WHO SHE IS: Lane Kennedy Levy, founder, The Entrepreneur Experience
LOCATION: San Francisco
SUCCESS STORY: Giving birth at home with my husband and two dogs!
WORK SCHEDULE: Tuesday – Friday 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
KIDS: My son, Adrian who is super power 4
SANITY VICE: I meditate twice a day, and I walk in the park at least twice a week, or else danger, danger…
BEST TIME-MANAGEMENT TIP: AmazonFresh has been a game changer.
GO-TO TECH: I use TaskRabbit for everything!
WORK-LIFE BALANCE? Currently between 7-8
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Five Questions for Lane
1. You’re a “serial entrepreneur.” How did you get “the bug?”
I was an entrepreneur before it was a topic of conversation, before people went to “school” for it. I have been industrious and driven before I graduated high school, I actually graduated early, didn’t tell my parents and went to work, started paying for my own college and worked in a startup. I was motivated to create and do things from the get go!
2. Your last business was selling luxury lingerie online, and now you have a show about Mom Entrepreneurs and their businesses. What was speaking to you in the universe that encouraged you to switch gears like this?
I love helping women and I love, love, love empowering them to become who they’re meant to be, maybe that sounds like a bunch of hooey, but it’s true. When I was approached to do the lingerie company I was very hesitant. At that time I had been diligently working on a tech project for eleven months, an online coaching system, and I kept hitting development roadblocks, which was bringing me down to say the least. I believe that when Anna (my cofounder) found me and asked that I partner with her in the lingerie company it was such a sigh of relief, it was easy, an obvious redirect for me with my background in fashion for almost 20 years. One element that was essential in me making the decision to shelve my tech project was creating a company with a mission that I could push forward with and still feel like I was pursuing my purpose of helping women, we came up with, “Change your lingerie, Change your life.”
Helping women become who they want to be, and live the lives they want to create is what I’m about; I’ve been coaching women for seventeen years. I began to focus on moms because of the profound change that I went through after having my son. It became very clear to me that Motherhood was underrated and overlooked, and I wanted to do my part to show and share what we are capable of doing, and help other moms out there who are struggling, or on the fence in regards to what they want to do next! The Entrepreneur Experience allows me to share the journey of motherhood while being an entrepreneur.
3. In your opinion, why are women starting businesses at such a rapid clip?
Because we can! The barrier to entry is so low, I mean it’s incredible. A woman can start a business with little to no money, seriously! I believe that there are a lot of women who are facing that moment in their lives where they think, “Why the heck am I doing this, is this worth it? I’m working in a cubicle, I miss my kids and get paid less than my male colleague?” There are so many opportunities for women to take advantage of, they can work online, go into direct sales, or simply bake cookies and sell them to their local (farmer’s) market! Freedom, and flexibility, is what it’s all about these days!
4. What do you think are the key ingredients for knowing it’s time to launch a business?
I don’t think there are key ingredients for knowing when to launch a business. Key ingredients you must have to be an entrepreneur: ambition, drive, follow thru, ability to execute, perseverance, and patience.
5. What advice do you live by as a working mom?
Write it down and it will happen. If the brain doesn’t see it visually it will not know how to create it. I do this with every project, every idea, every dream!
~ Anything else you would like to answer?
Now is the time to create the life that you want, don’t wait for it to fall into your lap. The actions that I take today will pay off, I just don’t always know how or when, but I do know that if I do nothing… NOTHING WILL HAPPEN!
Follow Lane: @lanekennedy
