‘Moms Mean Business’ a tool kit for momtrepreneurs

“Moms Mean Business – A Guide to Creating a Successful Company and Happy Life as a Mom Entrepreneur” by Erin Baebler and Lara Galloway (Career Press, $15.99).

When a mom thinks of starting a business, there’s one question she must answer: “What does success look like?”

There’s no easy answer because success means priorities have to change. You’re married, raising kids and running a household — and you have to make time to run a business. Even the best time manager will always walk time’s tightrope. There’s a financial tightrope, too. Money earmarked for the family and savings will have to be diverted.

As you ponder your answer to that question, keep the authors’ advice in mind: “Satisfaction and fulfillment will always be a direct reflection of how clearly you determine what you want and how closely you are following a plan to achieve it.” As the kids grow up, as your business grows, you’ll find that success looks different — but that advice still applies.

The tool kit the authors provide helps you determine what type of business fits you and your circumstances. Here are some of its elements: Strengths — Any business you start should play to your strengths. Your list should start with “best at” and end with “good at.” Enlist your family and friends to help identify you. There’s also an online Strengthfinder assessment; its code key can be found in Tom Rath’s Strengthfinder 2.0.

■ Skills — These are what any employer values. They’re the things you do very well. Don’t limit yourself by thinking in terms of what you do/did outside the house; running a household requires ongoing communications, project management and logistics skills.

■ Personality traits — These include persistence needed to push yourself and the self-confidence required to quickly recover after a setback. Additionally, there’s patience; you’ll need plenty of it as you juggle your roles and come to realize that what’s important and urgent to you may be low priority to others — including family members.

There are momtrepreneur stories in each chapter. They found their way; you can, too.

“The Gen Z Effect: The Six Forces Shaping the Future of Business” by Thomas Koulopoulos and Dan Keldsen (Bibliomotion, $29.95).

Generation Z, composed of postmillennials, presents a unique challenge to businesses. They will soon be entering the workforce. With life expectancy increasing, business will have to find ways to align with five generations — each with differing workforce profiles and preferences. The authors identify disruptive factors that dispel rigid notions of how to do business with a multigenerational workforce. Here are two that show generational bridges under construction:

“Breaking generations” — “It’s only technology when you have grown up with it.” Technology has blurred lines between generations. There’s an increasing appreciation of how generations can learn from one another. People define community by shared interests and behaviors. While older generations haven’t been early adapters of technology, they have adopted. Generations use smartphones, email, Facebook, LinkedIn, FaceTime, Skype, etc.

Whether by choice or circumstance, retirement has been redefined.

On the learning front, the teacher isn’t always the oldest person in the classroom. People realize that extending their careers means staying current.

“Hyperconnecting: From Me to We” — To become more accepting of change, the older generations must learn the benefits of new technology. If experience is the best teacher, the age of the teacher shouldn’t matter.

Reverse mentoring (i.e. the younger helping the older generations) needs to take hold.

Message: While generational chasms have always existed, they’ve never involved change resulting from the confluence of learning, technology and age. Business must adapt to thrive.

Jim Pawlak is a nationally syndicated reviewer of business books.