3 Lessons I Learned As A Mompreneur Launching My First Company
I recently shared my story (here) of leaving a career as a teacher for 10 years to an entrepreneur mom of triplets. That was a huge life transition and the beginning of my journey launching my first company, Venues N More. Fast forward to today and we’ve made our big launch, learned more then I could have ever imagined, and I’ve even gained some insights that I feel are unique to my perspective as a mompreneur and others can benefit from.
Here are my top three learnings as a mompreneur that just launched Venues N More:
1. Positive support networks are essential.
As a mompreneur that had never started, built, or launched a company before, the challenge of starting from scratch and launching an online marketplace for booking birthday venues and parties could have been seemingly overwhelming. With a supportive family, husband, close friends, and local Dallas community though, it was more of a glaring opportunity I had to pursue while having a support network of others encouraging me.
In addition to my primary support network, another big factor that has motivated me, supported me, and also led to numerous opportunities have been online communities and groups of those that I share commonalities with. Some of these are online mom-focused groups, such as a mom group on Facebook (Dallas Mom Group) that I was already a part of. This group of moms not only support each other, but also also provided the positive encouragement from relatable peers that’s needed when setting out to create a transformative marketplace business. Other groups are entrepreneur focused groups that have been supportive, such as Indie Hackers.
2. Availability as a founder can lead to opportunities.
When I first began reaching out to venues to onboard local businesses for Venues N More, I used primarily emails and Facebook messages. Being an online marketplace, I thought that was the best way to reach business owners. I found, however, that was not the case!
After a few weeks, I switched my tactic; I started becoming more available. I was surprised at how much of an impact it had for me to personally reach out, speak with, visit, or just dedicate my time and availability to the community I was building. A simple 5 minute phone call allows me to make a personal connection that was not possible over email. I’ve even visited potential venue listings to answer questions and get a personal tour around their place. These simple gestures help to build trust and credibility with the potential listings.
Being a founder comes with wearing multiple hats all at once, but a very important one has been making myself available for calls, meetings, and even local business visits.
3. If launching locally, find ways to bridge the gap between offline initiatives & your product or service.
Venues N More is an online marketplace and can be quickly labeled as a “website” by local businesses. The reality is that there is much more to the business and the online component is just one part of the marketplace experience. Listings on Venues N More are local business, service providers, and more who are offering their services for those that are looking to book them.
Something I learned very quickly was that I could not rely on emails, messaging through the site, and instead would have to prioritize offline initiatives in order to transfer this to our online marketplace. A great example of this is being involved with the local Allen Fairview Chamber Of Commerce. I’ve regularly attended the meetings, spoken with local businesses that are also present, helped them understand how to use our online marketplace, and even had a few bookings from meeting attendees. We’re excited to also involve the local community by having a ribbon cutting ceremony in a few weeks! We’re also excited to support Allen Community Outreach by hosting a food drive in conjunction with the ribbon cutting!
The above are three lessons that I’ve learned as a mompreneur launching my first company Venues N More. I hope that these lessons help others and would love to hear your comments below as a mompreneur or also a first time founder!
I appreciate all of the support and helping spread the word about Venues N More! 🙏
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