Seminar Teaches That Motherhood Builds Business Skills

Those long nights caring for the kids and learning time-out techniques can now be translated into valuable management skills.

That's what Shari Storm, author of Motherhood is the New MBA: Using Your Parenting Skills to Be a Better Boss, told a group at a seminar on Tuesday at Xceed Financial Credit Union on Showers Drive. She wanted to help parents enhance their skills and learn to make money along the way.

“Human nature is human nature, whether you’re 2 or 62,” Storm said, also a top executive at a credit union in Washington state. “When you’re a parent, you spend 24 hours a day, seven days a week,  dealing with human nature, up close and personal. You spend all your time getting someone to do something in the manner you want it done. It’s the same as a boss.”

Women and men of all ages filled dozens of chairs in the credit union branch. They hoped to learn how to use years of parenting experiences to their advantage in the business world.

“I own a business, and I’m a mom, so rather than create new skills for myself, I came here tonight to learn if I can utilize what I already know in the workplace,” said Shana Nelson, owner of a State Farm insurance branch on Castro Street, who attended the seminar.

Storm gave tips and advice presented in her book and compared raising her three young daughters to being an executive of a company.

The 192-page hardcover book's first chapter, "Getting Dressed Can Take All Morning," advises that the employer, or the parent, already further along in the process, has more control and can see the bigger picture before the employees or the kids can.

She advised that the same way she laid out several different outfits for her daughters to choose from, also worked as a strategy for employees by giving them some control in choices made, no matter how small, like the color of the cubicle wall fabric.

“We had a great turnout for this event,” said Matt Butler, financial center manager of the branch that's been on Showers Drive for two years. “Forty-one people RSVP’d, and a whopping 31 people showed up. This is great!”

This marked the first event for Xceed Financial. Now Butler hopes to host beneficial events for the community and its members.

However, next Thursday, Aug. 25, the credit union will host a back-to-school fundraiser.

Both the Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce’s Emerging Professionals in Commerce and the Chamber of Commerce Mountain View's Young Innovative Professional Entrepreneurs, Etc. will join to raise money for the Community Services Agency’s back to school drive. A raffle ticket will be issued for every three or four unopened school supplies. For more information on the event, contact the chamber at 650-968-8378.