Do babies and start-up entrepreneurship mix?

This is a question posed in yesterdays TheAge by Tony Featherstone for The Venture. He writes…

…In some ways, young children help develop three of the defining characteristics of great entrepreneurs: resilience, creativity and high motivation.

Resilience is the ability to keep going, overcome setbacks and stay in the game. Creativity is the ability to spot opportunities and find new paths when setbacks emerge. Resilience and creativity go hand in hand. Motivation is what makes it happen.

Young children can help build entrepreneurial resilience because they are the ultimate “skin in the game”.

That is, entrepreneurs who have babies to feed and nappies to buy MUST succeed. There is no greater loss than not being able to provide for your family. That truly is resilience.

I reckon creativity is enhanced because young children have a habit of making you see things differently. Although networking is harder, new networks are formed around mother’s groups, kindergartens, schools and so on. Meeting new people helps creativity.

Young children also have a habit of motivating an entrepreneur like nothing else. How many entrepreneurs reading this blog work late at night or early in the morning, and make other sacrifices?

Rather, my point is that combining babies and young ventures is a better mix than many realise.
To read the full post, click here…

Oh, I hear you! Thank goodness a bloke with cloat has recognised that these are discussions worth having… thank you Tony.

My story in brief, for my first 30 years of life, I pretty much followed societal norms. However, within a two-week period (May 97), I sold my apartment, resigned from a high-salary regular- paying job, and had a pregnancy test confirmed.

So much to my shock, at the ripe old age of 36, I found myself single, unemployed, homeless and pregnant.

And then the fun started!
Once my pregnancy became public, I was approached by an ex consulting colleague about setting up a Melbourne office of her Sydney-based business. After much consideration, I concluded that it was to good an opportunity to miss, something I could do around Baby and a way of building an asset for the future… perfect!

As good fortune would have it, and as Daughter has grown, so has the business. I took over the entire operation in 2000 and it is now a lot bigger than me. It grows and thrives both nationally and internationally, to the point where (for 2008-09 financial year) the business has turned over close to $1.3 million dollars, all in school hours.

If I had a choice, would I have had it any other way? Not on your life.
I’d be interested in your views once you’ve read the post?

Working mothers busy but happy…says survey

What does that mean exactly? who knows!
Another new survey that doesn’t actually tell us anything new; not really. Bottomline is mothers are working in roles they may not want to work in, so they can contribute to the household purse.
But there is another way.

It’s what entrepreneurial mothers do. That is to work out what’s needed both in terms of money and the time available to spend, and then build and design what works best for both considerations, plus the family.

The following are bits of the survey to read:

Working mothers don’t have enough time in the day and feel guiltier than stay-at-home mums, but they’re just as happy even though they believe their careers often face a glass ceiling, according to a US study.

But the study found that although 59 per cent of women work or are seeking work, many remain conflicted about the competing roles at work and a home, feeling far more guilt about how they are balancing work and children than fathers.

They are more likely than either stay-at-home mothers or working dads to feel as if there is not enough time in the day.

Four out of every 10 say they always feel rushed, compared with a quarter of the other two groups, according to data collected by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, with 62 per cent of working mothers saying they would prefer to work part-time.

Only 37 per cent of working mothers would prefer to work full-time compared to 79 per cent of working fathers saying they would prefer full-time work.

The researches said this study showed mothers would prefer to work part-time but the realities of the job market meant it was going to be more difficult for women to find flexible jobs.

“Working women are left to wrestle with the competing demands of work and family.”

To read the whole article, click here

I repeat, it’s what entrepreneurial mothers do.
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