Tomorrow, November 15th, marks the start of our 30 day "lemons to lemonade" marathon. After sending out a query, I was so inspired by the stories I received from women capitalizing on the down-turned economy that I decided to highlight 30 of the best stories.These mom entrepreneurs explain how the economy has affected them and their family and what they are doing about it! Each mom also offers advice to others struggling to keep their businesses afloat, and trying to balance motherhood with running a company.
I have always found that a struggling economy offers hidden opportunities for starting and growing an idea, which may evolve into a business or something else. I re-started my first company, Bisson Barcelona, 11 days before 911 happened. I was just doing freelance work at this stage, but this tragic event solidified my desire to be an entrepreneur. Primarily because of the flexibility it allowed for spending time with my children.
Earlier this year, my company was hit hard by the current economy. Four clients decided not to pay their invoices all at the same time. This resulted in a short fall of over $12,000. Determined not to layoff any employees, I took my son out of daycare and moved back to my home office. This cut my personal expenses significantly and I was able to reduce my salary. I also cancelled a trip to an industry trade show in California and put off meetings with consultants for a few months. These cuts resulted in no layoffs. The Associated Press even wrote about what we did to stay afloat during this time.
Because I could not travel to meet prospects and conduct new business, I migrated to online social networks. I spent hours researching and connecting online through websites like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and others.
I also started a blog. I needed an outlet for venting my frustration with trying to balance motherhood with keeping my company afloat. The creation of The Mom Entrepreneur (TME) blog led to a second blog, Enjoying Life with Kids in NH, and a third, Neighbors Helping Neighbors. Because of the number of mom entrepreneurs I was connecting with, I created The Mom Entrepreneur Online Support Group. We currently have 250 members and continue to grow, share and network. Because of the success of this group, we are now starting a local group in NH beginning in December.
There is also something very big on the horizon for TME that I cannot yet share. But I will as soon as the details are confirmed.
All of this happened because of a crappy economy! I have always seen the glass as half full and so do the 30 women who you will meet and admire between now and December 15th. I hope you will show your support and please offer comments and feedback when you meet these amazing mom entrepreneurs.
It all starts tomorrow...
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