7 Examples of My Failed Business Ideas as a Mompreneur (and the lessons I learned)
If you don’t already know, it’s not all rainbows and sunshine when you take the leap to become a mompreneur.
In fact, it’s probably safe to say that for most of us, starting an online business involves a few bumps, bruises, and “WTF” moments along the way.
Of course, we all want to hear the success stories of our favorite bloggers, mompreneurs, authors, and online entrepreneurs running successful creative businesses. We want to know what makes them so successful, how long it took to get that success, how much money they made, and any other positive details that will inspire us along our own journey!
But what about their failures? What about what DIDN’T work? What about the times they fell flat on their faces with a business idea? You know, the business ideas that completely, and utterly flopped?
I’m always interested in that side of the story, partly because I have my own unique failure stories that have shaped who I am as a creativpreneur and how I approach my online business today.
So in this post, I’m going to share some of the dirty little details of how I failed at several attempts of running a business as a mompreneur, what I learned, and how it’s brought me to where I am now.
The Start of Something GOOD-ish
When I turned 25 (still single and child-free), my entrepreneurial spirit emerged. It was as if someone turned on a faucet, and one idea after another came flowing into my mind.
I self-published my first book that year, which was an amazing accomplishment for me. Then, before I could even get started on the plethora of other “million dollar” ideas cramped inside my brain, I found myself married, moving, and expecting two baby boys!
The Business of Love and Motherhood
Instead of continuing in the business of writing and book publishing, I found myself in the business of love and motherhood. In 2010, I embarked on the most fantastic, nerve-wracking journey of my life. On a mild October morning at 11:12 am, I became the mother to a beautiful, 7 lb 1 oz baby boy. Then, two minutes later I became a mother again to a gorgeous 5lb baby boy.
In the span of 120 seconds, our petite family of two had doubled in size! We were instantly no longer responsible for just ourselves. After a 36 week 5 day wait, we were now the proud guardians of two children to call our own.
Change came swiftly, and rather unapologetically to my life.
Nurturing two babies at one time was FAR, FAR harder than I would have imagined. Life was a blur of breast milk, formula, burp cloths, poopie diapers, soaking wet diapers, baby baths, cat naps, and last but not least bills — Bills, Bills, Bills.
That entrepreneurial flame that had sparked inside of me not even two years earlier, flickered in and out as I tried to balance my family and my desire to be a successful writer.
Then, in a moment of slight insanity, I decided to launch a new online business despite the chaos that was my life.
Failure to Launch…Actually Failure to Stay Afloat
Let me start by saying that I have to give myself an A for effort and a pat on the back for having the balls to attempt a brand new business in the midst of caring for two infants.
But on the flip side, what in the hell was I thinking? Who would have thought that balancing two newborn babies with a newborn business idea would be as physically and financially draining as it had turned out to be? Definitely not this go-getter, push-it-to-the-limit mommy. NO WAY, JOSE.
You see, I was superwoman, wasn’t I? I could do anything and everything I put my mind to, right? I could have it all — marriage, motherhood, a thriving business, sleep, etc.
I later learned there is a name for this complex; It’s called CRAZY.
The truth is, I simply was not prepared for the long-haul with my business, and I most definitely underestimated how completely exhausting motherhood would be.
In the end, my business model was not sustainable, and my online business failed. My hopes of being a work-at-home mom, running my own business, and building independent wealth and security for my family seemed like a distant and unattainable business model.
The Thing About Failure
Failure has a very funny effect on people. Sometimes it completely shuts us down. We feel exhausted and defeated by it.
But in truth, failure is just a stepping stone to success.
Sometimes we have to fail and fail again and fail better before we really know what the hell it is we are doing, where we are going, and who we are meant to be.
As a mother, as a wife, and definitely as an entrepreneur, I am learning the art of failing better over time. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a glutton for punishment or anything like that, but I’ve grown wise enough to realize that there are lessons to be learned in my failures.
A Summary of My Failed Business Ideas (and what I learned)
My first online business (a local health and wellness website) slowly fizzled after a couple of months. Lesson Learned: I must have a plan for sustainability and a solid promotional plan.
I also realized that I didn’t want my business revenue to be simply ad-based (local companies paid me to promote their business on my local blog).
After this initial business, there were several entrepreneurial business opportunities that I started. Here are a few:
- Wine Consultant (2012) — Hosting wine parties and selling wine and accessories. While I found it quite fun to host wine parties, in the end, I found it hard to sell people expensive bottles of wine with high shipping rates when I was, in fact, more of a “$20 bottle of wine or less” type of gal. Lesson Learned: I need to believe in my product.
- Healthy Coffee Consultant (2012)- Selling organic specialty coffee and growing a team of consultants. This was fun until I had a repeated allergic reaction to the coffee. Lesson Learned: It’s kind of hard to sell something you are allergic to lol.
- Freelance Editing and Writing (2013). I probably can’t even count these two things because I actually never launched it to the world. I built a website for an editing business and then a website for what would have been a health and wellness freelance writing business, but it never went any further than that — I lost interest. Lesson Learned: Just because you have experience on a topic, doesn’t mean you should start a business around it. For me, it has to be something I’m passionate about.
- Positive Thinking Blog (2014). I’m super big on the power of a positive mindset. However, when I launched my positive thinking blog initially I was still working a day job and trying to balance motherhood…unsuccessfully. I decided to change the blog name and add a business aspect to it. Lesson Learned: I love helping to spread positivity in this world. It’s a passion and a talent that I have.
- Life and Biz Blog (2014). I merged my love for positive thinking with my love for helping people develop their business ideas. For a while, this was great! But soon, I began to miss my love for writing and publishing books. So, I decided to launch another blog and run it simultaneously with my life and biz blog. Lesson Learned: I can’t run two businesses at one time as a solopreneur. Two businesses would require a partner or a least a steady virtual assistant for any chance of success.
- Self-Publishing Blog (2015). This was actually one of my more successful websites, however, the focus just on book publishing wasn’t enough to keep my attention. I wanted to talk about more. Lesson Learned: I had to find a common bond between my passions and create a brand that allowed me to discuss various topics without it feeling disjointed for my audience.
The Rise of MompreneurMoney.com
What I am doing now as a creative entrepreneur has been years in the making. I launched Mompreneur Money in 2016 after nervously over-thinking the decision for months. I was afraid of starting yet another business that would run into a dead end, but in my gut, I knew it was a chance I had to take.
I wanted an online business where I could talk blogging, self-publishing, course creation, mindset tips, and more with an audience that “got me” and where I was coming from.
So yes, it’s taken several failed ideas, pivots, and a great deal of soul-searching to get to this point in my life.
I know with all my heart that success is nothing but failure turned inside out. Equipped with this belief, I have set myself on a trajectory to accomplish the happy life I desire, and to help those inspired souls around me to do the same.
It’s been a process to learn how to balance being a mom who is both active and present in my children’s lives, and also be true to myself and pursue my creative passions.
Some days, well, I still suck at it. But I’m improving daily. My mompreneur story is still in the making. There’s more to come…maybe more twists and turns…probably even some failures.
But I now know how to fail fast. I know how to pick-up the pieces and create again and again.
***This post was originally featured on MompreneurMoney.com***
