The Mom Entrepreneur Path

No matter your credentials and background, starting a business in a foreign country as a stay-at-home mom without a support network can be intimidating. In 2010, I moved to Texas, never expecting a 180-degree shift unbecoming who I used to be. 

You could say I got lost in translation, the same as Bill Murray’s Bob did when aching to reconnect with life. I was suffering from cultural and language differences, craving the sense of fulfillment my old life gave me.

In that quest to “recover” my old self, I went down the rabbit hole of pseudo-entrepreneurship. I registered for every class, webinar, and workshop that appeared on my Facebook feed. Somehow, I got signed up for a " team” with other moms at school. “It is so much fun; you meet other moms, go to events, and make some money while at it,” I remember the extra energetic homeroom mom telling me.  I was new in town, and if every other mom was successful at it, why wouldn’t I? After months of shadowing my lead, organizing events, making calls to people, and attending lead meetings, I realized that everyone else was making progress except me.

Of course, joining teams was not the only thing I tried; I applied to part-time jobs where I was overqualified, underqualified, too Spanglish, too bossy, not techie enough, and not flexible enough. Long story short, I ended up with a pile of useless inventory, dozens of rejection letters, and a hurt ego.

Let’s be honest; it is hard to let go once you have that craving. It roams your mind. Secretly, you visualize infinite possibilities for how you could return to your old life. Then you look at the house chores, school stuff, the never-ending pile of laundry, and the half-baked cookies you attempted to cook that day, and the possibility of making your dream a reality seems practically impossible.

I gave up on joining the so-called teams, and after several interview fiascos, Borders, a bookstore, became my refuge. I spent practically all my free mornings reading a book and drinking coffee. It was my way of challenging the status quo, and it was during this “rebel phase” that I learned new languages, programming, and non-profit management, but above all, I discovered two books that changed my life: The first is “The Art of SEO,” and the second is “Do the KIND Thing.” One pushed me to a new career, while the latter opened my mindset to a new world. 

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While my kids did their homework, I learned about the ins and outs of search engines, content management systems, website builders, and digital marketing. During summer vacations, I avidly re-read “Do the KIND Thing”. I understood that starting a business mimicking others or measuring your life by someone else's concept of success doesn’t serve a balanced life. I learned that you don’t find your purpose; you create it. And that one of the most important keys to success in life is to live passionately.

The word "passion," often overused, refers to a burning desire, intense interest, and sometimes an emotional commitment. However, when it comes to success, passion is a mindset —a way of approaching life that keeps you motivated and propels you through the tough times. Passion drives you to succeed.

So, after many years of trial and error and following someone else’s dream, I put my foot down, kicked out the mommy guilt, and stopped trying to please others. Instead of alienating my motherhood role, I embraced it. I looked for commonalities between my old life and my new reality. I aimed to close the gap and build my next project from there. For me, entrepreneurship was the perfect bridge between my background and my newly acquired skills. 

Yes, as odd as it may sound, entrepreneurship is like motherhood: it requires being resourceful, tenacious, problem-solving, creative, innovative, and not being afraid to get your hands dirty. 

I’m not going to lie; initially, it was chaos. Between carpooling, afterschool programs, house chores, and competitions, the first days of business planning were exhausting. Eventually, I could go from idea to action while juggling motherhood.  Of course, the results were not immediate. Between family drama, a pandemic, and an emotional tsunami, I now have a profitable business. 

I learned throughout my entrepreneurial journey that there is no better way to achieve success than taking action. Small or big steps, it doesn’t matter as long as you are heading in the right direction: your goal.

Several years have passed since I started my entrepreneurial journey, and thanks to my "hobby" as some people called it, I was able to overcome the second greatest challenge in my life: A Divorce.

I never expected that after 30 years of marriage I was going to be starting all over again; if it wasn't for the income that my small business produced, I wouldn't have the funds to move away from a partner that decided I was no longer the person he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

Was I shocked? No, I think deep inside of me I knew he was not happy of me being financially independent (I will talk about this in future blogs) and slowly being able to succeed as a mom AND an entrepreneur.

My book is a reflection on how I became a mompreneur: shifting from scarcity to a growth mindset, using technology, leveraging my skills to start a business, choosing my path, planning and working the plan, balancing the family routine, and now learning to start my life all over again, as a single mom with college-age kids.

I will be sharing lots of memories and snippets from my book here. Still, most importantly, I will be sharing real advice on how to start a digital business, tutorials, reviews, and actionable steps to help you discover your mom entrepreneur path.

So, stick around, and thank you for visiting me.

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