Momboss Monday: 

Collaborate & Celebrate:

Being a #momboss is an exhilarating and exhausting endeavor!!  When you decide to leave your day job to create and build your own business, it’s exciting…thrilling…but you soon realize that it’s EXHAUSTING!!! 

It’s all on your shoulders.  Every bank deposit (or lack there of) is up to what work you’ve done. There’s no more 1st and 15th paychecks.  You may be blessed to have a supportive spouse who cheers you on daily and LOVES your brilliant ideas…or you may have a spouse that needs to see the “proof” of your plan. Being an entrepreneur may be what you’ve dreamed of all your life…or maybe you’ve come to the conclusion that this type of work is what’s best for your family, even if your parents don’t understand how you’re using that hard earned degree to bake or paint or photograph or create what you love to create! 

I have been blessed with a very supportive family!! They cheer me on, they encourage me, and they celebrate my little successes.  However, I’ve also learned that even if that’s your situation too..it’s also important to have a tribe of other businesswomen who are working just as hard as you are to build their own business.  Raising a business is like raising a family…it takes a village! 

When I first started my photography business while living in Hawaii, I didn’t understand the value of having other mom bosses in my corner.  There was no one there to ask questions, to compare notes with, or to bounce ideas off of.  I did it the hard way…ALONE!!! I didn’t know any better.  But doing it this way came at a price.  The price was time…my time.  I figured it all out on my own.  Now of course this was before great opportunities like The Rising Tide Society and the deluge of online courses for entrepreneurs and business builders.  Now, it seems that there is an online community for just about anything you can dream up. What a blessing!!  In fact, I find myself sharing quite a bit in these online communities.  I love being able to recommend an app or tool or solution when someone new to business posts a question.   

But I also want to encourage you to find a few people in your local area that are also building businesses.  Find ways to collaborate and celebrate with each other.  Maybe you have a great online tool that you’d like to share with them…maybe you can put their product in your boutique…maybe you can offer what they sell to your clients!!  Cross promote, cheer them on, and brainstorm with them. 

I have a group of ladies in my town that I love dearly.  We meet on a Monday morning every month to hash out the new projects we are working on.  We use our “Making Things Happen” power sheets to keep our goals and growth on track.  It’s a great accountability tool!  But we grab a coffee, vent our frustrations, share funny stories, and brainstorm new ideas for each other.  It is such a blessing and I encourage you to find people that can be part of your own tribe. 

So here are 3 Tips to finding your own Momboss Tribe:

1-  Find other ladies who are like minded with their business building ethics.  You’ll want people who are contributors and builders.  People who offer up ideas, are interested in helping you with promoting new projects, and are sharers.  Also consider people who serve their clients like you serve your clients.

2-  Start small.  People are often more willing to share in small groups. They are more intimate and less overwhelming.  Everyone has an opportunity to share and talk when there are smaller numbers.

3-  Business diversity is important.  In our group of mombosses, we all have different businesses.  I’m a photographer, another friend owns a local bakery, and another friend owns a custom design business.  We are a wonderfully collaborative group, finding ways to collaborate and cross promote.  It’s great to learn about their business models and how things they are using could possibly benefit my business.

Be a collaborator and a cheerleader!  I encourage you to build a support group…it’ll help grow your business and maintain your sanity!

Blessings,

Corry