Mom Entrepreneurs

Note:I originally wrote this article for Kidschannel.ca

One of the biggest challenges facing a new mom is balancing work and family life. Moms are redefining motherhood in their own individual ways, moving in and out of the workforce following the births of their children. The newest trend is the “mompreneurs” movement. As a mompreneur myself, I get emails daily from other moms researching their business ideas. There are a lot of really good ideas coming from moms who’ve spent years in amazing careers and who bring that same passion for work to their new business ventures.

I launched an online boutique, www.blueblankie.com, in February 2005 and now design my own brand of blankets. I saw an opportunity for a home-based business and a more flexible schedule. After maternity leave, I returned to my full time job. I continued to grow my business by working on the online store in the evenings and on weekends. Eventually, I was able to stay home with my two toddlers and further develop my fledgling business.

The big lure of starting a home business is the flexible schedule, which theoretically allows you to get work done and spend quality time with your children. However, when working from home with kids around, it really means that your own flexibility is taken to a whole new level. You’ll find yourself hiding in another room in order to take a business call because your toddler has chosen that moment to announce, loudly, “I ate my booger, Mommy!” Loads of laundry are processed between meetings and articles are written while food cooks. Research is interrupted by refereeing sibling boxing matches.

Owning a small business usually means that you are doing it all yourself. You are the CEO, the bookkeeper, the sales, marketing and customer service departments. Wearing so many hats can seem daunting at first, but no more so than the nervousness one feels when becoming a parent for the first time. In the same way as you develop a routine with your new baby, you can develop a routine with your business tasks.

Motherhood is actually perfect previous experience for being a mompreneur. I’ve heard people say that raising kids is like herding cats and that moms need to be able to do ten things at once. Moms are already familiar with multi-tasking as an extreme sport. If anyone can find a balance between running a household, care giving, operating a business, and knowing that brown is the new black, it’s a mom.