Interview with Allison O'Kelly, CEO of Mom Corps

I recently spoke with Allison O'Kelly, founder and CEO of Mom Corps—a business that helps place experienced professionals in the workforce while providing them the flexibility they need to raise their families. I asked Allison to share her experiences as an entrepreneur and asked her for her advice to other women who also want to find that successful balance between work and family.

Here are some highlights from our interview:

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SLM: Why did you start Mom Corps?

Allison: I started doing some contract work. I ended up getting so much work that I couldn't do it all myself, so I asked some of my friends if they wanted some. My friends were saying, "Where are you getting all this great work from?" And my clients were saying, "Where are you finding all these great people?" (About a year and a half later), I re-branded and said, let's call this Mom Corps. Let's open this up not just to my friends and not just for accounting, but to all of the different types of professional women out there who are looking for flexible opportunities, and the companies who are looking for them.

SLM: How do you balance career and family?

Allison: It was never, for me, about not working full time—it was about the flexibility. I have an au pair, so I have full time child care. I still operate my business out of my home. I have completely finished my basement as an office, so I have the opportunity to go upstairs when I want to, say hello (to my family), give hugs and kisses, and then go back to work.

SLM: In your mind, what is the future like for moms in the workplace?

Allison: I think it's going to be a night and day difference, (like) when you talk about women in the 60s versus women in the 80s. We're going to have such a huge shortage in our workforce as all these Baby Boomers retire, and companies are going to need to find ways to be creative to get the people they need. This is such an obvious opportunity to get people who are educated and talented and ready to work. (Companies) just need to be able to change the way that their traditional roles are set up within their organization to get access to these people.

SLM: What is the future of female entrepreneurs?

Allison:I think the sky's the limit. I think women now have realized that you can't "have it all," that you need to have some sort of balance and figure out different, creative ways to manage your career and your life—and make them both work. The companies are going to change to get access to the talent. And in the meantime, women are figuring out that we can go out and just do it ourselves and make it work for us.

SLM: How important is it for working moms to find care?

Allison: I think that care is critical for women who want to either get back into or remain in the workforce. If you don't have that part of your life figured out, it almost makes the other part of it impossible.

SLM: What advice would you give to female entrepreneurs?

Allison: You need to be really, really passionate about what you're doing, because it's very hard and very tiring, and it feels like it takes forever to get anything done when you're launching a new venture. However, if you're passionate about it, and that can carry you, the rewards are just endless.

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Allison's advice is so timely—not only for female entrepreneurs, but also for working women who are trying to improve their careers. It is so true that while the corporate world struggles to keep up with an ever-changing workforce, there's no reason why women in business should wait for the solutions to come to them. As Allison said, women should just get out there and make it happen—be the change that you want to see in the marketplace. I couldn't agree more. Nobody knows your ambition, drive, and talent the way you do. Let your passion for business create momentum.

Cheers,

Sheila

Comments

[Katherine]

Sheila,

Thank you for your inspriational website. Your interview with Allison O'Kelly from Mom Corps drove me to your site, and it was a great article. I read your bio and appreciate your drive.

I'm a full time working mother of an 18 mo old daughter and am ready to seek balance in my work and home life. I've started actively looking for part-time consultant work and find articles and sites like yours to be tremendously inspiring.

Thank you,
KT

[Marie Casas]

Quite refreshing to have a female entrepreneur managing a web company and making a difference. I think we have it better than traditional employees actually -- we carve our own path and set our own time. Beautiful.