“It’s good to have others advocating for you but for that to happen, they have to see the vision. In the beginning I tried to convince investors and that was just painful because I wasted a lot of time,” said Allison Watkins, Inventor, Entrepreneur and Women’s Health Advocate.
Let’s face it many of the systemic challenges moms face, come down to having less economic power. Entrepreneurship can mean greater financial freedom, fulfillment and flexibility. However, running a business also means managing risk, largely the financial kind. And on average mom-led businesses still earn a fraction of those started by dads. Which means we often make things happen with less resources.
Despite this, women start businesses at record rates and more often, anchor our successes to social impact. Moms bring unique gifts into entrepreneurship. And you can learn to accelerate the sales and discovery process that’s an inevitable part of growth.
You Will Not Persuade Everyone
Allison developed the first patient-led, FDA cleared product for urinary incontinence. Millions of women suffer from incontinence and pelvic floor damage. And her own postpartum experience with it, after her first child was born, led her to invent a solution. To do so, she’s had to convince doctors, retailers, investors and even the FDA about the merits of her mission and approach.
She said, “I felt a little bit like a crazy person going to these doctors and asking them to sign a nondisclosure agreement when I have no medical background. Some would kind of look at me like, ‘okay lady, right’ but they all signed the NDA and when I showed them what I was working on I had positive responses. It wasn’t quite that easy with male investors and businesses that do not understand the problem. Now, if I don’t get a positive response from a particular person, I don’t try to convince them if they clearly don’t see it. I’m learning that if one person doesn’t see it, then their colleague might see it.”
Avoid The Agreement Trap
Moms are socialized to be pleasing but the desire for validation can delay our progress. Not everyone will agree with you, or how your business meets a need in the marketplace. An important part of leadership is maintaining your vision and the will to keep going, not to mention managing your time where it matters.
Allison has learned to find champions, and leap over obstacles when she encounters resistance. Even in the competitive medical device space. She said, “I just signed a contract with the big national distributor, and I don’t even know how many people I’ve had to meet within that organization!”
Don’t Let ‘No’ Deter You
No one likes resistance but we deal with it, especially in our personal lives with kids all of the time. If you’re a founder, creator, non-profit fundraiser or work in sales, you’ve had to ask people for money. Many of us move on quickly after the first ‘no’ but Allison has learned to navigate the complexity of big companies.
They have a lot of different decision makers and priorities. She explained, “I don’t give up on a particular organization, but I will give up on that person within the organization. I may circle back 12 months later and give them an update but I’m kind of over the idea of groveling.”
Stay Focused on Your Customers
The most common treatments for urinary incontinence, have been absorbency products, pelvic floor physical therapy (PT) or surgery. Women need better choices, and that belief drives Allison to advocate for more accessibility. She said, “Adult diapers and pads dominate the market because not everybody thinks, ‘oh I’m going to go to a doctor’ they think, ‘how do I not have pee in my pants?’ It’s so simple. There’s an elitism that exists and many options are just not serving the general population. We have to think about the cashier, schoolteacher and the bus driver. People that can’t take time off of work for surgery and can’t afford pelvic floor PT that can cost over cost $1,200.”
Align Your Boundaries with Your ‘Why’
Allison said, “We talk about mental health and setting boundaries in our personal lives and I think it’s very important to do it in your business life too. I’m a woman of faith and so I think about maintaining this purpose. I try to do the right thing for the women using the product and that whatever we do as a company has to be mutually beneficial.”
Revisit How You Care for Yourself
When I asked, ‘what does self-care mean to you and how do you honor it?’ Allison said, “I’ve had an epiphany recently about this because as moms, and entrepreneurs on top of that, we do all the things for all the people. And I think I’m doing a terrible job at self-care.” Self-sacrifice is still the celebrated norm for mothers. However, we have to disrupt the pattern especially when running a business in parallel. Entrepreneurship consumes a lot of energy. And without restorative self-care, it can damage our mental and physical health.
Protect Rest on Your Calendar
Allison said, “In many ways, my prayer time is self-care but what I’m realizing now is that I’ve kind of physically let myself go. I don’t work out like I used to, I’ll run and grab something that’s fast versus preparing meals like I actually love to do. Those are all components of self-care. One thing I have started implementing, is to think about getting rest whenever scheduling my month. Between the kids and all the things, like back-to-back meetings and then working on the weekends and taking on volunteer assignments, we do tend to neglect ourselves.”
The current climate has most put many unsuspecting business owners onto a financial roller coaster ride. However, whether you are at an early or later stage in your business and growth, you may need to pivot something. That might be your sales strategy, Allison shared wonderful tips, that are effective especially when other businesses influence your revenue trajectory.
It may be your target customer, your staffing support or how you promote what you do. Reacting to change without having it break you, requires a reservoir of wellbeing and that comes from spending time at the top of the Mom’s Hierarchy of Needs, ideally each day, caring for your mental, physical and emotional health.
Pause, rest up and stay inspired to move towards your dreams.
Many thanks to the talented Allison Watkins!
Learn More about Allison’s company and products on their website, and follow her great adventure on LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.
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About Allison:
Allison founded Watkins-Conti Products, Inc. in 2016 to pioneer solutions for women’s pelvic health. Following the birth of her children, she experienced stress urinary incontinence (SUI), the involuntary leakage of urine when exerting pressure on the bladder during physical activity. Frustrated by the limited options, she engineered, patented, and manufactured Yōni.Fit, a comfortable and convenient device for the management of SUI. Yōni.Fit is pending FDA approval following completion of a national clinical trial by Urogynecologists at Stanford, NYU, and Jefferson Health.
Allison has raised funds from private investors to create quality management systems, a robust intellectual property portfolio, secure contract manufacturing, conduct clinical trials, and expand her executive team and expert advisers.
An engaging speaker, Allison challenges social taboos around women’s health and well-being. She is passionate about developing treatments that benefit women, and funding for women-led healthcare companies. Allison was recognized in Business Times’ Top 20 under 40, Disrupt magazine’s Top Ten Influential Women, and the Journal Record’s Achievers Under 40.
