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'Mompreneur' book spells out balancing family, business

 
Colette Glover-Hannah is the owner of Hannah’s Shoebox, an online store for age-appropriate shoes in women’s sizes for tween girls.
Colette Glover-Hannah is the owner of Hannah’s Shoebox, an online store for age-appropriate shoes in women’s sizes for tween girls.
Published May 14, 2017

It's been a little over three years since Collette Hannah-Glover started her online shoe store for young girls and tweens who wear women's sizes, Hannah's Shoebox.

That's a little over three years of learning the ins and outs of business and riding the ups and downs of entrepreneurship. Along the way, there's been tons of risk and sweet rewards, some major accomplishments and a few disappointments.

Now Hannah-Glover wants other moms with dreams of running a business to know that it's possible to do both – be a mom and a boss. It's the focus of her new book, Mompreneur: Managing Parenthood, Partnerships, and Presentations.

"The struggle as an entrepreneur and a mother is not that different than a working mom," she said. "We have to juggle family and business. They're both pulling at us."

In the book, Hannah-Glover — a married mother of three — is joined by a team of 10 co-authors who also share their experiences of balancing home and start-up life under chapter titles such as "Raising Businesses and Babies" and "Mom in Chief."

Each offers a unique perspective of what is a momprenuer and how they've coped with the roller coaster ride of family and business.

Accrued time off is one of the saving graces that Hannah-Glover — a former college administrator — says she misses.

It's a luxury that mompreneurs don't have, she said.

If a spouse or a child becomes ill, there's no cushion of personal days to make up for the lost time or money, Hannah-Glover said.

"As an entrepreneur, time really is money," she said. "There are days where I could have three to four meetings and if I have to cancel, I've lost money."

Balancing the schedules of busy teens and a growing business also is an ongoing juggling act.

When the start of daughter Elois' summer program at Princeton University clashed with fulfilling a huge order with a major new client, choosing between the two wasn't easy, Hannah-Glover said.

"Here's a new client that could be good revenue for me and I need it," she said. "But how many times will I have to introduce my daughter to Princeton?"

Hannah-Glover's son was able to meet with the client in her stead. And while she was happy to escort her daughter, Hannah-Glover admits the dilemma caused some "heartburn."

Elois said she felt some resentment toward her mother who was "always busy" in the early days of the business.

Nowadays, the 16-year-old said she's "very inspired" by her mother's persistence and the example Hannah-Glover set for her.

"I want to do better and watching her, she keeps continuing to push herself and I'm learning that from her," she said. "I'm so blessed to have that and experience it close up."

Elois isn't the only young person who considers Hannah-Glover a role model; the future business leaders who study alongside her at The Entrepreneurship Center at the University of Tampa also look up to her and seek her counsel, said Rebecca White, the center's director.

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"She's so generous with the way she shares her experiences," she said. "She's exposed them to some amazing experiences."

Moving forward, Hannah-Glover said she's realized that balancing it all isn't an exact science.

Some days the business will get more time and attention and on other days, family will win out. Sometimes you can do both simultaneously, like answering emails during volleyball practice.

The key is to not beat yourself up once a decision has been made, Hannah-Glover said.

"You have to have peace in your decisions," she said. "The guilt is real. If you wallow in it, it will consume you."

Building a business from the ground up has not been easy, but Hannah-Glover believes that entrepreneurship is in her blood. On rough days she pulls inspiration from her great-grandmother, a woman with a fourth-grade education who owned and operated a bar.

"At the end of the day, I believe in it," she said. "I know this is what I should be doing."

Contact Kenya Woodard at hillsnews@tampabay.com.