Meg Mateo Ilasco - Mom, Inc.: The Essential Guide to Running a Successful Business from Home

Motherhood often serves as a CATALYST FOR CHANGE in a womans lifeand for a growing number of women its also become a siren call to start a business. Whether youre toying with the idea of STARTING A HOME-BASED BUSINESS so you can spend more time with your children, or you have more free time to PURSUE CREATIVE CAREER INTERESTS now that your little ones are in schoolknow that when you combine business with children, things will get messy. You will need to be a master multitaskereven more than you already are. Though youll be doing A LOT OF JUGGLING , the biggest perks will be having a creative outlet and the flexibility to SHAPE YOUR CAREER AND FAMILY LIFESTYLE . In this chapter, well give you a taste of what it means to mix business and motherhood.

The truth is, pregnancy and entrepreneurship have a lot of similarities. For one thing, you dont fully understand what youve gotten yourself into until youre knee deep in diapers or profit and loss statements. Youll spend untold hours nurturing, molding, grooming, cleaning, and spending money on both your babiesyour newborn and your new business. You will also experience many of the same emotions as you deal with both: happiness, frustration, disappointment, and glowing pride.

As mothers, we have limited quantities of resources, time, and energyso we need to choose our commitments carefully. Obviously, a business is a huge investment and theres no getting around it: You will spend a lot of time on your new venture. When it takes off, youll dedicate even more hours to it. But you can find a balance and make it all work. Remember that balance doesnt have to mean spending an equal amount of time on everythingthere just isnt enough time in the day for that. It does mean that all parties should be satisfied in a relatively equal waywhich may mean unplugging at the end of your workday to spend some quality hours with your family before they sleep.

Youll spend untold hours nurturing, molding, grooming, cleaning, and spending money on both your babiesyour newborn and your new business.

Anyone can be an entrepreneur, and its never too late (or too early) to be one. You certainly dont need to have a business degree (between the two of us, we have degrees in psychology and English). All you need is a dream, a plan, an abundance of determination and stamina, and above all, a firm belief in yourself. It also helps to be endowed with a few entrepreneurial characteristics. If you find that you have a few, if not all, of the following traits, then youve already got the makings of a creative mom entrepreneur:

Passion. Youd rather stay at home making a small army of crocheted elephants than spend a night out on the town with your girlfriends. Or your husband counts your camera as one of your children because its always hanging on to your neck. This means youre passionate about your creative outlet. For the creative entrepreneur, her business is not just a jobits a core part of her life. Its one of the reasons shes excited to get up in the morning and one of the last thoughts in her mind before she sleeps.

Attention to detail. Making cupcakes for your daughters third-grade class caused you to borrow two books on icing techniques, purchase multipattern cupcake wrappers, and take a trip to the flea market for a milk-glass cake pedestal. Youre detail oriented. Caring about everything connected to your business, no matter how small, will resonate with people and can make them loyal to your company.

Multitasking skills. Mothers are natural pros at interchanging tasks: We throw in the laundry while waiting for the pot to boil or pay bills online while on hold with the doctors office. Thankfully, this talent for spinning plates can be applied to business tasks as well.