Mom Boss: Making the Leap to Entrepreneurship - #10

Show Notes

More self employed moms are forging their own career paths than at any other time in our country’s history. In fact, this group of pioneering women represent 45% of all U.S. business owners. So Lori and Nola decided to take a deeper look into why some women decide to make their dream of opening their own business, a reality. To do this, they asked three successful mom bosses to share what made them decide to take the leap to entrepreneurship. Their answers are surprising and might just encourage you to start your own business.

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Sticky Brand Lab
Let’s dive into this week’s episode!
In This Episode You’ll Learn

• How to use persuasion to create a job position better suited to your interests
• When you strive to make your work environment better and more efficient for yourself, you start to tap into your own creative desires
• Why entrepreneurship is often just an extension of what you already know and love doing

Mompreneurs are an impressive group of women both for their innovative ways of working and their desire to shatter expectations. Because the growth of mom bosses is still relatively new, Nola and Lori decided to cultivate a panel to share their pivotal moments for deciding to take the leap into entrepreneurship. Hear how being an entrepreneur lets you do what you love and get compensated for it, in both dollars and satisfaction.

(4:08.74) Why women intuitively seem to come up with ways to make things better, more efficient, and more rewarding.
(8:26.80) The number one reason corporate America is losing talented women. Here’s a hint...it’s not related to pay. 
(9:15.60) These four areas are often the drivers for starting a women owned business.
(11:44.87) The best example of how to use challenges as stepping stones rather than stumbling blocks so you can reject the power and stronghold of other people's opinions.
(22:26.51) The staggering statistic as to why women have a hard time getting funding.

Resources
This episode was supported by: Be-You-Nique
Consultation offer regularly $597 see our launch specials for details
Podcast Transcript –https://www.stickybrandlab.com/podcast

Transcript

Lori: [00:00:00] Are you a mom boss who's been dreaming about starting a side business, or finally bringing your passion project to life and wonder, maybe even worry about taking on too much?

Well stay tuned moms because in today's episode, you'll hear from three amazing smart mom bosses who share openly and honestly what led them to create, launch and grow their successful passion business. Come be inspired. You might just decide today is the day you turn your dream of starting a business into a reality.

 Announcer: [00:00:30] You're listening to the Sticky Brand Lab podcast, where time strapped professionals like you learn how to create a business you love in as little as three hours a week. 
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Nola: [00:00:41] Hello and welcome side hustlers and aspiring mompreneurs, Nola and Lori here. In 1972 women owned only 4% of all U S businesses. Isn't that crazy? Well, today women own at least 45%. And while we have more progress to make as women in the business world, we're about to introduce you to three mompreneurs who are paving the way for the next generation. But before we begin, be sure to subscribe to our podcast on Apple podcasts, Google podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. That way you'll never miss out on any of our weekly helpful, informative, and always fascinating podcasts. Okey-doke. Let's get this mompreneurial show started. 
Well, this is a special episode to us. It's the first episode of our mom boss edition.  So the three women featured in our panel come from different industries, different experiences, and at the time of their decision to take the entrepreneurial leap, different places in their lives.
However, these three mom bosses have some commonalities. They didn't have it all figured out, yet they share in the willingness to push past boundaries in order to live their professional and personal lives on their own terms. By being authentic, taking risks and pushing past the obstacles.
Lori: [00:02:10] That is so true, Nola. Our panel guests are breaking down barriers and sharing their clear vision for the life and business they desired to create for themselves and their family.  They're also role models to their kids. And we think that their kids will go on to change the way they think about themselves and what it means to be a leader and a business owner. 
Our first mom boss you're going to meet is Natalie. She inspired us because she broke through stereotypes to carve out a career and in doing so she discovered her passion.
Natalie: [00:02:43] My name is Natalie Westenskow and I am a designer with NRW design studio. My website is www.nrwdesigns.com. This is my response for, "What was the tipping point that led me to  the path of entrepreneurialship?" And I remember this date very, very well.  I was pregnant with my first son and  the economy employment, uh, was not doing very well during this time.
And so finding a job, you pretty much, you would just find whatever it is that you needed to find that this was back in 2006. And I had decided I'm just going to jump at the first job that you know, catches my eye. And I saw this ad for selling timeshares and I had never sold timeshares before. Real estate has never been a thing, um, especially timeshares. And so I got into this job and within the first week I already knew it really wasn't for me. Um, because I don't like selling, um, I don't like having to coerce people to buy into an idea. So,  I quickly,  got together my resume and convinced the vice-president of the company to hire me as his assistant and,  believe it or not,  within two hours, I got the job.
So I was only selling timeshares for one week and I got the job within two hours and I was pregnant with our first son. The first week of my new position, I was given, plenty of, time to, correct. anything that needed to be done to help enhance the office. So of course I, you know, decorated the lobby, my desk area, my office, his office.  And I organized it and it took me about two weeks to get this done. And of course, in between getting this done, I was answering phones and  taking messages and things like that. 
And every day for those two weeks, I went home completely fulfilled. Like I had accomplished, whatever I set my day to accomplish, I accomplished it, but there was this inner fulfillment that I experienced from having organized things and decorated things and, uh, expanded. Cause there was actually two rooms that I expanded into a lunch room. And, and I didn't realize that in these two weeks I was actually operating in what I believe is my calling, which has makeovers: interior makeovers is my specialty. I don't just do interior design. I do interior makeovers. I take it from what it was, to what it is.  When that timeframe was over and I had to go back to the actual job that I was hired for, which was to be an assistant to the vice president of the company, I went home every day as if something was missing from my life. 
And I realized that, what I enjoyed the most was first of all being my own boss, because I was given free reign. So I had to schedule my own time, be my own boss. Um, the company had not really opened to the public yet, so. I had a lot of time to myself, a lot of time to organize, a lot of time to put things together, a lot of time to shop. And, um, I didn't have that after the two weeks and I just realized I'm in the wrong business. I need to do something that fulfills. What I realized was that I have a lot of creative energy. And if I don't have an outlet to release this creative energy, I go home frustrated or I go home feeling unaccomplished. What fulfills me on a daily basis is being able to do something that is somehow related to my calling, which is to makeover, whether it's making over a space, a desk, a room, a person's wardrobe. I've done it all. Um, that is my word makeovers, and that was the tipping point that led me to starting my own thing.
Now I didn't start the interior design company right away. I went into business selling jewelry and other things, which then eventually led me to NRW Designs. But I first started with a partnership  that was amazing. And then went solo in June of 2019. And that is how I got to where I am. 
Lori: [00:07:02] Wow. That was pretty impressive.
Nola: [00:07:04] .Absolutely.  We're also inspired by Kelly, the next mompreneur you'll hear from, because she bucked the traditional system to design a lifestyle she desired. One that's conducive to raising children.
Kelly: [00:07:16] Hi, this is Kelly Alvarez Vitale. I'm the president and founder of Strategic Philanthropy.  In short, we help companies give away their money to nonprofits. So we really honestly believe that companies can do good and do well in their communities by being philanthropic. Today, I'm going to be talking about, uh, the point in my career when I knew that I wanted to become an entrepreneur.
And there's two specific memories that I can kind of think of. Uh, one I was in my master's program in college, and was interning with the athletic arm of the school. Um, and I was, I had a really flexible schedule and I just remember thinking, gosh, if I could start my day at 10 o'clock, I've always  slept in until I had children.
Uh, and so I thought, you know, gosh, if I could make my own schedule, that would be the best job ever. So I do remember having that thought, at, around 22-23 years old. When I graduated for my master's and I came back down to South Florida and ultimately decided to go and raise money for the American Heart Association and really kind of get a taste of corporate America.
I couldn't believe that even though I was really efficient at work, even though I got my work done, you know, quicker and faster and more correctly than maybe somebody else. I had to sit in the office for eight hours, twiddling my thumbs and was not being incentivized to work faster. I just didn't understand why I had to sit in an office for eight hours when I could get my job done in four.
And so it really was an opportunity for me to think there must be something better. I also, around that time knew that I probably wanted to be a mom at one point in my life. And I just remember thinking that corporate America did not really allow for this, um, where you had to constantly ask for permission to be a part of your kid's life, whether that was taking them to school or doctor's appointments or, programs at school that you want it to be a part of during the day. And I just thought there had to be a better solution. I wanted to control my own fate. I wanted to control my own destiny. I wanted to be able to call the shots  and determine when you know, when and if I could do the things that I wanted to do.
So playing those out. You know, for probably five or so years in the corporate America world. I jumped ship and started my own company and it is, the best damn decision I've ever made.
mom-boss-panel-Lori: [00:09:47] Kelly is so organized. You could even tell that on how she left her message. Boom, boom. She's efficient.
mom-boss-panel-Nola: [00:09:56] She is the epitome of efficiency. When we come back, you're going to hear one more mom boss share her story of her entrepreneurial journey. 
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You'll leave the session with a realistic timeline and a set of small step, big wind goals that make sense for you and your lifestyle. Sign up today for a free 20 minute consultation@stickybrandlab.com/shop.


Lori: [00:10:46] Welcome back to Sticky Brand Lab, the podcast that reduces excuses so you can gain traction and take action on starting your side hustle. 
 Here we go ladies and gentlemen,  we are among many who are so inspired by our next mom boss. As you're going to hear, coach Cass approached challenges as stepping stones rather than stumbling blocks and was able to reject the inhibiting power of other people's negative opinions.
Coach Cass: [00:11:17] Hey ladies, so happy to be here. So, yeah, I'm coach Cass, love coach for professional women over 40, who just haven't had luck when it comes to love and really desire more in the department of love and relationships. So if I could travel back to day one of me starting up and having a conversation with my former self, ah, I would say:
Don't sweat other people's opinions. Hello. So forget the small stuff, because I remember very clearly, different moments in my entrepreneurial journey where people just said, you can't do that. Right. So I think back to a business planning class that I took. And it was the local city class. And I remember the teacher saying to me, after looking at my business plan, Oh, that's never going to work. Oprah's already taken. Good luck. Just go work for her or maybe even the Girl Scouts. Right. I was so disheartened and, and it took me back. It took me a back like, Oh man, you know, this guy knows what he's talking about. He's the one teaching the business planning class. 

But you know, here we are almost two decades later and I realized that, that fool didn't know what he was talking about. And there's so many people that will try to talk you out of your dream because they're not living theirs. So remember that when you buy into someone else's opinion, you buy into their lifestyle. So if you don't envy their lifestyle, if you're not trying to go on the same path they did, who cares what they have to say, if you believe in your dream and willing to work to make it happen.
That's exactly what I would say. I would also say that sometimes your dreams don't work out exactly the way you planned. Right. So I remember in maybe 2009, I wrote on a sticky that I wanted to be a number one bestselling author. And in my mind that was going to be for a relationship book. Hey, relationship, coach, relationship book, right.
I want to say maybe a year or so ago I was speaking to someone who has been a ghost writer for many celebrity, individuals in our society. And I told her my dream about my baby girl. So I'll tell you what happened with my baby girl. 

So my daughter was turning three. And if you didn't know, when you become a mom, um, you become an event planner. And for me, I got out of planning a birthday party for her first and second birthday, but her third birthday, it was a big deal. I was throwing a party at school and really nervous. So she was really into princesses. So I said to myself, okay, I'm going to do a princess party. And I, I looked everywhere for a princess that looked like her and ladies, I cannot find one. Nope, couldn't find one. 

And so for me, I said, okay, well maybe I'll just create a character for her, you know, a princess of a darker hue. And I remember showing her the princess and she said, mommy, I don't want this one. I want the other one. I want the white one. I cried. Right. And she actually said this when I was out to lunch with a girlfriend who happened to be white and she cried.
And I realized that that test back in the day of the black doll versus the white doll and all the children say that the whites all was better prettier and smarter. I really don't think is because their parents told them that. I think it's because it wasn't represented in mainstream media. So I decided from that day that I am on a mission to create a mainstream cartoon, featuring a little black princess. A princess  who's six years old, who's on a mission to spread love. And, and it's a big deal, right? 

So I remember sharing that story with this specific, person. And she challenged me to write a children's book. And I said, nah, I'm working on my relationship book. That's what I'm supposed to be doing. She said, no, your children's book is what needs to happen now, the world needs it now.
And that was over a year ago. And I'll let you know that I came out with my children's book . Princess Zara's Birthday Tradition and it hit number one on Amazon within three days. 
Nola: [00:16:04] I am sure these women didn't set out to be role models, but it turns out, I mean, they really are.
Lori: [00:16:11] They were definitely role models to us.
One of the things that was amazing about coach Cass and her story is not only did she set out on a direction to carve out a niche for herself, helping professional women find love, but then she took a detour into authorship by helping her daughter, see the potential and possibilities. And so mom wrote a book in order to achieve that for her daughter. And that in itself, I found amazing.
Nola: [00:16:44] So she really is one that intentionally decided to create role models where she found them lacking. So she herself as a role model, but she still saw that, the societal trends were still not running in her kids' favor.
Lori: [00:17:02] She...You're giving me goosebumps by saying that you're, .You're absolutely right. She saw a need for inspiration for little girls. She made her book a rainbow in its color palette. But to, to say little girls also want to be princesses and to have a family tradition create a book for it and help her daughter see the potential. That's huge.
Nola: [00:17:30] It is. It is. And so, you know, she set out to create a role model for her kid. But she probably didn't realize how much of a role model she is to a lot of women who are learning about her now. And same goes for,  our other, mom, boss, panelists, Natalie and Kelly. I mean, I'm sure they didn't set out necessarily to be role models, you know, make that conscious  decision, but by forging their own path and, following their gut , and carving out what they felt. Was right for them. They really are leading the way. 
I think their kids and the next generation  have an advantage because I don't know about you, but I didn't have role models like that. I did not know any female entrepreneur growing up.
Lori: [00:18:22] No, I didn't either. I mean, I had women who were role models for me, but not from an entrepreneurial experience. A matter of fact, I can't even say that while I was in school. Growing up entrepreneurship was even introduced. That was something that I stumbled upon in creating my first side hustle, which was, uh, as a dating coach only because I wanted a different path.
I saw a need and I had that experience. And so I decided to, to launch that, but where that idea came from in my own family, I didn't see that at that there.
Nola: [00:19:02] That's basically why this mom, boss addition is so important to us because, you know, it's evident that we've come a long way since 1972, when, you know, 4% of businesses were owned by women. We've made a lot of progress, but it's still an uphill journey. And we found that it's still an uphill journey.
I mean, people are experiencing that and here's some, um, statistics we found most interesting. For example, there are many reasons people become entrepreneurs and some of the top motivators are, you know, primarily being your own boss. And
Lori: [00:19:40] as Kelly said,
Nola: [00:19:42] absolutely pursuing a passion
Lori: [00:19:45] As Natalie did.
Nola: [00:19:47] yup. Wanting to exit corporate America as
Lori: [00:19:51] I think, yeah, I was going to say, I think that's part of, uh, coach Cass's experience, but also because she wanted to take advantage of a new opportunity.
Nola: [00:20:02] And I think, Kelly, decided that this corporate America structure was not for her and she really wanted
Lori: [00:20:09] Yeah, I think both of them were a non-profits, but still traditional model of doing business, whether it's for-profit or nonprofit and breaking away from that to say, I can do this and be more effective in my community and in the world. If I launch out on my own, I would agree with you there. 
Nola: [00:20:31] another study done by a tech company found that women make up 45% of all small business owners in the us and, women also account for more than half of sole proprietors, 52% to be exact, but the same report found that the bigger a us company is the less likely that a woman. Runs it. And, also among businesses with four or more employees, women owners comprise only about 33%.
Lori: [00:21:02] It just blow your mind.
Nola: [00:21:04] again, yeah. Women more and more becoming entrepreneurs, but they remained small and the bigger it gets, the more likely it is to be run by, Hey man. So that's, that's interesting,
Lori: [00:21:15] I agree with you. And I think that's, that was at the heart of finding these statistics  we highlight on entrepreneurs in general in our podcasts, but we wanted to call out these mom bosses because they were paving away in a new direction. And we thought that was worth identifying
Nola: [00:21:36] Absolutely. I'm glad you pointed that out. So, one other study said that between 2014 and 2019. there was only a nine, 9% increase in the number of businesses owned overall, but a 21% increase in the number of women owned businesses.
So the balance really started tilting more and more toward women, owning companies.
Lori: [00:22:00] yes, this was a, an American express report. And, um, what that turned out to be is that 13 million women owned businesses in the U S of which 6.4 million are owned by women of color. 2.7 million of those businesses are owned by African-American women. And  2.3 million are owned by Latina or Hispanic women.
And that's great progress when we're thinking from 1974, we're only 4%, as you said, of women owned businesses, But women are still facing obstacles in an, in a number of ways. According to the secret life of entrepreneurs study commissioned by NPR is how I built this 41% of women entrepreneurs report have been experienced. Gender bias. 33% of women of color entrepreneurs report experiencing racial bias. And that really hits home. When you consider that while men founders only represent 6.5% of equity founders, they own 64% of all equity, which explains why women in general have a hard time getting funding for businesses.
So even while women are pushing uphill and making a difference, they're also making an impact. 71% of women entrepreneurs reported starting a business to make a difference in the world compared to 63% of men.
Nola: [00:23:36] I wouldn't doubt it. That sounds spot on to me. 
we think our mom boss panel not only brings the numbers to life. They are inspiring examples for entrepreneurial women and role models of what can be achieved when we trust ourselves. 
 Listeners, are you a mom? Boss? Do you have a friend or a family member? Who's a mom boss. If so, we'd like to hear from you and possibly feature you. Or the one you nominate on our next boss segment. Simply leave us a message on the contact page of our websites, Tiki brand lab.com and tell us why you think there's a good fit for the show@stickybrainlab.com forward slash contact.
You can either click a button to record your message or use the contact form to send us your written message. Whatever's easiest for you. We look forward to featuring many, many more mompreneurs on the mom boss, segments of the sticky brand lab podcast.

Lori: [00:24:27] So until next Tuesday, remember you start a side business by taking one step at a time. You turn it into a profitable business by taking a million baby steps.
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Nola: [00:24:43] Hello and welcome side.
Lori: [00:24:52] Hello there. Hello?
Nola: [00:24:58] Hey. Okay.