Kim Lavine author of the Mommy Millionaire was recently on the Todays Show and shared her tips for "mompreneurs" everywhere or should I say aspiring Mommy Millionaires. I've seen these floating around the web recently but thought it was worth recapping - mixed with my own take on each item of course! :)
1. Don't apologize for having kids!
Amen! The cool thing about my business is that if you call my cell phone and you hear my kids in the background - I have nothing to hide - I am TodaysMama! :) You should expect to hear my kids!
2. If you're going to be a Mommy Millionaire, you must accept the fact that you will have to burn down your house and build another one after ten years. This is especially true if you are the parent of young boys.
I've actually thought a bit about this lately. Not only do my children destroy my house, but in my pursuit of growing my business I don't have time to clean my house like I should. I have scribble marks on the walls, toys everywhere, and I find goldfish (crackers) in the strangest places.
3. The argument between working moms versus stay-at-home moms is a moot point.
While I agree with the fact that it's a dead argument I tend to disagree with the idea that we can have it all. The concept itself is what drives women mad. There is a time and a season for everythign and there are concessions to make every step of the way. But to divide ourselves between working and stay at home moms is idiocy. We come in too many shapes and sizes to try to draw those lines in the sand.
4. Just because people have more money than you, doesn’t mean they’re any happier than you.
A quote that I have on my fridge says that two of the most dangerous things in the world are too much money and too much time.
5. Understand that just as money can’t buy happiness, a lack of it can’t take it away.
I agree that money can't buy happiness, but in general those who live in "lack" attrack "lack" in just about everything they do. Wealth is a mentality and a mindset and has a lot more to do with money (but I still can't wait to buy anythign I want at Costco! One day I just want to buy as much toilet paper as could fill my storage room - now that's thinking big!)
6. Understand that business for most people isn’t so much about money, as it is about their hopes, dreams and aspirations.
This is especially true for mompreneurs. TodaysMama recently did a survey with mompreneurs and 90% of those surveyed said they worked for passion over necessity.
7. You need a minimum of $20,000 and a well-written business plan to start even the smallest business venture.
Start is the key word here -- :)
8. Nobody ever got rich by spending money.
Good in theory -- there are plenty of corners to cut, but there is a time and place to invest in your business. One of the most important things as a mompreneur or someone with a virtual office is to invest in your brand. You might be run out of your garage, but for heavens sake don't look like it! If you want your little venture to grow you will have to invest in laying a solid foundation to build on.
9. Becoming a millionaire means learning to value passion and ideas, where others only value degrees and job titles
Amen! Job titles are some of the most pointless things in the world and to be honest I am in fact often embarassed of mine. I think the "ego" could easily be interchanged with "job title". Can you be the janitor and the CEO all at once? If you can't - don't start your own business.
10. Be a positive, big picture person, always striving to work for the highest good of all parties involved, and you can’t help but succeed.
There is not much room for negativity when you are an entreprenuer - it will kill you quickly.
11. Everything happens for a reason. Have faith in this, even if the reward isn’t immediately, or even distantly apparent, it will become so.
I actually love that she references Gods hand and help in her business. I agree and believe that God cares about everything we do - yes even our businesses. I can't say enough about how much help He has given me. I love that she reference "Another saying I’ve heard quoted by successful entrepreneurs: There are no atheists in foxholes."
12. Raising money is the hardest thing an entrepreneur has to do, and nobody anywhere is teaching anybody how to do it.
Agreed! This is hard but it starts in the same way that most things in business do, open your mouth and start networking!
13. Believe in yourself; never stop having faith in yourself or your vision or your product, even if other people tell you you’re crazy!
If you don't believe in yourself, no one else can.
14. It’s a time of great possibility, and you can be part of it!
I'm just going to directly quote her take on this one - because I dig it!
"Experts predict that the next five years will give birth to a new entrepreneurial age, in which young companies will produce new ingenious products and devise new strategies to take their products direct to consumers as retailing giants experience temporary stasis from their mega-mergers. The world is becoming one big global economy faster and faster every day. This can be a good thing, as long as we capitalize on the strengths which are unique to America: innovation, design, cultural exportation. We need to develop foreign markets and export our products to emergent countries around the world that are hungry for anything American. Even a small business can do this because of today’s technology."
15. There is $20 billion available every year in private equity from Angel Investors alone, and it’s growing at an exponential rate of 20 percent each year.
Angels rock! And they bring a much better dynamic than a VC (in my limited opinion and experience).
So -- WOW -- that's the longest blog post I think I've had to date -- brace yourselves - and go get your millions!
