
Did your mother influence your entrepreneurial spirit? - mattjaynes

======
SwellJoe
Absolutely.

My mom opened a furniture store when I was about 10, and gave me my first
paying job. Seeing her work for herself, successfully, for years, gave me the
stubborn will to be an entrepreneur I have today. (She's not the only
entrepreneur in my family...my dad had an electronics shop, my dads mom owned
a thrift store, and my moms dad owned an auto body shop.)

Entrepreneurialism is seemingly either genetic or picked up from parents,
because my sister also owns her own business, and I'm on my second (or third,
if you count my computer repair business when I was in middle and high
school).

I think it was my dads idea to make me earn half of any major purchase (like
bikes, guitars, computers, etc.), which I suspect was also instrumental in my
becoming an entrepreneur.

------
mattjaynes
Just read this post from Guy Kawasaki:

<http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2007/05/just_in_time_fo.html>

It got me thinking about my mother and the sacrifices she made in bearing us
and bringing us up. Looking back, I definitely can see how she influenced me
and helped give me the confidence to seek adventure and take risks.

For example, one time I decided to experiment with cooking and decided to make
a dish concocted of orange-wedges, cheese, lemon juice, and some other random
ingredients. My dad was concerned that I would waste the food (he was right)
but my mother insisted that I be able to try it out for myself. It was the
most disgusting food ever! I tried to eat as much of it as I could, but it was
a good lesson that cheese and oranges aren't a great combination!

As I look back, I can remember countless examples of her encouragement to
pursue new ventures (even when it was obvious I would fail). I can't recall
her ever expressing doubt that I would succeed. And I guess she was right if
you look at failure as a success in learning.

Anyway, thanks Mama! Happy Mother's Day!

------
martijnengler
Yes, she's still bitchin' most of the time. ;)

One of the reasons I keep holding on is to proof her wrong. When I started my
first business (working on my second now) she disapproved it from before I
even started: "it won't work", "it will only cost you money"... When I finally
did start (with some help from my (now-ex-)girlfriend who motivated me a lot)
she was all like "Yeah, you can do it". She seems to be like that: supporting
me when it's "too late". Like those kind of friends you never see, until you
suddenly have money.

My dad on the other hand, .. Well, he can be a critic too, but he can set me
back on track sometimes and gives me advice.

So yes, she did influence it (still does), but not in the way you probably
meant.

------
dawie
Richard Branson talks alot about how his mother influenced him in his biograhy
- "Loosing my Virginity"

------
benhoyt
I'm sure she influenced it -- she's a great mum (NZ spelling). But when I was
growing up, Dad was always the I-have-a-brilliant-idea person.

