Looking for a Business Partner? What About Mom?
How One Woman Approached Partnering with a Parent
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Today, another Giovanna - Giovanna Jaspid - an interior designer and custom pillow maker shares how she approached working with her mom. The Tip Jar section also tackles what she learned about seeking advice.
Here's more on Giovanna Jaspid...
HOW I VIEWED MOM GROWING UP
“My dad was the professional because he went to college and everything. And my mom – she was a seamstress. She worked from home.”
Giovanna Jaspid always thought of her mom as just doing her own thing, sewing and making clothes. That was until Jaspid decided to go into business with her mother, making custom decorative pillows.
START THE CONVERSATION
“In the beginning, I guess I asked her, how much work do you want to do? Like, are we partners? Or are you working for me?”
THE TIP JAR (tips provided courtesy of Giovanna Jaspid)
STARTING OUT:
“Find out what you need to start a small business… Do you need a license? Do you need to have a name? Legally, what is it that you need to start?"
STEEPED IN SKILLS (mid-career):
“How big do you want to go? A lot of people tell me, it’s more of a hobby.”
When that’s the case, Jaspid says you need to ask yourself, “Do you want to commit to this 100%?”
“If it’s just a hobby for you, something you want to do on the side, you don’t need to fill out all this paperwork.”
If you’re not sure, you need to ask yourself how much of a commitment you want to give.
STARTING OVER:
“Ask yourself, what is the worst that can happen?”
PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Jaspid's answer to that question? “I go back and work at the office."
“If you see an opportunity and it doesn’t work, it’s okay.”
I’LL NEVER DO THAT AGAIN: “Asking for opinions from everyone… Just knowing who to listen to. So, if I had to do it all over, I would be [quieter], I think, about the things that I’m trying to build and not be sharing it with everyone all the time.”
“Ask someone who has done it or is working - or that is doing something similar to what you’re trying to do. Because they’re going to give you a real answer.”
BEST ADVICE FROM “LA CASA”/BEST “HOUSE” ADVICE: This advice comes from Jaspid’s mom:
“Metele la cabeza al asunto.”
LOOSE TRANSLATION: Put your head to the matter.
“In my family, it meant, you want to do this? Okay then. Work for it. Work for it… How are you going to make it happen?”
FIGURE OUT THE DETAILS… WHO’S DOING WHAT?
Jaspid says her husband helped her navigate how her business, Jaspid Studio, was going to functionally work with her mom.
Of course, her mom made it clear what she was and was not willing to do. According to Jaspid, her mother told her, “I just want you to give me the work…the pillows. I don’t want to be the face. I don’t want to be talking to customers. I don’t want to be doing any of that. I just want to do what I love to do.”
Jaspid says it was an important conversation to have to know just how involved her mom wanted to be in the business.
WHO WILL BE THE MAIN DECISION-MAKER?
“So I knew that, okay, I’m the one that’s going to… make the decisions and take [on] a big chunk of making the company [work].”
ASK YOUR PARTNER FOR THEIR OPINION
There’s something else Jaspid thinks is important to do on every project.
“I always ask for her opinion.”
Jaspid says she does it because she values her mother’s opinion. She describes her as someone who likes high quality items and is very professional in everything she does.
Even shared experiences that Jaspid viewed as “boring” as a kid paid off when Jaspid became an entrepreneur.
“Ever since I can remember, on the weekends, my mom would take me shopping. But we would always shop at fabric stores. And I would hate it.”
Then, when Jaspid was starting her business, it became invaluable.
“I was so familiar with all of that. Like, I know where to go for fabrics. I know where to go for zippers. Because all my life, I had been exposed to it, even though I hated it. It was like, oh, wow.”
That’s how Jaspid also knew, once she’d made up her mind to quit her job and make pillows as a business, that she would go to her native country of Colombia and buy $2,000 worth of fabrics there.
The big discovery for Jaspid came on that trip to Colombia. That’s when people asked her, “Are you an emprendedora” (Note: That’s the word for entrepreneur in Spanish).
Time to Start - Giovanna at the Fashion Fair in Medellin, Colombia in 2016
“And I was like, oh, what is this word? I don’t really know what that means… I don’t think I know anybody that is an entrepreneur.”
That’s when someone told Jaspid, “Isn’t your mom an entrepreneur?”
“And I was like, what do you mean?”
And that’s when it finally hit her.
“It’s true. My mom has always worked for her own… She’s the one that figures out, you know, what to charge customers and what to do – to take this project, this dress, for a customer – or not. She had to make all these decisions. She’s been an entrepreneur her whole life, and I never thought about it.”
That experience and lifetime of trust in her mom has just grown as Jaspid Studio has grown.
It’s also given Jaspid, a mom of two herself now, the chance to reconnect with her mom on a different level. She’s not just asking her how her day went.
“We have a connection and, because we’re always talking to each other, every day, we’re learning more about each other.”
Giovanna's mom, Ana - Camera-shy, but getting the job done
INDUSTRY: Textiles (making pillows) and Interior Design
STARTED BUSINESS:
With friend - 2012
With mom - 2016
LATINO/HISPANIC CONNECTION:
Born in Colombia
Parents are Colombian
EDUCATION:
Master’s degree in Architecture - FIU (Florida International University)
Bachelor’s degree in Architecture Studies – FIU (Florida International University)
DREAM JOB AS A KID: “I either wanted to be a veterinarian or an architect. Those were the two things in my mind. I love animals, and I love to design.”
BIGGEST GOAL YET: “I would like to have a furniture line. On my business side, that’s what I would like to do. And then on my architecture side, I would like to have the [state architecture] license… That’s something I’m working on parallel to my business. It’s a long road. It’s hours of experience. And then you have to take six tests. So I’m doing my business, and I’m doing all the tests on the side.”
NO NEED TO GO IT ALONE
HELP ON THE OUTSIDE...because we can all use a helping hand:
The Federal Government As Your Customer
Ever wondered if the federal government could be interested in contracting with you for the product or service you provide? You may be surprised at all of the different services or products it contracts for in the community. Find out during this discussion, as well as how the process works. Have your questions ready.
NEC (National Entrepreneurship Center) & Florida PTAC (Procurement Technical Assistance Center) at UCF (University of Central Florida)
Thursday, April 14, 2022
1:00 p.m. EDT - 2:30 p.m. EDT
Conducting Market Research with GSA (General Services Administration)
FREE
https://nationalec.org/event/conducting-market-research-w-gsa/
WORKING ON THE INSIDE...because we know our culture has a hard time asking for help:
Why Volunteering is the Best Thing You Can Do For Others - and Yourself
Feeling a little down? Want to do something to help another person and feel even better about yourself in the process? Volunteer! There is nothing better than the feeling that you did something for someone with no expectation of anything in return. Find out how volunteering as a small business owner benefits you and your community. More details are in the link below:
SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives)
Volunteering in 2022 - How it Can Help Small Businesses Grow in Your Community
Thursday, April 21, 2022
1:00 p.m. EDT - 2:00 p.m. EDT
Online Webinar
FREE
https://www.score.org/event/volunteering-2022-how-it-can-help-small-businesses-grow-your-community
INSPIRATION FOR THIS ISSUE:
Mom. Mother. Mamá.
There’s a difference in how we view our moms (or mother figures) when we were kids - when see them mainly as taking care of us - compared to how we view them when we become adults ourselves.
Giovanna as a baby with her mom - 1982
In many ways, they’re our first example of an “entrepreneur”.
Even with many households where both parents work, many moms are still the ones shouldering the burden of housework. Check out this recent study showing that married moms who work and earn more than their husbands still do the majority of the work at home. What's most surprising, according to the same study from the University of Bath, the more the mom makes, the more housework that she ends up doing.
To do it all, you have to be very organized. Indeed, moms showcase discipline, organization and efficient management.
To be clear, the above study did not include childcare, just housework. But it reminds me of something a former co-worker told me about why she doesn't have her husband do a lot of the chores with the kids. She said it's not that her husband won't do the work; she says, he just doesn't do it well (i.e.: When she put him in charge of feeding the kids, he took them to McDonald's instead).
It’s why I told my own mom when she complained in the past about us not doing something in the house to put up a note as a friendly reminder and sign it, “The Management.” (Note: She actually did that and still signs those notes that way). She is the manager of the house.
I recognized her management skills.
That’s why I seized on the idea when Giovanna Jaspid told me how she dismissed the thought of her mom as an “entrepreneur” growing up, but only realized it when she became an entrepreneur herself.
If you’re thinking of becoming an entrepreneur, or maybe already are, think back to how your mom (or mom figure) ran your household. If you’re looking for inspiration or guidance on how to get things done and done well, you may have already found it: moms aren’t just doing multiple jobs, they’re showing you real examples of entrepreneurship in action.
🌴p.s. Consider this your early reminder to get your mom a nice Mother's Day gift.
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Inspiring the next generation - Giovanna's daughter helping out when Giovanna opened her business