Tireless, administrators, they create jobs and are in charge of educating the future of Mexico, that’s how entrepreneurial moms are, who have to divide between home, children and business. Every day is a challenge, but they are resilient and are always looking for a way to grow, this is how they have become an economic engine for the country and their home.
The National Institute of Statistics and Geography, in its study on Mother’s Day, points out that in the country there are 56 million women, of which 38 million are mothers. In addition, 36.6% of SMEs are led by them, but what is behind their work? what are they up against?
Karen Torres, proud mother, business administration graduate and entrepreneur, had endless circumstances and decisions to go through to consolidate her family life and business. One of her most important decisions was leave your position as a manager in a bank branchto become a full-time mom.
“It was difficult, because I had achieved the position that I had proposed, but almost every day I arrived at nine at night, my son was six years old and I always found him asleep. Together with my husband, we decided that I had to leave, I knew that I could continue to grow at the bank, but the next position would be the same or more demanding and I would not be with my children”.
entrepreneurship
Faced with the situation, Karen began her journey as an entrepreneur, together with two other colleagues who were also mothers, they created surprise machinean entertainment business and recreational activities for children’s parties.
But with the arrival of the pandemic, since there were no meetings or parties, the business stopped. Despite this, Karen she looked for a way to continue generating income and she began to sell puzzles at home.
When the festivities were reactivated, the entrepreneurs had a widespread fear of contagion that still existed, so they decided not to reactivate their project, gradually their partners decided not to continue with the business. According to the X-ray of Entrepreneurship in Mexico, 35% of the women who currently have a business previously had a company that closed.
After the business closed, Karen opened Los Ciruelos Café, a project in which she found new challenges and has put her to the test as a mother and businesswoman.
moms network
Being an entrepreneur and not relying on anyone is impossible, as Karen mentioned, for which she emphasized the importance of having a support network; with family and husband as well as partner and collaborate with moms.
You have currently created a network of providers who are mostly mothersAlthough they do not cover a full-time shift, they do create products such as desserts, lasagna, sauces, among other products.
I seek to associate and give work mainly to mothers, currently my cousin is my partner in the cafeteria and she is a mother, I do it mainly because among women we know what it means to undertake and in the face of any problem we understand each other, support each other and look for solutions”.
As an entrepreneur, she says that there are very marked unconscious biases in society, because women are usually left to care for the children, when it should be a shared responsibility with the couple.
“I highly value my husband’s support, I could say that without him I would not have achieved so much, but in the end there is an issue of equity. As an entrepreneur, I know that the only thing I did was put more burden on my responsibilities, because when I start my day I know that my responsibility is to go for my children, feed them, etc. And in the end it is not help, it is a shared responsibility, I understand that it is something cultural, we grew up with that idea, but gradually it has to change”.
