#StartupSpotlight: Winning With Jill Salzman Of The Founding Moms

Throughout the world, history is strewn with strong women who’ve been the pillars for their children, supporting them through thick and thin. The list goes on from Olympias to Sojourner Truth, from Mother Lu to Anne Boleyn. However, during the 20th century through the 21st, I feel there has been a paradigm shift. While fierce mothers continue with their parenting roles they are now also being acknowledged as individuals with passions for doing things other than tending to their children. And I have proof. Meet Jill Salzman our StartupSpotlight star who’s an entrepreneur, coach, podcaster, author, marketer, Ted Talk speaker, and a mother. She makes being a working mom glamorous and inspirational for other mothers to achieve more. We reach out to her to find her secrets for success. Here are her answers.

1. Who Is The Superwoman Behind The Founding Moms?

Salzman is pretty much a regular mom who cares about what her children think about her. She says: “My two daughters — 8 and 10 years old — help me to see that it’s OK to be a working mama.” But that by no means stops her from being a powerful mompreneur. She describes herself as:

“I’m a gal who makes it my business to highlight the superwomen of small business and raise them up. When I launched The Founding Moms, I had no idea how many women in the world there were who were yearning to connect with fellow mom entrepreneurs, find out how to build better businesses, and stay sane in the process. Turns out there are a lot of us. In my 8 years doing it, I’ve discovered that my business grows when another Founding Mom’s business grows — and that we can’t do it without one another. This is my third business and by far, my favorite.”

2. What Is The One Burning Question That You Often Get From Mompreneurs, And What’s Your Answer?

 “They ask if I ever sleep. A lot.

I send out a daily email; offer advice via weekly Facebook Lives in our Founding Moms Community; do the same weekly via my Breaking Down Your Business podcast; host monthly meet-ups offline and monthly coaching webinars online; and am currently writing my second book.

So I’m a bit busy. And the way that I’ve systematized the work product I create, it appears that I am always working 24/7. But I sleep. A lot. And I don’t believe that anyone should sacrifice it for the sake of making money. It’s too important.”

What we learn from Salzman is that you don’t have to be a robot to be a mompreneur. Keep on doing what makes you sane and successful, but never sacrifice what’s important to you.

3. Personal Brand Or Network Size, Which Pulls More Weight In Business?

Personal branding is one of the most important factors that make mompreneurs successful, so does networking. Salzman’s advice is to give both the same weightage.

“One affects the other so I’m not sure one is more important than the other. If your personal brand is strong, your network will grow. If your network is huge but your personal brand sucks, they won’t care. They rely on one another to pull any weight in business. For folks who aim at building a huge network with no value or strong personal brand to offer? It never works. I wish more people saw that.”

4. For Moms Thinking Of Starting Out, What Are The 3 Things They Should Have?

Starting out is a daunting prospects and requires a lot of hard work. But before you think of giving up on the idea, Salzman offers these tips:

1. Patience
2. The courage to ask other people for help, support, opinions, and answers.
3. The ability to swat at any negativity that comes your way and stay the course. There will be a lot. It won’t always feel good. But determination makes for one kickass founder.”

So stick around, grit your teeth and stay true to your passion. Don’t let anyone discourage you just because you feel you’re at a disadvantage. You can overcome them, and your efforts WILL materialize.

5. If You Were In A Room With Jeff Bezos, What Would You Ask Him?

“I’d ask him why he thinks he has to take over the world with his company. He’s the kind of online overlord who means well but I fear the way that Amazon is taking over everything. It’s not healthy for our society, it’s not safe for a lot of people’s identities, and it’s not responsible of him.”

And he’s not the only one. As an entrepreneur you have to wear so many hats that sometimes you tend to get lost on the way. How do you keep track of your successes and failures; how do you foresee growth or demise? But most of all how do you balance motherhood with entrepreneurship? Find your answers by joining Salzman’s community where you’ll find likeminded moms determined to make your business brand big.

Did Salzman’s answers surprise you? Share your thoughts.