Starting a high-tech startup with two children in diapers probably sounds like a bad idea. It’s never easy to balance a business with raising children, yet alone when they are 1 and 3 years old. And being sleep deprived and on a tight family budget certainly doesn’t help a first-time entrepreneur, right?
Who in their right mind would want to start a business that requires so much of your mental and physical capacity, when you’re already giving so much of it to nurture your little babies? A mother, of course. Because starting a business is really like having another baby.
For me, my business, a website that helps parents find child care, has been baby No. 3. Although it’s been incredibly difficult to start while being a mother with young children, I realize that motherhood has also been my greatest asset. Being a mother has helped me develop so many of the skills that are critical to being an entrepreneur.
As a stay-at-home mother, I recall having multiple conversations with other mothers about the risk of being out of the workforce for too long. We feared that being stay-at-home mothers would hurt us. The truth is, since launching my own startup, I realize that many of the skills that make you a great parent are also valuable in your professional life, especially for business owners.
Here are nine reasons why being a mother makes me a better entrepreneur:
1. Juggling priorities and multitasking becomes innate. Mothers are professional multitaskers. We are constantly juggling household responsibilities and doing work for multiple people, like getting children washed and dressed, doing laundry, planning summer camp schedule, wiping bottoms, trying to stop a fight between siblings. You get the point. The mastery of juggling a gazillion tasks prepares you for the constant reprioritization that you must also do as an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs are usually jacks of all trades: a salesperson, a designer, an accountant, a marketing manager, a recruiter, a janitor, an HR specialist. That rhythm isn’t for everyone, but it makes it easier if you’re already used to it.
2. Mothers know how to manage money and be thrifty. As a mother, you become financially responsible for two, three or more people with pretty much the same amount of money in the bank as when you didn’t have children. Statistics show that mothers make the majority of household purchasing decisions and are budget-conscious and capital-efficient. You probably also figure out how to get what you need at a lower price. This is a much-needed skill for entrepreneurs who typically operate on a tight budget and make a lot of financial decisions.
3. Being a mother makes you a great storyteller. As an entrepreneur, whether you’re pitching an investor, a potential client or recruiting a new employee, it’s crucial to be able to lead with a hook and to deliver your message clearly. Mothers are experts at telling stories and breaking down complex subjects using everyday words, even when the subject is anything but simple.
4. Mothers are natural salespeople and they don’t take “no” for an answer. You get your children to take a bath or eat their veggies one way or another. Entrepreneurs also have to be great salespeople and attempt to never tire out of hearing “no.” (Well, sure, we tire of hearing it, but we must keep going, right?)
5. We thrive on unpredictability and being ready for “come what may.” As a parent and an entrepreneur, you have to be ready for just about anything. Have you seen a mother’s bag? It weighs a ton and has just about anything you’ll ever need: wipes, crackers, sanitizer, tweezers, Band-Aids, sunblock, plastic bags, change of clothes, extra pacifiers. Being a mother prepares you for anticipating scenarios where everything that could possibly goes wrong, does.
6. Mothers are natural nurturers and in touch with other people’s feelings. Mothers excel at reading others. They can tell when someone had a bad day, doesn’t want to do something or is trying to trick them. Having the ability to read people is useful whether dealing with customers or employees.
7. Creativity comes with the job. A great approach for one child may not be right one for another, and so you learn how to be creative and tackle the same problem in multiple ways. Entrepreneurs do the same. Thinking creatively helps you find the right solution to a particular problem.
8. We lead by example. No job comes with a greater responsibility than being a parent. The well-being of one, two or more lives are in your hands. Your kiddo looks up to you and lives by your lead (even if you do wish they listened to you more often than they do). As a startup founder or business owner, you are the leader and have to take responsibilities for your actions and those of others.
9. Mothers don’t give up. Mothers develop resilience and endurance that is so critical to any entrepreneur. Deciding to become a mother is a long-term commitment, and there’s really no way out. As a founder and entrepreneur, your business is also only as good as your commitment to it. Over the lifetime of your business, good and bad will be thrown your way. Mothers learn how to put up with a lot of doodoo just to enjoy a moment of pleasure, an unexpected “I wuv you mum.” Entrepreneurs must share that resilience of working hard and never giving up.
Evgeniya (Jen) Usmanova is a mother of two, and the founder and COO of CareLuLu, an online marketplace that helps parents find day care and preschool for their family.
