Ashlee Sang knows what it's like to juggle motherhood alongside career ambitions. She owns her own consulting firm focused on communication and messaging. She's also a mother of two. When she had the opportunity to start a local chapter of the nationwide Made for Mothers group, she leapt at the chance.
"I just couldn't not do it," Sang said. "I was too excited, and I was so eager to feel reconnected to this community that I've been pretty disconnected from for many years — namely the five years of motherhood that I have experienced."
Her group, Made for Mothers - Central Illinois, launched in September at Illinois Art Station. Sang described it as "An IRL [in real life] community for ambitious and entrepreneurial moms in Central Illinois."
She wants to attract moms who own their own businesses, as well as moms running a side hustle they are passionate about. Her goal is to create a community of "anyone who has that sense inside themselves of 'I want to do work that matters, and also I care deeply about the family I'm raising,'" she said. "And both can exist."
'So real so quickly'
At the launch party, Sang featured Impact Life, a nonprofit organization focused on blood drives. Attendees learned their blood type and included the Impact Life representative in their conversations, because she's also a mom. They networked and split up into smaller breakout groups to have more intimate, facilitated conversations.
Sang described these smaller conversations as "really the heart of every Made for Mothers meetup," and said she was very pleased with how well it went.
"People gave feedback instantly of, 'Wow, this got so real so quickly,' or 'Oh, I didn't expect to get so vulnerable,' or 'Wow, we found this really overarching common theme in this small group of people,' that they just randomly sat next to, right?" Sang said.
Sang said 16 women attended the launch, with some last minute cancellations and additions. She said she expects will always be the case. She knows as well as anyone the challenge of balancing sick kids, daycare issues and demanding work deadlines.
Attendees paid a ticket price of $39 to attend the launch. This is also the expected cost for future meetups. This revenue compensates Sang for the time she spends planning and facilitating each event. Sang hopes that women will consider this a business or professional development expense. There is no additional monthly or annual membership fee.
Of the 16 attendees, 15 were moms. Sang said the woman who was not a mom still got a lot out of the event.
"She specifically used the word 'healing,'" Sang said. "She got so much out of the small group discussion and being in a room full of women, when she is in a male-dominated industry."
While inclusive of others, Sang said the magic of the group comes from the shared experience of both motherhood and business. She said this hyperfocused niche creates something that "just feels magical to me."
That magic is what makes the group different from other existing networking organizations. Sang said there are other groups focused on connecting business people, and there are other groups focused on moms, but her group is specifically focused on the overlap.
As the group gets off the ground, Sang has a lot of ideas of what they can accomplish together. First and foremost, she wants the group to grow their businesses together. And they're off to a good start.
"We had someone close business live in the room during our first meetup," she said. "So it is sort of everything all at once, but with a very, very, very strong focus on relationships."
As a long term goal, Sang wants to create a pool of resources, so attendees with more disposable income can "pay it forward" to help others who may not be in the same situation. She said she is passionate about nonprofits and wants to continue featuring them at meetups. She also wants to host book and clothing swaps, cover topics like financial and hormonal wellness, facilitate sessions on developing a strong elevator speech and empower other moms to amplify each other's messages in the community as they connect.
For now, Sang is focused on getting the monthly meetings up and running. The next meeting of Made for Mothers - Central Illinois is Wednesday, Oct. 21 at 9:30 a.m, also at Illinois Art Station.
