Mar 26, 20187 min read

These Fabulous Mompreneurs Will Make You Believe in Your Dreams - Part I

We are sending off the month of women, mothers and inspiration by interviewing truly fabulous mompreneurs who juggled several plates at once and did it mind-blowingly well. In preparation of this post I came across so many strong and amazing women, running successful businesses and being loving moms to children of all ages. Their stories were so powerful and real. I wish I could share all of them with you, but all that greatness won't fit in just two parts. Are you in need of a superwoman inspiration dose? Keep reading and don't miss part II on Wednesday.

Harleen Chadha

Introduce yourself and your business

I am a mum of a 3 year old and I am a certified coach for women looking to take action on a long held dream. I am also a co-founder of a limited company dealing with promotional merchandise. Based in London.

2. What/who inspired you to start your business?

When I was 3 months pregnant and working stressful hours in the banking industry, I decided to follow my calling - to make an impact and help women unleash their full potential and also to do something that fits around my little one- I wanted to see her grow!

3. What was the hardest part?

Delegating and outsourcing tasks that I wasn’t able to do on my own.

4. Did you ever think of giving up?

Yes, when I had a month of no clients and I felt it all too overwhelming, I decided to quit and find myself a job. That’s the time when my own coach asked me what was my ‘Why’ behind all this I was doing and she said ‘Successful people are the ones who are quick to take decisions and slow to change their decisions - they don’t give up’!

5. How do you organise your day around your children and business activities?

I plan a day in advance about my next day tasks- priority and not very important. I put everything on my calender. My coaching time is when my little one goes to her day care for 3 hours and I do my other biz stuff when she’s off to bed in the evening.

6. Did you have the support of your family members?

Yes absolutely. My partner is extremely supportive when it comes to taking additional responsibility for childcare when I have my last minute calls/events to attend. He also helps me stay positive when I feel overwhelmed and out of control.

7. What were the things you couldn’t do yourself?

Tech - I am totally not a techie lady and I realised that when I was trying to figure it all by myself so I hired a website designer, a virtual assistant to help me with social media management, a graphic designer and a big help was my cleaner and a cook I hired for my household so that I can focus on important stuff.

8. Do you think moms make good entrepreneurs?

Yes absolutely. There is no doubt about it. As moms, we have this acquired resilience and the ability to multitask. Also, conspiring that we have limited time to our hand, we learn the knack of getting things done pretty efficiently than our male counterparts (sorry guys ☺️). Motherhood forces you to develop discipline, patience and initiative.

9. What is your best advice to every mom who wants to start a business but has a lot of doubts?

Don’t quit your job unless you have a strong financial backing as you will need to invest in your business at different stages. Let your job fund you whilst you work on your business idea.
Market Research - Make sure you study who your ideal clients are, talk to them about what you are launching, etc. and see how they are responding. Do lots of them if possible.
Delegate, delegate and delegate- It’s an investment in yourself and your biz - If you find yourself spending most of the time and energy on household stuff - hire help! You can focus on getting other bits in your biz meanwhile. Hire a mentor/coach - The best investment you can make in yourself is by getting accountable and seeking guidance from someone who has been there, done that! You will get so much clarity and a sense of direction.

Website - www.highvibescoach.com

Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/highvibescoach/

Join me on my private High Achiever mommies group here - https://www.facebook.com/groups/HighAchieverMommies/

Kellie-Ann Briand

1. Introduce yourself and your business.

I am Kellie-Ann Briand the owner of Briand Marketing, the creator of The Accidental Entrepreneur and the mother of dragons! In this case 4 freakin' teenagers ages 13, 14, 15 and 16!!!

Briand Marketing focuses on helping business owners grow profitable and meaningful businesses by offering coaching, consulting and done-for-you services.

The Accidental Entrepreneur teaches women how to start an online business from scratch in 8 weeks! I run my business and work in my business full time and shuffle the kids to golf, football, improv class and tutoring… not to mention all the activities that just ‘pop up’ in a teenager’s life! I have the most patient husband in the world (2nd time is a charm ladies) who has supported me over the past 6 months, as I let high paying clients go in favour of concentrating 100% on developing and creating a ‘wallet friendly’ online course that teaches women exactly what to do to start an online business from scratch. I have survived surgeries, a shitty divorce, family health issues, a blended family AND I am slowly working through a serious cheese and Nutella addiction…but I digress 😀.

2. What/who inspired you to start your business?

I fell into business ‘accidentally’, thus the birth of The Accidental Entrepreneur. I started off in television and radio and transitioned to sales and marketing and as the tech bubble burst in 2000, my high powered corp job went up in smoke. Pouf!!! I found myself unemployed and chomping at the bit to do something different. People started asking me to consult on marketing projects, write email sequences, develop branding campaigns and eventually I had a side hustle going full throttle. I slapped some branding together, defined 1 business offering and started making cold calls. KAB Communications was born in 2002. Then in 2016 I started my second business Briand Marketing after going back to corporate briefly during my divorce. I have a very structured mind and a creative spirit and I have always been in charge of my destiny due in big part to having skills I could easily monetize and asking for help when I was stuck.

3. What was the hardest part?

Hardest part is finding that ‘big idea’ that has people lining up to pay for and keeping yourself motivated during the lows of entrepreneurship. You have to treat it like a job and push through each and every day.

4. Did you ever think of giving up?

I never thought about giving up. I give myself permission to fail, but I refuse to rely on excuses that essentially are giant permission slips to GIVE UP.

5. How do you organise your day around your children and business activities?

Organizing you day around 4 teens really boils down to treating your business like a business and maintaining regular office hours. I get up at the same time each day and follow a routine that allows me to be present when the kids leave for school. I

also try to end my client work and calls so that I am free when they come home or need to be picked up etc. I also schedule my night calls for overseas customers after dinner is finished and all kids are settled in for homework. The big part is a reliable and predictable schedule. I started my first business when I was pregnant with my first and so I know the challenges of infants and business. It really comes down to establishing a realistic schedule that you can follow.

6. Did you have the support of your family members?

I don’t have any family that lives close and so I do not have a mom or dad or sibling to call over to pick up the slack when I am swamped. I have a very supportive husband. Thank goodness!!! But, rest assured, when I started my first business and had young children, I went through a messy divorce and was single mom for a few years. You have to be able to survive on your own. Ask for help when needed, but set yourself up to build your own legacy and wealth. Not having family around, or a supportive husband or partner is not an excuse to give up or not try.

7. What were the things you couldn’t do yourself?

I outsource things I can do and things I can’t do. I manage my children and my home myself. I always have. When I was stuck I always had fantastic friends to call upon who would pick up the kids from school or day care or drop at activities. That is what I teach all my private clients – create a support system for yourself and set yourself up for success. Friends are like family and they can be your lifeline. In my business I outsource my bookkeeping, accounting and appointment booking.

8. Do you think moms make good entrepreneurs?

Moms make FANTASTIC entrepreneurs because we are accustomed to doing it all, multi-tasking, innovating, hustling, reacting and being creative! Who better to deal with a disgruntled, unclear, confused, unmotivated clients than a Mom! Seriously, though, moms rule the world! We run homes, our children’s lives and manage our partners.

9. What is your best advice to every mom who wants to start a business but has a lot of doubts?

Ask for help! Ask someone who has done it and do what they did! You absolutely need to get help and avoid all the expensive trial and error. This is exactly why I created The Accidental Entrepreneur. So many women want to start businesses, but don’t know where to start or what to do. AND because there is soooo much information out there they become overwhelmed and stay stuck. You have to jump in without any proof it is going to work. This is exactly what every successful entrepreneur has done. They made a big, bold decision and just did it scared! Sounds an awful lot like motherhood, doesn’t it???