mompreneur

Becoming a Mompreneur: How to Start a Business from Home

mompreneur

Over 11.6 million firms in the United States have women owners. In 2017, that represented $1.7 trillion in sales.

You could be a business owner too.

Just because you have children and are a stay-at-home mom doesn’t mean you cannot be a successful businesswoman. Read this article to learn how to become a ‘mompreneur’ and run your own business out of your home office.

What is Mompreneurship?

When a mother is also an entrepreneur the modern term for her is a mompreneur. It describes someone balancing the demands of childcare and a business startup. It’s empowering and a warning at the same time.

The term “dadpreneur” does not seem to have been coined. Perhaps, with a few exceptions, dads generally don’t have to balance childcare and business commitments. Moms don’t often get the choice.

Whether you are a single mom or in a relationship the demands of motherhood can be huge. Many moms feel like they are doing several jobs even without adding starting and running a business. You’ve got the admire the mompreneurs.

Why Be a Mompreneur?

Moms start businesses for many reasons. Sometimes it’s about finding a way to make money while looking after a family. They start-up an at-home business because there are few other options.

For others, entrepreneurship is an ambition fulfilled. They may have a passion to run their own business and be their own boss. The urge to create a business and grow it does not necessarily stop with motherhood.

Business ideas for stay-at-home moms provide exciting, rewarding and long-term occupations. There is life after children and getting started by running a business from home makes sense.

What Kind of Business Can You Do?

Mom entrepreneurs are creative. Sometimes they have to be organized around childcare so running a business from home is a starting point. Search the internet to learn more about business opportunities.

Get Crafty

Doing something you love is a great place to start when developing a business idea. A passion for crafts or art can be monetized. This kind of work can be done from home and can fit around childcare and the school run.

There are two key things to consider. Is your hobby a viable business? Do you have effective routes to market?

The business cannot be viable if the price you can sell your product at means your hourly rate is too low. When it’s a pastime or hobby you don’t count the hours. When it’s a business don’t make yourself a busy fool, working hard for little reward.

Having an effective route to market is important if you don’t want to spend all your time on sales. Etsy is a well-known option for crafts. Local craft fayres, stores or markets might be useful options.

Is Writing Right for You?

If you have a talent for writing there are a number of ways you can work as a freelancer from home. Blogging is a popular activity but few people successfully make the step to earning significant money from it. It can be done with some knowledge and plenty of persistence.

An alternative way to use your writing talent is to write content for other people. A freelance writer can earn money by writing articles for blog sites, training materials or news sites. Even an advertising copywriter can work on a freelance basis, from home.

Those That Can, Do, Those That Can’t, Teach

Teaching from home can be a viable business. Parents will pay for extra lessons for both able and remedial students. If you have the appropriate qualifications and experience this may be an option for you.

If you play a musical instrument and especially if you have teaching qualifications this can be a business opportunity. Both adults and children could be clients for music tuition in your home.

Make sure you obtain insurance and licensing where required.

Design and Develop Your Home Business

Technology means working from home using a computer and an internet connection is a very popular mompreneur idea. Graphic design, web design, software development and more can be done remotely. A good reliable internet connection and the right software is all you need.

Find work through your existing network or freelancer websites and web design forums. It may take time to develop a client base but if you do good work and are competitive you could join the many successful home-based freelance designers.

Some Tips for Mompreneur Success

Any new business can be very demanding on your time. Being a mom can be equally demanding. You will need awesome time management skills if you don’t want to sink without a trace.

Work out what is important and block time in your calendar for those things. Be brutal about everything else that tries to steal your attention. The interruptions, trivial calls, and time-wasting distractions have to come second to building your business.

Compartmentalize your life so you can balance seeing your kids with making your business a success. Set aside quality time for your children. Plan your business commitments so that you can give them the full attention they need.

Increase your leverage by outsourcing some tasks. This frees you to do the things only you can do best. This could be office administration or it could be a home cleaner or au pair.

Create a support system for you. Have family and friends to help out when needed. Establish the right financial, emotional and practical support to give yourself a chance of success.

Be careful not to overreach yourself. Ambition is fine but it must also be realistic or you will crash and burn. Cash flow problems or physical exhaustion are both fatal for your business.

Be clear what success looks like for you. There may be financial goals but there may also be success criteria about work-life balance too.

Next Steps

Do your research. Write your business plan. Carry out a risk assessment.

Your preparation has to include working out how to balance family and business plans. Learn from others who have made the move to be a mompreneur before you. May you find success.

To learn more about earning money from home, click here.

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