Taking the Big Leap

An ice cream parlor on a summer afternoon is a perfect setting to talk about the Entrepreneurial Life. Add to the mix a darling little 18-month-old and we were busy. Busy talking, eating ice cream, spilling ice cream, getting napkins, talking some more and running around some too.

This Entrepreneur's wife had a quick introduction to the Entrepreneurial world which involved her Entrepreneur quitting his job within weeks of their 2nd child being born!

Best moments: Trying to figure out what the random water contraption was that her daughter was playing with and being grateful we weren't married to the spouse who created that crazy design because it just might have been too much for us! lol. :)

  

Mrs. Boomstart Entrepreneur

Married: 5 years

Kids: 2

Phase: Growth

Entrepreneur's Company: IActionable.com

MTE: So how did you become introduced to Entrepreneurship?

Almost all of it was through Boomstartup*. That was the final step to quit jobs and do this entrepreneurship thing full-time.

*BoomStartup is a mentorship-driven investment program focusing its efforts on providing money, mentors, and markets for its energetic tech entrepreneur participants.  www.boomstartup.com 

MTE: Ok, let's back up then...before Boomstart, how much of an investment was this company?

So they had been working on this for about a year on the side, they both still had jobs {her Entrepreneur and his partner} and then they heard about BoomStartup and they actually were tempted to apply to another startup-type program in California too, but they got into BoomStartup and that pushed them to fully commit. They had to be working on it full-time to be in the program which provides a little seed money, and by little I mean little. It was barely enough for living {laughing} especially with two kids.

MTE: So BoomStartup was the big leap?

Yeah, we literally had an official start date {laughing}. I mean, they talked about it for awhile, they had talked about doing it and doing things like that for a little while, but I was actually pregnant with my youngest so I was ignoring it as much as I could until I knew that they were really serious about it. I didn’t want to think about it or talk about it.

MTE: How did you know they were serious?

Well, They didn't have to think about it for long. I remember my husband talking to me about if he was going to have to leave the hospital for meetings right after the baby was born because it was right in the middle of everything. It kind of went from one night…let’s see if we can get in and this could be a good platform to say we got accepted and it would be good validation that this is a good idea and that it was worth pursuing and could help with funding and then the next day {laughing} they wanted to do it. Within weeks of applying they quit their jobs and decided this is the way they wanted to go and everything just went.

Being pregnant I ignored it and it’s not like I wasn’t going to let them do it. I wasn’t going to say NO, but it was more than I could process. I didn’t want to hold him back. He kind of just had to take it and run with it which turned out to be really good for our relationship because I just had to trust him and I developed a lot of trust in him.

MTE: So did you know that he was an Entrepreneur before you Married him?

Yeah I did, his motto for life was that he was going to retire by the time he was 26 so I knew it was coming, I didn’t know how it would come, but I knew it would come eventually.

MTE: Were you raised in a Entrepreneurial Family?

No, very much not. My dad was very 9-5, worked the same job for 20 years. Very different.

MTE: What has been your involvement with his companies?

I’m not really involved, per se, I’m more of someone to talk to about it. He runs ideas by me. He knows I’ll tell him the truth and I play with the site and make sure it’s user friendly and sometimes honestly it’s easier to stay away. And he has a partner too so I don't have to be a part of everything although we talk about it.

MTE: What attracted you to your Entrepreneur?

Personality, he’s a lot of fun and goofy and he is really driven and a really hard worker

MTE: Have you experienced instability?

It hasn’t been too bad. Because with this program things worked out well and transitioned well and we have received so much help from the mentorship and funding…it has all made such a big difference. Financially it has been a little unstable in the beginning, but we have a supportive family and we are able to make things work and so now it’s better. It’s been easier than I thought it would be.

MTE: So what are some of the hardships of being Married to an Entrepreneur?

There is always a new idea and there is always something new he wants to start and every time he starts talking about something else it scares me to death, so we have had to learn how to depend on each other.

MTE: How have you learned to depend on each other?

I knew there would be certain stresses that would be hard for us, the same things we fought about before and I thought that would just exponentially grow, but this has actually forced us to have to communicate because we have to be open about everything and we have had to learn how to check and balance each other with everything going on.

MTE: How much does he share with you about what is going on with the business?

Pretty much most everything. I don’t like big surprises and it’s nice to be aware of what is coming next and the direction they are planning to go even though it changes so quickly

MTE: What advice would you give to someone who is about to marry an Entrepreneur? 

I think you need to take things one day at a time and don’t get yourself worked up over every little thing. You need to remember to enjoy each other because it is easy to get caught up in the business and it’s important to remember to still enjoy your marriage. Which is hard.

MTE: What has the Road of Entrepreneurship Taught you?

A lot of patience and how to deal with stress and with situations as they come. To keep my life balanced. Enjoy the little successes as they come and not just focus on the end results.

MTE: Is it worth it?

Yes, I think so. My husband is so much happier working for himself than he is in a 9-5 job. And whether this lasts our whole life or it’s just for this time of our life, I think he is really proud of himself and I am proud of him too.

MTE: Have you had any big defining moments?

Getting into Boomstartup was big, but more recently they just hired a Chief of Sales and that was big for me as I stepped back and wasn’t looking at it as the spouse, but I actually could see that there is a lot of potential and that they are creating something that can be really useful to a lot of people and it was interesting to see if from that perspective and from that standpoint.

While I could tell things had been challenging, this Entrepreneurs spouse was optimistic about the future ahead and I felt a sense of accomplishment for the way she has handled the challenges, they way they had handled the challenges as a couple and as a family too.

I think she should be proud of herself. She is a wonderful mother, a great support and jumped on board of a moving train. Not everyone is willing to do that and even if she wasn't head over heels excited about it in the beginning it still takes guts to stay aboard! Best of luck, Mrs. Boomstart Entrepreneur, keep going and growing and we will keep watching your progress!