(How) Moms Can Easily Start One-Person Businesses
No one blamed themselves to success.
When I was starting my one-person business, my mom friends were sceptical.
I should explain. I live in Bulgaria, which is a better country to live in than most people assume. For example, all moms here get 2 years of government-funded paid maternity leave. The first year, you’re paid 90% of your salary. In the second year, you get the minimum wage.
To start my business, I quit a well-paid job, thus giving up on my first well-paid year of maternity leave. Because as a newly self-employed entrepreneur, I paid myself the minimum wage and covered all the insurance that otherwise would be covered by an employer.
This was 10 years ago. Now, I have two children, 3 and 5-year-old boys, and my mom friends keep repeating “how good I have it” and how lucky I am.
How I can choose to work or not on any given day. How we can travel as a family. How I have no boss to piss me off.
It’s true; I am lucky. I’m lucky that I started before the kids. Because now, my business is set up so it’s efficient and profitable. The beginning is the messiest part.
But say you have a kid, and you want to start now. How do you find the time? How do you find the energy? How do you find the motivation when you’re not sure it’s going to work?
I got you, mama.
Self-love is the key.
No one blamed themselves to success.
I know you want fast results. Money. Followers. Opportunities. And I know that you will get there, but you’re not in your career season of life right now. You’re in the raising (small) kids season of life. Accept that.
That’s not to say you can’t start. I just want you to start with the right mindset. Positive and self-loving. When you start with the right mindset, you set achievable goals. Kind goals. When you achieve them, you feel good about yourself. That good feeling will keep you moving forward.
Set a higher goal.
Moms (and women as a whole) tend to be modest in their goals. I just read a story from a Medium blogger who’s doing very well, and her goal was to quit her day job and have “enough” money. As in, enough to go out to eat when she wants to.
Then you read Tim Denning’s goal (if you don’t know him, he’s like the king of Medium), and his goal right from the start was to become the most prolific writer on the Internet, gain a massive following and create a 7 figure business.
Why is that? Why are our goals always just a bit over “fine”? “Fine,” but without the day job. “Fine,” but with dining out.
Set a higher goal. A goal that keeps you awake for a while longer after the kid is asleep and pulls you in with such force that you can’t say no to it.
Get excited. Want stuff. Will you please want stuff? Want them as selfishly as possible. It’s okay. Men have been wanting them for years; nothing bad has happened to them.
Start small and make it fun.
Shaunta Grimes, an author of 10+ books, says she started her writing career with 10 minutes of writing per day. She’d set her timer for 10 minutes, sit down, and write her book.
She used her “mindless” time — folding laundry, putting away toys — to think about her book outside of these 10 minutes, so she knew what she’d write the moment she sat down.
But it was 10 minutes of writing! Who can’t spare 10 minutes per day to make their dreams come true?
Small steps rock!
It’s even better if you make those 10 minutes extra fun. Something to look forward to. Take your computer out on the terrace with a latte or a glass of wine. Go to a nearby cafe. Put your favourite music on. It’s called habit stacking: learning a new positive habit by combining it with a pleasant habit you already have.
Test, test, test.
The most important thing in the beginning is to find your thing — and you won’t find it by thinking about it.
Use the little time you have to test things: writing on different social media platforms, selling different services or products, different monetization strategies.
Make sure you realize that this is just testing and every data point — even one from a negative result — is valuable. Instead of freaking out when something doesn’t work, let go and test the next thing. This will give you the clarity you need to take the next steps.
Final words.
I talked to Kristina God, MBA yesterday and we laughed about how online business is the best thing to do as a mom, even though most days we’re working until 11 pm.
Yes, solopreneurship requires a lot of dedication, but it gives you confidence, freedom and unlimited opportunities in return.
Not a bad deal.
I help moms (and non-moms) start and grow profitable & fulfilling one-person businesses in Smarter Solopreneurs newsletter.
