Wanna Be a Mompreneur?
More and more moms are starting their own
successful businesses.
Find out if you have what it takes to join their ranks.
By Nichole L. Torres
August 08, 2006
Business Tool Box For Women
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Moms know everything. They know where their kids left their socks, they know
what time the carpool leaves, they know how to get a cranky 4-year-old through a
shopping mall. Given their mastery of multitasking, is it any wonder mothers make such
good business owners?
Not if recent statistics are any clue. There are 10.6 million women-owned businesses in
the United States, generating $2.5 trillion in annual revenue, according to the Center
for Women's Business Research. Women are starting businesses at nearly twice the
rate of men. And women with children are jumping in--each with a different business
goal, a different family situation and a different strategy to balance it all.
Entrepreneur went hunting for some inspirational mompreneurs to talk to--and we found
them all over the country.
Some work at home; some have branched out into family-friendly office spaces. They
all have one thing in common: They are extraordinary women with successful
businesses. What can you learn from them? Just about everything.
Mom Knows Best
It was motherhood itself that inspired Laurie McCartney to start Babystyle, a retail brand
that encompasses everything from maternity and baby clothes to children's furniture. In
1998, when she was pregnant with her first child, she was dissatisfied with the dearth of
stylish, functional and affordable maternity clothes. McCartney spent her pregnancy
formulating a business plan to offer what she knew other women would desire, and she
set up her online store right after the birth of her son, Jack.
Armed with her newfound knowledge as a mom, McCartney, 38, enlisted the help of
other working moms--not only to see what they wanted from Babystyle, but also to learn
how other working moms balanced their businesses with their kids' needs. Their
advice? "Keep a schedule, and focus on work when you're at work
and the family when you're at home," says this mother of two. "It makes it
easier, so you're always giving 100 percent to your kids when you're with them and 100
percent to your business when you're with it."
When McCartney started Babystyle out of her home, the brand grew by leaps and
bounds. After a few months, she moved into a separate office space and has added a
catalog and four brick-and-mortar stores. Sales have soared for this Los
Angeles-based company, growing more than 60 percent since 2003, fueled in part by
the continued expansion of its retail stores.
Though it's not easy to balance a business with raising children,
there are strategies to make it more manageable, says Lesley
Spencer-Pyle, 40, founder of Home-Based Working Moms, a support network for moms
who own businesses in Spring, Texas. Starting part time is one way to make the
transition easier, she says. That way, you can better acclimate your children and
yourself to your business' demands.
What we learned from the mompreneurs we interviewed
is that scheduling is everything.
"Develop a schedule that allows you to focus during work time," says
Spencer. "Consider hiring someone to clean your house, a part-time assistant or a
part-time nanny." Develop a support to delegate child care and
household duties--with your spouse, friends, family or other working
moms in your network.
For most mompreneurs, help and support from their spouses is critical, whether it
comes in the form of taking care of the kids in the afternoon or evening or providing
business support. Older kids can even help with some of your business duties.
And as important as your business is, don't continually sacrifice family time to work
on it, says Spencer.
"Periodically review how you are spending your time. Decide what is
important to you, and work toward that goal. Eliminate time-wasters
and things that [distance] you from those people and things."
Segmenting your business obligations into smaller chunks can also
help--you can accomplish a smaller task while on the go, like composing a marketing
letter while waiting at the dentist's office or sending an e-mail while waiting for dance
class to start. Jennifer Dugan, founder of Dugan's Travels, a travel agency in Los
Alamos, New Mexico, has become a master of multitasking. This 31-year-old mother of
two runs all her personal and business errands at the same time--and she uses her cell
phone and laptop to keep her business running when she's on the go with her children.
Starting in 1997, Dugan would work at building her business while her little ones
napped. "It's too hard to have set hours," she says. "There are going to be times when
your kids really need you." Dugan takes two hours to go to the park with her children,
and then makes up the time after they've gone to sleep.
Though balancing it all is a daily challenge, Dugan has shared what works for her with
other homebased business owners--and she's even developed a training program to
help them become travel agents with Dugan's Travels, which now brings in more than
$3 million in annual sales.
Most mompreneurs find the transition to business owner is easier
when the business is based at home. Though there are many resources to
help you find such franchise or business opportunitiesl --be cautious when considering
those opportunities. "The biggest mistake I hear moms making is jumping into a
business before they've done the homework and found whether it's a good fit," says
Spencer. "Or if it's an opportunity they're investing in, [they don't investigate] or
whether it's a scam."
When deciding what type of business to start, consider what your talents are and what
you're most passionate about. Spencer notes that for work-at-home moms, any
business involving the internet--from web design to an online store--can be a
particularly good fit.
Olivia Mullin found the perfect fit when she started her personalized stationery and gift
company in Brentwood, Tennessee. Mullin started out doing wedding calligraphy for
local brides. That led to making personalized stationery she peddled to local gift shops.
Her products were selling so well, Mullin brought the business she started in 1995 out
of her home and into an office space after about a year and a half.
The idea for the Olivia Mullin Co. was born after she gave birth to the first of her two
daughters. A registered nurse, Mullin was on-call around the clock--and she wanted to
be more available to her children. "Over time, as my children were growing up, my
business was growing up," says Mullin, 44. "It's like having another baby.
You're with your children when they're awake, and when you put
them down for a nap, you start working on that baby."
For Mullin, the key to growing her company to more than $1 million in annual sales is
organizing her time, surrounding herself with talented employees and advisors, and not
being too hard on herself when she's not perfect.
"Nothing is done 100 percent perfectly," she says.
"You have to learn to be OK with that. You're going to forget things;
you're going to miss meetings. You cannot beat yourself up."
And Mullin's daughters, now 17 and 13, are being groomed for the family business.
Mullin is using her business to instill a solid work ethic and the idea that "the things that
are most important are the things you worked the hardest for," she says. Her oldest, for
example, had a school trip, and Mullin paid half of it--with the provision that her
daughter would work at the business on the weekends to earn the rest. Says Mullin,
"She's going to understand what it means to spend [money] and how hard you have to
work to earn it."
Hard work can also be fun, which is what Cindy Schwartz is teaching her children with
Concierge Connection Inc., the Coral Springs, Florida, concierge business she started
in 1997. Schwartz left her job because it was taking too much time away from her
children. "I quit because I knew I would be my own boss," says Schwartz, 44. "My kids
would never be without their mother on a sick day or a school holiday."
It helps that the bulk of her concierge duties involve fun things like securing tickets for
clients to shows--and that her children get to rub elbows with her celebrity clientele from
time to time. Schwartz notes that her son, a professional wrestling fan, got to see his
favorite wrestling stars in action and even got to meet some of the big names by virtue
of his mom's business. Says Schwartz, "I want them to think about things they
appreciate and things they've done."
Schwartz says her priorities are what keep her business running at about a quarter of a
million dollars in annual sales. The fact that her kids are always first is key. "It's like
triage--when you're hitting a hot point, when you have a kid who has to be at the
doctor's office by 4 o'clock and you have a client on the phone ordering tickets," says
Schwartz. "You can't be late for the kid, and you [have to] take care of the client. I live
on my cell phone, and I love the challenges of this [business]."
If you're in the market for a challenge, balancing a business with a family certainly
qualifies. But if you plan your strategy, start slowly, enlist some help and
follow your passion, you can--like these moms--grow your business
while growing your family tree.
Higher Learning
You know how you feel about starting a business, but what are youngsters thinking
when they see their moms working out of their homes? Jennifer Dugan's 9-year-old son
grew up watching his mom run her Los Alamos, New Mexico-based business, Dugan's
Travels, and he understands (and is helping his 7-year-old brother to understand) that
Mom works--she just works at home. Dugan says when she's in her home office, her
boys are often playing in the same room. They're occupied, but they know she's there if
they need her.
For older kids, seeing the ins and outs of entrepreneurship firsthand can imbue them
with an innovative spirit. Cindy Schwartz, founder of Concierge Connection Inc. in Coral
Springs, Florida, has set an example of self-employment for her kids. "I don't think my
kids will do traditional work," she says. "I also know I'm not the only example. My
ex-husband runs his own business out of his home, and he's extremely successful. My
kids know you don't have to be a doctor or lawyer--you can do something unusual. And
they know that both their parents put them first."
Look It Up
Starting a business as a parent isn't easy, but check out some of these
resources for education, assistance, inspiration--or just to network with some
other mompreneurs.
Bizymoms offers a website where you can chat with other mompreneurs, get business
ideas, browse an e-book store, and get information from myriad articles.
The Center for Women's Business Research has an abundance of statistics, resources
and links about women business owners.
National Association of Women Business Owners is a coalition of women entrepreneurs
with chapters all over the country.
HouseWifeMafia.com ~ The eMagazine For Women
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Please enjoy the selections of books along the sidebars.
We have found that educating yourself, strengthening and widening your areas of understanding before you begin your endeavor will increase the likelihood of your success.
Read as much as you possibly can!
Just click on the book that you think would be of most & best use for you to get what you need to succeed.
You know the old saying:
'Forewarned is forearmed!
Be prepared woman!
If you have something you would like to share with other women please do slip us an email at:
allyouneed@ housewifemafia.com
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Trust your hunches.
They're usually based
on facts filed away
just below the
conscious level.
Dr. Joyce Brothers
"Youth fades; love droops, the leaves of friendship fall; A mother's secret hope outlives them all."
Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809-1894)
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The future belongs to those who see possibilities before they become obvious.
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"I remember my mother's prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life." -- Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)
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“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”
Theodore Roosevelt
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Madam Walker is an inspiration to us all.
She refused to be confined by the parameters of how things
are - instead she boldly marched forward to create the kind
of world that she know could & should be.
She was the 1st American woman self made millionaire!
Read More about her in:
SHE DID, YOU CAN!
If at first you don't succeed, do it like your mother told you.
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Eighty percent of success is showing up.
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