“I opened my business nine months ago and much like a pregnancy, giving birth to Forte Professional Services has not been easy. Yes, I just framed a business discussion in very female terms and the self-awareness that allows me to make that statement is hard-won. This period of what I unabashedly term gestation has been crucially important in shaping my business because I have learned to draw a line of demarcation between my family and work life. This entails both a balanced approach to scheduling and the embracing of aspects of my life that do not fit into the traditional model of a business professional.”
Before starting her own business, Karen was a successful manager for a Fortune 500 corporation. She attributes her rise in that company to an ability to meet both the demands of stakeholders while growing the people who worked in her teams. One day her manager, a very successful business woman in my community, asked her to describe her approach to work. “I explained that I aspired to treat everyone the same way I would want my children to be treated by their supervisors and peers. She didn’t like my answer and ended our discussion by telling me to never make coffee for our meetings again. She said it sent the wrong message to the men on our team.”
Karen took the woman’s advice to heart when she started Forte. She tried to minimize her ‘mothering’ characteristics by doing things like deleting birthdays from her calendar. “The very things that had compelled me to start my own business such as being home in the evenings to oversee my son’s homework became hard to achieve and I struggled to make time for him.” Recently, Smallwood’s son asked her to proofread his Grade 12 English essay on “Hamlet”. As she reflected on Polonius’s sage advice to his son of “to thine own self be true” she experienced the click of a profound epiphany. “My business was not growing as I had planned because its philosophical foundation was not an accurate reflection of me. I was unhappy and some of my clients were unhappy.”
As Karen reflects on her ethical orientation as a business owner, she boldly declares that she is a mother and that being a mother does not make her an ineffective business owner. “In fact,” she says, “more women than men are starting small businesses. I am by nature a nurturer and just because I may serve a client coffee doesn’t mean I won’t meet their deadlines.”
Accepting this about herself has helped her become more aware of her place in a long line of women who balance both home and career. “I lost sight of this as I tried to fit my business model into a frame that was not completely true to who I am. Learning to resist a false need to compensate for my personality is the greatest growth I have experienced as a new business owner. This growth has enriched me, my family and my clients. One might say that it has nurtured us.”
Karen Smallwood, Forte Professional Services can be found on Facebook and LinkedIn.
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Outstanding quest there. What happened after? Take care!
Karen, best of luck to you & your business. Some lessons learned in the corporate world are best forgotten once you move on.
Good for you! I am having trouble finding your Facebook and LinkedIn. Could we get a links please?
http://www.facebook.com/bizlaunch
https://twitter.com/#!/BizLaunch
Diane, I’ve noticed the same thing with my kids. In my toruting sessions this summer I am having the kids read a passage three times. We time it with each reading…I then have them find the mean and graph it.
Can’t pass up the chance for that mini math lesson.They get so excited to see the speed and accuracy increase. I agree with you that the Jared Effect kicks in. I explain to them every time that this shows how much reading daily will help them. My hope is that the connection will be made in their minds and they will be more motivated to read.