Moms are some of the strongest people out there and don’t let anybody tell you otherwise. They carry on a 24/7 job of cleaning, changing diapers, playing, packing lunches, hand-holding and the list goes on.
If you thought being a full-time mom was a challenge, wait until you start your own business. Navigating motherhood while launching your entrepreneurial career deserves its own medal. But don't be discouraged. Not only does motherhood prepare you for a rewarding life with your new baby, it also hones your skills as a world-class mompreneur.
Running a business while caring for your child is a rewarding and sometimes a thankless job. But as a supermom, you can handle anything. Here are 8 ways being a mom prepares you for starting your own business.
- You're the Best Kind of People Person
You're no stranger to socializing as a mother. There are playdates, fellow parents, school functions and the list goes on and on. You know how to put on the charm and make people feel comfortable and welcome in your presence.
This is a fantastic trait to have both for motherhood and entrepreneurship. Socializing at your child's school activities has given you the ability to understand people with different perspectives and backgrounds. You know both how to deal successfully with conflict and how to put your audience at ease.
- Skilled in Patience
Patience is essential for motherhood. Children love to test parental boundaries. They'll run, giggle, and downright refuse to follow the rules sometimes. Instead of yelling or letting these little tests overwhelm you, you display patience. You calmly explain the rules to your child and patiently wait for them to follow your instruction.
Children don't always behave the way you want them to and neither does entrepreneurship. There are going to be some frustrating complications. At times you may even want to quit. But you won't, because you're supermom. You have handled worse before and done so with patience and your head held high.
- Won't Take No for an Answer
Women are faced with plenty of no’s when raising children – but they always come out on top. Toys are inevitably picked up, vegetables are eaten, and little ones adhere to a prearranged bedtime.
This knack for not taking no for an answer will be invaluable when in business. Whether it's about potential funding or stocking your product at a retail location, you may experience a lot of no's when first starting your business.
Motherhood helps prepare entrepreneurs to fight for their business and pursue all available leads until they get their way.
- Moms Know How to Budget
If anyone knows how to spend money wisely and make the monthly budget work, it's a mother.
On top of managing monthly house expenses like the mortgage, car payments and groceries, moms must put together an air-tight budget for managing child-related expenses.
The Fraser Institute estimates that the cost of raising a child in Canada and the United States is somewhere between $10,000 and $15,000 annually for a middle-income family. Not to mention saving for their college years.
- Empathy
Moms have the natural ability to nurture and empathize with their little ones. They feel what their child feels and knows how to respond. This will help when it comes to running a business.
Empathy is integral for an entrepreneur’s success. Empathy means that an entrepreneur can understand someone else's feelings and are able to relate to them.
This is important for all manners of business. You must understand how your employees feel in order to raise morale among your staff. You need to understand clients needs in order to pitch your business to them. It is also integral to understanding your customer base.
- Mom's Know How to Entertain
Building your brand as a mompreneur is just as much about you as is it about the product or service you are offering. As an entrepreneur, it's your job to entertain.
Whether you're recruiting help or pitching to an investor or client, your storytelling must be immaculate. You need to pull your audience in and get them excited about not only your product but YOU and your capabilities to get the job done.
Thankfully, as a mother, you're well-adept at creating compelling stories and hook your audience.
- Can Run on Little to No Sleep
Unless you have given birth to the perfect child, odds are they have kept you up a night or two (or two hundred!) during their youth. Despite this, you still had to get up early, feed the family, pack lunches, kiss your spouse goodbye and put in a day's worth of work before coming home to do it all over again.
This is an excellent skill to have when you're in business for yourself since there is no 9-5 timetable in an entrepreneur’s life.
Not only are you excellent at working on little sleep, you also know how to manage your time wisely. You can make good use of an hour or two to help further your business pursuits. You work hard and, more importantly, you work smart.
- Never Give Up Mentality
Being a mom means you always want what's best for your children. You are with your little ones on their journey from toddling to graduating – and there are bound to be a few bumps along the way. But you never give up.
Studies show that 9 out of 10 start-up companies will fail. That perseverance you learned from mothering your children will give you the drive and determination to continue. After all, you're not just doing this for yourself. You're doing it for your kids.
Being an entrepreneur takes a lot of skill. Patience is a must when it comes to launching a business. Entrepreneurs also benefit from creativity, an endless drive, multi-tasking, and running on little to no sleep. Thankfully, these are skills that moms naturally possess. These are the exact reasons that being a mom will endlessly benefit those looking to start their own business.
Author Bio:
Rachael Pace is a relationship expert with years of experience in training and helping couples. She has helped countless individuals and organizations around the world, offering effective and efficient solutions for healthy and successful relationships. She is a featured writer for Marriage.com, a reliable resource to support healthy happy marriages.