Crib Sheet #16: SheSpeaks.com’s Aliza Freud.

Aliza Freud, momtrepreneur and marketing maven, created the well-known website, SheSpeaks.com, as a women voice everywhere. You can join her site and test out products for a variety of brands; you can blog there; you can also become a part of the strong community that she has created. There are currently 100,000 women who belong to the site, which makes for an immediate reach of over 12 million women in their networks–and 80% of these women are moms. Aliza truly embodies the momtrepreneur who took some small steps and made a world of difference.

Why did you decide to call the site SheSpeaks?

It’s a community of women that creates women voice. They try the products, then tell people what they think about them. It offers women a forum to broadcast their voices…and they can do so as loudly as they can. Companies recognize the importance of female consumers, who happen to be responsible for over 80% of household spending. That’s a lot of money!

When was SheSpeaks started?

February of 2007.

Why did you start it up?

I knew companies did not understand what women wanted. I worked for American Express in marketing prior to starting the site, and at many points in my career I focused on the women’s market. I never felt like these companies understood women’s market. When I started SheSpeaks, I thought women voice would like to respond to brands about their products, but I wasn’t sure women would do it without being paid. I thought giving women voice and a free product would be awesome, though…and it worked. It has really evolved. The member reviews on the website are not even products we’re testing, they’re products posted by users.

How many children do you have?

I have two children. Two girls; one is almost 4 and one is almost 2. I started the business when my youngest was 3 months old.

Was your family supportive from the get-go?

My family is very supportive. My husband is extraordinarily supportive, he knew I had no alternative, that I had to start it!

Did you have to find investors to start up?

We boostrapped to start the company. We did not take on any investment, and we felt strongly about that.

Was starting the business scary, frustrating, exciting?

Had I sat down and thought of all the risks, I would not have done it. I believe that you almost have to have blinders on a little bit when starting something up. That’s what I commonly hear when I talk to other women business owners. It’s so important to stay super-focused, and you have to function to a certain degree with blinders on. The feminine trait that bodes well for a business owner is that you have to go with your gut, and women tend to go with their gut a lot.

Why do you think you became as successful as you have in a mere two years?

You have to be smart about what you are launching. I think you have to have a clear idea that there is going to be a source of revenue, a decent source of revenue, but I think you can really get yourself crazy in terms of creating a business plan. At the end of day, you have to go with your gut. You just have to be passionate and committed to it.

Easiest part of your day?

Talking to people. I love talking to other people.

Hardest part of your day?

The administrative stuff.

Something you wish you knew then that you know now?

I knew when I started out but I didn’t take it seriously…I wish I’d taken a piece of advice that I was given much more to heart: if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys. You get what you pay for!