what is this Mumpreneur lark anyway?
do I have to be an inventor to be a Mumpreneur?
Every now and again someone comes up with a great idea. I mean a really great idea. No-one's thought of this before and everybody needs it. Baby slings, purees in pouches, bumbos and buggy boards - parents can't imagine what life was like without them and they've made their inventors millions. But do you need to invent the next big thing to be a Mumpreneur? Of course not.
It's great, it's inspiring when an idea cooked up at the kitchen table makes its originator pots of cash but being a Mumpreneur is much more about starting small, sticking to what you know and knowing that what you do could be of value to your target market. Quite often you don't have to be first, or unique, to succeed. Just find a USP (no, not a little electronic stick that you slot into the computer), your Unique Selling Point that will make customers choose you above all others.
do you have to be a mum to be a Mumpreneur?
Not really but it helps! But seriously, I guess if you're not a mum then you're an entrepreneur (you could of course be a Dadpreneur...) but there are a couple of subtle differences. For example, as an entrepreneur, I bet no-one interrupts your business meetings demanding to have their bottoms wiped? Self-employed entrepreneurs can choose their working hours but most will stick roughly to the 9-5 with a bit of overtime in the early days. A Mumpreneur's hours start around 5am as a Night Nurse, moving to 7am as caterer and personal grooming specialist. A quick stint as a taxi service around 8.30am before the Mumpreneur day starts at 9am. There is a welcome break from the hard work at around 3pm when the taxi and grooming services are enhanced by the catering element and a brief stint as teacher and children's TV presenter. Then it's back to the office at around 8pm to make up the time spent on your extended tea break, finishing at about midnight in time for the night shift at N&CF (Nightmares & Coughing Fits).
who makes it as a Mumpreneur?
Little Dish
If you have a new food product, getting one of Britain's big supermarkets’ chains to stock it is a salesperson's dream. Clinching online distribution at the same time is even better. Somehow Hillary Graves did both, right at the start of her new business, Little Dish.
New Yorker Graves, 36, came to London in 2000 to launch the UK business women’s website ivillage. Then she married an Englishmen and decided to stay in the UK, joining Yahoo! Europe as head of marketing before working as a consultant for start- up frozen baby food company Babylicious. There she met John Stapleton, co-founder of Coven Garden Soup Company, and they dreamt up the idea of fresh, nutritional ready-to-serve meals for toddlers. A year later, Little dish has ready meals, sauces and fromage frais desserts on sales at Waitrose and its online home delivery service Ocado. It also has products on sale at Sainsbury’s and Tesco.
The Daily Telegraph, 24/09/2007
Frugi
One cold October night in 2003 Lucy Jewson was struggling to do up her four month old son's babygro over his night time cloth nappy when she had a Eureka moment. There was a huge gap in the market for good looking, high quality, ethically produced clothes that would look great and fit over washable nappies.
"I've always had a deep interest in all things green," says Lucy, who now runs Frugi with her husband Kurt, sister Emma and a dedicated team. "We try to think about the impact of everything we do and continually try to do it better, from the people who grow our cotton organically, to the people who process it and make our clothing - to the children who wear it."
Lucy and Kurt juggle the business with looking after their two young sons. "It is important for me to 'be there' as much as possibe. A young and growing business is just as demanding as young and growing children!"
The Green Parent April/May 2008
Ella's kitchen
And here's one from the Dads!
"Ella is my nine-year-old daughter and I set up Ella's Kitchen because I passionately believe that she, along with her generation, should have the opportunity to eat better food and also to discover that healthy food can be fun, tasty and cool.
We think it's important to always approach things from a child's point of view. So, we've taken simple, natural ingredients that ooze goodness and created foods, and packaging, that should really connect with kids - with flavours, colours, textures and even names that will appeal to all of their senses." Paul Lindley
Supermummy
I run the Supermummy websites from my home office around our family life. It's the ideal lifestyle for me and means I get personal and business freedom. Yes, sometimes it means checking e-mail with one of the kids on my lap or working unsociable hours but the work always gets done and I'm more focused, committed and liberated than ever now that I am my own boss.
It wasn't always like this! I've been a stressed mum with a full time corporate job and a frustrated stay at home mum. I was searching for something and at that time I believed that to set up my own business was the solution. When I first started out in business Aimee was 3, Terry was often away with the Forces, Emilee was almost 1, our bank account was overdrawn and my maternity leave was running out fast.
It was the worst and best time to make that decision but it was slow and frustrating at first. I just had to laugh when I discovered Mickey was on the way! That was the turning point for me - I immersed myself in learning all I could about how to create the ultimate lifestyle business. It was a 'lightbulb' moment and what I had been searching for all along had finally found me. Supermummy is the result of proven strategies and mentoring from experts who have guided me towards building an online business from scratch.
Don't think that motherhood has limited your life and your potential. There are new opportunities for you now and taking control of your destiny by starting a business of your own could be the best chance of job security and fulifilment. What's more, you'll be a great role model for your kids who will see you as an enterprising and successful person running a business - not just mum!