6 Things Entrepreneurs Can Learn From My Mom

As International Women’s History Month comes to a close, I couldn’t think of a better person to highlight than my mom and moms in general.??

In my opinion, moms possess the utmost entrepreneurial traits. They inspire people, wear multiple hats, and they make it happen no matter what. And like my mom, they sometimes even play the role of mother and father (i.e. multiple hats times two).?

I think everyone (especially entrepreneurs, artists, and really anyone that wants to create something) can learn something from moms.?

Here Are 6 things:

1. Have Stamina

?Sometimes it’ll seem like there’s no light at the end of the tunnel. One day you’ll feel unstoppable, the next the opposite.?

1 “no” turns into 100 and 100 can turn into 1,000 even quicker. Everything will be going right just for everything to fall apart the following week.

Like raising a family, building a business is HARD. And sometimes, not fun. It’s incredibly lonely and sometimes you’ll want to quit. But, it’s not an overnight thing and it takes years. There is no manual. Like parenting, if it was easy, everyone would do it.?

It’s a long yet rewarding road ahead. Play the long game.?

2. Have Zero Expectations

Sometimes it’ll feel like you’re doing everything you can to make things work, to push things forward, and to do anything and everything for everyone around you - but not getting the same energy in return.

That’s normal. When you’re the mom or the founder, it’s your baby and no one will ever care more about your baby than you. It’s a hard pill to swallow, but never expect anything from anyone.

It was really hard seeing all the ways my mom would go above and beyond and not receive the same in return. That being said, that’s life and that’s how it works when you’re the captain.?

3. Stay Calm

People will stop believing you. People will come and go — and things will definitely break. But that’s all part of it.?

The countless times I saw my mom go through this was heartbreaking, but I learned that the only way through is to believe you’ll get through it. Because panicking is the worst thing you can do.?

As a kid, I watched people betray my mom, fire her because of her accent, and treat her differently because of her background. Times where there was no light at the end of the tunnel. But, she never let that get to her.

Like business, shit happens. Knowing there will be more downs than ups is important. Learning to balance the two is even more important. Never get too high on the ups or too low on the downs.

When you’re the leader, it’s your responsibility to instill confidence no matter what.

4. Wear Multiple Hats

This one is big.?

Like moms, everything is your responsibility. No job is below you and no job isn’t yours. You work for your company, your team, your clients, and your vision.?

Throughout my life, I saw my mom wear every hat as a single mom. She never complained. Although she loved us, she treated motherhood as her responsibility. Her mission. Her duty.

As a founder, you must do the same. You WILL wear every hat. Get used to it.

5. Be Persistent

Throughout my life, I saw tons of people say “no” to my mom. As cliche as it sounds, she never took no for an answer.

If it wasn’t for my mom, I probably wouldn’t be half as persistent as I am today.

I still remember starting NOISE and the endless calls I made to buy noise.com from someone who had it for 30+ years. He never picked up, and when he finally did, he told me I was wasting my time and that I would never be able to afford it. I followed up year after year and 4 years later he sold it to us.?

No doesn’t mean no forever and persistence is key — and sometimes, it’s exactly what you need to get to the next step.

6. Be Obsessed?

Like moms, you must be obsessed.

Passion isn’t enough. It’s fine to be passionate about things; just know, there are people out there (maybe even less talented) obsessed with making it happen.?

You have people depending on you and everything is your responsibility. For moms it’s the kids, the house, the bills, and of course, their own personal goals and dreams.?

For founders your vision, your team, your customers, your stakeholders, etc. The list goes on and on.

You have to go all in. Like parenting, businesses aren’t passion projects, side hustles, or part time.?

Like my mom, she never had the most resources, but she was obsessed with doing everything she could to give us the best life possible.?

Obsession is the only way.