Being single gives you time to work on all of the many facets of your business. As someone who takes marriage and family very seriously, I don’t think I would be able to devote as much time as I would need to my company with a husband and/or children. As a current single person, time is still a precious commodity. You would have to have a very, very understanding spouse in order to make it work, but I don’t necessarily think it would be fair.
What about disadvantages?
Lack of resources is a disadvantage. Because I have to eat, live, and take care of myself, it is not as easy for me to quit my day job (as a professional pharmacist) to pursue my business full-time. I’m not quite sure that I would even want to do that, but not having a spouse that could potentially take care of the household takes that decision off the table.
Do you think business ownership has led you to remain single?
No. But I think it causes me to self-select. I meet a higher caliber of people by virtue of being a business owner. Only men with a little more to offer stay in the running because they think I’m very driven.
Did you, or are you running your business as a part-time or full-time venture? Why?
It is a part-time venture, but the hours it takes to do it successfully are full-time!
What would it take for you to consider taking on your business full-time?
In order to take the business full-time, I would have to have a large enough stash that would support me at my current lifestyle AND I would need the business to be able to make at least the same income that I enjoy as a pharmacist. I would really need to put in more work and more hours to build up enough staff and clientele to reach that benchmark.
What advice would you give another single woman who is thinking about starting a business?
With careful planning, prayer and supplication—you can do it! There will be highs and lows, ebbs and flows, but it will all be worth it in the end if you are truly doing what makes you happy. Another added bonus: you become an inspiration for others! I did not plan to be a business owner to be an inspiration to other people, but it is really humbling to hear men and women tell you that you’ve inspired them.
What about being a single WOMAN business owner?
Do you think it is easier, the same, or harder than being a single man starting a business?
I think it depends on the field that you are entering. Being a woman in the wedding planning industry has been good for me. Maybe I would have more street credibility if I was married—I don’t know!
What was the best training you received to prepare you as a business owner?
The best training I received was, and is, networking with other wedding planner colleagues. Many people have traveled this road before me, and I can learn from their mistakes. Everything that I am doing, I didn’t have to reinvent myself. During the first twelve months of my company, KSCo, I was a total sponge—learning all that I could from planners outside of Indianapolis.
BUT—you also must be a help to your colleagues. You can’t always take, take, take—you have to give ideas as well. That was the founding principle for Eventology Conference that I produce annually for start-up wedding planners and other wedding vendors. Eventology is an intimate, collaborative and intensive business conference designed especially for wedding professionals that brings real-life, applicable marketing and business information to enhance their wedding business.
Did you take on a partner in your business at any time?
I do not have a partner. I think I would hire employees before I would ever take on a partner.
If you had to start another business, what have you learned that you might do differently—either about yourself, or about how to run a business in general?
In the next business that I want to start, I would probably have to get additional capital, as I would be offering products instead of cognitive services. That would involve more people (investors) in the business. I’m not sure if I would do other things differently—whatever mistakes or missteps I have faced have all been learning opportunities and a chance to do it better next time.
How important were mentors in your entrepreneurial career?
I didn’t have a specific mentor when I opened the business, but I did work for women who were business owners while I was in pharmacy school. I carefully observed how one in particular ran her business. Susan was very meticulous, paid careful attention to detail and how her company was represented, and she was extremely successful. That had a major impact on me. I always pay attention to the small things, the branding of my company, and how my business is portrayed. I think this sets my company apart from others. Although it is a part-time venture, I present in a way that makes clients think it’s the only thing that I do. I learned this from her.
Did you start your business with your own capital?
I started KSCo with my own capital. I did not try to obtain capital from others.
How important are your social and personal networks to the success of your business?
My social and personal networks are extremely important to the success of my business. No amount of marketing can do for me what word of mouth referrals can. People who intimately know me, my character, my style and how I operate are my best business ambassadors. They also give me the needed push when I am going through my ebbs and lows.
What is your personal definition of success, and have you achieved it?
Being happy with your life and what you’re doing with it is my definition. It’s not about things and accolades and perceived success—it’s truly about being happy. Yes, a comfortable living helps with this, but I think there’s more to it than money. It’s the people you share your life with, the impact you have on others, and the way you steward what you have.
I am happy right now, but I have not achieved the pinnacle of my happiness. It’s coming!
Joan E. Champagne
White and Champagne
Joan Champagne is a 42-year-old SWPF with no children and no pets, but with two thriving plants. She currently lives in Fishers, Indiana, and was raised in Carmel, Indiana. Joan concentrates on family law and estate planning, and earned her B.S. in Business from the Kelley School of Business, and her Doctor of Jurisprudence from Indiana University School of Law—Indianapolis. She began her law career in the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office in Indiana, and then went on to serve as counsel for UAW members and their families assisting them in estate planning, bankruptcy, divorce, guardianship, paternity, custody and child
