Young Motherhood May be a Great Time to Start a Business! 

Many corporate climbers dream of entrepreneurship, but what many don’t realize is that young motherhood may be one of the best times to take the plunge.  Motherhood influences some of the most coveted entrepreneurial skill sets, including negotiation, creativity, grace under pressure, and resilience.  And with over 1,200 women owned businesses opening in the US every day, you’re in good company.  For interested mothers out there, here are a few things to consider, plus tips to get you started:

Think about what you’d like to pursue while on maternity leave, and start laying the groundwork before you return to work.  Maternity leave is a rough time.  Having a high maintenance infant, breast-feeding, and adjusting to parenthood may leave you so exhausted that the thought of starting a business of your own that it makes your head spin.

But now is the best time to start “introspecting.”   You may not have a lot of free time to write a business plan or network, but you will have time to think about what makes you happy, and what sort of business opportunities you’d like to pursue.  So if you have time:

• • • Start piecing together a business plan.
    • Talk to contacts who may be able to help you.
    • Make the most of your mommy groups – share your ideas and see if they resonate.  Best-case scenario, you may find a business partner or potential investor!
    • Wondering where to start?  Chic CEO  is a good place to start with blogs, downloadable resources and tools, and how-to guides.

Looking for more inspiration?  Visit The Founding Moms to watch Jill Salzman’s TED talk, and connect with other mother and women entrepreneurs nearby.

Worried that the Entrepreneurial Lifestyle Won’t Work with Young Children?  Think again.  As an entrepreneur, you may find yourself working more hours than ever, but you also may have more flexibility over when you work those hours.

That means that you could work your own schedule to be available for school pick-ups and drop- offs, afternoon trips to the park, and homework marathons. But it also means that you may end up working late evenings, parts of weekends, or find that you have to feel comfortable splitting your day between personal and work activities.  So here’s how to make the most of your valuable time:

• • • Join a local playgroup, and volunteer to host a group of children once a week for a playdate.
    • Use the time that your child is at a playdate at another mother’s house to catch up on critical business calls or reports.
    • Wake up one or two hours before your kids so that you can get a jumpstart on email and other follow-ups. Sometimes just two hours of early morning uninterrupted work can deliver enough productivity to move into “monitoring” mode for the rest of the day.

Also, to make it work, you may have to think outside the box.  Is there a way you can integrate your children into your business?  I once visited a well-known pastry supplier in Sausalito to purchase goodies for an office event.  We reviewed the order and signed the contracts in the owner’s office while her daughter slept just five feet away from me in a “pack and play.”  Young babies are some of the best meeting companions; short wakeful moments followed by long naps make them ideal to tag along for meetings, so long as your contact doesn’t mind.  Many mothers who make this new lifestyle work relish the opportunity to be present for their children on a day- to-day basis while still having the opportunity to pursue their dreams and keep their resume relevant and current.

The Global Economy is a Great Advantage for Entrepreneurial Mothers.  In my current job, I’m in the office during business hours, since that’s when I interact with my counterparts at headquarters — but I’m also on the phone many evenings since I cover business in Asia Pacific.  If I were to go out on my own and build a business in Asia, I would start my workday at 3 p.m., and not bother with the early part of the workday in the U.S. unless I had a pre-set meeting; some women I know conduct the majority of their business on the East Coast or with Europe. While starting a day at 4 a.m. and wrapping up at 11 a.m. may sound rough, they do it so that they can spend afternoons and evenings with their children while keeping their business going.

And technology makes starting a global business more feasible than ever: internet services like Skype, Google Hangout, or Facebook Messenger allow you to video-connect with contacts all over the world with nothing more than a wi-fi connection.  In addition, with e-commerce solutions like Shopify or BigCommerce, you can set up an international virtual storefront, and even help manage your logistics and shipping.

Looking for more hands on assistance in starting your global business?  Set up a consultation with an experienced business consultant through Score where business mentors volunteer their time and expertise to help budding entrepreneurs and business owners.

Define your Own Success. As an entrepreneur, you have the opportunity to define what will make your venture a success.  That could be anything from the ability to work from anywhere, having the freedom to make your own schedule, building your own team, or being able to grow a passion that you love into something that’s a sustainable business.

Entrepreneurship is not for everyone, and I don’t want to mislead any mother into thinking that this path is any easier than building a traditional corporate career. (Believe me, it’s usually not.)  But entrepreneurship has its advantages, and some of them may help newly-minted mothers continue to dually pursue their career and family dreams.