There was a time when it seemed like men ruled the online business world. When I first started out in internet marketing and website design, most of the people I learned from were men. It was rare for me to come across a woman who was really into web and graphic design. However, times are changing and many women have ventured into the online business world.
 This week I'd like to highlight some of the successful women that I've come to know and admire. One of these women is Monica Flores, a fellow blogger over at the Know More Media network of blogs. Monica blogs over at SistersInBiz which is devoted to news and information about women of color in business. In addition to SistersInBiz, you can find Monica blogging over at A Successful Woman and managing her own web design company, 10k Webdesign.
I recently interviewed Monica where she shares thoughts about her business. This is part 1 of the interview...
MP: What inspired you to start your own website design business and what keeps you motivated?
MF: My partner and I had been developing websites for many years, both of us working for other companies. At a certain point, it dawned on us that we would probably have more time, flexibility, and control if we struck out on our own and took our skillset directly to the people
who needed it, instead of going through our employers.
When we first got married, we had sat down and planned out our long-range vision for what we wanted in our lives: a big part of that included ways to establish more freedom and security for ourselves, which only happens when you are smart enough to work yourself out of a job and instead live off your investments (real estate, equity in businesses, royalties, and the like).
During the dot-com era, we witnessed many friends and coworkers who were laid off and even escorted out of the building!. We realized early on that when you have many employers (clients and customers), you are less dependent than when you have only one employer (your boss).
What keeps us motivated is the positive feedback we've received from other women business owners, progressive organizations, and nonprofits: they love our products and we continue to receive the bulk of our business through referrals from other happy customers. We like what we do and we're constantly finding ways to innovate and make our products more reasonable, straightforward, and beneficial to our clients.
MP: How do you manage to juggle work, writing on your blogs, and taking care of family?
MF: By scheduling out priorities, delegating, and keeping focused on what really matters. One of the benefits of working on your own schedule is having the time to focus on different aspects of your life when you need to. Because my work is web-based and computer-based, I can
work at 5 in the morning or 11pm at night if I'm in the mood. I also have the opportunity to take time off during the day for my son or for rest and recuperation.
I like to be focused and active about 5-7 hours a day, and I spend most of that time on my core strengths (researching, writing, synthesizing, thinking). I make sure to get at least 8 hours of sleep every night, sometimes more. The rest of the time I focus on being with my family, meditating, reading, writing, going for a walk or run, and engaging in leisure activities to stimulate my mind.
I'm definitely more happy and productive now then when I was commuting 2 hours a day and either stressing or de-stressing for a large part of the workday. I highly recommend that women find ways to do more of what they love to do. This might mean you'll make choices that are tough in the short term, like giving up a job or relationship that isn't right for you... but making positive choices will ultimately lead to a happier, healthier you.
MP: Do you think it's easier for a woman to start an online business than to enter the "regular" corporate world?
MF: I think this totally depends on a woman's defined strengths. Play to your natural abilities. If you rely more on someone else to give you a set schedule, if you're better having someone else identify priorities, timelines, deliverables, if you're not so great at planning or delegating, or if you're more interested in supporting someone else's well-thought-out plan, it might be easier for you to work for someone else in the "regular" corporate world. Not everyone has to start something: some of us are better at supporting other people's initiatives.
However, if you are a self-starter, if you have discipline, drive, and enthusiasm for what you do, or if you have a burning desire to create something of value to others, you might be better off starting a side business and nurturing it into a full-fledged company that supports clients, employees, your community, and your charitable endeavors.
 I think you'll have a natural idea of what best fits where you are at in your life. I also think that there are different stages in one's life where starting a new project is easier: those might be natural jumping-off points for a new business or a new direction in your career or personal development.
In my experience, it is definitely easy for someone to start an online business, but it may not be as straightforward to convert that online business into a full-fledged profitable enterprise that grows past the 3-year or 5-year mark: to my mind, we all really need to plan out what we want from our businesses and then commit to making those goals into realities.
Stay tuned tomorrow for the rest of the interview! Subscribe to this blog via RSS to get updates...
Labels: interview, Monica Flores, women in business
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