Oct

Accidental Woman Entrepreneur – Such a Croc ;-)

Woman Entrepreneur Makes Good With Crocs

This morning I picked up a tweet from Michelle Trent from the Downtown Business Club about an article on Sheri Schmelzer, co-founder of Jibbitz.com, the maker of those adorable charms you can buy for your Crocs. It’s an enjoyable story about how she and her (then) seven year old daughter, Lexie, were inspired one day filling the holes and customizing each of their 12 pairs of Crocs. The rest, they say, is history. Make sure you read the article – it’s short and sweet, as only the folks from Readers Digest do so well.

Although I really enjoyed the story about how she started the company and its subsequent success, I was really fascinated with the second page of the story where Sheri answered some questions about herself and the business. I found it resonated with many of the same themes that we have been discussing over the last few weeks.

For instance:

Reader’s Digest: What did you learn while building the company?

Sheri: Patience. As a mom and a wife, I wanted everything done my way. I was unwilling to let go of any part of it until it was perfect. So I’ve had to learn to slow down. After a few years, I finally get it: Nothing happens overnight.

Women’s Work: Interesting…wanted everything done my way…unwilling to let go until it was perfect. Sound familiar?

Reader’s Digest: Was it difficult having to hire people?

Sheri: We have an amazing crew, but it was hard at first. I wanted to be around the corner listening to their calls to customers, making sure they were saying the right thing. But after doing that for about 48 hours, I had to let go.

Women’s Work: Do you sense some control issues? Yep! And I’ll be the first to admit I’m “guilty as charged.” Many of us women feel like we need to do it all. That’s how we’re wired. But might it hold us back from achieving the success we so deserve?

…and even more enlightening…

Reader’s Digest: Has money changed anything in your life?

Sheri: Now I can relax about paying for the kids’ education. We didn’t go out and buy new cars or a new house. The money means security. And validation.

Women’s Work: Interesting…this reminded me of an interview that we just did with the ladies from the Secret Women’s Business Network where co-founder Allison Reynolds shared that many women entrepreneurs simply are not looking for the same things as their male counterparts. It’s not about the big, fancy car or material trappings that are so often associated with success. It’s not about feeling special or important. According to Allison, it’s more about the stability of money coming in, the excitement of doing something new and collaborating with others, and the validation we feel that we are doing a good job. There seems to be some common themes here, doesn’t there?

If you haven’t had a chance to see the short SWBN interview video, go take a look. Find out what those women are up to!