Meet “Mompreneur” Kim DeYoung

As a “mompreneur” Kim DeYoung brilliantly blends motherhood with entrepreneurship and teaches others how to do it as well as a business coach. Kim is indeed the original “Metromom,” which is the company she created providing a unique place for moms to connect, learn and build their businesses.

Kim and I met by chance at a tea party in Manhattan. We engaged in each other’s stories and quickly found a connection over the passion we share for our families and the work that we do. Kim immediately struck me as a compassionate, smart and fierce warrior, determined to find the balance that nurtures her family, her soulful home-based business and the many women she serves.

Motherhood and establishing her own business

Living in Connecticut with her three children and husband, Kim knows what it means to juggle her family, home, business, workouts, friendships and love of decorating. Her life is full, rich and sometimes off kilter. Good mentors and a capacity for great insight provide Kim the knowledge of how to regain her sense of balance.

With the birth of her first child, Kim began to make the shift from corporate to entrepreneurial life. She decided early on that she would not sacrifice her family to succeed. Instead, Kim designed a work/life balance on her own terms and started a company that helps other women do the same.

Kim’s mission is helping women to think smarter, plan better and live richer. “I want women to be empowered to do what they want to do, with whatever provides them joy, income and flexibility. I also believe it’s critical to prepare the next generation to do the same. I want to teach kids to dream big AND make it happen—have a business idea, envision it fully, and see it through completion.”

When Kim was in the throes of growing her Metromom business, her husband was laid off. The stress of building her business and raising her family without the cushion from her husband’s income became a major challenge. With the support of friends, family, colleagues and mentors, Kim made it through intact. She says the challenge of this difficult time has made her stronger, more compassionate for the women she serves and more realistic about her relationship with money.

Kim also founded a company called “Get it Done University.” This business is dedicated to teaching entrepreneurial women specific tools and strategies to help them get their ideas out of their heads and into the marketplace. They learn how to make more money, serve more people and make the difference they know they can make.

The role of “teacher” is a powerful and meaningful one to Kim. She considers it an honor to finally fully embrace herself as the “teacher.”

“Integrity and connecting with others are my core values. I always need to be coming from those places to feel good about myself,” Kim shares.

Persevering with the development of her businesses – even when in debt and seriously discouraged by others – Kim believed in herself and stayed the course. She says that one of the greatest challenges in her life has been “being open to the evolving nature of my business. Not getting upset when things ‘fail.’”

Kim believes that the difficult or “dark” side of challenges leads to opportunities. Getting support from others while immersed in difficult times is one of the keys to moving forward. It is always a choice to either remain in the “dark” or to take positive action and find the “light” according to Kim. Her vision is teaching others what she is learning along her own life journey, balancing love, work and fun.

Recently Kim won the Connecticut SBA’s Women in Business Champion of the Year. She says “I think back over the various ‘obstacles’ that could have prevented me from getting this award, such as completing a very comprehensive application process. I realize that at each moment I had a choice to make. Was I going to show up or not? Was I going to do it or was I going to make an excuse? This experience was a huge wake-up call for me and a reminder to show up fully and not make excuses. You just never know where the small moments will lead.”

Kim positioned herself in recent years as a local and national media expert. She blogs regularly both in print and on video and collaborates with other experts in the entrepreneurial world.

How can women learn to be better entrepreneurs?

Kim explained that, “being an entrepreneur means acknowledging that you are in business for yourself. You are the CEO of your own company. It requires a mindset shift to step into that place.

“The doing requires you to determine your priorities for your business, to get clear on how to do what you need to do, to set time aside to do it, and to be open to the evolutionary process of what works and what doesn’t so that you can course-correct.”

She asks her clients, “What are you tolerating in your business or life that you don’t want to tolerate? That is where the opportunity lies. That is where the shift needs to occur. I’m not in business just to make money. Most importantly, I need to feel like I am adding value to others and having a good time. That’s when I feel enlivened and my juices are flowing.”

Kim’s authenticity comes through in her way of teaching, coaching and all of her conversations. She teaches her clients that their marketing needs to be aligned with their core values. This is how being an entrepreneur differs from big business.

In her quintessential program, The Get it Done Challenge, Kim encourages women to “Grow their businesses one project at a time.” She provides them with the tools to make sure that happens.

Kim’s favorite quote is taken from Notes from the Universe (Tut.com):

“The real reason so many have trouble with the baby steps – doing all they can, with what they’ve got, from where they are, no matter how humble or seemingly futile – is because they haven’t yet grasped that the baby steps trigger unseen forces that throw wide the floodgates of unstoppable momentum, infinite abundance, and eternal life.”