More Moms Get Down To Business

ArgusLeader.com:

When Shelly Gaddis was pregnant with her first baby, finding affordable, trendy maternity clothing was almost impossible on a tight budget.

She scoured secondhand and consignment shops in Sioux Falls but never found many clothes she really liked. Selection and sizes were hit-or-miss.

This time around, with baby No. 3 due in June, Gaddis is a “momtrepreneur.” She’s started a business that caters to other mothers looking for maternity wear.

“A lot of people around here don’t have 200 bucks to drop at the mall to buy maternity clothes,” says Gaddis, a Hartford resident who started Elegant Mommy near 49th and Western last fall. “But I can help them buy outfits they can afford, to make them feel nice. It makes me feel good to be satisfying a need.”

Gaddis is among a growing group of business owners nationally who are moms nurturing their own businesses by marketing to other moms.

According to WorkItMom.com, women are starting businesses at twice the rate of men, and 6 million of those women are moms. Dubbed “momtrepreneurs,” they’re launching businesses with niche products or services targeted to other mothers.

While momtrepreneurs are filling a void they found in the marketplace, they’re also trying to gain more control and flexibility over their working schedules to balance family time. At the same time, they’re learning that juggling a burgeoning business while raising a family can be hectic and stressful.

It’s not always an easy balance, says Kathleen Sheets, executive director of the South Dakota office of Equip, a partnership between the Small Business Administration and the University of Sioux Falls that helps support business start-ups.

“Entrepreneurs work very long hours, and they work very hard,” Sheets says. “But at the same time, if something comes up that’s urgent, you don’t have a boss to worry about. There’s not someone telling you what you need to be doing.”