The take-away from this week’s episode of Dragons’ Den reinforces one of our long-held beliefs: There is nothing wrong with starting small. In business, starting small can mean flexibility, control and even freedom. One woman we interviewed for Mom Inc. told us, “I never wanted to be so tied to my business that I couldn’t walk away from it if I needed to.” For better or for worse, the benefits are starting small were evident in tonight’s show.
This weekend I’ll be eating turkey three times. Yep, that’s right – three times. This brings me a certain mixture of pleasurable anticipation (yummy food) and fear (gaining 8 lbs worth of pumpkin pie!). With all of this thanksgiving going on, I can’t help but think about the things for which I should actually give thanks. I’ve got it pretty good. In fact, my gratitude cup runneth over. So here’s what I’m grateful for, in no particular order, after the first two.
One of the reasons I love Dragons’ Den is because it’s so relatable. If you’ve dabbled in entrepreneurship, you will see yourself reflected in many of the stories that appear on screen. There were three great business lessons in tonight’s show. The proof is in the pudding
Regrettably, work and back-to-school have hindered my reality tv viewing – but I’m caught up now and loved the season opener of Dragons’ Den. I’d like to share some of the business lessons I learned from watching.
It doesn’t matter where you sell it – just sell it
Once you get to know us you’ll learn that despite different backgrounds, our lives have followed a shockingly similar path. Same undergrad degree, same post-university experience abroad, same grad degree from which we were hired by the same firm. We could go on: Same hairdresser, same dentist. And last week, unbeknownst to us both, we bought the exact same pair of shoes. (They’re really cute.)
So we’re also the same age – three months apart to the day.
We were talking to a mompreneur friend the other day and she let us know that her business is for sale. It got us thinking about how effective it can be to buy a business rather than starting one from scratch. Did you know that we bought our business? True story.
Many moms would agree, back-to-school really is the most wonderful time of the year. Back to having the kids out of the house and back to routine. But since when did back-to-school mean putting a dent in my bank account?
A few weeks ago I found myself school supply shopping with my two school-aged daughters, lists in hand, just about ready to gouge my eyes out. The following is a partial list of the supplies required for my Grade 4 daughter:
When we were interviewing all of the amazing self-employed moms as a part of our research for Mom Inc a few things really stayed with us. Here’s one that stood out. According to Kathy Buckworth, author, spokesperson and all around funny mummy, mompreneurs should take the time to enter awards. When you step off the corporate career path you lose the valuable career feedback that comes with having an employer. As Kathy puts it, “As a mompreneur you only get feedback from your kids, and they always tell you that you suck!
