1000 Media & Publishing

Erica Diamond, Founder and Editor-In-Chief of WomenOnTheFence.com Erica Diamond, Founder and Editor-In-Chief of the leading website WomenOnTheFence.com, is an award-winning entrepreneur, author of 99 Things Women Wish They Knew Before Starting Their Own Business, a women’s success coach, a motivational speaker and the list goes on. But first and foremost, Diamond says she's a wife and a mother to two young boys. “Family comes before business. Nothing is more important,” Diamond says. Staying true to this principle, she keeps a watch on how much time she dedicates to her business and to her family. And when she doesn’t have enough energy to devote to the people she loves, Diamond scales back on her business. “Even though I’m a perfectionist, I’m willing to accept being an 8 out of 10 for the sake of my family,” she told The Story Exchange. Diamond started her first company, Unique Corporate Gifts, when she was 24. After seven years, she sold it to Canada’s Largest Bag Retail Chain so she could have children and be the kind of mom she wanted to be: hands-on and very involved in her children’s lives. She was a full-time mom for three years before she had the entrepreneurial itch again. When her kids were in school, Diamond had free time on her hands, and she was ready to take the next step in her career. In 2009, she launched WomenOnTheFence.com – one of Forbes’ Top 100 Websites for Women – which she created as a platform to share her life “on the fence” as an intelligent and savvy businesswoman. Diamond addresses topics that she believes many women who are unsure of the next steps in their lives (hence, women “on the fence”) would connect on such as: marriage, parenthood, and how to manage career, marriage and parenthood while maintaining a sense of sanity. “Because I am a career woman, wife, and working mom, I am interested in ALL the issues the modern woman faces - work life balance, a thriving marriage, career, happy kids. All of it. I am living it, so the whole package interests me,” she said. Diamond adds that her site offers advice, tips and support for modern women who may feel overwhelmed juggling all of their roles. With 2 million syndicated readers a month on WomenOnTheFence.com, Diamond can now add a second successful business to her name. She has been recognized as one of the Top 20 Women of the Year in Canada and is one of Forbes’ 25 Most Influential Women in Business on Twitter. She attributes her success to a lot of hard work and from the support of her family. And like many entrepreneurs, Erica’s biggest challenge is not having enough hours in a day. But the best thing about the momtrepreneurial lifestyle that she’s created is that she has a lot of flexibility to go to all of her son’s hockey games, to cook dinner and enjoy family time. Even so, Diamond notes, “We cannot do it all. Some days are good, some days are crappy. And it takes a lot of support.” This reflects back to Erica’s principle of never compromising her family for her business, because behind every good entrepreneur, is a strong support system, which she has so passionately maintained through her dedication to her family.

1000 Media & Publishing

Erica Diamond: “Family Comes Before Business”

The Story Exchange

Follow