Biz MOMagement: The Working Mom's Guide to Go From Employee to Entrepreneur

By Marisa Volpe Lonic

Starting a business can be a challenge when you’re already juggling mom life, work life, wife life, fill in the blank life. Where do your entrepreneurial dreams fit into the equation? How do you find the time to pursue them?

Marisa Volpe Lonic, mom of four and former corporate executive turned entrepreneur, shares practical tips and advice on turning your side hustle into your main hustle, vulnerable stories of the entrepreneurial journey, and the undeniable chaos of what it’s like to birth businesses and babies simultaneously.

Biz MOMagement is your guide to working through your fear, listening to your intuition, achieving your business goals and showing up as the best mom, partner and version of yourself throughout it all.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Marisa Volpe Lonic
• Release date: Jan 4, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215617861

Marisa Volpe Lonic

Marisa Lonic, is the founder of Mama Work It. She’s a working mom of four kids, a native New Yorker and a California resider. She helps moms find the time they need to do the things they want via her book, Time Momagement, a time management e-course called the Get More Time Project and a blog she writes on the regular. She also offers coaching & mentorship for busy moms who have big dreams and no time. If you want to receive her six morning mama glama tips, you can subscribe to her site www.mamaworkit.com. You can also follow her on Facebook or Instagram using the handle @letmamaworkit.

Book preview

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Copyright © 2022 by Mama Work It LLC

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any form or by any means without written permission from the publisher.

Edited by Carrie Snider

Author Photos by Melissa Ohms Photography

Typesetting and Cover design © 2022 by Ramesh Kumar Pitchai

ISBN: 9798215617861 (eBook)

ISBN: 9798833936382 (Paperback)

Imprint: Independently published

Dedication:

To my kids. You are the reason I have become the productivity ninja, efficiency queen, and even more ambitious, money-making woman than I was before (four college degrees to pay for coming soon). You are my biggest accomplishments. I’m so proud to be your mom.

To my hubs. You may not always be as interested as I’d like or engaged as I’d prefer in all the things I do, but you are always supportive and understanding of the importance and value it brings to my life. I recognize that expectations almost always lead to disappointment, but you have exceeded mine in different ways than I ever imagined.

To God, the Universe, my angels. I’ve always been a believer, but you have shown me repeatedly and especially when I feel like I got this, that You actually got this and that’s comforting AF when the world feels too heavy to carry alone.

To you, reader. Thank you for giving me the time and space in your life to hopefully impact you in a positive and encouraging way. I am honored, grateful and downright ecstatic you’re here. You are amazing, don’t you forget it.

To myself. At the risk of sounding conceited, you, girlfriend, are a badass and deserve all the accolades. Well done, time to celebrate. I am your biggest fan.

Contents

Introduction: Is Entrepreneurship for Me?

Chapter 1: Never Lose Sight of Your Why

Chapter 2: Jumpstarting Your Side Hustle

Chapter 3: Let’s Get Practical

Chapter 4: Support

Chapter 5: Avoiding Temptation

Chapter 6: The Red Bird

Chapter 7: When to Quit Your Day Job

Chapter 8: Get Comfortable Being Uncomfortable

Chapter 9: Comparisonitis

Chapter 10: Why Mompreneurship is Different than Entrepreneurship

Chapter 11: To DIY or Hire Out

Chapter 12: Must Haves for Biz MOMagement

Closing

Introduction

Is Entrepreneurship for Me?

If you’re reading this book, you’re likely an ambitious mom who has felt a calling to do something bigger. You’re probably amazing at what you do for someone else, but you’re wondering why all that talent and energy can’t be used toward something you love, on your terms. You may also feel scared to leave a steady career that pays you market value and keeps the lights on at home for something that, quite frankly, you have no idea will succeed.

I’ve worked many jobs in my lifetime, from babysitter to pizzeria counter girl to restaurant server to teacher to fitness instructor to corporate executive (and many more in between). Until 2021, I had a job since I could do so. At times, those jobs felt aligned with my calling. For example, I enjoyed leading teams in the corporate space for many years and I loved the impact I made on my students as an adjunct professor at a university.

But when the jobs started not to feel aligned, the work started to feel hard. Not the kind of hard you feel when you put your heart and soul and maybe some extra hours into an important project, the kind of hard where you’re tired, even after you just woke up or started your workday or the kind of hard where you feel totally unmotivated, even when a cushy bonus is being dangled in front of you.

You may have decided to start a business because you’re sick and tired of working in a man’s world. The traditional 9-5 schedule was indeed built for a working man, with a wife at home whose sole job was to manage the household and care for the kids (not that that’s an easy job, but at least if you’re doing it solely, it’s not being juggled with a demanding career alongside it, which in my opinion, is utterly impossible to do alone). Maybe you decided to start a business because you want more and you’re hitting a glass ceiling. You want to earn more money or be a leader, and those are not possible outcomes in your current work environment. Or, and likely, you decided to start a business because you have a deep-rooted passion inside you for something you simply cannot find working for someone else.

Maybe you feel one or even all of these things. The important thing to remember is that you feel something, something calling you to take this step and fortunately, you’re listening to that something because you’ve picked up this book and are exploring that dream further.

All my life, I’ve been a combination of risk taker and risk squasher. What do I mean? I consider myself fairly adventurous in certain ways. No, you’ll never catch me sky diving or even riding an upside-down rollercoaster, but I did move to another continent alone at 21 to pursue my master’s degree in a foreign language, and I did uproot my family of four cross country when I was working in the corporate space to accept a job promotion in a new city, where I knew next to no one. But, I also took those risks knowing without a doubt there would be a great reward on the other side. Having some additional letters and a post-graduate diploma is never a bad idea for your career growth and knowing my salary would be increasing by tens of thousands of dollars wasn’t, either.

When you decide to take the leap as an entrepreneur, though, especially when you find yourself in a very comfortable situation beforehand, the risk can feel far greater than you’re willing to take because the reward isn’t always tangible. If you haven’t seen consistent cash flow early on (rare) or become an overnight success (extremely rare), you can easily talk yourself out of pursuing this decision. I did for a long time.

The thing is, if your intuition is nudging you to become an entrepreneur, it’s not going to shut up until you listen. And if you’re stubborn enough to ignore it, and your intuition eventually and solemnly gives up on you and goes knocking at someone else’s head and heart, you’ll likely be plagued with regret for the rest of your life that you didn’t take the risk and pursue the dream.

Throughout this book, you’ll find references to God, intuition, and the Universe. That’s not coincidental. When you decide to go on the entrepreneurial journey, you will undoubtedly begin a spiritual one as well. Don’t worry, I’m not here to convert you to my faith. I actually find that weird and cultish. But, don’t be surprised if you start becoming more woo-woo the further along you get. Trusting your gut, intuition, instinct, God, the Universe, your angels, however you prefer to refer to this support, will be a necessary part of big and small decisions in your life. Just like motherhood, when they say it takes a village, you’ll need your biz village to help support you along the way. My village includes spiritual guidance.

Right now, you’re likely in one of these stages of your business. Maybe this is all new for you. You’ve got a big idea and you’re ready to get started. Maybe you’ve already started your business as a side hustle and now you’re ready to turn it into your main hustle. Or maybe you’ve already dove in and are now wanting some advice on living a more balanced life as an entrepreneur, so you’re not constantly feeling burnt out or defeated by the juggle of mom life and biz life. No matter what stage you’re in, I imagine you’ve had doubts. You’ve asked yourself if this is the right decision. You’ve contemplated pausing or stopping your efforts. You’ve questioned whether or not you’re cut out for this.

Mama, if you picked up this book, you have a burning desire to be something bigger in life. You are anything but basic. You are a driven, ambitious woman with dreams who is ready to turn those wishes and hopes into measurable goals and make them happen. You are a loving mother who knows her family is a blessing and wants to show up as the best version of herself to them. You are an extraordinary wife, partner, sister, daughter, friend, fill in the blank to all the loved ones in your life you have deep, meaningful relationships with. And you know it takes work, an open mindset of constant learning, and support from those around you to be all those things. I hope this book will be one of your supportive tools to help you achieve and embody all of that.

So, there’s no more need to question if entrepreneurship is right for you. If you’re reading this and feeling butterflies in your stomach, heart palpitations (the good kind—the ones I feel when I enter a DSW shoe store), or sheer excitement in turning the pages, entrepreneurship is right for you. And if you’re not, you either don’t vibe with my writing style or maybe your current job is indeed a better fit. You can read on to figure that out or you can stop reading right now. I hope you’ll stay, though, because I have a lot of important and interesting things to say and sometimes people tell me I’m a little bit funny, so even for the entertainment value, I’d love to keep you here. The Biz MOMagement express is about to depart. I’ve saved you a seat, a window one, to enjoy the ride alongside me. Are you ready to roll?

That Nagging Feeling

This isn’t your forever.

That thought nagged me constantly as I worked corporate jobs. Even though, ever since I can remember, I’ve wanted to be successful. Financial and career success was making it to me in many ways. I wanted to live a comfortable life. I wanted to drive a nice car. I wanted to live in a home I was proud of. I wanted a double oven and Carrara marble countertops in my high-end kitchen. I knew getting these things would take me having a career that made lots of money to make it possible.

So why would I keep thinking, This isn’t your forever? Wouldn’t a corporate executive job get me what I wanted? Sure, it would get me financial success, but deep in my heart of hearts, what I really wanted was to be an entrepreneur.

I am an artist, so to speak. I’m a multi-passionate creative who loves writing and fashion and culture and being a little unique. If everyone’s wearing Lululemon black leggings, I probably will buy the same pair in grey. When everyone was rocking Uggs, I chose a cooler Puma pair of boots to keep my toes warm. I like to be a little different.

Which is why when I started my official career, I made sure I was nurturing my creative self by working in places that were rooted in international relationships, diverse languages and cultures, and missions rich in areas I felt passionate about.

The idea of being a basic corporate employee, yes even at an executive level, to someone like me felt a little bit like a prison sentence, even if it meant I had my fancy kitchen and car.

Finally, in 2011, I listened to a creative entrepreneurial calling and started a business making and selling babywear. When I didn’t have kids and knew nothing about the textile industry.

Needless to say, that first venture didn’t turn out exactly how I had hoped.

I can’t really say why I started the business from a practical perspective, other than I had an internal nudge to do something bigger and more unique, and I listened. Also, my astrologer has always told me that I was meant to be an entrepreneur, so I guess that’s where life took me at the time.

That business launch was done almost entirely wrong. I spent too much money. I hired no one to help me in areas that were completely foreign to me. I overwhelmed myself with tasks and scared myself with potential growth I knew I could never sustain solo. Then, I unexpectedly got pregnant with twins, quickly shifted priorities, and let the business fizzle before the champagne ever really popped.

My dream of being an entrepreneur died. Maybe I wasn’t cut out to be one in the first place?

I was left with a broken dream and a lot of organic baby onesies. Thankfully, I still had a stable career that paid for our expensive new mortgage and all the other shiny objects you need when you go from being a modest couple of two to a full-blown family of four.

Over the years, my career grew and so did I. I kept on the path of climbing the corporate ladder and did a damn good job doing it. I achieved a lot of success in this environment. I learned a lot. I worked hard. And, I was rewarded for it with steady paychecks and cushy bonuses. Even though I hadn’t hit the financial peak I was aiming for yet, I was comfortable and on a path that I believed would surely get me there.

Then, I started to get that feeling . . . again: This isn’t your forever. It was like a series of tiny earthquakes that would come along unexpectedly just to shake things up. I’m a native New Yorker who now lives in the Bay Area, so earthquakes freak me out, just like this feeling did as I started to feel settled in my new job.

One day, on a business trip, I sat with a colleague I’ll call Betty, a woman older than my mom. She had once been a member of my team, but she was no longer my direct report now that I’d grown in the chain of command. Despite the fact that I had technically been her boss in the past, our relationship was never really like that. Betty had already lived a life filled with lots of experiences. She had a plethora of knowledge and wisdom, and we’d all gotten to know her on the team as being the mother hen we went to when we needed advice or support.

If you’re ever fortunate to meet a mentor like this in your life, no matter what the professional circumstance, I urge you to not waste the opportunity to learn and grow from an individual of this caliber. God, the Universe, Source, your angels, whatever you believe puts certain people in your world for a reason. This day, I was even more certain God had put Betty there to help me.

Betty asked to speak privately about what she had been noticing on the team. Her agenda was always genuine, and she never held back offering her support or mentorship to those around her, leading not with arrogance, but with kindness and your best interest at heart, like a friend.

We sat down, and Betty offered gentle yet honest feedback about the dynamic of our once very cohesive team and what she felt was happening there. Being the doer and fixer I am, my mind immediately went to the question of, What do you think I can do to make this better?

Betty didn’t really have the answer. I’m not sure she cared enough, honestly. Betty was getting ready to retire soon and was probably trying to make sure this team didn’t totally fall apart before that day came. She said that she just wanted me to know how some people were feeling and what the vibe was on the team at that time.

I appreciated this feedback, and I took it with a grain of salt. It was only half the team’s opinion, and it was only coming from one person, after all.

Then Betty asked, What about you? How are you doing?

I’m good, I replied, with a smile plastered on my face. You know, balancing motherhood and working in this role is tough, but I’m doing it and doing the best I can. I continued to grin and keep the talk light.

Then she said something that should have made me feel proud—honored that a mentor would say it. I predict in five years you’ll be in Susan’s role, she said. Susan was my manager and the head of the company. My next step in line on the growth path was Susan’s role, albeit it would be a major shift from where I was.

I should have humbly answered something like, Oh Betty, that’s so kind of you, or something more confident like, Yes! And I’ll be ready for it.

But, instead, my smile quickly turned into a frown, and without warning I started to ugly cry right there in front of Betty.

Oh boy, she said. It’s me. I know. I have this effect on people. It was true. Betty made people feel safe. She made them reflect. She made them be honest and true to themselves and not feel like they needed to be anything else.

Mortified by my emotional outburst in a professional setting, I quickly wiped away my tears and apologized for my strong