Jill Salzman founder of The Founding Moms was featured in The New York Times this week and I found her article regarding mompreneurs intriguing.
I have been an entrepreneur since my early 20’s. My first company was created while in college which I pitched to a local business owner who promptly stole my idea and made serious cash implementing MY business name, logo, brand and model.
Not having the financial resources to sue her ass, I decided to transfer to a different college to finsh out my degree in Marketing. Throw fuel to the fire when I saw my fellow students at my new college walking around with my logo on their t-shirts.
My next business was years later when I launched a fitness consulting biz partnering with small to mediums size companies, providing health screenings and fitness programs to their employees. I soon realized that consulting and service based businesses were where I could thrive. The risk was low but revenue potential high if you worked hard.
In 2003 I launched my third endeveour with a business partner establishng a meeting and incentive planning firm. We were extremely successful specializing in the wine and spirit industry. I could proudly call myself a successful entrepreneur.
By the time I had children my event planning firm was 4years old and thriving however every account we secured was with male clients. I rarely spoke about my child, never took business related calls without a sitter, continued to take calls and answered emails at all hours of the day. This was the foundation I built my business on! (I once hosted a program 4 months pregnant and was too afraid to tell my client).
I never gave my work schedule much thought. We hired a full time nanny when my oldest was 3 months old, business as usual.
For me the word mompreneur never entered my vocabulary. But should it have? I think Jill’s opinion on the label are valid and understandible so. However at what point does and should female entrepreneurs transition to mompreneur?
After kid #2 came into the picture I began to lose my passion for traveling the world and dealing with Fortune 500 companies. I was lucky to run my business from my home (which most of my clients had no idea) and see my babies all day and interact whenever I wanted to take a break.
However, something inside me grew restless and I began to brainstorm with my husband ways to turn my business into something I could do in the capacity as a full time mom. To be honest, I had it good. Why did I want to rock the boat? Or so I thought…..
It was around this time I learned about blogging which provided an outlet for sharing my experiences online as a mom. While I enjoyed writing, my passion is event planning. Eventually I decided to host a moms night out event and a light bulb went off in my head. This could be my new biz!!
The more I emerged myslef into the world of blogging and mommy based events is when I learned about the world of mompreneurs. But what did that mean exactly?
While I love this label, classify myself as a mompreneur and think it is an honorable category, deep down I will always be an entrepreneur at heart.
Here’s why.. unless my clients are moms or my clients are targeting moms, there is really no reason why I would ever mention or classify myself as a mompreneur. Probably for the same reason my male client who owns a real estate investment firm doesn’t call himself a Dadpreneur.
But here’s what….While we may never see the world of dadpreneurs take off to the same extent, joining the world of mompreneurs has serious benefits. Focusing on clients that target and work with moms allows me to openly discuss my experience as a mom online and through social media, take calls without a sitter, talk openly about my family life and never take calls or answer emails after dedicated business hours. I’ve also joined a really cool club of women who are rocking the world of business!
To read Jill’s complete article Proud to be a Mompreneur visit
http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/21/proud-to-be-a-mompreneur/.
PS – Thanks to Sassy Moms in the City – I am a proud mompreneur!
