Show notes
Do you own your own business?
Or have you ever dreamed of starting your own business?
If so, today’s episode is for you.
According to Jill Salzman, moms make the best entrepreneurs because we know how to make it up as we go. Jill created the mom entrepreneur MeetUp, The Founding Moms. Their mission? Helping moms get down to business.
Jill shares what happens at these monthly MeetUps in cities around the world, a few amazing and inspirational stories of successful mom entrepreneurs and why getting together with other women is so powerful.
If you own your own business or have dreamed of starting one, today’s episode is a must-listen.
The Minute by Minute Recap
:58-2:27: How Jill “decided” to start The Founding Moms. Flat out freaked out about running two businesses with two small children, on a whim she went to MeetUp.com and started a meet up. 6 months in, they had over 200 members online.
2:35-4:15: At the beginning, the MeetUp groups addressed the logistics of ‘How do I do this?’. Then it morphed into a marketing, branding conversation.
4:15-7:00: The Founding Moms is currently in 40 cities in the U.S., 9 countries with 8,000 members and growing quickly. Members are all ages with children of different ages. When you show up to one of Jill’s meetings, there’s always a speaker giving practical, actionable tips on marketing or legal or branding. Chicago and Oak Park groups have over 600 members. At each meeting, there are no more than 20 people. In San Francisco, for example, they have larger groups. For the most part, they’re smaller.
7:10-8:18: The Founding Moms is free to join in your city and then $10-$15/month per event. Soon there will be an online forum that’s a paid membership (stay tuned!).
8:22-9:10: The online course is not available quite yet, but there will be an active forum, a Directory (like Angie’s list for mom entrepreneurs), video courses.
9:15-11:50: Another thing currently available from the Founding Moms is called the Founding Kit, which bundles services all business owners need (things like graphic design, a website, virtual assistant, etc.). All clients are already in business and see the value of the kit.
12:00-12:40: Megan picks a small bone with Jill…there’s no Founding Moms community in Portland. What?! Jill welcomes any mom with her own business who’d like to start this group to go to FoundingMoms.com/StartOne.
12:55-14:25: Jill’s advice for moms that want to start their own business: get out fast! The Founding Moms is that place women can go to sit in a room with other mom entrepreneurs to get the inspiration they need to take that next step. One conversation could charge you right out of the corporate rat race. Whether it’s The Founding Moms or just visiting a local co-working space, have conversations with people who are doing this work already. Talk to them about how they do it.
14:25-18:37: Jill shares a few stories of successful women entrepreneurs. One woman came to the MeetUp every month wanting to start something but not knowing what. She now runs a wildly successful branding firm by meeting the needs of the very women she was communing with.
Another woman showed up at an exchange and wanted to quit her job to start a business with her husband. They started OptionsAway.com, a now successful business that allows you to hold the price of an airline ticket for a few days. Brilliant!
Another woman was experimenting with chemicals in her kitchen to create an amazing “perfect manicure” product, she’d show up at MeetUps with her product and people’s mouths would drop. She is now being courted by major beauty brands. The company is Liquid Palisade.
18:37-20:04:Having the inspiration and watching other women be courageous is contagious and very powerful. Find Jill and Founding Moms online, on Twitter and Instagram.
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