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How did you come up with the idea for your business?
When my now 12-year-old son was born, he was 10 weeks premature. I wasn’t sure what life would look like after he was discharged from the NICU, so I negotiated a transition to a part-time role at the large company where I worked. And that is when I started to get so many questions about how I made that shift happen as a senior employee. About a year later, I shifted focus to the business that I had worked on as a side gig for almost 8 years. The questions about being a part-time working mother and a full-time mom didn’t stop, whether it was about my previous employer or life as an entrepreneur. I couldn’t find anywhere to send people who had questions, so I decided to create a resource. And interviewing other working mothers to hear their stories was a logical next step, so that I could share more ideas, tips. In those conversations, I kept hearing about how helpful a book would be. And that is where the idea for the first book was born. And the second book came out of more requests from my audience to write about a different aspect of work-life balance for working mothers. Over time Mompowerment evolved into a business where I also help companies become more balance friendly and working mothers (and now more dads) create a balanced lifestyle.
What does the average day look like for you now as an entrepreneur (especially compared to past jobs/days)?
The thing that I most appreciate about entrepreneurship is that I can usually control my schedule and energy. I start my day waking up and getting my boys’ lunches ready. If it’s not my turn in carpool to drop kids off at school, I head out to walk our energetic boxer mix. I feel much better when I start my day moving my body. I generally work in the morning, carving out time first thing to work on my business (e.g., outreach to podcasts, emails to prospect clients, etc.) and then on my most challenging client work. I’m most energetic and productive in the morning, so that is when I do my strategy work. Afternoons are usually when I do calls and meetings since I’m energized by interacting with my clients and peers. Mid-afternoon I step away from work to pick up kids on my carpool days or once the kids get home. At that point, we’re off to kids’ activities. After dinner and the boys’ nighttime routine, I might hop back on my computer to wrap up any loose ends from the day and to quickly plan the next day.
What are some of the top things you have learned so far?
I’ve learned a lot as an entrepreneur. The things that have most helped me on this entrepreneurial journey are to plan my time, lean on my network, and to define success in my own way. To maximize my time, I plan the week on Sunday and use the night before to plan the following day. I’m intentional with who is in my personal and professional networks and actually reach out for help. And part of that is also being open to helping others, including mentoring other women in business. And success for me is based on building my two businesses (I am also a fractional CMO) while still have time to be an engaged mother, wife, and friend. If I’m working so much that I don’t actually enjoy my time with those I love, then I need to change things up a bit over time.
Who or what inspired you to become an entrepreneur?
I am what I consider an accidental entrepreneur. I didn’t realize owning a business (or two) would be on my path, as I worked in the corporate world for 12+ years. Moving into entrepreneurship made managing my time easier, so that I could be an engaged mom and still succeed professionally.
What have been 1-2 of your proudest moments in creating your business?
I’m thrilled to say that I have done a TED talk and written two award-winning books. And another of my bucket list moments was becoming a contributor for Harvard Business Review (on the website and as a chapter for one of the HBR books).
What’s the best advice you have received along your journey?
Along the way, I’ve gotten a lot of advice. The best advice that I was given is to be realistic with what you can achieve. You can aim high but give yourself the time to make things happen and don’t get discouraged when things take longer than you might expect. Take consistent steps and you’ll get there.
What’s a fun fact about you?
I traveled to 40 countries before I turned 40. Travel is one of my love languages and one of my favorite forms of self-care.
About The Author:
Suzanne Brown ‘96 & ‘04
Founder of Mompowerment
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