Most of my articles talk about how the mom entrepreneur can juggle her
business with young children. Because that describes me, it's an obvious focus.
But I realized through talking with some colleagues that the challenges and
rewards change as your business and your children grow up.
For many of us, there is a feeling of usefulness when life is filled with
running a business and a family. So it's only natural that many moms feel a
sense of loss when their children get older and need less time. Some parents
feel sadness and emptiness.
However, that doesn't seem to hold true for the mom entrepreneur. She can
finally focus time on her business without guilt and feel proud of the years she
spent nurturing her family.
Jennifer Hobaica, founder of clothing company Olive U, says she was able to
focus more on her business once her children were in school all day. She had
been talking for years about creating a website where people could order her
products but didn't even have time to interview web designers.
It wasn't until both children were school-age that Hobaica was able to
dedicate time and energy into developing
oliveu.com. The site has
been up for one year and has allowed her to shift focus to expanding the
business in other ways. The website lets Hobaica dedicate herself to her
children, Jesse and Riley, when they get home from school.
Susan Mansell was a headhunter on Wall Street who began working at home
part-time after her second child was born, so she could spend more time with her
kids. She was very active in their school lives, serving as president of the
PTA, among many other activities, and even writing a book on how to choose the
right school. When her oldest graduated from high school, she downsized to a
smaller apartment and began working in real estate as an independent business
owner/agent.
Says Mansell: "Now that my youngest is in his freshman year of college, all I
do is work. My husband does all of the cooking, shopping, household duties, etc.
All of my parenting energy is focused on selling real estate. I have never been
so busy, working weekends and evenings. 2007 was my best year to date, where I
doubled my income from the previous year."
When her son, Evan, was young, Stephanie Azzarone was the kind of mom who ran
school fundraisers, chaperoned school trips and baked cupcakes for school
birthday parties. Oh, yes, she also worked full time running her company, which
specializes in public relations and marketing communications for products
targeted to moms.
Now that Evan is off to college, she takes all the hours she used to spend
raising her son and focuses them on growing her business,
Child's Play
Communications. She recently launched a series of strategic,
proprietary services (Web Mom Directory, Team Mom, Blogger Brunch, Insider Mom
Network, Mom Fests) to reach moms online and also one on one--generating demand
from major clients.
The mom entrepreneur wants to accomplish so much. But these ladies will
probably agree that a child's early years are precious and go by so fast. It's
OK to save some of your ideas for after your children go to school or leave
home. We have the rest of our lives to work crazy hours and change the world.
If your babies have not yet left the nest, appreciate the time you have with
them. You may find that your business and your ideas evolve as your children get
older. For many of us, our ideas were inspired by the needs and ages of our
young children. As our children grow up, so, too, may our ideas for business.