Originate, Motivate, Innovate

CHAPTER 2Create S.P.A.C.E.

“Fail‐Safe” Business Framework

The irony is that nothing about my life has been fail‐safe. I have failed repeatedly. I've also always found a way to figure it out. As a single mom, you have no choice. If you don't figure out how to make it work, no one is going to do it for you. Being a single mom doesn't mean you don't have a community of people to support you, and it doesn't mean you can't create the community support you need. That's what building something that is fail‐safe means. It means that independent doesn't mean alone. In Chapter 1, I mentioned going on government assistance, and I'd like to come back to that here. The average person has a really jacked‐up perception of welfare or government assistance and the people on it. There is no shortage of nasty names, myths, and utterances about “those people” on welfare. I was one of “those people.” Here's the thing, government assistance was a part of my journey to figuring it out. I wasn't just sitting around collecting a check and pushing out babies. Imagine going to the grocery store with your two‐year‐old and five‐year‐old. The kids are energetic and animated. We all know that kids are their best selves in the grocery store. Something about the grocery store and small children is a recipe for disaster. After making it out of the store without forgetting your pocketbook, a bag of groceries, or something else unexpectedly tragic happening you pull up to the front of your house. The kids have ...