Editorial TeamMothers have always embodied the entrepreneurial spirit. As a mom, you already know how to find extra hours in the day and find creative solutions to the challenges that parenthood brings.
But becoming a mother doesn’t mean you have to give up on your professional dreams to raise a family. You can still become a “mompreneur” by learning to advocate for yourself, becoming your boss, and combining entrepreneurship with motherhood.
Being a mompreneur isn’t just empowering for you, it sets an excellent example for your kids, too. Your kids will learn a lot from your hard work and ambition and may even want to join you in the business world when they grow up. However, combining entrepreneurship with motherhood isn’t self-explanatory. Often, you’ll need to go through it with a trial-and-error mindset to ultimately find the lifestyle that suits both your business and family needs.
Working For Yourself
Working for yourself is an empowering and emboldening experience. You’ll go through many ups and downs, but in the long run, you’ll find pride in making it work. However, working for yourself can be daunting at first, and you’ll have to get up to speed on legal jargon and laws before you start your journey combining entrepreneurship and motherhood. It may help to start by looking into programs that can help you with education and employment skills.
If possible, try to begin a self-employed life with a side hustle. Running a side hustle gives you room to make mistakes, as you still have other forms of more stable income to support you. Good side hustles usually include professions like:
- Film and Photography
- Digital Marketing
- Social Media Management
- Programming
These side hustles are ideal for first-time business owners, as they typically have low overheads and don’t require much funding to get off the ground.
As your side hustle grows, you’ll recognize the signs that it is time to quit your job and start working for yourself. If you start to feel professionally unfulfilled or burnt out at work, it may be a sign that your side hustle is ready to grow. Create a clear business plan before you leap into the unknown, but back yourself and the ideas you have for your new business.
Self-Advocacy
Self-advocacy is an important trait shared by many entrepreneurs. As a mother, you must advocate for yourself to ensure you don’t become burnt out too often.
Fortunately, working for yourself makes it easier to practice self-advocacy. When you are your boss, you can allocate as many funds as you like towards things like health and wellness and can always take a mental health day when you need one.
When you first start up as a mompreneur, practice the basics of self-care. It’s easy to forget simple things like exercising regularly and eating healthy foods when preparing financial forecasts and liaising with clients. Do your best to stay hydrated throughout the day and take up a hobby (or indulge in a guilty pleasure) that gets you out of the house or home office.
Consider journaling during the early days of your self-employed life. As a mother and an entrepreneur, you may find that keeping your thoughts straight is a real challenge. A quick journal entry where you recap the previous day and plan for the next can help you find solutions and avoid mistakes.
While journaling, you may discover that your current routine doesn’t serve your overall business goals. If this is the case, consider restructuring your morning routine to get more from the day. Even small changes, like practicing yoga when the kids go to school, can make a big difference to your well-being and productivity.
Women-Owned Businesses
Mother-owned businesses are essential in an equitable, egalitarian society. No one should face unfair barriers to entrepreneurship, regardless of their parenthood status. Unfortunately, 31% of mompreneurs feel that they lack a support system.
That said, you’re not alone in combining entrepreneurship with motherhood. As many as 4 million U.S.-based businesses are run by mothers, and mompreneur collectives are working hard to ensure that all mothers can grow their businesses.
You can get help to overcome traditional barriers to business success by reaching out to organizations that are set up to support mothers, like the American Business Women’s Association.
Joining associations will help you get registered as a women-owned business. Getting registered is an essential part of your overall business plan, as you may be eligible for extra funding and grants due to the fact you are combining entrepreneurship with motherhood. You will need to meet a few basic requirements, but the effort is worth the hassle as folks in your community will be keen to support a woman-owned business in their area.
Starting life as a mompreneur can be empowering and rewarding. When the kids go to school, you’ll be left with a clear purpose for the rest of your day. Consider starting with a side hustle to learn your trade and avoid costly mistakes. When ready, consider registering as a women-owned business and going full-time as a mompreneur. Once you combine entrepreneurship with motherhood, nothing else can get in your way.