What Does Being a Mom and a Small business Have in Common?

           I'm banging my head, trying to think of something to blog about for this month (it's May, in case you are reading this in the future) and I knew I really wanted to tie in Mothers's Day and all that mothers do, however, I wasn't really feeling a gift guide.  Then, my mind went to "although I'm not doing a Mother's Day Gift Guide, what would I like for Mother's Day?! Hmmm". In doing my brainstorming research, I found these great and kinda funny articles about what mom's REALLY want for Mother's Day. That sent me down the rabbit hole of how hard moms work, like always, and that made me think of how being a mom and "running a household" is like owning a small business. Not only should mothers get a shout out but so should small business owners, so, BOOM, here we are ...  a blog post about how being a mom and being a small business owner are pretty much one in the same (i.e., constantly thinking about, caring for, nurturing and rooting for your "baby") and wheh, that passion deserves a round of applause. That is where my mind went; welcome to my head and here is your small business Mother's Day post.

            I'm looking through my many saved articles about being a small business, some have really good tips and advice, some are words of encouragement or aspirational success stories and some are cute yet oh so true quotes, which is what made me realize how owning and running a small business is very much like being a mother. Typically, a mom has an overview of what is going on in the family and what role everyone plays, their strengths and weaknesses and areas for development (need to sign up for that tutor!).  She manages those schedules every day, week, month and year and I'm not emphasizing the timeframes just to make a point, but I literally mean she has a micro to macro view of what the family needs and what is going on. Moms wears multiple hats ( cook, cleaner, chauffer, volunteer, comforter, scheduler, playdate maker, you name it) and moms come in different forms ( stay at home mom vs full time mom and everything in between). Regardless of what type of mom you are, y'all all make it work 100% and I see you.  Some of y'all pull a full time job and still make it to every soccer game and volunteer opportunity at school while others are sewing costumes for the whole lot in your child's school play. Some moms feel that they are getting by just barely and perhaps you skip a step sometimes, but it's okay, you get it done. Everyone has their own way. Much like being a mom, small business owners come in different forms as well, some small businesses are self sustaining and have blossomed and some are dreams that need to be adjusted every once in a while before they hit their stride. Some have a team of people and some are just a single person plucking away at their laptop and trying to conquer every little thing on their never ending to-do list.  There are the constant pressures to pull ahead, to be relevant, the ongoing battle of trying to understand the ever changing social media and marketing trends and to show people that you put your everything into this business. Small business owners are the bodegas on your block where the owners know all of their regular customers by name and that delicious ramen restaurant that started up as a food truck but is now in their first brick and mortar shop.  It's the photographer that started off by taking photos for free of all of her family and friends, neighbors' dogs, weddings for co-workers, just so she can build up a portfolio in order to start her own photography business. I love small businesses because they are the retailers that write you a special thank you note when you make a purchase and say "thank you for supporting small business".  Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with a big corporation and I support them too, but  you know that there is love behind every small business that you are supporting. The main thing that moms and small businesses have in common is the hustle and the absolute heart that goes into making their family/business grow and work.

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             A lot of times, moms and small business owners do all the little things that most people don't see or think about, as I would say "POOF, the magic fairy came and did XYZ".  Often times these are the invisible things that we just do and and they often go unnoticed, but are necessary to make the world go round. They are the tasks that make things run smoothly and effortlessly, and these magic fairy moments are often not appreciated until they are not happening.  For instance, POOF everyone in the family has clean clothes, POOF I collected all of these email addresses organicallying for my marketing campaign, POOF the refrigerator is stocked and with food that makes sense as a meal (not just random stuff because you went to the grocery store hungry, it's called meal planning), POOF all my customers are happy because they have great customer service (because the staff was trained up, the systems worked smoothly, etc.), POOF the kids are in three places at one time, how the heck did that happen? That was fun, I can go on and on, my point being, there are so many things that are work work work behind the scene as mothers and small business owners and we are happy to do all this, you know why? Cause we love ya.

As I'm digging through small business stuff and what we can do for mothers/small businesses to show appreciation,  I found these great ideas ... 

And I love this blog post about what Mother's really want, even though it cracked me up because they straight up contradict each other "ALONE TIME AND SPENDING TIME TOGETHER " and "EATING OUT AND HOME-COOKED MEAL" ( this might be an introvert vs extrovert situation). I thought it would be fun to tell you what I want for Mother's Day, in case anyone wants to pass this on to my people:

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1) Just do IT (insert "it", with anything:  clean up, stop hitting each other, put on shoes faster, flush the toilet, etc.) and don't make me ask more than once. Bonus if I don't have to ask you at all; that's right, cause you are just doing "it". 

2) Even though I was taking a dig, I totally get the alone time and spending time together combo, but I want it my way. A little alone time in the morning, nice and quiet start to the day and after I've had my second cup of coffee, we can move on to spending quality time together, but something I want to do. So, not the zoo or playground, thank you very much.

3) Totally going out to dinner. As much as I enjoy cooking on most days, I don't want to cook nor clean on Mother's Day. And the family cooking dinner still somehow means that I'm cleaning, so no thanks. Oh, by the way, I'm picking the restaurant.

4) I would like a nice and sincere compliment about how I'm the best mom ever and please accompany it with hugs and kisses. That's it, it's pretty simple.

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         Thank you for indulging me in my babbling and logic about how moms and small business owners have so much in common.  Also, please don't be mad that I'm all about the "moms" because I know there are so many amazing dads out there too, including single dads that take on both the mom and dad roles, but in the honor of Mother's Day, I'm going to stick to the the theme.

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        For those that are itching to get a physical gift, either for your favorite mom person or for yourself, please check out the shop sections of this website to get the ultimate carryall tote bag. FYI, gift cards are available if you read this later and you are looking to give a gift, you can replace "mothers day gift" with birthday gift, baby shower gift, treat yourself gift.  Whatever floats your boat. I had to make this one plug, you would think nothing less of a small business owner that's a mom, right? Thank you for supporting small business and for shopping small, you make our world go round and yes, it keeps us dancing! ~ Cheryl