Mompreneur Story | Party of Nine
Alright, we admit it. We have slacked a little on keeping up with our MOM BOSS stories - real life mompreneurs sharing their real life. We will slack no more, and bring you the stories of women who inspire and create, live and love.
Breaking the hiatus is Abby Bement, the artist and mompreneur behind Party of Nine. Abby, her husband Craig, and their 7 kiddos are the Party of Nine. And if you haven't checked out their shop, you need to go! Now! Together they create amazing reclaimed wood signs, and we are OBSESSED! Seriously, go check out her Etsy shop now!
Here is what Abby has to say about her crazy mompreneur life:
Your name? Abby Bement
What is your business name, how long have you been in business, what service you offer? Party of Nine, I've been in business about 2 years, started out refinishing furniture and then randomly made a sign on some reclaimed wood and had a lot of people asking for one and eventually that took over. I mostly do signs at this point.
Do you have a studio/office/store? Or work from home? If so, how big is your workspace? I have a studio space in our home where I do most of my painting, it's about 100 sq. ft. We have a large garage that functions as a workshop for assembling.
How many kiddos do you wrangle daily? We are a blended family with seven kids though two are off at college. I have three (18 yrs old (special needs), 14 yrs old & 10 yrs old) and my husband has four (21 yrs old, 18 yrs old, 15 yrs old and 11 yrs old). Needless to say our house is loud and crazy!
How many work days/hours do you work per week? I work A LOT, generally seven days a week and these days as business has increased most days it's 8-10 hours a day (too much).
How many days/hours do you THINK about work? All of them!
What is your showering schedule? I usually shower at midnight when I finish working, I wish I could say that I do it every day but let's be realistic, some nights the thought of doing anything other than just going to bed is too much.
What is the funniest thing you’ve experienced being a mompreneur? I don't know if this counts but I always think it's funny when people tell me they admire how much I get done because a lot of the time I feel like I'm failing miserably at getting it all done.
If you had to describe your life (overall) in one word it would be: hectic
Ok that was hard. Use 3 words: really, really, hectic
What is a time where you felt “mom guilt”? I try really hard to get to all my kids events but sometimes I have an event and I have to work. It's hard to not be there for all of their moments. I also have a severely disabled child and sometimes her needs require me to be at home with her or at the hospital if that's a phase we're in. My kids are really empathetic and they love their sister but I know it can be hard for them when it takes me away from something them.
What does your typical work day look like? I start work as soon as everyone is off to school in the morning, take a break when it's time to pick up from school, get everyone to sports, dinner and to bed and then back to work until about midnight.
What does dinner time look like? Don't even get me started on this one! We try to make everyone sit down together for dinner but often that is a lost cause. We have four kids in sports so a lot of nights everyone eats as they roll in. And believe me, with this many kids there's always someone bitching about what's for dinner!
Has there ever been a life changing moment or incident when you realized you are working too much and need to cut back? Tell us about that moment. Over Christmas last year I was busier than I've ever been and my 10 year old said to me one day that she never spent time with me anymore, that I was always working. It broke my heart!
What is one thing that has helped you keep family and work life balanced ? Moving, hahaha! We used to live about 15-20 minutes out of town which made it so hard. With so much wasted down time not at home I felt like when I was at home I needed to be working just to keep up. We moved back in October back into town and it was such a huge relief.
What is one product that you can recommend to other Mompreneurs to make life easier? (Mine are studio tiebacks, my Steve Madden easy slip on boots, and probably a book keeper haha) - crock pot
What can we find on your desk most days? (be honest!) Diet Coke
What is your favorite thing to do FOR YOU? I rarely ever get to do it but I love getting massages and pedicures.
What is your FAVORITE thing about being a #MOMBOSS? The freedom it gives me to be with my family. If someone is sick I can be there with them. The flexibility to pick them up from school or work a class party. Being my own boss has been a bit of necessity for me with the special needs of my oldest, there are times where there are a lot of appointments, has been times with a lot of hospital stays and that doesn't go over real well in a traditional job setting.
If you had a “Real Housewives” slogan what would it be? This was hard, I don't know if I have ever watched an episode of Real Housewives (now I think I need to, I feel like I might be missing out of some amazing trashy tv). A friend said "Yachts and private jets are nice but family is everything", I like it!
If you could have a super power what would it be? The ability to clone myself, that would be awesome.
What do you want your children to learn from seeing you work so hard? I want them to learn that there are different types of success. I work hard to make sure our family is successful, not just financially but in our ability to be there for the kids when they need us.
We are all about giving back here at StrawRev, do you donate or give back to any cause? I try to donate items to local organizations as often as I can.
And DUH, what’s your favorite product in the StrawRev.com Shop? Studio tiebacks! I have a tiny head and these are the one thing I have found that actually stay on my head.
_________________________________________________________________________
If you are interested in being a featured MOM BOSS, email strawberryrevolutioninfo@gmail.com.