Moms and Cheesy Dreams

How are ya, you little dreamer, you?

It’s Sunday night, but it doesn’t have to be scary. I’m bringing you the support and inspo you need to go into another week ready to build some shit. A quick preview to get you all jazzed:

• Happy Mother’s Day! You know who’s especially badass? People who raise babies while growing businesses. The DL on “mompreneurs” (can we do away with this term, already?) below.

• Speaking of super cool moms with businesses, our inspo feature this week is a mom showing her kids what it means to chase a dream. And they get to eat cheese along the way, lucky littles.

• Love inspirational quotes and pop quizzes? Me too. Scroll aaalllll the way down to play along.

Mom the Builder

More than 40% of U.S. businesses are owned by women and, unsurprisingly, an awful lot of them are moms. If you’re grinding out sales emails between diaper changes, you’re not alone.

• More than 70% of moms building businesses are also the primary childcare provider.

• Is self-care always the first to go? 88% of entrepreneurial moms report spending less than 3-4 hours per week on hobbies and more than 60% report reductions in working out and time with friends.

• Amazingly, these super women still mostly get 6-8 hours of sleep per night. This gives me hope.

More facts below to celebrate the those who build and mom at the same time and only occasionally lose their shit. Probably. Courtesy of 99designs.com.

Say 🧀

I don’t know about you guys, but I LOVE stories about brave people taking the leap and building their own thang. One such business, whose Insta I regularly crush on, is Redhead Creamery. Alise Sjostrom of Minnesota is one of those entrepreneurial moms we talked about in the previous piece. And she’s built a dream on one of earth’s most magical delicacies…CHEESE.

Alise’s story, beautifully articulated on the creamery’s website, started when she was a teenager and learned about cheesemaking on a 4-H trip to Wisconsin. Since that time, she’s built a cheese making facility on her family’s dairy farm, won awards, and opened a tasting room and cheese shop. She sells online and has a presence at other shops in the region, including one this author happened upon in Minnesota recently.

Redhead Creamery went from making its first batch of product in 2013 to being a regional leader in artisan farmstead cheese in just ten years. Alise is proof that you can turn that dream into reality with hard work, some smart storytelling, and a kickstart from Kickstarter. 😉

Def recommend following Alise on Instagram to learn more about the brand and its “resident redhead”.

News You Can Use… to Build Your Dream

Every day we hustlin’: If you’re a business owner with a decent piece of land or extra parking, check out this side hustle option from Harvest Hosts. Thousands of breweries, farms, golf courses, and other businesses are offsetting rising costs by making their business available to RVers.

Booo. Pessimism abounds: According to the National Federation for Independent Business, U.S. small biz optimism fell to a 10-year low in April. Ouch. The good news? It doesn’t seem to be impeding small firms from getting credit if they need it. It might be rough out there, but I know you, dear dreamers, are braver than most.

Speaking of funding: Where my Heartland peeps at? If you are a dreamer looking to fast track your idea into reality and live in the middle of the country, you can apply now for the summer cohort of The Idea Accelerator, by Builders & Backers with Heartland Forward. It comes with support and a shot at some funding, y’all.

Quote Quiz

Your turn 🎙️

What one thing are you going to do this week to move your vision forward? Reply! Please. Seriously, I don’t have many friends.

P.S. Speaking of Mother’s Day, the first subscriber to this newsletter was, you guess it… my mom. 😍 Thanks Rhonda and Happy Mother’s Day!

_{*Bill Gates}