Advice for Aspiring Mompreneurs

• Get yourself some business mom friends!! It makes all the difference. I had a tough time relating to friends with corporate jobs, SAHM’s, or even social media “influencer” moms (many of them are sweet but they didn’t have a business). You need a tribe of people who get what you’re trying to build, who understand the impact it has on your family, and get that you’re never “off the clock” or the struggle you feel between “spending time with my kids” vs “growing the business.”
• There are things specific to being a mother in business that you’ll want a tribe to help you support. And it helps if those moms have similar aged kids. If you’re pumping and trying to grow your business it’s a whole different set of issues than if you’ve got a 15-year-old drinking and throwing parties. Having people in your inner circle who get what it’s like to build something – and care about that thing, but also value family – makes a HUGE difference.
• Just find people who get YOU. This road is hard enough as it is, no need to go it alone.

Ari Krzyzek, Co-founder & Chief Creative Officer

Chykalophia

@chykalophia

• Embrace the non-existing work-life-balance. Especially when you are growing with both your business and your young kids.
• Be flexible. But set some non-negotiable boundaries so you can still have your “me time” too.

• Start a business that really matters to you. Every hour you spend on your business is an hour you don’t spend with your family. If you don’t absolutely love your business’s mission, you will start to resent the business when your days are long and hard.

• Make sure you have a tribe of other entrepreneurs or mompreneurs. It can be lonely being an entrepreneur, especially if you are not used to working by yourself.
• Make sure to include mindfulness practices in your daily routine. Preferably in the morning before the house wakes up and/or after everyone goes to sleep. Practices like meditation, journaling, and visualization have helped to keep me centered with so many priorities.
• Prioritization is key! I recommend the book Drop the Ball by Tiffany Dufu for every mother (mompreneur or not). It has been a game changer for most mom leaders I’ve worked with.

• Give yourself a break! With both family and work life, there is so much you can’t control, so try to work towards things you can like effort, attitude, attention to detail, and adjusting to adversity. Trust your gut and focus on what you’re doing right to not get buried by all the noise around you.
• Just start doing even if it feels scary or beyond difficult. At the end of each day, remind yourself of what you all accomplished no matter how menial the tasks may seem.
• Optimism is the center of mental toughness, so believe it’s all going to work out. Most people eject when it gets hard, so stay in it!
• Surround yourself with wise people.
• If someone offers help, take it.  If you need help, ask for it.

• Be confident in your pursuits. Whether you are looking to launch your own company or establish yourself as an “intrapreneur” within a company.
• Surround yourself with people and inspiration that support your passions. Allow yourself permission to lean into your village to help you when the hours are long!

• Have frequent and long talks with your partner about how egalitarian your relationship is. Childcare duties are something that systematically and emotionally hold women back more than anything else in our lives. I recently listened to The Cut with Rakmini Callimachi and Callimachi said something that I don’t think a lot of women would say or want to say about their friends: “Who you choose as a partner is almost more important than what you do as a job. So many women end up compromising on their dreams based on the partners they end up with, it’s just what I see around me. I remember these vibrant and ambitious women that I was in college with. We meet up now and I see how their wings have been clipped.” Having these conversations with your partner is essential.