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Mom entrepreneurs are on the rise. Which is good.
Know what isn’t good? The rise of the Disposable Mom Entrepreneur.
What’s a disaposable mom entrepreneur? It’s my own name for women who get into a business and then give up. She thinks she’s found a way to monetize a hobby or craft her way to a fortune in crochet hats or random widgets. Maybe she finds a business model with licensing ability and wants to try her hand at the game. Maybe even found a unique gap in the market which she fills with a passion.
Often, a disposable mom entrepreneur thinks running her own business is a great way to stay home with their kids, make some easy cash, and “work” in her spare time.
When she realises it’s not all glue gunning ribbon on hair barrettes but it’s about inventory management, Quickbooks, grumpy customers who want purple not pink, long hours at trade shows and time on Twitter – the disposable mom entrepreneur gives up. She disappears into thin air often with nothing to show because her passion fizzles.
I see disposable mom entrepreneurs shoot out of the gate all the time. They network like crazy meeting other entrepreneurs. They live on Facebook liking every other relevant fan page and chase me down on Twitter. They sell things, make things, build businesses. They make commitments to clients and colleagues. And then one day, often shortly after they started their biz, sputter and give up.
Oh, they moan, it took too much of my time. It was so much work. I was losing money. It cut into my family time. This wasn’t what I expected. I could make more income in my old job.
Those are all moanable thoughts - IF you work for someone else, when you can quit with two weeks notice. But those moans are called expectations if you’re an entrepreneur.
The difference between a DisposableMom Entrepreneur and a “real” Entrepreneur seems to me the difference in giving up – Mom Entrepreneurs give up sooner. She loses faith or her "dream" is no longer clear in vision.
Maybe it’s because many Mom Entrepreneurs have a husband pulling the real income in to fall back on so her motivation is padded. Maybe it’s because she’s running a business while also being the chief caregiver, cook and bottle washer. Maybe it’s because she never had real support to carve out time for her business. Maybe she never actually did a real business plan to understand her foreseeable future? Or something as simple as not having to go to an office, or pay an employee, or take down her storefront sign – her ego isn’t as shattered to shut down her “shop”.
Disposable Mom Entrepreneurs give up way too easily. Women give up their claim to 'fame' because the road is too hard.
This irks me to no end. Does the word commitment not mean anything anymore? Is the Disposable Entrepreneur the Generation Y version of mom entrepreneur? The Gen Y's who expect to climb the corporate ladder to President by age 25? Quick success or nothing? I want to make a million dollars today or it’s not worth my time?
You’ve gotta earn your dues, learn along the way, make mistakes and pay for them. That’s what entrepreneurialism IS. Nothing happens overnight.
Why do so many Tupperware ladies stop selling? So many barrette shops close? So many copied-another-business-idea entrepreneurs decide it wasn’t for her anymore?
Not enough skin in the game. Not enough passion for her project. Lives in a society with low commitment and where people will pat her on the back and say “you tried your best”. Even when she knows she did not.
What do you think? Do you see this same trend?
Written by our main momstown entrepreneur Ann-Marie Burton who spends an awful lot of time mentoring new mom entrepreneurs and convincing them to keep their eye on the prize and keep up the good work.
Thu, 05/16/2013 - 02:03 IF you work for someone else, when you can quit with two weeks notice. But those moans are called expectations if you’re an entrepreneur.
Mon, 05/13/2013 - 08:59 Perhaps the moms wouldn't give up on their businesses so easily if they knew what to expect before starting them. There are plenty business courses and education programs which could help them cope with any difficulties, I wonder how many of them prepare to fight for their business.
Mon, 04/15/2013 - 05:08 It's interesting how you put it but I think the difference between the two types of entrepreneurs is motivation. This often makes the difference between failure and success.
Thu, 10/20/2011 - 12:03 Dana - I love that perspective! "Emotionally, I am the big breadwinner" - I so agree! Running a business can provide invaluable intrinsic rewards as well - I find those who receive personal rewards often stick to the business longer. Do you find that too?
Thu, 10/20/2011 - 11:25 I'll keep it short: If you don't love it, don't do it. Five years ago, I decided to start my own business while I had 2 under 2. I never saw the business as "dispoable" and I have never wanted to just give up. I have slowly been building my business. I have not significantly contributed to the household income financially, but emotionally I am the big breadwinner. Having my small business has kept me occupied, happy and intellectually engaged. That is worth a fortune to me.
Wed, 10/19/2011 - 16:37 I can't say that I agree nor disagree with this post. I gather this is just an opinion piece as there is no hard data or resources quoted. I would be curious to know stats. Number of moms starting businesses, ages, average start up costs, and various other demographics. I would be curious to know how many closed businesses are Avon, Tupperware, Discovery Toys, i.e. Business-in-a-box type of businesses or ones that started from scratch. While it's an interesting topic, I find this post too over generalized and think it could have been written differently with data, stats, etc. as there are plenty of resources out there, heck you could even poll your subscribers!
Wed, 10/19/2011 - 16:25 When I owned a children's consignment store, I would meet disposable mom entrepreneurs every single week. They sold hair clips and soother clips and mitten clips and photography and baby cards and crocheted hats and on and on. I could peg a disposable mom entrepreneur at ten yards. For me, if a mom entrepreneur has created a business plan vetted by those with education and experience and the biz still didn't meet the financial and time expectations, then she closes, she's been a smart cookie. Even if she closes after six months, she may still be a smart entrepreneur in my books. When a good friend opened a business with a solid business plan and a number of business development mentors behind her but the revenue was never where it needed to be despite some herculean efforts on her part, I wish she had closed after six months. Instead she struggled for four years, believing that if she held on long enough, things would get better. She lost everything - house, savings, etc. She barely saved her marriage. I think disposable mom entrepreneurs are deserving of this title at the start of their business, regardless of how long they hold out with it. They're the ones who go off half cocked, no business plan (or one with ridiculous pie in the sky expectations). I consulted with a woman opening a retail store in my city (her store was to be high end new children's clothing, mine was consignment) and right from the start I knew she was disposable when she told me her revenue expectations in the first year were $750,000. When I let her know she should likely expect $150,000, she basically told me I was just bad at what I did, and she was going to be so much better. Guess what? She tried to sell her business after 11 months, and the sell sheet identified her annual revenue at $140,000. She refused to listen to expert advice, and that's a hallmark of a disposable mom entrepreneur. I agree with the title disposable mom entrepreneur but I don't think it's about passion or skin in the game at all. I think it's about preparation and expectation and honestly, picking the right business. No one makes money selling hair clips! There, I said it! I attended an event where the mom running the best selling hair clip brand in Canada admitted she's not breaking even yet.
Tue, 10/11/2011 - 10:58 This article is so true. The fact is with anything in life; you get out of it, what you put into it! When you decide to start a business you have to know what your "definate chief aim" is or some people like to say your "why" Its the reason you started your business in the first place. For example my reasons include paying my daughters tuition for university in full without even blinking, and knowing they will come out of university debt-free. I have many reasons, that is just one! Its important at the beginning to spend time with your new business associates and have discussion about what drives them, what they would do in their lives if money was no longer an issue! When they are having challenging days in their business, us as leaders can say to them, remember that goal you shared with me? I would really like to help you achieve it. Lets keep going together. My personal strengh has been my found ability to overcome the everyday adversities and the negative people that we tend to find around us. The reason I can stick to my goals is because my reasons for doing the business far out-weigh The adversities to achieve my goals. When you have negativity around you, use it to fuel your fire, don't allow them to take your dreams from you, stand strong! Stick and stay and you will get your pay!
Fri, 10/07/2011 - 23:21 Wow! What a debate. I've been on both sides. I've sold PartyLite and Creative Memories, both of which I quit. I tend to agree with this post. I quit my direct sales businesses because I didn't want to put the hours in to make them successful. This post does not offend me. Maybe because I've already forgiven myself for my shortcomings and took the easy route out. Did I learn a lot about myself in the process? YES! Do I regret it? NO! Now I'm a stay at home mom with 3 kids. I run a home daycare during the day and a consulting businesses at night. I'm in my 4th year of business and it keeps growing slowly at the pace I want it to. It is an insane amount of work. One of my consulting roles is as a facilitator of an online course on the top 10 self-employment survival strategies. The gist of the course is to look before you leap into self-employment. There are so many things that can be prevented and addressed if thought through before you set up shop. I think it's also important to be a proactive problem solver as well. There are many situations in my current business that had me wanting to throw in the towel, but my perseverance and solution focussed thinking has kept me going. Obviously there is a time when closing your doors is the best option. Knowing when to persevere and when to quit would be a blog post I would be interested in reading.
Thu, 10/06/2011 - 11:29 I love any topic that gets people thinking, talking, discussing, etc... People don't always have to agree with each other on everything - that would be weird. But I do think its important for us all to remember to discuss the issue and our opinions on it, rather than turning it into personal attacks on anyone. We wouldn't let our kids do that, so we probably shouldn't be engaging in the process ourselves. Feel free to agree, disagree, share your own stories - hey, its what makes the world go 'round, right? Just think the personal attacks on the author or other commenters detract from the validity of the points... Just sayin'...