Becoming a Queen Boss: 11 Success Tips for Mompreneurs from Lauren Lake

This post was sponsored by the Role Mommy Writer’s Network. As always, all opinions are my own

Many of you have come to know Lauren Lake through her Emmy nominated, syndicated courtroom series, “Lauren Lake’s Paternity Court.” What you may not know is that in addition to being a renowned attorney, legal expert, and judge, Lauren is also an Entrepreneur or “Mompreneur” and co-founder of the Women in Entertainment Empowerment Network (WEEN), which promotes the positive portrayal of women in entertainment and society through nationwide mentoring and outreach programs for young women.

To add to her already impressive and inspiring list of accomplishments, Lauren Lake has recently stepped into a brand new role, starring in the reality series . “Queen Boss” is a new series that strives to find the best and brightest African-American female entrepreneurs and have them compete for the business opportunity of a lifetime. These already impressive entrepreneurs step into the “Queen Boss Conference Room” where they’ll pitch their products to a panel of esteemed celebrity judges and are put to the test to see who has the Product, Passion, and Potential to win the competition. Forbes Magazine has referred to the show as the “Shark Tank for Women of Color,” as it does a phenomenal job of featuring women of color with innovative ideas who may not have the resources or opportunities to be on a show like Shark Tank. As African American women are currently the fastest group of entrepreneurs in the country, this show could not be more timely.

I recently got to listen in on a call with Lauren Lake where she gave some incredibly inspiring tips for female entrepreneurs and mompreneurs. While she shared such a wealth of information, here are some top tips:

 

1. Prioritize

This was one of the first tips she shared that her mother had also shared with her. As we all know, moms have the natural ability to do multiple things well. However, it’s important to remember that yes, you can do it all, but we just cannot do every single thing at the same time. Sometimes we need to evaluate and prioritize our responsibilities in order to be successful.

2. Don’t sweat the small stuff

This was another tip from Lauren’s mom. She reminded us that it’s ok to admit when we are in over our heads. Sometimes things happen, mistakes happen, you forget things. It’s ok. This leads me to her next life-changing tip…

3. The bigger crime is to not live up to your limitless potential.

It’s better to take on way too much and tried to experience the world on a limitless level than never take a leap of faith.

4. Have your children see you in this multifaceted role

I thought this was such an important tip for mompreneurs. I’ve always tried to involve my kids however I can in my business ventures. I want them to see how hard I work, in addition to enjoying the benefits of my hard work. Lauren’s words reminded us of the importance in showing our children how special and powerful our gifts are as women.

5. Do not place limits on your children

This is so important for any parent, even if you’re not a mompreneur. Lauren shared how her greatest gift in life was to have parents who truly allowed her to express her creative self by giving her room to grow, experience and discover the world. Don’t place limits on your child’s creativity or place them in the box.

6. You don’t have to be any one thing.

I have always been very similar to Lauren Lake in the fact that I am someone who has always loved and wanted to do many things. Even now as an entrepreneur, I have several different types of businesses I run and I’m not one who believes that I can only be a blogger, or a publisher, or an online marketer, or a business coach – I can be all of those because I choose to.

Now this is a crazy story, but I’ll never forget my high school career advisor, Ms. Ricci. She was one of the people I’d share my many hopes and dreams and to those, she found it appropriate to call me, “Gidget from Africa.” Yes, that really happened!

Speaking of which…tip #7 is

7. Never allow anyone to place you in a box!!!

Simply put, never get into that box. As Lauren says, the only box most of us should ever need to get in is our grave!

8. Help other women to figure out their life purpose

Lauren Lake, along with a couple of close girlfriends formed the organization Women in Entertainment Empowerment Network (WEEN) after the incident in which reporter Don Imus was caught making derogatory comments about Rutgers University female basketball team. Naturally, Lauren did not like the way women were perceived in society and media and wanted an organization that would help women find themselves, figure out their life purpose and realize their potential. Today, WEEN helps to educate women on health and wellness, financial literacy, and also hosts an annual WEEN Academy for women interested in careers in the Entertainment Industry, including those behind the scenes opportunities we don’t often get to learn much about.

9. Honor other women

Such an important thing for women to do. I loved hearing about the annual WEEN awards that honors women with a proven commitment to empowering women worldwide.

10. Have a passion and commitment to your product

Sounds pretty obvious, but the real key is to have that passion and commitment lead to potential. As Lauren shared some of the requirements for success on her show Queen Boss, she noted the fact that there are actually many great ideas and businesses out there, but what they look for is a business that has to potential to utilize those funds toward propelling the business to the next level.

11. There are limitless opportunities to reinvent yourself

Last, but not least, as you venture out in this world of entrepreneurship, or even just life in general, there are going to be some successes and failures. When asked about what some of her biggest failures or regrets were, Lauren said something so simple, yet profound: If I want to do something again, I can just do it! It’s never too late to revisit things you’ve ever wanted to do or simply reinvent yourself.

You can find out more about Lauren and download her e-book about jump starting your limitless lives at LaurenLake.com. Tune in to Lauren Lake’s Paternity Court daily (check your local listings) and Queen Boss on BET/Centric.