by Solange Lopes | Apr 26, 2017 | Start Your Business, Working Mom & Woman Tips
This post is part of a Working Mom series run by The Corporate Sister in honor of Mother’ Day.
So you thought this entrepreneur thing would be all glitz and glam? That you’d finally get a full 8 hours of sleep while running your empire and keeping up with your weekly facials? The life of a successful, thriving mompreneur sporting slick hair, an impeccable manicure and the latest Louboutins…
Fast-forward into the (real) entrepreneurial world, and here you are, broken nails, hanging over the dinner casserole as you’re about to drop your cell phone in the pan while yelling at your nightmarish customer… Did you just get that mental picture? Yes, it’s that of a successful mompreneur juggling kids, dinnertime, broken nails, and a hopefully growing empire…
Truth is, I no longer want to hear about entrepreneurship as this safe haven for all our childhood dreams…Especially as a tired mom who can’t seem to convince my youngest to abide to daily showering for cleanliness’s sake, or get my primer to actually keep the doggone makeup on for more than a couple hours…
The reality is that for most mompreneurs out there, glitz and glam are as elusive as shaving every week (especially in the winter). Unless you’ve reached mogul status, in which case you still have to bribe your kids not to pull your fancy earrings or drop tapioca pudding in your Victoria’s Secret fine bra, you’re struggling…
You’re struggling to get everybody in and out of the shower with clean teeth and semi-clean bodies (trust me, there is no foolproof way of checking every one of the little body crevices). You’re struggling to type the next blog post while dear daughter is painting your toe nails with kiddie nail polish. And you’re struggling to finish that client project when everyone else in the house is snoring, and your eyes are arguing with you to shut down once and for all (and you know the suckers will win)…
Nothing against “dad-preneurs”, or “male-preneurs” everywhere, but there’s something about putting together two life missions like motherhood and entrepreneurship/following your calling/heeding the call that makes it a unique and oh so demanding combination…It’s not like you can clock out at 5pm, shut off that”work” compartment and go have “family time”…
If you’re an entrepreneur, you’re breathing entrepreneurship. And if you’re a mom, you’re breathing motherhood…If you’re both, you’re constantly catching your breath as you’re running from one demand to the other…No bathroom breaks here…
What I’ve learnt about being an air-deprived mompreneur with toes painted with kiddie nail polish can be summarized in three easy bullet points (because there’s no time for more, really):
Let’s start with a quick reality check…There’s something about entrepreneurship that has this “never finished” quality. Which means the whole glamorous side of it, including sitting at a well-organized desk, surrounded by positive affirmations and healthy lemon water? Not so much. It’s the stuff of well-lit Instagram posts that aim to convince you that being a mompreneur is so seductive…
Instead, what you really may deal with may range from not having time to shower, and taking client calls while holding the baby in one arm and stirring the dinner pot with the other. Because entrepreneurship is not just a job, it’s a lifestyle, unlike traditional 9-to-5 that can be left behind after hours. And for moms, it happens to add onto an already packed schedule.
After the glum first reality check, let’s add that it does get easier. The biggest hurdle as to being a mompreneur is setting a more or less flexible schedule to adhere to on a daily basis. And that requires time to fine-tune all your obligations, appointments and to-do’s into a somewhat harmonized day, all the while managing to get decent sleep and comb your hair every now and again…
The part when it gets easier is when you get better at planning your days, making room for the unexpected, and making peace with not hitting all your goals all the time. Oh, and rewarding yourself too for all those times you make it to the finish line with the same shoes on each foot…
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You get better all around!
Did I mention being a mompreneur is a lifestyle all in itself? Which also means it requires you to integrate all the different parts of your life into a coherent whole, while making sure everyone’s fed, bathed, dressed and not left behind…
The great thing about going through the hardships of being a mompreneur is that these teach you invaluable tools to manage chaos. This means you get mentally tougher, you execute better, and you learn to discern the priorities from the not-so-important stuff.
Does it all come at once? Certainly not. It’s going to be a long-term trial-and-error type of thing. But in the end, or as you joyfully spring somewhere towards the light at the end of the tunnel, it all becomes clearer. What matters, what does not, and what really needs to go…And that’s the gift!
What has been your reality as a mompreneur?
To Your Success,
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Apr 26, 2017 | Career
Wear to Work: Crop Suit Jacket – Photo credit: Shopstyle.com
Our Wear to Work feature showcases workwear pieces in various styles and price ranges. Please note this post contains affiliates links.
Fresh white suiting is back in season! Hence this fitted Classiques Entier crepe jacket from Nordstrom, adorned with cool and feminine bell sleeves. I love the original style of this fitted jacket modernized with bound seams. It’s $329 at Nordstrom.
In the same style, I also like this knit tweed bell sleeve jacket from Loft, as well as this Thalia Sodu bell-sleeve number from Macy’s.
Seen any piece you’d like us to feature? Email corporate@thecorporatesister.com!
In Style and Success,
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Apr 25, 2017 | Working Mom & Woman Tips
When the “Take Your Daughter to Work” Day (celebrated on the fourth Thursday of April) was founded back in 1993, the point of it all was to promote gender equality. While it expanded to include sons 10 years later, there’s something about the very fact that we can show our daughters what it means to be a working woman that shouldn’t be overlooked. Or treated lightly…
I mean, it’s one thing saying to dear daughter that she can become anything she puts her mind to. It’s another to actually show her. And not just in terms of what Mommy or Daddy does, but in terms of what it possible, beyond Mom’s Feng shui cubicle or Dad’s dusty desk…
If you’re getting ready to dust off your desk and make your cubicle/office baby-daughter-ready, then here are 5 lessons you may want to consider sharing with baby girl on ‘Take Your Daughter to Work” Day:
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Girls (and women) can do all kinds of work
I have to say, my first impulse to take Dear Daughter to work can be summed up in two words: Girl Power! I do want her to see that girls, and women, are represented in workplaces. Not just through the glorious (and slightly disorganized) examples of her own mom and dad, but by observing other women at work as well.
This means not just taking Dear Daughter around you own department or group, but also giving her a tour of the company, especially around female leadership. It’s important for our daughters to see that women can fill many positions and roles at work, from CEO to janitor, and to let them form their own images of what the working world looks like…
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There’s no such a thing as perfect balance
After all the initial Girl Power moments, comes the much-needed reality check lesson. I have to admit, one of my big first reality checks coming into adulthood “working mode” was that there isn’t any balance whatsoever as a working woman. Not just because we have kids or significant others or a social life, but because having a career is an automatic one-way into no-balance land. Between being our best selves at work, slaying our life goals, returning calls and paying the mortgage on time, working life is a juggling act.
So one of the most important lessons I’ve always wanted to pass on to Dear Daughter is to not expect the whole work thing to be nice and neat and organized. Which means teaching our daughters that the chaos of early mornings, unexpected traffic jams, and dealing with crisis at work is normal. And can actually be fun if we take it all as a challenge, as opposed to insurmountable obstacles…
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Work can look like a lot of different things
This is the part that I’d call “job diversity”. Ok, maybe this is not the optimal term, but it works for now…And it consists in carefully imprinting in Baby Daughter the idea that work is not just what Mommy (or Daddy) does. It’s not just what the well-dressed CEO sitting at the clean desk overlooking the Bay area does either.
It’s also what the lady janitor does so well when she cleans the toilets. Or what the lady at the building entrance does when registering guests inside the offices…
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Work can change
One of the most frequent misconceptions we may unwillingly transmit to our children is that work is static. That Mommy or Daddy goes to the same job every day, gets money for it that they can in turn use to buy them toys or pay for the tokens at Chuck-e Cheese. Pretty basic, right?
Except what this does is stick our kids into the idea that work is this humongous prison all adults go lock themselves in every day. Wrong! Instead, why not use Take Your Daughter to Work day as an incentive to realize that work does change. This can be done by having them talk to other women (and men) at work who had different careers and positions throughout their careers.
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You have to find the work that makes you happy!
Last but not least, work is what should give you the same feeling as when you complete a difficult puzzle, or help a friend in need, or run through that obstacle course you never thought you could even begin. Work is fulfilling, satisfying, challenging. Work makes you happy, and on edge, and full, whatever that looks like…
What lessons would you teach your daughter on Take Your Daughter to Work Day?
To Your Success,
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Apr 21, 2017 | Career
Welcome to our weekly career, entrepreneurship, lifestyle and fashion news roundup! Think of it as your online watercooler/work gossip station/coffee break spot for now…Want to add anything to our list? Email us at corporate@thecorporatesister.com!
- In awesome news this week, the NY Times reveals the Queen of the Tennis Courts Serena Williams confirmed she’s expecting and we’re in total awe!
- Business Insider lists the highest-paying jobs in each state;
- Got student loans? Black Enterprise explains the financial impact of borrowing student loans;
- The Lyndsey Pollak Blog outlines the most important interview prep you should be doing, but are not!
- TCS lists 7 tips to survive any toxic work environment;
- The Glassdoor Blog lists the #1 reason why women make less than men (and what you can do it about it);
- Are you a new manager? Forbes lists 7 new manager mistakes you don’t even know you’re making;
- If you have employees suffering from high-functioning depression? Ellevate Network has tips on how to be a good leader to them;
- Want to succeed? Ellevate Network advises you to work less;
- Black Enterprise reveals that historically black college Xavier University lab develops a supplement that kills cancer;
- Are you an entrepreneur using Instagram? Entrepreneur recommends you double-down on Instagram stories and explains why;
- Want to take amazing pics right on your phone? Buzzfeed lists 17 ways to make the pics you take on your phone so much better;
- In an empowering message for all women, Essence reports that model and People’s Most Beautiful Woman nominee Danielle Brooks is proud of her stretch marks;
- Traveling for Spring Break? Food52 has a list of 15 travel kits to store your littler things.
Seen any piece of news you’d like to share? Post in the comments below or email me at corporate@thecorporatesister.com!
Cheers to the weekend!
The Corporate Sis
by Solange Lopes | Apr 19, 2017 | Career
Everlane Day Heel – Photo credit: shopstyle.com
Our Wear to Work feature showcases workwear pieces in various styles and price ranges. Please note this post contains affiliates links.
If you could combine the classic ease of a chic ballerina shoe with the all-day comfort of a block heel for Spring, you’d get this…The Everlane Day Heel, a ballet-inspired shoe with a round toe and elastic back. Which also means you can literally walk in them.all.day.long. How’s that for a great deal, especially when as the weather gets nice around…It also comes in black suede, rose tan and navy. It’s $145 at Everlane.
Seen any piece you’d like us to feature? Email corporate@thecorporatesister.com!
In Style and Success,
The Corporate Sis.
