Customer Reviews

MothersWork

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

You can do it is the attitude of this book! Rebecca Matthias writes of her experiences starting a business out of her home with the depth and flow of a favorite river. It is always flowing and never too deep that you loose interest or have to stop to figure out what she is saying. The author tells of her own experiences in colorful situations that make you laugh and at times feel the frustation and stress she went through while starting a family and building Mothers Work, Inc. into the biggest maternity apparel company in the world. I highly recommend this book to any woman looking to start her own business and could use the inspiration and/or blue prints. Each chapter recaps like a business book but it by far more enjoyable to read than any business book I can think of. I passed it on to a friend who enjoyed reading it too!

I took this book with me on a recent business trip to Chicago and had to force myself to stop reading it at a reasonable hour the first night so I could get some sleep. This book is not a how-to start a business and take it public kind of book, but rather a look at the woman who ended up doing precisely that and what it meant to her personally.
It's interesting to read the other reviews, because obviously some readers wanted Rebecca to say that she had done it all on her own without any support from her family, or that she managed to create a multi-million dollar business, have a family, AND have time for hobbies, friends, and handicrafts. But the fact that Rebecca's husband and parents worked beside her doesn't detract from her achievement in my eyes. Nor was I surprised that she only has room in her life for immediate family and her business. As I consider whether and how much I want to grow my company, I look at her life and realize that I'm not as ambitious as she is. Yet I admire what she has done, and really admire her bravery as she bares herself in this revealing autobiography of her working years.
Anyone who wants an honest inside look at what it takes in terms of commitment, hard work, and the ability to recover from mistakes and the inevitable setbacks along the way will enjoy reading Motherswork. Bravo to Rebecca for sharing her story with the rest of us.

Rebecca does a great job of explaining the true ups and downs of doing what you love, and surviving during difficult times of building big business. It's refreshing to see an ordinary woman with ordinary means make it big, without tons of money and many degrees, the one thing she has is courage. Courage to follow a dream. She is very candid, admitting to mistakes and feelings she experienced during that time in a lighthearted and funny way. She's to be admired, a true inspiration. We all can learn from her. Excellent, must read for anyone wanting to go out on their own and begin a company or any mom needing inspiration to "go for it".

I picked this book up at the library on an impulse, having never heard of it before. I must say that it gave me a very visceral feel for what is really involved from birth to maturity of a company.

Highlights of what I found valuable:

1. A very well-executed blend of a conversational first-person account with a logical sequencing of the stages of a company's life as well as lessons learned. There is a boxed section at the end of each chapter that highlights a topic of interest, for example, everything you always wanted to know about franchising but didn't know who to ask. Not only are these boxed sections interesting and useful, but these are frequently topics on which it is hard to find succinct and pragmatic advice elsewhere, all in one place.

2. As has been mentioned in other reviews, the honesty is pretty refreshing without being overdone. For example, Ms. Mathias has no self-consciousness, to her credit, about being ignorant of things like insurance claims processes when fire damages her first warehouse. But at the same time, she has skilfully managed to avoid trying to portray what would count in my mind as a false humility about her ignorance.

3. Very insightful comments and little tips throughout the book that can only work with the conversational tone that she has adopted, but are hard to find, especially for the novice. For example, her comments on investment bankers' preference to peg the price of an IPO to between $13 and $15 per share, and the delicate dance of drumming up demand ahead of the actual IPO. Sure, it all makes sense, and sure, bankers know all about it - but I found these and a hundred other such tidbits an added bonus to reading the book.

The reason I still give this only 4 stars is that several obvious typos and apparent grammatical errors seem to have slipped through. For example, she talks about there being no "electric" in the house. I know English is a second language to me, but the usage just didn't sound right, and is one I have never encountered before. A second example was the use of the term "workingwomen" with no space, more than once. I am not aware if this is some industry slang but I have certainly never seen it before.

All in all, I'd say this is a great book for anyone considering entrepreneurship but wants to have what feels like a first hand experience without actually quitting their job or plunking their entire savings before understanding what is involved. This is a great gut-check tool!

The book is very inspiring and describes a real case study of a woman who done pretty well for herself and her business. For any woman that thinks about getting into business, it should be highly encouraging. I found it to be a great source of help and fun to read. In order to actually start establishing your own business, you might want to read additional books with more detailed explanation on the steps required to open the specific business you are thinking about. I must admit, I couldn't resist and read it twice.

it seems that rececca relied too much on the help of her mother and her husband and frankly I feel her approach was too self serving. Not too inspirational. She never wanted to be many faceted but seems to have remained focused on making money.

An amazing success story that will at least inspire you to think about getting off your duff and pursuing your ambitions. Keep in mind that many of the sacrifices Rebecca makes are not for everyone like living with your parents, feeding your family fast food frequently, and having no time for friends. Rebecca saw the need for fashionable maternity clothes which led to A Pea in the Pod, Motherhood and a few other chains.

I checked this book out of the library. I found it in the section on starting businesses and it looked interesting. I started reading it last night and finished it this morning. I really enjoyed reading it.

The author is very open about her mistakes and how she learned from them. I think the book has valuable information for those who are considering starting their own businesses. I did not agree with everything she said, and I would not choose her lifestyle. But she provided me with a picture of what life is like for a woman trying to build a large, profitable business. I have more modest goals and different priorities. I highly recommend this book.

For anyone, male or female, who wants a great read about starting a business on a shoestring: Get a copy of this book. A truly funny, insightful, honest, inspirational, smart and, yes, useful book about entrepreneurship. I read Matthias' book once, then did something I don't believe I've never done before. I turned back to the first page and reread it. It was that good! Her mantra, "Think big, focus and never give up" are worth the price of the book!

I found this book to be an enjoyable read, it was told from a personal perspective and was quite informative. It is very amazing how a little idea thought up by a new mom to be looking for a home based business blossomed into a giant public company with hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue. This book really isn't a "how-to" book, although it would certainly qualify as a "how-to" primer, enough information to get the reader thinking about how things work and developed.
The author was very open about some of the hardships and mistakes that were made along the way, and I found it interesting to hear someone that was ultimately very successful talk about the numerous time she almost quit or at least really wanted to quit, but some how found the courage to go on.
What I didn't like about the book was that she didn't give much of a voice to her husband. The fact of the matter is that her business, by her own admission, never would have made it to where it is today if it hadn't been for his support and contribution. This isn't something to be looked at as a negative, or anti-woman in any sense, but the truth is that in reality there was a partnership that made the business what it became, yet the book's cover and the over-all premise is that it was a "self made" woman story. I think the story would have been much better told if it had alternated between both the voices. In fact, the bottom line is that the business was a success because of the support and work of the entire family unit. This was talked about in the book, but seemingly down played in the cover, jacket and over all scope.
I recommend this book to any that are interested in business success stories, men or women, it is very inspirational and it was fun to read too.