How to Feel Like a Powerful Entrepreneur While Wearing a Bathrobe
2009-10-29 at 03:08 pm mashaMany of you reading this are contemplating becoming self-employed. I wrote this post specifically for professional women, starting their at-home businesses. Most of the concepts here apply to men working form home, as well. At the very least, show this post to your wife. She’ll appreciate it, trust me.
How to Feel Like a Powerful Entrepreneur While Wearing a Bathrobe
The truth is you can’t. Or maybe you can, but it is very hard. I tried feeding a baby while writing a PhD thesis and felt much more like a cow than an engineering professional.
There is a wonderful show on TLC called “What Not to Wear.” The two sassy TV show hosts, Stacy and Clinton, in one magical hour transform their frumpy subjects with some nice clothes, a new haircut, and make up. By the end of the makeover almost every one of those poor shlumpy souls is standing up straighter and has a noticeable twinkle in their eye. Did they win a lottery? Closed a huge sale? Got a promotion? Nope. They simply put on some nice clothes and got out of their bathrobe …sort of speak.
Have you ever felt like the last thing you ever wanted to do was go to the gym? Except you just bought a new workout outfit and as soon as you put it on you actually felt like all of a sudden you were in better shape and could not wait to walk into that step class?
Same thing works for feeling like a successful business woman. For us, moms that work out of our homes, it is much easier to throw on a pair of old sweats and a stained t-shirt and plop down in front of a computer. No one will see us all day, so who cares what we look like, right? Wrong. You know what you look like and subconsciously, you know that your look does not resemble one of the powerful business ladies from the Lipstick Jungle. Internally, you are aware that there is a disconnect between what your projecting on the outside and what you are trying to achieve on the inside.
Do I propose putting on a suit every time you sit in front of your computer? Absolutely not! Throwing on sweats in the morning is why many of us decided to work from home in the first place. But, I do think that we all need an activity that puts us in a professional, business setting at least once a week. Find a babysitter for a few hours a week, get your husband to watch the kids after work on a Wednesday night (don’t worry, he can handle it) and get out there. Put on a nice business attire and go to a business club meeting, a networking event or an interesting talk at a local university.
So you’re all dressed up and actually washed your hair this week. Congrats! Where do find professional events to attend? If you ever had any profession, aside from being a mom, – an engineer, marketing director, teacher, coach, etc; find an association for that profession and join your local section. Spend a few minutes and google “teacher and professional associations” or “professional associations for biologists”. Contact your local section and simply attend the next meeting. I promise that you will feel much more like a capable professional just sitting in one of these meeting, than sitting at home in your bathrobe.
Can’t find any professional associations? Take a look at www.SCORE.org and Small Business Administration (http://www.sba.gov). These are wonderful organizations for people just like you, trying to make it on their own in the world of business. Per your request, SCORE will actually assign a business councilor to you completely free of charge! Councilors are usually retired VPs and CEOs who are volunteering their time to help small businesses develop and grow. Both SCORE and SBA provide plenty of opportunities for networking meetings, interesting lectures, inexpensive business courses and much more.
So, how can you feel like a powerful business woman while wearing your bathrobe? You get out of that bathrobe, put on nice business trousers and lipstick, and get out of the house. Once a week, go somewhere where you can be surrounded by people wearing suits and holding business cards as opposed to wearing dippers and holding a bincky…even if it is only for a few hours.
