For earlier generations of former career women who become mothers, the choice was stark: either stay at home or return to the workplace. But the Internet has rewritten that rule, especially as it comes to running a small business. Now we are seeing a new phenomenon called the “mompreneur.”
These are women who use their Web skills to start new home-based businesses. Some start selling items on eBay. Others might be chatting in online forums and discover they have a skill they can provide to others in their community. In doing so, they contribute to the family coffers, of course, but they also get back some of what you are missing: intellectual challenge and an extended social network.
Brad Smith, senior vice president and general manager of Intuit’s small business division, says that many monpreneurs don’t think of themselves as entrepreneurs in the traditional sense. “There is a perception that the typical entrepreneur is male and works 80 hours a week to get up and running, maintaining and growing his business. What we’re seeing is that one of the fastest growing segments of entrepreneurs is moms working out of their home on top of their existing full-time job of running the household and raising a family. With the Internet, women and mompreneurs have a lot more freedom and flexibility to balance both career and family.”
There’s no reason why growing a business and growing a family can’t go hand-in-hand,” says Smith. “And for some mompreneurs, by the time their kids have grown up, their personal businesses may have taken flight as well.”
Photo by GettyImages.
Dana Keith on May 13th, 2008 at 9:19 pm
If I happened to become a mom soon and have the ability on some internet operations, I’d be doing what these mom’s up to.
It’s a good thing to have business while watching your kids grow up.