A Momtrepreneur’s Answer to the Question: “What Do You Do?”

Originally published Tuesday June 10, 2008 on http://zoefoodsblog.blogspot.com/.

I was just at a new parents’ meeting for my children’s new school. All very exciting, but I admit that I did have an ulterior motive – meet some mothers of the other girls in my daughter’s pre-K class to arrange some play dates over the summer. That way, my daughter would have a friend at her new school. Sounds easy. It turns awkward when I explain that I won’t actually be at the play date because I work full-time, oh, but my girls’ nanny will be there.

This of course leads to the question: “So, what do you do?” Now you think this would be easy to answer, but there are so many options… I work in the natural foods industry, I run a natural foods company, I could even say that I started a natural foods company and run Zoe Foods. Or, I could just say that I’m an entrepreneur. Nothing seems to roll off my tongue because I don’t work for someone else in the way that most people do. I don’t leave it all behind when I come home at night; the day’s challenges and goals are always brewing in the back of my head, and of course the bottom line is always part of my consciousness.

How do I explain in a casual situation what I do for work when I’m an entrepreneur who adores her family and being a mom? I’m at the school function aren’t I? I’m present. My life’s work just goes in two directions: (1) my family, and (2) my job.

Building a company is hard, growing a brand that can make a difference in people’s lives with all natural, nutritious and delicious foods is harder, but raising your kids to be kind, respectful, considerate, and loving people? Isn’t that the toughest challenge of them all? And that’s the task that I outsource on a part-time basis! Now where’s the sense in that?

After five years of deliberating on these questions, I’ve come to the conclusion that we are all here on this planet to achieve different things and that being an entrepreneur and a mom are not mutually exclusive. In fact, most moms are entrepreneurs! Entrepreneur (n.) a person who organizes and manages any enterprise, esp. a business, usually with considerable initiative and risk. In my book, a family is certainly an enterprise, and no one will deny that raising a family takes a lot of initiative, tons of effort, and contains risk!

How a woman balances her roles is as varied as the number of women who choose to take on both work and family. Maybe I’m only dreaming that I can do both at once and do both well, but I don’t think so. I really believe that I can, and some of the cool stuff that is taking place at Zoe Foods right now and with my kids is proof that I am beginning to achieve the goals that I set out for myself.

So in answer to the question “What do you do?” I think next time I will say I’m a CEO – Common Everyday Over-achiever* of all things ranging from kids’ play dates to doctor’s appointments, and yes, Zoe Foods.

Note: I would like to attribute this very clever definition of “CEO” to Kris Kaplan, a fellow EO (Entrepreneur’s Organization) member, and clearly, another CEO.