Never Underestimate the Power of a Mom
Mom strength. We’ve all heard the story of the mom who lifted a car in order to save her son who was trapped underneath. It seems unbelievable, but stories of moms achieving incredible feats is more fact than fiction.
This is especially true these days in the business world where mothers are making their mark. High profile parents like Beyoncé Knowles are combining raising children with global fashion brands and international concert tours. Indra Nooyi rose to the top job at Pepsi, all while bringing up two daughters. There are plenty more examples to choose from; one in three female-owned businesses is run by a mom which means 4 million women have “mom” and “boss” stamped on their business card.
Moms in the Kitchen and the C-Suite
At Dare to Be Different we know a thing or two about moms and entrepreneurs, because our founder Robin Jemal, happens to be both a mom AND an entrepreneur. As lots of mom-owned businesses, small successes built upon each other until there was too much energy to ignore. Encouraged by her family, Robin wrote a cookbook with classic family recipes and a few of her own favorites. The cookbook turned into a catering business which turned into a second cookbook which turned into a frozen foods business with products in over 200 stores and nationwide shipping.
Dare to Be Different exists because of the vision and talent of Robin, but it would not succeed without the support of the entire family. Robin’s daughter, Jennifer, is an integral part of the team and Robin’s niece, Lorraine, helped to create the cookbook that launched everything.
It’s important for moms who want to be entrepreneurs to realize that you don’t need to do everything alone. Being a mom can feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders. Asking for help might seem counterintuitive in a culture where moms who “can do it all” are held in high esteem, but you’ll be amazed how much farther you can go with the support of others.
From Interior Designers to Television Stars
Mothers have always been an absolute force in the design industry. From clothes to furniture, many families owe their style to the creative vision of a mom. Recently, mothers have taken the next step to turn their passions and keen eye for design into multimedia and multi-industry brands.
Joanna Gaines turned a small furniture boutique into a global obsession with shiplap and an entire television channel. All of this required hard work and plenty of support from her husband, Chip, and their five children. There were plenty of setbacks, too. Before people were making pilgrimages to Waco, Texas for Jo’s Silo Cookies, she was struggling to keep the doors open for her store. In fact, Joanna Gaines’ first attempt at a store did not succeed. She did not let one failure dampen her entrepreneurial spirit and kept trying until she found success by tweaking her business plan to fit the needs of her town. The rest, as they say, is herstory.
In the wake of Joanna Gaines becoming a household name, HGTV and Netflix have both snapped up other talented moms able to balance family and fame. Erin Napier of Home Town and Shea McGee of Dream Home Makeover juggle design work, filming television shows, running small businesses, and raising a family.
Moms and Technology
The biggest obstacle for many mothers is balancing work and family. Until recently, most jobs required some sort of commute that made working unsustainable for mothers who had to make sure kids got to and from school and activities. Working mothers are benefiting from the switch to remote work culture.
Mothers can run entire businesses from the comfort of wherever they can set down their laptop. Saleswomen, customer support specialists, IT experts and others have carved out new (or continued) careers that would have seemed out of reach even five years ago.
Platforms like Instagram and Facebook have opened avenues for mom influencers (or “momfluencers”) that can bring in full time salaries from sponsored posts, stories and blog posts. For some women, helping other mothers start businesses is a business—and a big one at that. Moms across the world have started blogs about how to blog or how to start your own business. Moms everywhere are proving the classic adage “If you can dream it, you can do it.”
