What’s your “mom” elevator pitch?
How do you describe yourself to other moms when you first meet them? In 20 seconds or less.
I recently got hammered by another mom on my mom elevator pitch. I was at the Mom 2.0 Summit, a convention for mostly women, often moms, who are bloggers, influencers, or paid speakers.
Cathy is a mom of five who recently transitioned back into the workforce after several years as a stay-at-home mom.
Here is what I said after she asked me about myself:
I’m a lawyer. I used to work full-time, but now I just stay-at-home and work occasionally. I only have four kids.
Not missing a beat, Cathy said, “What’s with the “just”? You’re not “just” anything, and you don’t “only” have four kids.”
Ouch.
Selling ourselves short in our mom elevator pitches
As it turned out, I wasn’t alone. I must have spoken to dozens of moms at that conference who had mom elevator pitches full of “just” and “only” qualifiers.
Whether it’s false modesty, not owning our life choices, being intimidated by the other moms, or just plain poor word choice, there are a lot of us moms who unintentionally sell ourselves short when describing ourselves to other moms.
Here’s what my “just” and “only” qualified mom elevator pitch says about me:
- I’m not happy with my choice to be a stay-at-home mom.
- I think my professional work has little value because it’s not the result of a 40-hour work week.
- Raising four kids is easy.
What the heck? So not true.
How angry would I be if someone else like my husband described me that way? He doesn’t, by the way.
What do you really want other moms to know about you, in 20 seconds or less
So why am I using “just” and “only” qualifiers in my mom elevator pitch? What’s my truth?
I am happy with my choice to be a stay-at-home mom, but some (okay most) days it’s a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. I also still remember the stinging criticisms I heard when I did work full-time about lawyers turned stay-home-moms with their diploma hanging on the laundry room wall.
While I only generate a tiny fraction of the “billable hours” than I used to, I can honestly say that I enjoy the work that I do (and the people that I work with) exponentially more. Why? I have my own practice, I answer to no one, and I refuse to do work for anyone I don’t like. Keep dropping curses, say an unkind word about anyone, or waste my time and you’re out.
Raising four kids is unbelievably difficult. Most days I’m just trying to keep “the trains running on time” and failing miserably at it. I think my three oldest girls might have set a school record for most tardies this year. While I respect your choice to have more kids, I think I would completely lose it if there were even just one more of them.
My new and improved mom elevator pitch
I took Cathy’s comments to heart. After some serious thought (and a few glasses of champagne—it was flowing at this conference), here’s how I tweaked my mom elevator pitch:
I’m a stay-at-home mom of four girls, lawyer, and blogger. I practice business law and estate planning and I blog about legal and parenting issues.
Now that’s a mom I bet other moms would like to get to know better.
If you are looking to try out your mom elevator pitch, check out How to: Find mom-friends in your neighborhood, How to make mom friends in Dallas, and Yes, Fellow Mom, You Still Need Friends (Even if it Feels Weird).
What’s your mom elevator pitch? Leave a comment.
