Motherhood Makes Women Better Entrepreneurs, and Vice Versa

Motherhood Makes Women Better Entrepreneurs, and Vice Versa Its no secret that mothersare hardworking employees a recent Welchs study showed that, when you factor in family duties,jobs, clocking in an average of 98 hours per week. The average working mom typically begins her day at 623 a.m. and doesnt stop working until 831 p.m.Mothers are committed workers both because they know whathard work looks like and because theyve got mouths to feed. And theres more to it than that.In astudy for Microsoft that surveyed 500 employers and 2000 women, researchers found both groups of participants believed that women became better employees after giving birth. Sixty-two percent of employers said moms made better team players. Almost two-thirds of moms said their multitasking skills improved after having a baby, and almost half said their time management skills got better. More than 25 percent of moms said they became more organized, too.In 2016, Fast Companycontributer Allyson Downey also wrote For many new moms, their work is what tethers them back to themselves the person that they were before having a baby. They become even more appreciative of the fulfillment they derive from work, because the mundane details of their evening job (being a parent) arent always rewarding and are often the opposite.She also wrote about theadage, If you want something to get done, ask a busy person, noting that theres no one busier than a new parent who works. Yes, mothers of young children may have their in-office schedules constrained by the hours during which they have childcare coverage, she wrote. But thats a strength in disguise. It forces them to be extra efficient, and they wind up trimming from their days things that arent mission critical.Plus, in the U.S. alone, mothers spend $2 trillion each year, controlling 80 percent of household spending so companies that engage with consumers in any way benefit from having mothers on their teams. Regardless, all companies with the best financial performance havehigher shares of women in their leadership, according to another survey and 70 percent of the female workforce has young children.So we already know that mothers make hard workers, but now new research says that the opposite is also true. A recent Vistaprint studyof 500 American moms who run their own business found over half (56 percent) think running a company makes them a better parent despite the heavy workload.While almost every business-owning mom polled (94 percent) said they believe running a business leaves a positive impression on their kids, teaching them important qualities such as work ethic, responsibility, leadership, commitment and self-confidence.Almost nine in10 business-owning moms (89 percent) also reportingfeeling like theyre inspiring their children to be future entrepreneurs themselves.Most of them didnt start businesses for money reasons either in fact, only 35 percent of the entrepreneurial moms polled said they started their bus iness for money, since owning a businesscomes with challenges likefinancial pressures, the lack of a stable salary, the lack of time for personal interests and exhaustion. Rather,62 percent of moms reported that flexible working hours was one of the top reasons for starting their own business. This was followed by being in charge of their own destiny (51 percent), financial independence (44 percent), andanother 39percentsaid their children actually inspired them in some way to start their own businesses.We often hear business owners refer to their company as their baby its something you are responsible for creating and, like any child, it requires love, nurturing, almost constant attention and a lot of hard work, says Vistaprint CEO Trynka Shineman. It makes sense that the skills you develop from one role complement the other. But balancing motherhood and business ownership takes remarkable strength and dedication, so we want to recognize our countrys entrepreneurial moms for the a mazing work they do.To recognize entrepreneurial moms, Vistaprint filmed some talking about the reality of being a parent and business owner. Check outthe video here.--AnnaMarie Houlis is a multimedia journalist and an adventure aficionado with a keen cultural curiosity and an affinity for solotravel. Shes an editor by day and a travel blogger at HerReport.org by night.