See Jane Blog

Saturday a week ago I was working out at the gym.  I attend this really great Boot Camp class in the morning.  There’s a woman named Niamh who recently started attending and I really enjoyed the spirit she brought to the class.  She’s friendly, outgoing, and works hard in the class — and that pushes me to want to do well too.  But other than that one class a week, I never saw her, really, and we didn’t know anything about each other.

 This particular Saturday, it was sunny when we arrived, but started to rain pretty hard by the time class was over.  As luck would have it, Niamh rode her bike to the gym that day.  When I learned that, I offered to drive her home.  And that’s where the serendipity comes in ….

Because as we drove we naturally started talking and I learned that she’s a woman business owner, herself.  She is a Certified Retirement Financial Advisor (CRFA) and helps her clients protect their retirement money and manage it wisely.  Her company has a great name:  Defending Your Dollar.  I know we were each glad to meet another successful woman business owner.

To carry the value of that contact further, Niamh invited me to attend a networking group today here in my local area called Women Helping Women.  It was a great luncheon with about 60 women in attendance, all there to network and I was delighted to have the chance to make several good contacts.

The happy accident of a rainy day led to making new friends who can help each other be more successful.  When was the last time serendipity had a positive impact on you and your business?

– Michele DeKinder-Smith

Welcome to the Jane Out of the Box blog! 

Over the course of the past year, I’ve had an opportunity to meet many wonderful women business owners.  The purpose of this blog is to share some of their stories, to discuss findings from the research we’re doing to help women business owners, and to share news, tips, and information that can can help us all be more successful - in business and in our lives through entrepreneurism. 

As I write today, one of the things that’s on my mind is why we all start businesses.  In our research, we’ve seen a few dominant reasons:  wanting to be in control of your own future and the specific desire to own a business.  In addition, though, we’ve heard women in particular talk about the importance of time freedom and being able to manage how and when and where they work.

I know when I started my first business, it was really about being able to control my own future and choose who I wanted to work with.  I was very fortunate that my husband was a full-time dad and took care of so many of the things that ”mom” is usually responsible for.  That meant we had lots of free time together because our weekends weren’t spent “catching up” on all the small and large things required to have a happy, healthy family.

As that consulting business grew, however, time freedom became increasingly important to me.  So much so, that over the past two years, I’ve learned how to build a virtual team so that the businesses can accomplish a lot and I still can take the time for school events, family vacations, and Friday night dates with my husband.

What about you?   What are the reasons you started your business?  And how important is time freedom to you?  

– Michele DeKinder-Smith, Founder, Jane Out of the Box