Canvas Prints
Almost a year ago, I started blogging as a hobby or rather as a way to get away from it all. It was a relaxing activity for me which made me forget the chaos that comes with having a baby in the house. When three months ago I started blogging consistently and getting awesome response from brands, companies, entrepreneurs for collaboration I suddenly realized that I had become an entrepreneur myself. I was the owner of my own brand and I needed to think professionally about the way I work. In short, I had become a Mom Entrepreneur.
Wikipedia describes a Mompreneur “as a neologism defined as a female business owner who is actively balancing the role of mom and the role of entrepreneur” Mompreneur is a relatively recent word/segment which has grown exponentially due to the prominence of internet based business. In India more and more women are entering the world of “business” where once it was reserved as a male bastion.
India in recent times has become a hotbed for the women entrepreneur and even though Indian women have been doing various home based business for a long time, the drive, ambition and the professional attitude has brought a world of change to the female entrepreneurial scene .
Did you know????
According to the Dell Global entrepreneurship study conducted in 2012 India is the best place for a women entrepreneur to start a business.
The Women’s web says that 58% of women start their business in the age group of 20-30 years.
The global entrepreneurship monitor pegs the number of entrepreneurs in the world at 450 million out of which 160 million are early stage women entrepreneurs.
It is estimated that female-owned small businesses will create one third of the 15.8 million new jobs in 2018.
The truth is that talented and creative women have been discovering uncharted niches, creating jobs and utilizing the potential of a new economy. As a mom there are lots of benefits in becoming an entrepreneur
- You can turn your passion, idea or a talent into a business. Creativity is the biggest tool required to become an entrepreneur and the best part-you can actually get paid for doing what you love.
- You have control over your schedule which is awesome especially for moms.Most women in business are able to manage their business from home, via telecommuting or with the help of a partner which gives them enough time to devote to their family.
- There is no dearth of businesses. Any idea which has a market or customers can be created into business.
- Moms are born multi taskers, have innate money sense, possess strong negotiation skills, have great networking skills, know what other moms/women need and that’s why being a mom entrepreneur is a natural fit for most moms.
- You can decide how big or how small you want to be as a business. You can be a Work-at-home mom (WAHM) running a small and successful business or you can start with capital funds and run a successful business with a physical store/factory, employees etc from outside the house.
But becoming a Mom entrepreneur isn’t easy when you are the “Chief Everything Officer” for your family. There are responsibilities at home to be managed along with the business which isn’t as simple as it might seem.
Some of the problems that you may face along the way are-
Training for your skills You might have a skill or a talent which you have pursued as a hobby but to market it and sell it you might require training to commercialize it. For example you might be an excellent seamstress but to make that into a business and sell clothes in the market you might need special training.
Scaling the business Scaling up is another factor that needs to be thought about even before starting a business. As your business grows you might have to scale up your packaging materials, promotional activities, advertising, storage of goods etc. It is important to scale up when demand grows and to scale down in times of recession.
Work-life balance Personal life and business go hand in hand. As a mom your duties, responsibilities and your desire to spend time with your family has to be carefully planned along with your business responsibilities. It is even more important to learn about work-life balance so that you don’t become a burnout.
Managing time Time management is another crucial aspect while thinking about entrepreneurship. You might start a business with creativity but to sustain that business it is important that you learn about managing your time efficiently. For moms this is probably the most important skill needed for becoming a successful mompreneur.
Most of my readers are moms and I know that many of them have amazing talents, hobbies and the vision required to start an entrepreneurial venture.
This new series “How to become a Mom Entrepreneur in India” is dedicated to all my readers who want to carve out their own dreams, passion and ideas into a successful and thriving business.
What you can expect from this series:
Resources for starting a business in India
Interviews from several mom entrepreneurs who have created their business from an idea and are successfully running it
Reviews of books and other materials that will help you start your journey towards Mom Entrepreneurship
Focus on creative entrepreneurial ideas that can be turned into businesses
and lots more…
The series will continue well into November and if it is able to motivate even one mom to start her life as a mom entrepreneur then my work here in DONE!!
So, I look towards you for all the creative ideas and suggestions you have for this series. What do you want to know? What are your interests?I hope all of you will contribute to our discussions here and your feedback is crucial to make this series a successful one
