Mompreneur Success is Like Building An Ark

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You may remember Steve Carell’s performance in the film “Evan Almighty.” Evan was a man with a plan.

Sadly, it was the wrong plan, and as God is quick to point out in our own lives, His way and our way are rarely the same. Thus, Evan is set on a new mission: to build an ark. Everyone thinks he’s crazy, and at one point in the film is referred to as “The weirdo with a beard-o”.

Welcome to my world.

As a direct sales coach and trainer for the past three years, I’ve been contently building my “empire”, helping these men and women grow successful direct sales businesses. We launched Direct Sales Classroom earlier this year to provide a comprehensive learning environment for direct sellers at all levels. And the response has been tremendous. I truly believed I had my “plan” all mapped out.

Enter God.

He’s been dealing with my heart for two years now. I’ve known for quite some time that my real mission and passion in life was to reach out to entrepreneurial moms – hard working moms – to help them put balance and focus in their lives.

But I didn’t know how.

So I kept doing what I knew how to do – coaching direct sellers to success.

But God had other plans.

“Build an ark.” He says.

“Um, pardon? I already have this successful plan. What do you mean build an ark?”

And so, I’ve been on a path for the last few months that is driving my family crazy. I’ve been driven to make The Renaissance Mom Experience a successful outreach to mompreneurs, and in the process have met with so much resistance, that I have frequently wondered if this is how Noah felt when he was building the ark.

“You’re doing what?”

“Are you crazy?”

“How are you going to afford that?”

“You’ve never done anything like this before!”

And yes, my own husband is probably one of my biggest opponents in this project. Understandably so. I’ve essentially put my company on the hook for a roughly six-figure financial commitment long before we sold a single ticket.

Now, I don’t pretend to be as righteous or honorable as Noah. I’m more like Evan, I suppose. I’ve got ambitions, aspirations, and desires of my own, and often they cloud whatever vision God might have for me.

And most would call me stupid. I’m sure some people are buying tickets just to see if I will crash & burn.

But a funny thing happened on the way to the flood. Every time there’s been a need for this event, the money appears.

Need to pay a speaker deposit? A matching amount from a sponsor or vendor would appear.

Need to build a marketing plan? An affordable smart marketing consultant appeared.

Whether you believe in God or not, I do. And I hold firmly in my heart that God is working his purpose out in me through this event.

I still have family needs, too.  I visit my son in camp every other week, and tend to my toddler at home. A mom’s day is never done, you know.

So how does a mom manage to keep work, life, family and risk in balance?

It’s like building an ark. Most people think you’re nuts until they see the finished product. The finished product is often far more impressive than anyone imagined – and provides shelter for those that would need it.

How do you build an ark?

One plank at a time.

© 2010 Lisa Robbin Young

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