Mom Invented

We're all guilty of it -- waiting until that "perfect" moment to do whatever it is we've been putting off -- maybe it's starting a diet, going back to school, or even having another baby. Launching your business may be another of these on your to-do list.

Maybe you're waiting for the kids to get a little older, or for them to start school. Maybe you're waiting for a little more money in the bank, or for someone - husband, parent, friend - to give you the go-ahead. As it turns out, though, there is rarely the perfect time to start a business - life in its complicated fashion will always get in the way.

In fact, it is often when women go through the most challenging times when they decide to launch their businesses, out of a necessity for survival. During my time interviewing successful business-moms for my latest book, Secrets of Millionaire Moms, I heard from more than a few who launched their businesses at times of extreme difficulty. For instance, Rachel Ashwell, founder of Shabby Chic, was newly separated, with two babies under the age of 2, when she began scouting out flea markets for furniture to refinish -- and when she opened her first Shabby Chic retail store. Teri Gault founded the multi-million dollar Grocery Game at a time when she was working three jobs and still rolling coins to pay for groceries. Madelyn Alfano gave birth to a son with a life-threatening illness at the time she was expanding her restaurant business, Maria's Italian Kitchen, to locations across California. There are countless more stories like these - women who launch and grow successful businesses when it seems like they have a lot working against them.

It will always seem like there will be a "better" time. There may be a perfect time in your future - but there may not be. It's an obvious statement, for sure, but you never know what life will throw your way. That's why there is just one perfect time -- right now -- to start making your dream a reality and taking steps to build the business you've been planning, plotting, and wishing for in your head all this time. The time is now -- go for it.

Tagged as: Business Advice, business startup, starting a business, startup, startup advice