I spent much of this weekend talking "spaghetti" with a friend -- specifically how much we have both thrown over the years. To entrepreneurs, spaghetti throwing is a way of life but doing so is a practice much more accustomed to men than women. Unfortunate but true. Needless to say, if you currently find this particular phrase lost on you, you probably haven't done much of it in the past regardless of gender.
In all fairness, the elongated version of which I speak, "Throwing spaghetti against a wall and seeing what sticks," is commonplace business vernacular specifically describing the manner in which companies are born, ideas come to light, and success is built. It means, taking all of the desired possibilities one might muster in one's head and tossing them out into the universe -- the hope being that a singular option (or strand) will stick, thus pointing the thrower in a positive and new professional and economic direction.
Needless to say, as women-owned businesses are currently thriving (trouncing the national average by one and a half times currently), we women seem to be grabbing a few handfuls of that starchy delicacy more readily than ever before resulting in the largest gain in private sector jobs (8m+) in the U.S. marketplace since 1997 as well as $1.3 trillion dollars pouring into today's economy. No doubt, all those years of cleaning spaghetti up off the floors in our homes is proving to be highly beneficial to that of the doors of our careers.
Today's women are taking aim in innovative and exciting ways and they are doing so while caring for their families in manners that feed their consciences as well as their minds. In my observation, mom bloggers sit at the center of this transition, epitomizing the clever thinking that goes into balancing family and career both intelligently and effectively. Gone are the days that fueled both the guilt and the age-old argument that working outside the home posed for women. Many mom bloggers have taken the position that they can, indeed, add to the family income without giving up the personal and home lives they want. Amongst the 4.7 million mom bloggers living in the United States currently, the "blog" stands at the center or to the side of a variety of needed businesses that are positively impacting the lives of others well beyond their own. It's the endless pot of spaghetti feeding the needs of a long line of hungry patrons.
Such is the case, it makes me chuckle whenever I come across an ill-informed individual who endeavors to discredit the validity and work of the mom blogger in light of the numbers and power this seasoned group has accumulated over time. It's nothing to sneeze at... rather a step in an ingenious direction to learn from and emulate. Those in the know realize that it is no small task to build a small business under the best of circumstances, but especially when doing so while remaining a "hands on" parent and, most likely, the primary parent. Have you ever tried to have a phone call with a screaming five-year-old in the background? But mom bloggers are showing the world how it is done and acquiring expertise that rival that of the best branding, licensing, and public relations agencies available. There is much to be admired here, including the manner in which they are being true to themselves while evidencing a resourcefulness that would benefit any entrepreneur or professional climbing the ladder to success while maintaining a personal life.
The spaghetti they are throwing is very real and getting tastier by the minute as more women are leaving the traditional job force than ever before for a variety of reasons that make absolute sense to them and countless others. It is no secret that the United States isn't the most advanced country in helping support working mothers or their families. Numerous other countries trump us in this regard. In response to this, many moms are choosing to "opt out" while "leaning in" in their own ways -- a recipe that is working well for them not to mention their home lives, children, and husbands.
It's a reality that holds a great deal of credence while showing onlookers -- including future mothers -- that there is more than one way to skin a cat, or toss a fist full of spaghetti even, especially as the "gung-ho" phase in our early twenties gives way to the baby-rearing phase sometime thereafter. "Having it all" takes on a whole new meaning when sleep deprivation, stress, and responsibility take regular seats at the kitchen table.
Leave it to moms to turn that table around and come up with a better way. Whereas hospitality can only go so far with regards, well thrown spaghetti is seemingly limitless in potential and sustenance when it comes to many, many mom bloggers.
All I can say is, "Look who's cooking now!"