On the ParentPreneurial Edge

Being a working parent is often like being on the edge of space and time. You don't have enough of either, and you're not sure when the other shoe is going to drop. Notice I did not say if.

When Julie Lenzer Kirk contacted me, I smiled at the parental analogy she brings to entrepreneurialism in the form of her latest book, The ParentPreneur Edge: What Parenting Teaches about Building a Successful Business. In fact, when she writes that her business is her third baby, I had to laugh out loud. She has two children, as I do. She lives about three hours north of where I grew up. But the similarities don't stop there. When people in my bucolic Bavarian town started asking me when I was planning my third child, I would say, "My second book is my third child." I suppose my idea wasn't that original after all, but it kept people from asking the question a second time!

Eight years into this parenting gig, I felt pretty confident I have that piece of my world down pat. As I consider catapulting my PR consultancy to the elusive 'next level', however, I am less certain. Julie's book has proven to be more than just another parenting book. In fact, it isn't a parenting book at all.

The ParentPreneur Edge is a business book that uses parenting as the angle from which you can view your business. It's helpful for those who are parents. I'd be curious to know if non-parents would find it as useful. Nonetheless, I learned so much in the ten chapters she lays out - how to start out and the pitfalls to avoid; how to learn from your mistakes, which you will inevitably make; how to discipline unwieldy employees and communicate effectively; and how to leave your 'baby' as it learns to fly without you. With helpful case studies and personal anecdotes, Julie throws her heart and soul into everything she does, including writing this book. It is well-written, conceptionally sound and very real. As Carolyn Kepcher, former Donald Trump advisor, writes in the foreword, juggling the demands of family, meetings, travel, negotiations and burp-stained dry-clean only clothing is something  many of us live every day. Thankfully, we've got Julie Lenzer Kirk to hold our hand with a firm, yet gentle touch.

Comments

[Julie Lenzer Kirk]

Thanks for the review! I am glad you found the book helpful.

As an aside, I have received reviews and e-mails from non-parents who have found the analogies easy to relate to. I guess since we were all children at one point, they can get it too, especially since I didn't put in any secret codes or jokes that only parents can understand. :-)

Thanks again and I hope to hear from your readers on THEIR thoughts!

Julie