This is the fourth Summary of Posts for the previously semi-secret Hot Mommas Project insider’s blog, “Building a Million Dollar Business Part Time.” See Intro Post. Subscribe to this blog and check out the “Million Dollar Biz-Part Time” category starting today. The below is retroactively posted from August 2010. It’s a “Cliffs Notes” of the posts and my learnings during the first three quarters of the year. After muscling through the struggles of 2008 and 2009, and emerging to become the world’s largest women’s case study library, I feel the success on the horizon. Let’s hope I’m right.
It’s Happening
This is the first time since I started this blog that I actually BELIEVE I will be able to build a million dollar business while working part-time. The below summary of posts serves as a table of contents over the past year. It will help explain how I got to this point.
The next year will be key to see if I can really pull this off.
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What is this, where I am, who are you? If this is your first time here, this is the insider’s blog for The Hot Mommas Project. We are a women’s leadership venture, the research for which was founded at the George Washington University School of Business (where I teach). This blog started with an audacious goal of becoming a million dollar venture…while being led by a mom working part time. Since I started this blog, we have become the world’s largest women’s case study library. We showcase the stories of the women in your life in a TEACHABLE format, and they are published in major textbooks and used by educators. Click here for about page. Click here to check out our classes which are producing stunning increases in self-confidence for women and girls.
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MAC DADDY SUMMARY:
The major learnings for me have been:
- Persistence: Keep pressing, pushing, and smushing on the idea until it “clicks.” A LOT of patience was required until I heard “click!”
- Mentors: Share with mentors, it will amplify your idea and impact. I spent a whole summer taking advisors to coffee. A mentoring marathon.
- Operationalize: The idea is part one, part two is creating the “machine” behind it. Get with someone who is good at this is you stink. I give myself a “B.”
- Delegation – The Org Chart in Your Head: The machine includes people, who you meet by actually talking…at events, via coffees, over the phone. That is when the TRUE connection happens. They will fall into place in the “org chart in your head.”
- Get Your Affairs in Order: Have the talk with your spouse/partner. Tell them about your dream. Tell them what it will mean for your life you’re successful. See if they are up for it. GO THERE mentally. If those closest to you are not on board, and your idea takes off, you will still be a failure. Home ALWAYS wins. If you won’t think big, and dream, and make it real by discussing it with people….you’ve lost before you’ve even started. While my husband really gets on my nerves sometimes, I love the guy and know he’s “my guy” when I see how behind this he really is. He really, really gets it. I don’t think I realized the importance of this to me. I don’t want to be alone, you know?
Read more below….
POST SUMMARIES #28 – #37
(Summary of Posts 1 / Summary of Posts 2 / Summary of Posts 3)
#28 – Free Black Friday Gifts: The Gift of Mentorship
Topics: Promotional/launch strategies, effective use of deadlines
Post summary: In this post, I use the excuse of “Black Friday” to launch the 2010, second annual Hot Mommas Project case study competition. Thought I was being smart, but, it kind of didn’t work. I was trying to tie searches for “Black Friday” to the Hot Mommas Project case study competition. But, guess what? Lesson: People who are searching for Black Friday want to go SHOPPING! I DID use the deadline of “launch” to develop some great content tools that tell our story (like this). So, deadlines still work people!
#29 Free Online Business Tools for Which I am Thankful
Topics: Organization, time management, sanity for the entrepreneur.
Post Summary: Here, I was really trying to up my game in terms of organization, and also having methods for detoxing. It’s like the “personal” balanced score card if you will (pardon the ’90s reference business junkies of the world). Lesson: It never ends, the quest to squeeze out more time and efficiency, and remain sane while doing it. I’ve noticed that people who just go go go and don’t try to examine themselves and their processes get stuck in a sort of “chaotic purgatory.” “Better” is the mantra on this side of the business street.
#30 Would You Read This? My Book Outline for Women and The New Sisterhood of Success
Topics: New Sisterhood of Success, Book Outline, the “CLICK”
Post Summary: This was major. It’s my first stab at a book outline. I had been talking about it for years, drafting proposals for months, and finally – in a blip – it came pouring out. Lesson: Let your freak flag fly. I keep a lot of what goes on in my head to myself so as not to overwhelm others . On this occasion, I let some big/deep thoughts fly. After a heart-to-heart with my hubby on meaning-of-life type stuff, my brain was clear and the book outline was inserted.
- CLICK: This is worth some extra spazio in the summary….it’s a big big learning. Here it is: Every now and then, I feel/hear/sense what I can only describe as a “CLICK.” It’s like pieces of a universal seat belt coming together. This was one of those moments. Always be on the lookout for these times. This one instance led to important stuff later, like meeting with a famous book agent.
#31 Are Entrepreneurs Really Crazy? Escaping: The Vortex.
Topic: Entrepreneurial obsession. At the time of this post, the Hot Mommas Project 2010 Case Study Competition is over. We are officially the world’s largest women’s case study library. I start to think I am officially insane as I send the team emails about fixes and tweaks for next year, and start emailing our software developers and team. Why and I not taking downtime. I often pay the price for not taking downtime, as you’ll see later. Lesson: Entrepreneurs are obsessed freaks. No, seriously, this is an actual fact.
#32a How to Not Look Like a Tool in Your Business Communications
#32b How to Not Look Like a Tool in Business Communications Part Deux
This is about communication, communication, communication. As the popularity and visibility of the Hot Mommas Project grows, I start to get more and more emails/requests. This is a HNL (Hole.Nother.Level) of emails. I am overwhelmed. Still no solution to this one. But, I also give more talks. I start notice a trend: There are a shocking amount of questions about how to relate/connect socially with others. Example:
Me: “You need mentors.”
Audience members: “How do I talk to these people?”
I start to hypothesize that certain social skills are degenerating. This post provides helpful tips I then took back and used with my students at the George Washington University School of Business. Lesson: Winners of the future will master both social media AND traditional communication (talking to actual people on the phone/in person.)
#33 Giving Myself a Wife for Mother’s Day
Delegation for women/business people is the topic here. As the amount of communications, and appointments, and other dreck mounts…I know it is time for reinforcements. Thus began the real and serious thinking about additional staff at work, and home. We re-joined the au pair program and got some serious help that worked with our schedule. I developed a “values statement” for staff to get us, and future hires, on same page. One of the values? “Not easily overwhelmed.” Brought in an actual professional to help us with marketing processes. Also, in this post I give a shout out to HelaSpa. They honored our 2010 winning case with some spa treatments. Lesson: I don’t know, I’m busy. Can you figure it out? (Like that? Delegating the lesson?)
#34 How Entrepreneurs Deal With Failure
The topic here is learning from failure. A teleclass I was trying to get off the ground kept crashing and burning. I completely inverted my approach. I changed the title, and the price, resulting in a REALLY successful result which inspired Sis U (Sisterhood University) which is where women who “get it” gather, learn, and act. Lesson: It takes a really strong person to say “Wow, I screwed this up.” I seriously think 99% of the population can’t do this. So, if you can, consider it a strength.
#35 Letter to a mentor: I’m kind of freaking out right now
The chaos of success is the topic of this post. Earlier, in 2009, OTHER people freaked out when the Hot Mommas Project was successful (99% good freak out, 5% bad, petty freak outs). Here, I am the one who freaked out. “What do I do? What do I do?” was the crazed tape playing in my head after a very well-received presentation. Lessons: Good lesson = another “CLICK” happened. My teachings about women and empowerment were right on. Bad lesson = I was not prepared for the very strong, and positive reaction. One would think I’d be elated, right, but instead of secretly freaked out. I found this to be very weird and wondered if it happens to anyone else.
Oh, BTW, the mentor to whom I “freaked out?” Well, I met with him. I herded the cats which were my thoughts, did a summary PowerPoint deck, and talked him through it over coffee. He loved it. I channeled all my: 1. Impatience for waiting so long for a business model and 2. General freakaliciousness and 3. The motivation from this meeting into:
- Assembling a team
- Doing a book proposal
- Meeting with a book agent
- ..All within 45 days of writing this post!
So, what WAS it? What was he so excited about. That is the topic of this year’s posts. But, what I put in the PowerPoint deck – and presented to the #WGBiz crowd in June, were my long-time-accumulating thoughts and research on THE most important thing for women. The underlying message was: ”The New Sisterhood of Success” is what will propel us to our potential. And I have the research to prove it, and the how-to manual to do it.
“The New Sisterhood of Success” is what will propel us to our potential. And I have the research to prove it, and the how-to manual to do it.
#36 Meeting with Book Agents
Topics: Literary agent meetings, spreading self thin
Post Summary: I set a meeting with a book agent, then scramble. The person with whom I met is a major book agent at a large agency who is constantly rejecting people. Had I known this going in, I might have been nervous. This is one of those ignorance-is-bliss cases. I was so exhausted from pushing myself to get the book proposal done, a presentation at MasterCard, and a meeting with broadway producer Ken Waissman (a Hot Mommas Project judge) all in the same day that I literally I barfed on a ferry out to see my former b-school professor and mentor @RosabethKanter. Immune system = gone. Lesson: So when I’m running gunning in the future with wherever the New Sisterhood of Success and Hot Mommas Project takes me, I think I’m going to have to do the OPPOSITE of what Emeril says, and “Kick it DOWN a notch.”
#37 Is Business Un-FUNNY?
The “right” communication tone for my book is the topic of this post, and then I branch into corporate culture questions about humor. This was really all just a way to fess up that the literary agent told me not to be cute in describing myself and my background. “Out with it” she said, “You’re a Harvard MBA, a successful entrepreneur and you teach this stuff at the college level.” Lesson: The good news was that, other than that, she likes my message and writing styple. Bad news: There is a time and a place for funny. The place is NOT my bio. She pretty much told me this straight-up.
#38 Is My Career Less Important Than My Spouse’s? The Part Time Workers Bill of Rights
#39 PART 2: Is My Career Less Important Than My Spouse’s? The Part Time Workers Bill of Rights.
This post was about asking the hard questions. Had I numbed myself in to a lower drive so I’m not disappointed when I need to deal with family and home issues? Do I want the professional “crack” back? No matter what, I knew that I needed support – and very specific types of support – if I was going to press “play” on the stuff the angel investor and the literary agent (and other advisors) were pushing me to do. Lesson: For years, especially before the kiddies were in school, I found myself “deficiency planning”. That is, anticipating what could/might go wrong at home if I pursue my career, and planning around that. In this post, I try to fathom a way to say “This is what I need – can you handle it?”
PARTING THOUGHT: With a business model, book interest, message focus, fans, and the discussion with the spouse of “Hey, this could be successful” under my belt, I’m looking forward to the next year. And, no, I have not written about the business model yet. That is going to have to be my little secret pending further testing….stay tuned, and wish me luck.