3 Mistakes I’ve Made as a Mompreneur… and How To Avoid Them (Part 2)

mompreneur mistake

Mompreneur Mistake #2: GIVING UP TOO SOON

Mom forums are full of comments asking how to start a business and earn extra income. Truthfully,  there are so many opportunities out here! But in the life of a mom, things get crazy FAST. The baby doesn’t stop crying, the nanny is glued to her celfone, and three lightbulbs need changing. Failure seems like the only option.

We can get easily discouraged, drained and tired. And it’s ok. I’ve had business ideas halfway done, leaving them when the first sign of trouble comes.

But press on, moms! We may have a lot on our plates, but with grit and perseverance, we can do it!  Remember, nothing worthwhile comes easy.

Not Good Enough (Who Says?)

As a mom, there were many times I got discouraged and felt like hiding in the bathroom and crying (I actually have!). I felt I wasn’t a good enough mom to Mati, that I couldn’t express enough breastmilk, I wasn’t great at teaching him baby sign language, and so much other stuff! It made me lose confidence in who I was and what I had to offer. I would trudge back to my son with a weepy face and tell him, “Hey, I’m really sorry ah. I’m just new at this. I love you.”

Deep down, I knew I was a good mom.  It’s just when we let fear, setbacks, and expectations hold us back from the joy of being a mom and our potential as mompreneurs!

Everything has a learning curve. Everyone makes mistakes, it’s how we learn from them and move forward that matters.

I don’t want to do this anymore!

Last week was particularly stressful week for me because we had a purchase order scheduled for delivery to our top customer. We had no more inventory and our shipment was stuck at customs clearance. I spent 3 days on the phone with the customs brokerage representative and the better part of evenings ranting to my husband negatively. I don’t know why we’re in this business in the first place!” ” This is what we get for doing everything by the book…  hassle, hassle, hassle!” I felt so anxious and burdened… “being a mompreneur sucks!”

It’s ok to fail titas! What’s important is we press on!

And you know what happened? Everything turned out alright. I just had a lot of room to grow professionally and character-wise. I had to get adjusted to the courier’s policies (which was cheaper but had stricter procedures), and trust God that we did all that we could and surrendered up to him.

When things get tough, sometimes it’s just a matter of perspective, especially for startup mompreneurs. Believe that it will get easier each time around, and a positive attitude that things will get better. A sucky attitude won’t get you anywhere So, did you just have a bad five minutes yhis morning and decided to milk it all day long?

Go ahead & fail!

The good news is in business, we can fail fast and fail small. We don’t need to resign ourselves to wistfully wondering what it would be like to live the life we’ve always wanted. What’s truly regretful is that some people quit before they’ve even started. It’s kind of naive to expect that there won’t be any problems. 

One thing that I would love to teach my children early on is to be patient, persevere and have the grit in the face of challenges and setbacks. A positive and confident attitude towards tackling problems is much more valuable than any academic achievement. But it has to start with us parents first! 

It’s tempting to “rescue” my son and help him when he’s struggling. But in the long run, it would only be a disservice to him. Grit is something he must learn.

Failing fast and failing small helps us recalibrate and adjust to the situation without losing three of our most valuable mompreneur assets- time, money, and our sanity. 

Take Objective Action!

You know what’s the worst thing you can do in business? Not doing anything.

When making decisions in your venture, be brave and take action! Every day, just do one small, concrete thing for your business. Stop talking and start doing. Or if you insist on talking, talk to your mentor, your potential market, or your supplier.

Fear of failure causes analysis-paralysis, where you, dear mompreneur,  just end up being stagnant or quitting too soon. As much as possible, have an objective mindset when you’re starting out. Don’t make decisions when you’re too happy or too sad. 

A helpful exercise of writing down “What’s the worst that can happen?”. Objectively assess if your fears are legitimate or are just butterflies in your stomach. If you experience a setback, go ahead and feel bad and give a good cry, we’re not robots. But  remember your motivation – your why? Why did you quit that corporate job? Why did you decide to pursue this business? Why are you giving up your free time to do this? Check out these how we started our business for a true-to-life sharing.

mompreneur mistake
Every time I play with my little girl, I’m reminded that whatever I do sets an example for her to look upon and follow.

Sometimes, life can take us four steps forward and two steps back, but consistent action is the most surefire way to get your business of the ground and to the next level. Momentum is something you can’t buy. It’s something you work on day in and day out. 

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