The Secrets of the Hardest Working People in Business: Mompreneurs

As I was watching an online talk about leadership this week, a woman shared research* that more and more women in the UK are leaving corporate life to start a business because they're unhappy with the corporate culture.

While it's empowering to see how many women are starting companies that allow them to create the lives they want, it's also worrisome. We're losing talented women who could otherwise rise through the ranks of companies to join executive teams and corporate boards. Clearly, we still have work to do to ensure corporations retain and develop female leaders.

And how do we do this? By making the workplace better for everyone. By encouraging respect, acceptance and flexibility for women, men, LGBT, minorities, people with kids, people without kids, people with disabilities, people taking care of their parents, people who've just graduated college...you get the picture.

That being said, it's easy to see why so many women want to branch out on their own. The ability not only to bring a vision of yours to life, but to spend your time and energy on projects you choose with clients you want is attractive when you feel like you're suffocating from endless meetings, strict policies and corporate buzzwords. I've heard similar sentiments for why women started their businesses in Connect: Professional Women's Network, too — it can be incredibly freeing to run the show.

People like Tamara Monosoff are helping pave the way for these waves of entrepreneurs wanting to live and work on their own terms.

Monosoff is a social entrepreneur, best-selling business author and inventor who served as a Clinton White House Advisor and U.S. Department of Education Chief of Staff for Adult Education. Monosoff also has a special interest in women in business and has written numerous book on the topic, including The Mom Inventors Handbook, Secrets of Millionaire Moms: Learn How They Turned Great Ideas into Booming Businesses, and The One Page Business Plan for Women in Business.

Because the topic of women entrepreneurs has been in the news quite a bit this month, we asked Monosoff to share her insights on starting and running a business.

LINKEDIN: What tips do you have for someone who's debating whether to quit their job to start a business?
MONOSOFF: Take advantage of the security of the job while getting your business started. There is an enormous amount that can be done without giving up the financial and security benefits of a regular job.

Switch off the television and give up some of the regular evening and weekend leisure activities and instead get going. Use this time to do your market research, develop a business plan, set up the legal entity, get the bookkeeping in order, and create your brand and design the website. Then, if possible, soft launch in off-hours and weekends until it makes financial sense to cut the security chord.

LINKEDIN: What advice would you give to a new entrepreneur?
MONOSOFF: Do market research and plan before launching. Ready—Aim—Fire, not Fire—Aim—Ready. Many entrepreneurs get so excited about their business that they launch before they truly understand their market and if there is indeed a “need” for their service or product. They launch and then wonder what has gone wrong when customers are not knocking down the door. Thoughtful planning can accelerate success.

LINKEDIN: What's one thing the business world doesn't know or underestimates about entrepreneurial moms?
MONOSOFF: We work at night. Moms probably accomplish more between the hours of 10 p.m. - 2 a.m. than any other species. They also have super-natural stamina (staying up all night with sick kids and still going to work in the morning) and the ability to multi-task, which are skills acquired from parenting that are directly transferable to business.

LINKEDIN: How do you know when it's time to change the price of your products/services?
MONOSOFF: You listen. Customers are very happy to share their feedback. Unfortunately, after some success, we often start “telling” our customers what they want and stop really “listening.”

LINKEDIN: What do women entrepreneurs need to do to access more and better funding?
MONOSOFF: There are an abundance of opportunities for funding today that simply didn’t exist in past years. I recommend an “all of the above” approach. Start with traditional options such as personal savings, credit, friends and family (but use tools to formally keep track of it like Zimple Money). And don’t overlook things like micro-loans and peer-to-peer lending. The most exciting opportunities are with crowd-funding options such as Indiegogo, Crowd Supply and Rocket Hub because often-times they include a community platform to get the word out which not only generates buzz about your business but creates built-in supporters in addition to generating funding.

LINKEDIN: What's been the most surprising thing about running a business?
MONOSOFF: How hard it can be. Also, how critical it is to focus. For a small business, there are a thousand ways to spend your time and money, and often times, each are attractive. But every project is “major” so it is essential to keep it simple and focus on the key projects that will help you achieve your business goals.

LINKEDIN: How do you see the entrepreneurial space evolving?
MONOSOFF: For many years people have talked about how technology is leveling the playing field for entrepreneurs. When “experts” were first saying this, I recall paying $25,000 to have a website designed that didn’t even have e-commerce functionality built in. Now, 10 years later, I believe this concept has actually come to fruition. An entrepreneur can launch a website with e-commerce capability, reach and build an online community, create studio quality video, and post online, all within a single week.

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For another inspiring story of a mother of four who left the corporate world to pursue her passion, check out the video below with Cheryl Kellond, co-founder and CEO of bia sport, an athletic technology company dedicated to women.

(*The woman didn't cite a specific study, but new research from Aspire found that of 1,200 female managers and executives surveyed, 78 percent said they were considering leaving to start a business).

Photo: Frank Gaertner/Shutterstock