Lara Leontowich
Lara Leontowich is the owner of both the Westcoast Moms Network and Bellies to Babies Celebration Tradeshow. 5 Questions is a series where online business women are asked 5 questions about life as a mom and entrepreneur. To be featured, please contact me.
1. What or who inspired you to start your business?
I have always wanted to be an entrepreneur. My inspiration to have my own business has always come from my passion for doing what I love. Being a home business owner allowed me to be there for my son and to follow my dreams by of helping to educate other new moms as they enter the exciting world of motherhood.
2. What motivates you?
I think responsibility motivates me the most. That and the hundreds of emails in my inbox each week. I have a responsibility to my customers, my audience of mothers on our website and most importantly to my son, to provide the very best for him. It’s very exciting and rewarding to work for yourself, but it takes lots of hard work and dedication.
3. How do you balance being a mom and an entrepreneur?
This has been the area of business that I have struggled with the most, but now I know the importance of scheduling designated time with my family. We all need to learn to turn off the phone, email, and TV sometimes and just play with our children. And at the same time, I am working on teaching my family to respect my work time and not interrupt me during those hours.
4. What do you love most about what you do?
Four years ago when I started my companies, I created the business plan, had a vision and thought that was enough. However, looking back, I was quite naive: things didn’t go as I planned or hoped. Now years later, I finally figured out what works for my business. I never had merchandise to sell, so for me it’s not just about selling a 100 of this and 50 of that. For me, it was about finding out what companies are willing to pay for. Right now, I love that I’m on the right track and all my hard work, sweat and sometimes tears have finally paid off.
5. What single piece of advice would you give someone who is starting out?
A new business for many can be quite overwhelming. For many of us mom entrepreneurs, it takes more time, money, and energy than expected, and it’s easy to get discouraged at the end of day. But if you are confident, passion and love what you do and can totally devote yourself and substantial financial resources to running a business, it can be very rewarding. Creating and running your own business can give you the greatest since of accomplishment that no employer can ever give you.
You can contact Lara at lara _at_ belliestobabiescelebration.com, follow her on Twitter: @belliestobabies, or check out both Westcoast Moms Network and Bellies to Babies Celebration Tradeshow.
Please visit our 5 Questions page or feel free to contact me for more information.
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