Be your own boss! Requirements: Hard work. Long hours. Be willing to work weekends, sweep up and take out the trash.
For the gutsy breed of women who opt for the entrepreneurial career track, all these things and many more are just part of their daily lives. But don’t think that means there aren’t rewards too, both personal and professional.
Thousands of women have chosen self-employment or business ownership in large part as a lifestyle decision. According to a 2007 Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Advocacy study, women are more likely than men to start businesses to achieve a work-family balance and they are also more likely than men to say that they started their businesses to be challenged personally and to achieve self-determination, rather than to make money per se.
From Sarajevo to Sonoma
Nada Ruth Rothbarth grew up in Yugoslavia, played professional basketball, became an attorney and started a family in Sarajevo. The war there abruptly ended her practice and she and her husband and their two sons fled the country, eventually ending up in the Bay Area. “I didn’t have the skills for this country,” said Rothbarth, who, at the time, did not speak English. Not able to practice law, she coached girl’s basketball and studied English.
Rothbarth then attained a real estate license, and carved out a client base by making hundreds of cold calls a day. But personal tragedy struck: her youngest son died unexpectedly and she and her husband divorced. During this time she relocated to Sacramento and picked up the pieces of her life, but was deeply depressed. A friend suggested she come with her to a Bikram yoga class; the experience touched a chord. “I instantly loved the feeling,” said Rothbarth, “It was the way I used to feel playing basketball when I was moving my body at the highest level of exercise. I left with renewed energy and determined to have my own studio one day.”
She spent several years learning Bikram yoga—a form of yoga that is done in a heated environment—and became an instructor. A string of fortuitous events opened the door to finding a Bikram studio for sale in Sonoma, and Rothbarth took it over in January of this year. “I knew nothing about Sonoma, but when I came here and saw this beautiful little town and wonderful studio, I knew this was my home.”
Since January, Rothbarth has seen an influx of several new students every week. “We’ve created an environment that is comfortable for both men and women of all ages and levels of skill. I look at every class as a beginner’s class because Bikram teaches that ‘Nobody does yoga, everybody tries yoga.’”
Women-owned businesses now account for a large percentage of the new businesses across the country, and though the Chamber of Commerce and the city do not track statistics specific to Sonoma Valley, Laurie Decker, Sonoma Economic Development Partnership (EDP) Project Manager, observes that a majority of local start-ups are women-owned. In 2006–2007, 238 new business licenses were issued to businesses based in Sonoma Valley. A 2006 SBA review reports that “The majority of local businesses are small; more than 60 percent of Sonoma’s jobs are in businesses with fewer than five employees.”
Rising to the Occasion
Scandia Bakery is a Sonoma institution that was started by Kaj Friis more than 20 years ago. In 1992, he hired Marcela Barrenechea to work the front counter. Barrenechea, originally from Bolivia, had spent several years in Sweden before coming to Sonoma and came from a family of restaurateurs. But it took years of observing and cajoling to get Friis to teach her his European baking methods. “Kaj loved baking,” said Barrenechea, “he preferred that to coming out and greeting people, so I became the person that the customers talked to most often. Finally, he started to teach me how to bake and I learned all the traditional techniques and ingredients of Scandinavian baking.”
Barrenechea absorbed the business processes as well, dealing with the myriad details of a small company, eventually taking on more responsibilities from Friis, whose health was failing. Ultimately, she took over as owner of the business in January of 2000. Her husband, Eulogio Rodriguez, joined her in the bakery, and Barrenechea trained him in the traditions she learned from Friis. Today Barrenechea has relinquished most of the baking duties, spending her time running the business.
“We have not changed our baking methods or ingredients,” said Barrenechea. “I believe you should stay true to what you do well.” She advises those contemplating owning their own business to “find what you really like to do, look for a mentor, save your money and don’t be afraid to work hard.”
If there is one common denominator among women-owned businesses, it is that their success relies on the willingness to work hard. But it is important to keep in mind that balance, in work and personal life, is what will prevent burnout and provide the energy and enthusiasm to “take this job and love it!”
