Parenting Pointers: Mompreneurs

I'm sure many of you have heard the term "mompreneur" - a entrepreneur who is also an active mom. I had the chance recently to connect with one successful Mompreneur, Chandra Clarke, via email interview.

You are described as a successful "Mompreneur" - do you see that word as having a different meaning than entrepreneur? If so, how - if not, why not?

I see the word as having a rapidly evolving definition. When I first started my company, there seemed to be only two kinds of women “in business.” There were women trying to break glass ceilings in the corporate world, and there were women trying to be self-employed... perhaps by selling their own handiwork, working as freelancers, or running a local corner store. If they were in partnership with their husband in a business, they typically worked on the administrative and secretarial side of things.

There are now dozens of different “types” of women in business, all being called mompreneurs –from the women who choose to provide a service or product as a lifestyle choice (i.e., a way to make a reasonable living and yet still have time for family), to women like myself who run global concerns with dozens of employees. It’s a fantastically wide range of women and situations.

My bet is that we’ll see further evolution of the trend as society in general gets over its apparent shock that women (and mothers with dependent children in particular) can be great entrepreneurs. We’ll start seeing a bit more recognition of all the great male/female equal partnerships that are out there.

What originally led you to become a Mompreneur, and what were your early steps?

I originally became an entrepreneur because I saw an opportunity to create a service that could essentially help millions of people. As a journalist, I was constantly bogged down with error-laden press releases. The funny thing was, the people writing the releases were extremely intelligent and well versed—they simply lacked the distance to edit their work objectively. Once I had the opportunity to do a little research, I realized that an online editing and proofreading service could help not just these types of professional writers, but all writers.

I became a “mompreneur” a bit later in the game; the business was established, but we hadn’t taken the steps to become big yet. We have three boys under five, and we also home school. Managing that and also the expansion of our business has been a great challenge.


What advice do you have for mothers juggling work and family? Do you have advice specific to working at home?

It’s important to separate your work life from your home life, regardless of whether you physically go to work, or simply power up your laptop on the kitchen table. Try and set a schedule that states when you’ll handle business matters and when you’ll enjoy family time. Set aside an area of the house that is your “office” and make it off limits to the kids. And, as much as being able to do business in your bunny slippers is one of the “advantages” of working from home, try not to do this too often. Dress up a bit before sitting down to work, even if it’s only putting a blazer on over a blouse that has junior’s sticky hand prints all over the back of it. It will help your mindset as you approach the other part of your life.

And most importantly, always, ALWAYS, schedule at least one full day away from your business a month. Taking time away from your business will help you gain a more objective perspective on important issues.


Is there anything you'd like to say about your company and who can/should use your services?

Scribendi.com is an online editing and proofreading company based in Chatham, Ontario, Canada. Absolutely anyone can use our services, as we edit any and all English-language documents; whether it’s a college admissions essay, romance novel manuscript, or financial report, we can help ensure that the finished document is error-free. What’s more, our business model is based on sophisticated proprietary workflow management software that allows us to employ over 100 telecommute editors. If you’re interested in an editing career, please visit the Scribendi.com employment page for further details.

How can moms with great ideas successfully go about marketing them and what are some pitfalls to avoid?

I think it’s important for female entrepreneurs to take advantage of the mompreneur community. Take the time to talk to fellow entrepreneurs to see what they’re doing to make their business better. We can learn an awful lot from one another if we simply take the time to listen. The more we share and network with one another, the better we’ll become at understanding the marketplace and respecting our peers.

The main pitfall to avoid is underestimating yourself. As women, we still tend to be socialized not to be “aggressive” in our approach, even today. Don’t be afraid to try to take it to the next level, whatever that might be.

I must admit I'm not so good at her work-at-home advice; I nurse the newborn while working and often have my toddler in the office too, plus I pretty much live in sweats or t-shirts. But hopefully any of you who are WAHMs or potential Mompreneurs found something helpful!

Chandra Clarke is the founder, co-owner, and president of www.Scribendi.com, an online English-language editing and proofreading company. Follow @Scribendi_Inc for company tweets, or surf over to Chandra’s humor blog at www.chandrakclarke.com for a quick chuckle.

Shopping Savings: A Full Cup

A Full Cup is a very helpful website for finding and sharing deals and money-saving tips. Two great features they have are Afullcup.com Target Coupon Generator and Black Friday deals page (click banner below to head straight there). By visiting the site through these links you'll be helping support this blog as well!

Freebies!

Millstone Coffee
Book summary "The Myth of Multitasking: How 'DoingIt All' Gets Nothing Done" when you find free magazines at TradePubs

Freebies!

This one's for Mac lovers - MacHeist is offering Voices, an app to change your voice. Check it out if you have an iPhone!

Consumer Critique: Jones Soda

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Jones Soda. All opinions are 100% mine.

Jones is a company that makes fun flavored sodas - especially around the holidays. I like Fufu Berry - and it has an awesome name. They even have a "Jones Jumble" where they mix up 4 Jones flavors (although I haven't tried it yet).

The folks at Jones have a great sense of humor. Bottle caps have little sayings on them and the photos for the labels are consumer-submitted. They also launch special holiday flavors. I was asked to review a sample bottle of a Thanksgiving flavor - Tofurky and Gravy Jones Soda . I do have to say that it is not at all my favorite Jones flavor. And it doesn't compare to some of the Halloween flavors they've had - especially Candy Corn. (You can actually check out the Wikipedia article on Jones Soda for all of the special edition flavors - which further shows their unique ideas).

That being said, the flavors that sound odd - like this one - don't taste as bad as I expect. I would think that drinking gravy would make me want to gag. However, it's just that it's an unexpected flavor for pop - we expect it to be sweet, not savory. And I have a terrible sweet tooth.

I'm actually strongly considering buying a few bottles as a gag gift for my brother-in-law and his wife, both vegetarians. Check it out - you might be pleasantly surprised (or not impressed, but either way, it's still a fun idea).

Parenting Pointers: Kid Art

Here's a tip for displaying kids' art or photographs of family and friends - use the inside of cupboards. It keeps the kitchen looking tidy and provides something fun to look at when you open the doors!

Freebies!

Oriental Trading Company with savings offers, tips, and more
Philosophy gingerbread shoewr gel for Facebook members
$5 giftcard to UltimateTicketHub if they get 3,000 fans
DMC cross stitch kit for DMC mentors
Hellmann's, Caress, Degree, and Pond's samples