“How fitting that Jill Salzman was the May speaker for the Women in Business Breakfast this month – just in time for Mother’s Day! Although I still believe there is sometimes a stigma involved with being a mom and an entrepreneur, I am inspired by Jill. Her latest entrepreneurial venture is an international networking group for entrepreneurial women. And get this – kids are allowed to attend the meetings! The group is called “The Founding Moms” and has thousands of members across the globe.
If you didn’t attend the breakfast, Jill was NOT there to speak about work-life balance and how being a mom directs your business. Rather, she got right to business (after telling a funny story about her idol, Peter Walsh) to teach us business folks about how we can cultivate our fanbases.
She gave us all kinds of helpful information; but the point she wanted us to remember relates to follow-up.”
“To those of you seeking a publishing deal: quit it. You don’t need to hand over any profits, control, distribution or happiness to a major corporation that may or may not pay attention to your success anyhow. Go the way of T.S. Eliot, Thomas Hardy, Stephen King, Rudyard Kipling, Ernest Hemingway, Upton Sinclair, Virginia Woolf, Walt Whitman, Mark Twain and Edgar Allen Poe. I’ve found much success in self-publishing, and you can, too.”
It dawned on me the other day that there has been a seismic shift in the way we do things. Specifically, in the way that we use technology. And for some reason, 2011 turned out to be quite the year of change for this entrepreneur.
“There are quite a few rules when it comes to giving a TED talk. Talk for no longer than 18 minutes. Stay on or near the red circular carpet as much as you can. Remain in the audience throughout the conference. Head backstage to mic up just before your turn. Make sure that your topic is genuine. Make sure that you’ve got an idea worth spreading. Make it good. Slides are optional but encouraged. Don’t wear formal attire, and definitely skip white or patterns so that you don’t look like a blob in your video. Don’t ask the audience any questions unless they’re rhetorical. And according to the TED talk I watched on how to give a good TED talk, don’t ever say the words “the United States of America” or you’ll lose the audience right then and there.”
My answer, as quoted in the below-mentioned magazine?
“To spend time with family. I set up my own company to be able to spend the hours I want to spend with my children, but it turns out that having control over every aspect of my company is something that I really enjoy. That, and bossing myself around.”
Months of rehearsing. Hours and hours of prep. To date, this was the most intimidating experience I’ve had on a stage. But one stylist, two hair & makeup people, and thirteen bathroom breaks in the span of an hour later, I did it. Find out why moms make the best entrepreneurs right here:
“Is there a way to have it all? Is it really feasible to have the ability to be mom and a booming business woman? Jill Salzman, creator of The Founding Moms®, has published her first book on this hot topic called Found It: A Field Guide For Mom Entrepreneurs. Its 50 chapters are brimming with practical advice, tips and tricks to help women fine-tune their self-starter skills and build a successful company.
“This past month, I sold The Bumble Brand. Turns out, selling my business was a lot like starting one up. Oh, the things I wished I had known. I was reminded once again that there are certain things you can’t know until you experience the process firsthand.
Nevertheless, here are a few tidbits I uncovered along the way:
1. There is no such thing as the “right” sale price. The exact sale price of your business is in the eyes of the beholder — or rather, the price will be what you and the buyer feel the business is worth. I’d suggest staying flexible: If you’re stuck on $300,000 and no one is willing to pay that, then by all means bring it down. Similarly, if you’ve got low expectations but you meet someone whose pockets are dripping with the green stuff, be bold and raise that number. I met buyers who balked when I stated my asking price. And I met buyers who didn’t wince even once at that same number. Take the Stephen Colbert approach on this one and go with your gut. If it feels right, it may feel right to the future owner of your company, too.
2. Keep your business going. Don’t stop running your business while hunting down a buyer. They want to see that you remain profitable even as the transaction occurs. In my dealings with buyers, the fact that The Bumble Brand had ceased to be my first priority put me at a distinct disadvantage. In retrospect, it seems obvious. But at the time it simply didn’t occur to me that easing off the accelerator would negatively impact the business’ value.
It took five years to gain the courage to actually do it.
It took three weeks of planning around my worst fears to do it.
But I did it. Ten whole days without the internets. No surfing. No emailing. These were the notes I took on a yellow legal pad in pencil while experiencing the Ultimate Out-Of-Office Experience:
Day 1: What are you supposed to do in line at the grocery store without a blackberry??
Day 2: While circling a parking lot waiting for a spot, toddler sighs and remarks, “I don’t have time for this.” Can’t Twitter it. Depressing. Read more
How much do you love that Money Smart Week is going on right after taxes are due?
I’m doing my first book signing! My first book signing! Since being profiled in A Cup of Cappucino For The Entrepreneur’s Spirit (Vol II), I will be speaking at Money Smart Week’s April 21 lunchtime event and signing copies of the book. I’ve been practicing my autograph for weeks and I may have juuuuuust right by Wednesday. (My husband actually asked me who I was seeing, what with the hearts that I started drawing around my own initials.) Read more
“Is there a way to have it all? Is it really feasible to have the ability to be mom and a booming business woman? Jill Salzman, creator of The Founding Moms®, has published her first book on this hot topic called 
It took five years to gain the courage to actually do it.
How much do you love that 
