“Mompreneurs” are women who are full-time parents, but also entrepreneurs that run small businesses or operate as independent contractors from home. The mompreneur has become an important aspect of modern society as families attempt to balance the needs of the children with the need for a second income. Being a successful mompreneur is not easy. In fact, it’s quite difficult at times. The good news is that there is help available, like the following online resources for mompreneurs.
1. Mompreneurs Online
Mompreneurs Online is the original website from Patricia Cobe and Ellen H. Parlapiano, the women who actually coined the term mompreneur. The best aspects of this site are its huge community and diverse message boards. It’s an amazing resource because you have tremendous access to women who have conquered the same adversities you’re now facing. Mompreneurs Online also includes an ample strategy section, and they do a great job with their book reviews.
2. Home-Based Working Mom
Home-Based Working Mom markets itself as social networking for mompreneurs, but this website, which has been around since 1995, is a lot more than that. Its main claim to fame is a massive library of articles by mompreneurs for mompreneurs, covering topics that range from the complex to those so simple you were afraid to ask about them. There are also fantastic networking opportunities here, and they do some good work spotlighting scams.
3. StartupNation
StartupNation is a website and free service geared toward all startups, both men and women, with or without children. However, they have a particular focus on Mom-based businesses, and they provide certain resources, such as how and where to borrow money for your home-based business, that aren’t available elsewhere. Startup nation is also a great resource to find that initial opportunity because you can be confident that nothing highlighted here is a scam.
4. Savvy Mommy
Savvy Mommy is an incredible resource that provides free what you’d expect from a pay-for service, and they do it with 0% advertising. Savvy Mommy accomplishes this via sponsors, both commercial and independent. Think of Savvy Mommy as Consumer Reports for the work-at-home Mom, and their reviews range from the products you use in your home to small business opportunities and services. This is one of the few places that mompreneurs can get real, hard-hitting reviews.
5. Center for Women’s Business Research
While a little dry at times, there’s a lot here including the newsroom, knowledgebase, and a wide range of other resources. The newsroom is helpful as a one-stop “shop” for news that specifically deals with female entrepreneurs. There are many resources for businesswomen that fly under the radar, but they won’t fly under yours if you make this site a regular read.
Louise Baker is a freelance writer and blogger who usually does auto insurance comparisons over at CarinsuranceComparison.Org. She recently wrote about finding cheap car insurance quotes.
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It always excites me whenever I see mumpreneurs (as we spell it here in Australia) in action. Working mums have great insights into markets gaps and my experience of running my own business while raising my small son has been that when you’re not chained to the computer all day (because you can’t be – there’s so much else to do!). There is plenty of time for thinking and strategising. This makes the time I do spend at the computer (my main distribution channel and where I capture my blogs and book content) so much more effective. Good luck on all the mums who give it a go! I hope we’ll continue to see the rise of mumpreneurs into the future leaders of our businesses and communities worldwide.