Mommy, Wife and CEO

This week’s blog is from Seneca Turner, a long distance friend and fan of The Creative Coast.  For all you mothers out there, read on as Seneca shares her story and a motivational pitch worth hearing.  FYI – – The Creative Coast’s blogspot is Savannah’s sounding board for local thinkers, innovators, wanderers and wonderers. Guest bloggers share their thoughts, opinions and creative noodling from all over the map…

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Women business owners ask me all the time how I juggle being a mother of two, a wife and run a lingerie boutique both brick and mortar and online. Sorry there isn’t a simple answer, because the truth is that juggling all of this is the hardest thing I have ever done.

As a matter of fact, I have never worked so much and so hard in my life. Nevertheless, it all gets done daily and I do a damn good job at it. I use to envy empty nesters that made six figures and all they had to focus on in their lives was their career. Now, I look at some of them and wonder if they could even survive the day and life. I opened Stilettos & Lingerie Boutique because as a plus size woman it was difficult for me to find intimate apparel that was cost efficient and beautiful. It seemed like everything for plus size women was grotesque looking, certainly not as pretty as some of the lingerie that was made for smaller sizes. So I saved $25k, registered the name and gave myself the new title of CEO. Being CEO/founder means that I am the janitor, admin, buyer, clerk, accountant, everything. I spend a lot of time networking and getting the name out there. I join fashion shows, social mixers, chamber events, you name it I am there. I love going to trade shows and meeting vendors. When I first opened, my business was in a 12×12 space inside a hair salon. I figured it would be a great way to build my customer base and meet women. I outgrew the space quickly and was forced to go into a larger space which I found inside of Eastland Mall in Columbus, Ohio. Once going into the mall, the dynamic of the business changed dramatically. Now I had to be open seven days a week, which meant hiring staff and buying more inventory. I was forced to organize my life so that I could run my store, be home for my kids to help with homework, cook dinner and still incorporate a weekly date night with the hubby. It was, and sometimes still is, a struggle prioritizing and planning it all. I will admit there have been times when I wanted to throw in the towel, but my husband, family, friends and customers support me and keep me on the straight and narrow. I have people sign “The Wall of Affirmation” when they come into the store so that when I get frustrated I can look at it and remember why I do what I do. To all the mothers out there who are thinking of starting a business, but wonder how they will juggle it all, I will give you this advice: You were created to grow and carry a human being inside of you and nothing is harder than that, but you did it. Understand your dream, your calling and go for it. Maybe all the points aren’t clear in the beginning, but the truth is there has to be a starting point, so start. Someone once said, “there are seven days in a week, someday isn’t one of them.” I believe in that fully. Good Luck! Seneca]]>