Why Did You Startup Your Business?
May 5, 2008
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A lot of people ask me how and why we started this business. What were the events that led up to it? What was that moment like?There were two seeds planted in my soul that affected me before we had ever started TodaysMama.
When I was at home with my first child I had an “Oprah” moment. I haven’t had many - because let’s be honest, I just don’t have time to watch TV period. But I remember watching when Julie Aigner Clark of Baby Einstein was being interviewed. I marveled at the success she had, lamented that I was buying her Baby Einstein videos with my spare change, and then I left completely inspired in a way that I had never been about business. I said to myself - if she can do that with those movies, I can do something one day too. I remember exactly where I had the thought - on my way out the door of my tiny condo and on the way to the park.
The second moment was a moment of panic. I was a few weeks from delivering my second child (which was not too much later, my kids are just 20 months apart). And I was laying on my bed crying hormonally as some pregnant women do. But I had an almost paralyzing fear come over me. My last job seemed further away, my career and job marketability felt even further away. I was having those irrational “What would happen if you died” thoughts and was giving my husband all kinds of scary scenarios. As much as I loved being a mother and as excited I was for my second baby, a helpless feeling came over me as I realized how vulnerable I felt to the world outside of my ever expanding path of parenthood.
The idea to start our first book came just 2 months after my daughter was born. I had two experiences fresh in my mind as we talked about the idea and inspiration for our first book. But something inside me told me I could do it because I had seen other women do even bigger things. And something inside of me felt comforted to be reaching out to do something exciting and to pour my passion and skills into. As the years have gone by, having my own business has given me a sense of confidence and independence with regard to the unknowns and insecurities of the future. But it has also shown me that I have the ability to create. The closest thing that I can honestly compare it to is having a baby. In creating a business, you build something that lives and breathes and moves about in the world bouncing off people and hopefully making a difference. It is the perfect marriage of the central elements in my life that I am frankly obsessed with: my babies and the art of business.
Magical Wisdom provided by Rachael Herrscher, Co-Founder of Todays Mama, an award-winning company supporting moms with relevant local resources plus a comprehensive online “hub” for information for everything moms want to know!
So of course I want to know - what moves each of you in your business? What was the inspiration? How does it feed you? What is the most valuable lesson that your business has taught you?
My moment of clarity was when I was sent alone on an overnight business trip with short notice to do something I had little passion for. I have no kids yet, but my husband was also out of town so I had to take our two dogs to a boarding facility. As soon as I dropped them off and got in my car, I started to cry. I was overwhelmed with feelings of guilt and unhappiness. I felt like I was being forced to do something so out of comfort zone while leaving behind my “kids” and my home against my will. It was at that moment that I knew I had to start my own business. I knew I wanted to create a flexible working environment that allowed me to make my own decisions about my job and be with my future children as much as possible. I spent my entire trip brainstorming business ideas. Over the next six months, I worked tirelessly to come up with a way to reach my goal and wrote at least three business plans before eventually starting my own marketing and public relations firm, which today I operate full time. The whole process was somewhat surreal, but remembering those feelings and recognizing how they’ve helped me lay a solid foundation for my family still motivates me today.
I think at some point in your life you have got to think of new challenges and perhaps one that is entirely different. If you moved from one job to another in the same work industry what’s the challenge.
Peter Lee
Work From Home Business Blog
I started my online business because I saw a need in the marketplace for moms (and dads) to get rid of the growing amount of stuff they have accumulated during their kids’ lives. Donating to a charity often leaves me wondering where they actually go. Throwing them away only adds to the growing environmental problem and my guilt. And finding someone in my neighborhood to take them is all a matter of timing. To me, matching my goods with someone who really wants them would make me feel good that my kids’ cherished toys or even unused stuff will be loved. That was why I started Tots Swap Shop (totsswapshop.com). Its reach is not geographically limited and anyone (with access to a computer) can swap stuff at little or no cost. Thanks in advanced to those who are the first pioneers of this site!