Advice to Mompreneurs: Work, Pause, Hire A Bookkeeper, and Thrive

This week Add Insight was fortunate to attend a brilliant book talk highlighting journalist and author, Lisen Stromberg’s new book titled, Work Pause Thrive: How to Pause for Parenthood Without Killing Your Career. The talk was hosted and sponsored by The Hivery, a women’s co-working space in Mill Valley, California which celebrates ‘mompreneurs’ as part of its mission.

You Can Pause Your Career

Work Pause Thrive focuses on the important role American women play in the workplace and economy. Women are overcoming societal hurdles by following non-linear careers and/or are pausing their careers for family care. Stromberg is an award-winning journalist who has written for such publications at the New York Times, Fortune, and Newsweek. Her journalistic focus has been on work-life issues for women in the tech industry. As part of her research for Work Pause Thrive, Stromberg published a national survey that collected data from nearly 1,500 college educated women. Work Pause Thrive is written in a way that effortlessly weaves women’s individual stories (sourced from 186 personal interviews) with a wealth of statistical data. It is a quick read and a must for any women (and men) who plan to have children, are in the middle of raising children or care deeply about supporting families.

The Rise of Mompreneurs

This brings me to an interesting point that Stromberg made in her book and that resonates with our brand philosophy. Women in greater numbers are pausing their careers for childcare, pivoting their career trajectory, and launching their own businesses. These women are often referred to as ‘mompreneurs’. Entrepreneurship has been a way for many women to balance childcare responsibilities while building their own professional career and finding meaning in their work. Many of our clients are ‘mompreneurs’. Add Insight was founded by a ‘mompreneur’. As wonderful as it is to run your own business, it can come with great financial risk. You are, in most cases, solely responsible for generating the income you need to pay your bills and provide for your family. Not to mention the extra complications of managing your cash flow and taxes.

Bookkeepers Help You Thrive

In addition to working, pausing, and eventually thriving, we suggest you add to the equation hiring a bookkeeper. According to surveys published by organizations like the Bureau of Labor Statistics, new businesses are more likely to fail in their first 5 years than survive. When you add a bookkeeping professional to your team the success rates increase dramatically. Powerful accounting software like QuickBooks Self-Employed allows you an instant snapshot of your small business’s overall health plus the added benefit of knowing how much tax you are anticipated to owe. Although the lack of family-friendly policies creates extra challenges for women and entrepreneurs, technology is providing creative solutions to help ‘mompreneurs’ thrive.

Join In Our Mission

Add Insight is on a mission to help small businesses and mothers thrive by providing both guidance and support. Our ‘mompreneurs’ are comforted in knowing they will not be late for payments, their payroll will be processed on time, and there is someone to call for help. If you are a ‘mompreneur’ in search of a bookkeeper to add to your support network, please contact us and tell us what exciting business you are nurturing. Are you a mompreneur? What helps you thrive?