Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Jill Salzman, founder of The Founding Moms, located in Chicago, IL, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
The Founding Moms® is a global collective of offline masterminds and online resources where mom entrepreneurs can build better businesses. We’re sassy, savvy businessfolk who want to skip the networking luncheons and boring business card swaps for educational and supportive roundtables. We provide the most comprehensive online and offline resources for mom entrepreneurs who want a deep dive into marketing, branding, and sales so that they can build better businesses.
Unlike many formal, stiff, and expensive networking groups for entrepreneurs, we’re comprised of real women making a difference and having fun doing it. We dress casually. We talk about opportunities to help our businesses grow. We share tips, listen to expert advice, and come back for more. We create relationships, promote deeper connections, and engage in ways distinct from the daily online blur.
Tell us about yourself
I'm now a serial entrepreneur, 2-time author, podcast host, and professional speaker. But what got me started working on my business? I didn't intend to start my business at all. I was running two unrelated businesses and pregnant with my second child; I wondered how women run businesses with babies in tow without losing their minds. So I started a small meetup. It grew pretty quickly. And as members showed up and asked questions about where to find support or resources, I dug deep to find the answers. That's what I do now, each and every day. I help support women who don't know where else to turn and who are trying to make sense of running a business while raising a family. My members are what motivates me.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Building a community that resonates with the mom entrepreneur audience. Connecting two human beings who can help each other to build something valuable? There's nothing like it. Facilitating that through a living, breathing community where connections happen every day? It's pretty rewarding.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
The hardest thing I've found when it comes to being a business owner - for so many of us - is the lack of a steady paycheck (until you are much farther along.) It's tough not to have a reliable, consistent stream of cash coming in, and that alone sends entrepreneurs running back to the corporate world. But with patience, perseverance, and a positive attitude, the expectation fizzles, and you carry on knowing that it's part of the deal.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
I always recommend that before you look to start, run, or grow a business, know that this stuff isn't for the faint of heart. You need to have a tremendous amount of patience to build the thing, you need to have the confidence to move forward even where uncertainties abound, and you need to know that not a single person on planet Earth has the right answer for you. Entrepreneurship is all about what works for YOU.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://foundingmoms.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/foundingmoms
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/foundingmoms/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/foundingmom
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/foundingmom/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
Turn your craft into recurring revenue with Subkit. Start your subscription offering in minutes and supercharge it with growth levers. Get early access here.