Meet Sharon: Rosie Founder and Super Star Role Model

A Reflection on Growing Up with a Rosie for a Mom

WRITTEN BY ROSIES WORKWEAR FOUNDER’S DAUGHTER

Rosies Workwear for Women was founded by my mother, Sharon Moore, 10 years ago this June! Congratulations mom! This reflection is my birthday gift to you.

She started this company from scratch when she was 55 years old, when most people are thinking about settling down and taking less risk. That is the type of person she is. She and my Dad had started over 12 small businesses together, but this was her first solo venture, and one of the longest running business they have owned.

Growing up in a home with entrepreneurial parents was a huge asset for me. Imagine growing up with parents who truly led by example that any goal is possible, as long as you work hard. They had the bravery to constantly reinvent themselves, and attacked a wide range of fields and projects. Very wide. We like to laugh about some of the odder ones at family dinners, such as manufacturing cereal, natural skin creams, photo booth machines, photo-art frames. I love this legacy. The other great thing about growing up in this type of a family was that I got a front row seat to seeing how hard you have to work when you work for yourself. They were up early, took calls through out the day, had excellent partnership, and approached everything with great enthusiasm. I got to see how to treat people professionally in business conversations (often because we were in the car too and all had to be quiet, when important calls came in). Things the public education system definitely doesn’t teach you.

Two things about my mom that stand out, she has energy that can run circles around people, and she is incredibly caring and hospitable to every type of person. When she would host a party, everyone would come. They were effortless and comfortable. We got up to 250 people at our Easter parties for a while there! She especially loves caring for women, and helping them be braver, be inspired, and take action. All of my siblings and I learned how to care for people, and respect those who are different from us, by watching the manner in which my mom would take people under her wing. My mom’s friends always bring up stories of wild tasks my mom would take on, such as wallpapering the bathroom 30 minutes before a party, bringing home ducks to raise (surprise!), restoring old furniture, and applying countless shades of paint. The original home do-it-yourselfer, I saw our home transform into so many styles, and colors, and design themes. She is the kind of person who will have an idea about a project, and by the evening she will have already been to Home Depot for supplies, and completed it.

One memory that always stands out to me about my mom, is a conversation we had on our backporch when I was just starting to launch out into adulthood. I was 19, and I was stuck. I didn’t like what I was doing, where I was, and didn’t know how to “get to” my dreams. She told me to try something daring, and adventurous; that sometimes it helps you gain perspective. We daydreamed for a few minutes together, and decided that something bold would be to run away to Europe for a while. This was unusual for both of us at the time because we didn’t know that many world travelers in our circle of friends. In the next few hours my mom found a cheap school/work program I could get into and I applied. Looking back, I wonder at what kind of awesome character my mom has (who was at the sad stage of watching their child leave the home) to push me into something bold and full of risk, rather than something safe and close to her. It turned out it was just the life changing event that I needed, and traveling alone like that helped me develop the bravery I needed for the future steps I needed to take in my education and my life.

For all of you Rosies out there who live with passion and an enterprising spirit, just know that people are watching and learning… and it just might be your daughter. So keep up your courageous lifestyle.

I love you mom.