How motherhood prepares you for entrepreneurship, and real-life advice on motherhood and business from female founders

Welcome back to my weekly newsletter after a short summer hiatus! We've heard this comparison many times: having your own business is like having a baby. The amount of work involved (some paid, some not) is enormous and never-ending; it feels like you're always doing it on your own (and, sometimes, you really are), and chances of burning out run high. Of course, in both scenarios, you also have the fantastic opportunity to see your “baby” grow and start eating, breathing and living on its own.?

Even though the equivalence is (somewhat) valid, it's true that being a mother is more undervalued than being a business owner. It’s the type of work that is unpaid and often used to shame and remind these individuals of their insecurities and fears. As Jennifer (Jay) Palumbo CEO of Wonder Woman and a writer and contributor to Forbes, says:

"Motherhood is just as daring and strenuous an adventure as entrepreneurship. In some ways, it’s even more laborious. According to a 2018 study conducted by Welch, working moms clock an average of 98 hours per work — roughly the equivalent of having 2.5 full-time jobs."

And, no, we're not looking to add more work to an already significant workload, but the qualities and skills that surface from being a mother can actually be a fantastic leverage to run a successful business.??

"Being a mother means wearing many hats — as a caregiver, cleaner, chef, family nurse, chauffeur, etc. Entrepreneurs must also possess similar flexibility. Especially when you’re starting, an entrepreneur must jump around and serve various functions in the business, even if it means stepping into an area you weren’t prepared to."

Entrepreneurship is a long road: one that will demand a lot from anyone, and having a solid support system is just as essential for entrepreneurs as it is for mothers – it does take a village to raise a child. In either case, having the right people around might not only make the workload lighter but also more enjoyable.

And we still have a long way to go – many women, especially in developing countries, turn to entrepreneurship not because of a want, but because of a need. The lack of flexibility in the traditional workplace (as we can see by the mandatory returns-to-the-office worldwide), support and even their child's own needs turn this path into the only one available. It can also make it way harder than it should be.

Being a mother should not be seen as a negative trait, but as an amazing background that transforms these agents into great assets for any company, even more so for their own.

Read more on Jennifer's view on the matter here:

Insights on motherhood and entrepreneurship from my podcast guests

In need of some inspiration or elucidation on the topic? Here are what three of my recent guests on The Brand is Female | Femmes de marque podcast have to say on the matter from different backgrounds and viewpoints:?

"The best tips for working moms… I came up with a strategy where I said to them, 'Okay, pick three school things that you absolutely want me to go to and I will be there. And If I can go to others through the year, I'll try, but I promise you I'll be there for those three". And I did, I think that was one of the smartest things I did. I chose to do less for myself so that it was my business and my kids."

- Helen Stevenson , CEO of Reformulary Group

Listen to her episode:

"We need to humanize family. We need to humanize the fact that, just because you work for a corporation and you're a top C-suite, it doesn't mean that the second that you're offline, you don't have little humans and a family and relationships and a community and your health."

- Anna Sinclair , CEO and Founder, Total Mom Inc.

Listen to her episode:

"What can childcare and early learning do for women? We are doing something that is very holistic; I feel that that is a sense of community. I've realized that of the women who bring kids to our school, 95% of them report that they're able to go out there and look for work. It helps the broader community, the families, and the town. We run our school as a social enterprise because we want it to be able to be self-sustainable. We encourage our women to go out there, look for work and tell them, ‘Hey, we are looking after your child, I think it's fair for you to pay the fees.' In return, they feel economically empowered. They feel that we restore dignity. It's not charity. They're not getting this for free because they're underprivileged. We give them a hand-up, not a handout. They're so proud when they're able to come and give us the bank slip and say, ‘Hey, I paid my child's school fees.’ It gives them so much pride, and for me that's a sense of community empowering, empowering the kids, but the women as well."

- Ciro Muiruri , Founder of Pendo International Projects, Canada

Listen to her episode here:

A few last words

"Women used to say, ‘I can’t buy my friend a diamond ring because it should be her husband buying her that.’ The change of mindset came from consumers, and now the industry has caught up."

I'm proud and happy to see my words published in this new article by The Atlantic on the topic of women (finally) buying diamonds for themselves and their friends. The words above were originally for an interview by Rani Sheen published in THE KIT and I'm glad to see that the conversation around the changes in the jewellery section – and its meaning to women – is still going strong.

Read the full article here:?

?As always, thanks for reading! And stay tuned: the seventh season of The Brand is Female podcast goes live next week with an impressive guest... you won't want to miss it!