My mom, Elvira, worked as an executive for more than 15 years in the garment industry of New York City. When I was a baby, the company she worked for started having financial difficulties and started laying off people. At the time, my mom had only been working three days a week, which was a great deal for her because she had my brother and I to take care of. The bosses called her into the office and told her cutbacks needed to be made and hired someone full time with a salary that was LESS than she was making working three days a week.
This company ended up closing in two years. My mom said it was one of the best things that ever happened, because she knew she never would have quit. This now gave her the opportunity to explore her other passion: hand-making jewelry.
My mom has always been very creative — as proven by her years of hard work in the garment industry.
She has always been excellent with her hands: decoupage, arts and crafts, sewing (all skills that unfortunately skipped a generation with me!) and jewelry making. She used to constantly receive compliments on her hand-crafted pieces. Once a woman even asked to buy a necklace directly off her neck!
After staying at home with my brother and I for around a year, using the skills she had picked up from years working as an executive, she and a friend decided to start a small business together.
Mind you, of course, this was back in the early '90s.
Did you know that the number of women-owned businesses has increased by nearly 3,000% since 1972, as shown by the 2018 State of Women-Owned Business Report by American Express? And with the pandemic, more mothers than ever are starting — or looking to start — their own businesses. My mom was ahead of her time.
My mom says owning her own business was fun and rewarding, and luckily, she did not face any specific challenges, as women too often do, in the workforce. She credits her years of working in the high-pressure textile/garment industry with knowing how to run a business and remain in control. She also was lucky to have a great support system: my dad, of course, and my beloved Grandma Nettie, who was always happy to watch my brother and I so my mom could run her business.
Although my mom eventually decided to stop working, having a mother who created her own business had a wonderful effect on me.
It has shown me that as mothers, we can create our dream jobs. We can work for ourselves doing what we love, ALL while being mothers and raising families. My mom showed me that the dream of having it all is possible.
I’ve used the skills I’ve learned from my mother to work for myself as well. I work as a writer with the flexibility of working at home, ALL while raising my 3-year-old daughter and running the household. I love it. I love that my mom followed her passion to create her own business, especially at a time when it was fairly unusual.
As I dive further and further into working for myself and creating my dream life, I asked my mom what advice she would have to offer to other mothers looking to create their own business.
Here's what she said:
- Love what you do. If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.
- Decide how much time you think you will be able to devote to your business.
- Figure out what investment it will require of you. Just your time and energy? Or will you need inventory and supplies? What will have an upfront cost?
- For a business that requires materials, you must understand your cost. Your time is valuable but so are the materials.
- Understand markup. This will require a serious discussion with an accountant.
Don’t go into anything blindly. It helps to have a support system, whether that's family and friends or other professionals.
With these words of advice from my amazing mother, the original “mompreneur” if you will, I hope more and more mothers will value their knowledge and expertise, especially those looking to start their own business.
When you become a mother, it prepares you for a whirlwind of experiences: using skill sets you never knew you had, multi-tasking, etc. With the world changing, more and more opportunities are opening for women to create their own work with the skills that they’ve obtained — either from years of working a traditional job or with the skills they’ve acquired from years of being a stay-at-home mom.
The best advice my mom has given me when it comes to running a business? To be realistic but never sell yourself short. Know your worth, your skills, and your knowledge. Be confident in what YOU can bring to the table.
