Lisa Williamson : Being an Entrepreneur and a Mom
My first job was delivering newspapers at age 11 in Indiana. This meant getting up every day at the crack of dawn and delivering papers in rain, snow, sleet and shine. I think I was the first female paper delivery and this experience fueled the fire for my future business endeavors.
After at successful career at Pepsi-Co, I quickly realized that most CPG companies focus on baby, but not mom. Seeing firsthand that there were a lot of unmet needs for new mom, I along with two friends founded UpSpring to create innovative health and wellness solutions to help improve motherhood.
An Entrepreneur and a Mom
Founding a company and caring for a newborn was not easy. There were lots of sleepless nights and time away from home developing products and meeting with potential big box retailers including Target and Walmart. Starting your own business can be very rewarding. But there are also challenges a woman must consider when taking a product idea to market.
Some questions to consider –
- Are you ready emotionally and financially to start a business?
- Is your family prepared for the additional time and attention that will be needed to successfully launch and tend to the business?
- Is your spouse 100% on board and ready to assume more family responsibilities if needed?
The Working Mom Challenge
As a working mom, balancing work life balance is an ongoing challenge. The reality is work doesn’t stop at 5 pm when our warehouse closes. It’s a bit more fluid. I think its valuable to incorporate your business into family time. UpSpring is constantly weaved into my conversations at home. Showing your children that you can successfully build a business and be present in their life takes some effort but it’s an important life lesson and helps teach the value of hard work. It also enables the family to feel an ongoing sense of involvement and ownership which helps with work life balance.
One of the best parts of my job is hearing daily how we are directly helping moms. Personally, this makes all the hard work and long hours’ worth it. I am proud of the what the UpSpring brand has done to improve motherhood for millions of women.
This guest post was authored by Lisa Williamson
Lisa Williamson is Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of UpSpring, Ltd. UpSpring is a premiere mom and baby consumer brand thatcreates innovative health and wellness products.
UpSpring was founded by three female entrepreneurs in 2005 and based in Austin, Texas. It has grown to be one of the most trusted brands for health and wellness products in the areas of breastfeeding, postpartum recovery and baby care. UpSpring’s innovative products are developed by moms for moms. And they’re backed by science to help improve the lives of today’s modern family.
Ms. Williamson has over 25 years of Marketing, Sales, Finance and Accounting experience.
