few hurdles, you will be thrilled with the enhanced quality of life you'll enjoy, the personal freedom, and the overall flexibility that entrepreneurship offers! Just remember the four, little words that I've always used to encourage my children: " YOU CAN DO IT !"

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