Mompreneur – Segment on FOX and Friends

A few years ago, I started a blog.

A few years ago, I started advertising on this blog.

A few years ago, I signed a couple of cookbook contracts.

A few years ago, I turned this blogging hobby of mine into an official business.

A few years ago, I became a mompreneur.

When I started this here blog, I had absolutely no idea that it would transform my life in so many ways.  I had no idea how many amazing people I would meet. I had no idea that I could earn an income from the site. And I had no idea how to go about writing and publishing a cookbook.

But my personal fears and lack of knowledge or business experience didn’t stop me from pursing my passion. My passion for inspiring and equipping others to spend less at the grocery store!

And I learned. And I learned quickly!

As the blog snowballed and I transitioned from stay at home mom to work at home mom, I learned a few mompreneur lessons along the way…

1. Surround yourself with a supportive team. To grow your business, you will need to surround yourself with supportive family and friends, and supportive staff. This support will keep you going on the “tough days.”
2. Balance the needs of your family with the needs of your business. Meeting both the needs of your family and your business is a constant balancing act.  A successful mompreneur meets the needs of her family first, and her business second.
3. Connect with your customer, or reader. I absolutely love getting to know each of you and helping you spend less at the grocery store, and be creative in the kitchen. Meeting the needs of your customer/reader in a personal way is an essential part of growing a successful business.
4. Be courageous and believe in yourself. Don’t let your fears hold you back from pursuing your dreams and turning your passions into a business. Educate yourself, ask others to help you overcome your fears. Courage will help you walk through the process of starting your business, marketing your business/product, and making decisions to further expand your business.
5. Know your strengths and weaknesses. Use your gifts to the best of your ability, and in the when you come up short in a particular area, find someone to work with who has the strengths that you need to complement your strengths.
6. Create strict deadlines and goals for yourself. While being your own boss certainly has its advantages, it can be difficult when it comes to tackling major projects. Setting deadlines can be tricky because you can change them or push them back if need be, but not without the project drags on. Set up specific goals on a quarterly, monthly, weekly basis and write a plan to meet those goals. Pretend that these deadlines and goals have been set by someone else and let them be your boss.
7. Don’t multitask. I repeat. Don’t multitask. I am not a fan at all of multi-tasking. I have never been good at multi-tasking. I can’t focus on both my children and my business at the same time. I have found that if I focus on one task at a time, I can get the task done faster and with less stress involved. Also, you can’t be spending quality time with your children when you are trying to get a task crossed off your business to-do list. It just doesn’t work. During work time, give your attention fully to your business, and during family time, give your full attention to your family. I say give up multitasking, and start focusing on one task at a time…you just might find some freedom in that!

If you are a mompreneur, what other lessons have your learned about starting your own business?! Do share!

(And about the photo above…that is not me. It is not my baby. And that is not my kitchen. Although I’d love to have a vase full of flowers like that on my counter!)

BEHIND THE SCENES PHOTO

Little ole me right after the segment.  That is the Chicago River in downtown Chicago behind me. It’s not a “screen” or photo…it’s the real deal!

And here is a link to the Mompreneurs segment that aired live. Enjoy!!!