Boss Mom of the Week: Kathleen Kobel
Kathleen Kobel helps mom entrepreneurs get their businesses visible online, create multiple streams of income, and get more done in less time so they still have free time to spend with their loved ones.
She has a variety of freebies on her site that can help get your business visible online and get you more paying customers while maintaining a work life balance that fits your lifestyle.
The Smart Business Mom 1-on-1 coaching program is currently open and taking applicants who are serious about creating a solid online presence, a bulletproof marketing strategy, and income producing automation systems for their business.
Tell us a little bit about your family and your Boss Mom journey.
I have a 2 year old daughter, a son on the way (due July 1st), and an incredibly amazing and supportive husband of almost 7 years now.
After graduate school, I was offered the opportunity to work for a serial entrepreneur. In the 7 years I was employed with him, we built many different businesses from the ground up. Some didn’t work out and others I helped take from an idea to multiple million dollar companies. I was constantly shuffled around the different companies and learned the ins and outs of most departments of these online businesses. From operations, inventory management, and customer service to marketing, sales, and web development I learned what is required in order to create great websites, solid marketing strategies, bullet proof systems and procedures to keep every moving part of a business running smoothly and efficiently.
After my daughter was born, I realized how much I was missing out working for someone else all day every day. I was overwhelmed, stressed out, frustrated and wasn’t passionate about what I was doing, So I took the leap and left my comfortable day job to stay home with my daughter and pursue my passion of starting my own business.
It was an incredibly difficult decision but I felt it was the right time to leave. I also realized that I had spent all this time building assets and sources of income for someone else (which is what you do at any job) and now I needed to build my own.
Now I teach women entrepreneurs how to start and grow their online business. We focus on getting their businesses visible online, creating multiple streams of income, and finding a balance that works for them while avoiding overwhelm by showing them to get more done in less time both in business and at home.
I now have a few different sources of income that are my own assets I’ve built to support myself and my family. I have an Amazon store, run a small web and marketing consultancy, and founded SmartBusinessMom.com where I am truly living my passion and teaching others how gain flexibility in their lives and make money working for themselves, just like I do.
What are some of your favorite go to meals when time is tight and dinner MUST get on the table?
I live in Chicago, home to the best pizza on earth. So when dinner needs to get on the table and we are crunched for time, we order a pizza from one of the many amazing pizza places around us.
Where do you go for inspiration?
Reading gives me a ton of inspiration. Learning about what other people teach and have to say takes my mind to hypercreative mode. I also love going for walks. Being outside when the weather is nice allows me time to clear my head and focus my thoughts on the bigger picture.
What are you currently reading or listening to (podcasts, books, blogs etc)?
I am reading a couple different books at the moment. One is Multiple Streams of Income by Robert Allen, which is an older book but is giving me some great ideas on diversifying my income streams. Also am rereading Your Pregnancy Week by Week since I’m pregnant for the second time. It goes week by week and I love learning about what’s going on each week of pregnancy.
My favorite podcast is the Smart Passive Income Podcast with Pat Flynn. I’ve been an avid listener for years and learn something new every time I listen.
What is one piece of business advice that you’d give to a mom just starting out?
You CAN do it!
It’s not easy (because if it was, everyone would do it). There will be days when you will doubt yourself, when you think what you’re doing is all wrong, when you need to take a day off from working to rest and recoup. But keep grinding and keep doing what you believe in and you will be as successful as you believe you will be.
What are some of your favorite quotes or words to live by?
“Be the change you wish to see in the world.” – Gandhi
“Always make new mistakes.” – Esther Dyson
“Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” – Theodore Roosevelt
“The only way to do great work is to love what you do.” – Steve Jobs
In one word, sum up your life as a Boss Mom.
FREEDOM. I am free to pursue my passions, build my own assets, create my own schedule, and most importantly, can put my family first above everything else.
What are three core values of your business and how do those values relate to your motherhood?
Take action. So many of us wait until something is perfect to get it out there that it never ends up happening because we wait too long or aren’t satisfied with the quality of the work. Getting over that is a huge stepping stone to starting your business and is necessary in so many aspects of motherhood. It’s easy to take action on things that have to get done, like feeding and changing diapers, but you also need to be ok with going to the grocery store unshowered and entertaining family when your house looks like a tornado went through it.
Be honest and authentic. No one wants to be around dishonestly let alone work with someone who they can’t trust. Be honest with yourself and with others. Whether they embrace you or turn you away, you can be satisfied that you were truly authentic and are less likely to be disappointed with whatever the outcome is. I find that when I’m truly honest and authentic with my daughter, she has a more positive response and can better understand the message I am trying to convey to her.
Take care of yourself. Self care is one of the most important things everyone needs to thrive. Yet as moms and entrepreneurs, we are the first to bump it to the bottom of our to-do list and then never get around to it. You can’t take care of your business, your kids or your home unless you first take care of yourself.
Connect with Kathleen!
