Summer ’12 Extra: Interview with Cat Seto

Post by Daisy M. • May 31, 2012 • Post a comment

Cat Seto at her beautiful boutique on Polk St., San Francisco, CA

I had the wonderful opportunity to meet Cat Seto, co-author of the new and fabulous book, Mom, Inc.. Coming out on Mother’s Day, Mom, Inc., is a practical guide for the entrepreneurial spirited mothers to continue in their dream passions after having children. Cat Seto, along with her co-author Meg Ilasco, shares their tips and tricks on the success of juggling both business and parenting. A well renowned entrepreneur in the stationary and wedding industry, Cat Seto has built a great career; all the while creating a new family. After having a wonderful conversation at her beautiful boutique on Polk St. in San Francisco, CA, her entrepreneurial spirit has inspired me to continue on in my dream career. Read my interview with Cat below!

Daisy: What led you to write Mom, Inc.?

Cat Seto: I was asked by Meg to be co-author for Mom, Inc.. She’s known for this very popular series of crafting books. We both knew a lot of young designers and entrepreneurs women who were ready to start a family. We felt the need to share to our tips and tricks as both mothers on how to balance business and family.

D: How did you meet Meg Ilasco?

C: I met Meg at the National Stationary Show. She visited my booth; we sort of just hit it off. We started running into each other at events and became really good friends.

D: How did you and Meg think of the idea of making a book together?

C: Meg knew I started a whole bunch of businesses. I had stationary cards, wedding invitations, my own shop and a website dedicated to entrepreneurial women. She looked at my website, momincdaily.com where a community of women get together to talk about biz how-to’s on topics from production to design. She knew that I would have some great tips and be helpful on creating a book about business for mothers.

D: What were some inspirations for Mom, Inc.?

C: Creating this book was a very personal experience for me. This book was inspired by both our mothers. The spirit of entrepreneurship and motherhood has taken roots into this book which we learned from our mothers. They were both workaholics who loved their families and took joy in working hard in what they love to do. This book is a complete full circle of grandmothers to mother down to our children. Our kids will be able to look at it one day and see our creative spirit as well as their grandmother’s memory.

D: Can you share what was that personal experience that inspired you to co-write this book?

C: Well my mother passed away while I was a pregnant with my son Nolan. It was a very difficult time for me and a definitely hard recovery. But, it was very helpful to be supported by this community of women that I knew who went through similar experiences and were able to get out of it. This book helped me to preserve the memory of my mother for both myself and my son Nolan.

D: What were some memorable experiences while writing this book?

C:There were definitely ‘mommy’ moments during conference calls. My son Nolan would be yelling while Meg’s kids would be falling and creating banging noise. Our calls would be really funny, but were really productive.

D: What are some tips that are very useful in your book that you incorporate into your own life?

C: I definitely abide by – what we called in Mom, Inc. - the Mom Statement. I constantly ask myself, ‘What do I want for my family?’ I don’t want to miss out on my on’s life, so I make sure to have a well balanced schedule of a lot of family times as well as enough time to work.

D: What’s the best part in creating Mom, Inc.?

C: It’s always great to know that mothers strive for a career in their creative outlets of passion. Writing the book, hearing their stories; they are all very inspiring to me and Meg. I hope that Mom, Inc. serves as an inspiration to these mothers or moms-to-be to continue to build on their dreams. I hope that this keeps them motivated and invigorated in both their careers and family life.

For more information on Cat Seto and Moms, Inc., please visit her website.

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