Bringing up little ones is a full-time job in itself, so when busy moms are working and earning a living, it’s effectively like having two jobs. When a woman sets up and runs her own business on top of caring for her young child or children, she’s considered a ‘mompreneur’, an inspiring figure for sure, who’s faced with many rewards, as well as challenges.
Starting any new business takes dedication, time, energy and money, as does being a mom. By balancing the demands and stresses of running, typically a home-based business, as an entrepreneur, and the hectic, time-demanding responsibilities of being a full-time mom, mompreneurs are the epitome of multitaskers.
Despite the many challenges of balancing motherhood and family life with running a business, millions of women around the Unites States are successfully combining the two.
Current Mompreneur Trends
According to statistics, about one in three small business owners in the United States are mothers. Not only this, but women are starting their own business at a rate that’s nearly twice as fast as men, meaning the current mompreneur climate is all but unstoppable.
Research shows that with 57 percent of mompreneurs starting their business venture at the age of 40 or over, mompreneurs tend to be waiting a while before setting up their own business. The average age of the first child tends to be six before a mompreneur embarks on her business venture.
The majority of mompreneurs – 79 percent – are married and 95 percent have a partner who earns an income, meaning most mompreneurs are not the sole breadwinner in the family.
The same study, carried out by the online graphic design marketplace 99designs in 2017, found that 79 percent of mompreneurs have 1 – 2 children and 71 percent are the primary childcare provider.
Challenges Mompreneurs Face
Naturally, juggling looking after young children with starting and running a small business, is not without its ups, downs and challenges.
Managing Your Schedule
One leading challenge almost every busy mompreneur is faced with is managing their schedule. With little ones to look after, finding the time to get on with business-related tasks isn’t easy. Successful mompreneurs tend to work accordingly to their biological clock. For instance, if they are a morning person, they’ll get up early and work on their business before the children wake up.
Switching Off from Work
Another leading challenge of mompreneurialship is knowing when to switch off. Completely stopping work might sound counterproductive but it can prove a godsend in gaining a better work/life balance, reducing stress levels and recharging your batteries for the next working session.
Asking for Help When You Need It
Mompreneurs might be multi-tasking, superheroes but with a million and one things to do each day, it’s important working moms know how to ask for help when they need to. Knowing when to ask for help, whether it’s having someone look after the kids for a few hours or outsourcing certain business-related tasks, such as bookkeeping and tax returns, help multi-tasking mompreneurs to not only keep their sanity but maintain a more successful, sustainable business.
What’s Available to Mompreneurs
When being the primary care provider of the children and running your own business, it’s not uncommon for busy mompreneurs to feel like they’re on their own. However, it’s important to know that you’re certainly not alone and there is help and support available for ultra-busy working moms.
Books for Mompreneurs
Once source of help and support can be found through books. There is a whole host of books written for mompreneurs themselves, designed to help fellow working moms manage their time successfully, gain a better work/life balance and generally reduce stress and create a thriving business whilst bringing up children.
Mompreneur Blogs and Publications
Another source of support for mompreneurs can be found in blogs, magazines and other publications.
WAHM.com is a popular online magazine for work-at-home moms. The site features a wealth of information and support to work-at-home moms through a collection of informational articles and tips lists.
Working Mother is another credible digital magazine aimed at mompreneurs, providing sound advice on successfully juggling a career, business and motherhood.
What Businesses Are Ideal for Mompreneurs
With little ones to look after, mompreneurs typically start businesses they can operate from home. Some of the most common types of businesses for work-from-home moms include:
- Arts and crafts designer
- Blogger
- Freelance writer
- Interior designer
- Web designer
- PR consultant
- Accounting/Tax Preparation/Bookkeeping
- Online course tutor
- Social media marketer
- Internet researcher
- Beauty product seller
- Nutrition consultant
- Business consultant
- Event planner
- Virtual assistant
Famous Mompreneurs
Some of the most successful, iconic and inspiring women in the world have been or still are mompreneurs, mastering the art of combining child rearing with running a business including:
Ariana Huffington
Mom of two Ariana Huffington is one such figure, who teamed up with Time Warner’s former AOL executive Ken Lerer in 2005 to launch a new outlet for political conversation. Henceforth, the Huffington Post was born and has never looked back.
J.K. Rowling
Another famous and globally-admired mompreneur is Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling. Rowling’s story is exceptionally inspirational. Despite extreme poverty, the single mom wrote the legendary stories of the fictitious world of Harry Potter, when her youngest daughter was not much older than a baby.
Zhang Xin
In 1995, mother of two Zhang Xin co-founded Beijing Redstone, now SOHO China, with her husband. The company has gone on to be the largest real estate developer in Beijing – not bad for a work-from-home mom of two!
Photo via Shutterstock