Girl Boss: Angela Cody-Rouget, Major Mom
Angela Cody-Rouget is the founder of Major Mom, a team of professional organizers. She recently was awarded 2016 Woman-Owned Small Business Advocate of the Year at AZ Small Biz Con! Read below for more about Angela’s journey owning Major Mom.
1. How did you come up with your business idea?
I was born to organize and my years in the military taught me how to create systems and order for the masses. I attained the rank of Major in the USAF and my husband, Frederic, nicknamed me “Major Mom.” After our second child was born, I resigned my post and was honorably discharged. I had planned on staying at home, but God had other plans for me. As I adjusted to civilian life, I witnessed first-hand how hectic a stay-at-home parent’s life is and how isolated many of them feel. I began to grow a big place in my heart for these families – I knew I could help them get organized!
2. What outside resources were helpful for you? (e.g SCORE, SBA, etc.)
As a small company, it was so important to draw on outside resources – marketing, human resources, payroll, legal services – to support my business. For my own professional development, I joined the Colorado Chapter of the National Association of Professional Organizers (www.napo.net) and took classes through NAPO University, earning my Certified Professional Organizer (CPO®) credential. I also participated in the South Metro Chamber of Commerce, Experience Pros membership directory, The Institute for Veterans and Military Families and the Make it Fly mastermind group. In Phoenix, I am currently involved with the Small Business Administration, Small Business Development Council and the Southwest Veterans Chamber of Commerce. Of course, I always rely strongly on my spiritual leaders as I move forward through this mission God has put me on.
3. What advice can you share with other girl bosses in training?
First, believe in yourself and your mission even when no one else does. If you doubt yourself, why would your clients hire you? Secondly, I stress to all Major Mom Liberators the importance of tithing and keeping your spiritual house in order. Finally, I believe in being in tune with your company finances, because numbers do not lie; all bosses must know their company’s numbers inside and out.
4. What do you like to do for fun?
Major Mom promises to make organizing fun and get the job done faster than anyone, and to me, organizing is fun! Like an artist loves to paint or a gardener tends to her plants, I get immense satisfaction from creating order and systems. I feel blessed that my business reflects my passion for something that I think is fun. It’s the most amazing combination I could ask for.
5. Social media is an amazing tool for smart women like you with a strong point of view to share a more intimate side of the brand and the culture around it. How has social media helped your brand and business?
Social media has helped us spread Major Mom’s message and build a ‘Raving Fan’ base in ways our limited traditional marketing dollars never could have. Our daily organizing tips and glimpses into the life of an organizer keep our fans actively engaged with us long after (and sometimes even long before) they need our help! After appearing on ABC’s Shark Tank in February of this year, people found us, not through our website, but through their favorite social media sites – Yelp, Pinterest, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, you name it! Our fans are now pressuring us to get on even more sites, like Instagram.
6. What does your morning routine look like?
It may sound like a contradiction, but I believe that the cornerstone to a successful morning routine is flexibility. As a certified Family Manager, I know the value of routines, and my children have morning and evening routine checklists that they follow to keep them on task and on time. However, my own routine is impossible to standardize. My priorities are always to be 1) a mom to my kids, and 2) a business owner; so while my priorities remain the same, my routine must always be flexible enough to accommodate the changing needs of my family, my employees and my clients. I also believe in getting up early enough to avoid rushing. My whole family gets up early enough that we have time to complete the tasks we must get done to get out of the house and to school on time, even when life’s unpredictable.
Stay tuned for next week’s Women Rockstar Wednesday!
