| Stay At Home Mom’s Work at Home |
reported by Dana Write of IndyStar.com
Stay-at-home moms? Yes. Businesswomen? Yes.
These are mompreneurs, a growing breed of women who not only stay home with the kids but also own companies, do work from home or contract their services.
There are an estimated 10 million mompreneurs in the United States, according to Patricia Cobe, who co-authored the book "Mompreneurs Online" and trademarked the term "mompreneur" 10 years ago after noticing a trend of moms wanting to have both worlds.
"It seems these moms, today’s moms, have more of a desire to stay home with kids than mothers in the previous generation," said Cobe. "With their mothers, there was this big push to stay in the corporate world. But they grew up in these families and really didn’t want that for their own kids."
But these moms still want some type of career, perhaps not just because they are ambitious but also because they need the income. The Internet has opened up countless opportunities for these women, and other companies have formed to cater to the mompreneur group.
One of them is Stroller Strides, a California-based company, which offers exercise classes for moms-to-be, moms with babies and moms with toddlers. It is based on power walking and strength training with resistance bands, and babies in strollers are part of the workout.
Carmel resident Melissa Kummings bought a franchise of Stroller Strides in 2005 to earn money while at home with daughter Trude, 7, and son Gus, 4.
Kummings had worked in a high-stress, high-travel job in California. But after moving to Indiana and having her children, she was ready for something else.
"I really wanted something that I loved to do, something I had a passion for," Kummings said. Since she loved exercise and fitness, Stroller Strides was perfect.
Kummings dedicates about 10 to 20 hours a week to her job and said if it took any more time than that, she wouldn’t do it. Three mornings a week, she teaches an hourlong class and spends the rest of her work time keeping up her Web site and dealing with corporate issues.
How does she do it all?
"It’s still challenging, because you’re broken into so many pieces," she said. "You have to know that you aren’t going to be perfect at either thing, and that’s OK."
Rita Fisher couldn’t agree more. She believes balance is a myth if you’re a mom and businesswoman.
Fisher, of Columbus, Ind., is the owner of ExecutiveCareer Pro.com, a company that writes resumes and cover letters for executives. She has two sons, Edison, 8, and Jackson, 5, and works 40 hours a week from home.
"I like to use the word priority," she said. "Whatever you put first or at the top of your list is what will get done."
Fisher has a bit of advice for moms who may want to venture into an at-home business.
"Only start it if you are really passionate about doing it," she said. On that note, she has started another venture, Smile Mailer.com. The service allows users to go to the Web site, fill out a form and have a greeting card mailed to anyone on their behalf. Fisher offers the service at no charge, as a ministry of sorts, using income from her for-profit business to fund it.
"If you really love what you do, you are going to do well at it," she said
| " | Fisher has a bit of advice for moms who may want to venture into an at-home business. "Only start it if you are really passionate about doing it," she said. On that note, she has started another venture, Smile Mailer.com. The service allows users to go to the Web site, fill out a form and have a greeting card mailed to anyone on their behalf. Fisher offers the service at no charge, as a ministry of sorts, using income from her for-profit business to fund it. |
