258: Mentorship, Mid-Career Entrepreneurship, and Inspiring Women in Manufacturing with Patti Nowak, Owner of Control+M Solutions

Patti Nowak is a business leader in tech with stories so inspiring you’ll want to take notes. In this episode of the Manufacturing Happy Hour, we grab a beer with Patti, Owner of Control+M Solutions, to talk about mid-life entrepreneurship, mentoring women in manufacturing, and what it takes to build a thriving tech business. 

Patti started her career in accounting but quickly found her passion in IT and software, where she discovered a talent for turning complex technology into real business results. That blend of business acumen and tech know-how eventually led her to launch multiple successful companies - all at the age of 50.  

Through it all, Patti’s built her career on empathy, mentorship, and level-headed leadership. Whether she’s guiding a client through digital transformation or helping the next generation of women find their voice in manufacturing, Patti shares her advice on how to handle any situation with equal parts confidence, compassion, and common sense.

In this episode, find out:

• How the path to entrepreneurship is not a destination but a journey that, in Patti’s case, started a decade before she opened the door to her first business 
• Why starting a business later in life is an advantage
• Why Patti sees ERP as one of the most powerful tools manufacturers can adopt today
• Why mentoring women in the industry matters more now than ever, and why young women need to see other women in leadership positions
• The leadership lessons behind how Patti handles tough conversations
• How the smallest process change can sometimes make the biggest difference on the shop floor

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Tweetable Quotes:

• “You start your business ten years before you open it.”
• “Technology is just a tool no different than a hammer for a carpenter. Used right, it can build your business. Used wrong, it can cost you a lot of anxiety and money.”
• “You can never really give anything away. That anything you give to the community, it will give back to you.”
• “Younger women really need to see older women in a successful position so they know that route exists.”
• “Great leadership is about trust. If you hired someone for their expertise, let them use it.”

Links & mentions: 

• Connect with Patti on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patricia-nowak-mba-pmp-45311511/
• Control+M Solutions, project management, configuration, testing and data conversation assistance for Plex users: https://www.controlm.solutions/
• Plex by Rockwell Automation, the smart manufacturing platform that connects your people, systems, machines, and supply chains: https://plex.rockwellautomation.com/?utm_source=show+notes&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=manufacturing+happy+hour 

Make sure to visit http://manufacturinghappyhour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.