Todays Mompreneur

Sure, Halloween isn’t a real holiday. Unless you live in my house. My daughter has been asking if we could go trick or treating again since the day after Halloween last year.

I have always been a fan of this holiday. At least, I was a fan until I started working from home. Now I find myself working holidays, a lot. Sure I could take half a day off so we could still enjoy all of those fun things that come with Halloween, but in my world the hours I don’t work are the hours I don’t make any money. Normally it is not a big deal, but there are necessities that need my attention and it’s getting close to the time when I need to start buying Christmas and birthday presents for my lovely daughter.

So I will be working Halloween.

Unless you planned ahead, you might also find yourself working today. That does not have to happen every time a new holiday approaches, though. Here are a few tips to help you prepare so you can have that much deserved day off.

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In yesterday’s post, “The Election Is Nearly Over… But Are The Business Opportunities?” I mentioned the word momportunities and thought I might take a moment to explain the meaning behind the word.

Since the first day I started writing here, all of 3 days ago, I was flooded with ideas I would like to implement as we grow. One of those ideas was to post about different business ideas and opportunities. As Mompreneur is a play on words - the mix of Mom and Entrepreneur - I thought it’d be fun to turn any opportunities I write about into momportunities, and a new word has been born.

It may never catch on, it may spark irritation among people. After all, I’ve heard women argue that by calling them mompreneurs they are somehow less than men that are entrepreneurs. So maybe momportunities are somehow less than the opportunities available to men? No.

As parents, we need a flexible schedule. The ultimate momportunity offers the flexibility required, yet gives us the opportunity to either create a business or earn a living from home. Momportunities are ideas or jobs that anyone could take on but, considering we cater to the mompreneur crowd, we are featuring these ideas as something that will be specifically geared towards moms.

For the women who are not looking for an opportunity, or already own a business, don’t worry. We don’t stop at momportunities. As this blog grows we hope to expand on more ideas to help entertain children while we work, stories of success from mompreneurs, advice to cover all areas of work-life balance to home office woes, and much more. You’ll just have to come back and see for yourself!

Photo Credit: Matthew Oliphant

Lets set aside politics for a moment. For this thought, it’s not about who you want to vote for. This is strictly business.

So strictly business, in fact, that almost every word that comes out of a politicians mouth has become a website and has potentially created some profit along the way. A good example is the infamous “That One” comment which has sprouted That One 2008 and “That One” 08. Both of which give you the option to buy something either by clicking a link to view the store or a photo of what you can purchase is shown on the front page. Once the words “Joe the Plumber” were stated, the real Joe the Plumber became a gold mine. He’s not just unclogging pipes, now you can buy his t-shirt too! The election has created a new niche, 08 Election Biz. However, much like the election, the life of this business niche could either last 4 to 8 years or die out on November 5th.

So what does this have to do with mompreneurs?

I had already considered this election to be unique. After all is said and done, we will either have a female vice president or a black president, both of which are a first. But what makes it mompreneur material is the fact that there are women who have been inspired to become mompreneurs with their own election-based businesses.

It was a “T-Ball Mom” who, inspired by Sarah Palin, created her own business called, LipstickforPitbulls.com. From lipsticks to t-shirts, Michelle Zafiropoulos has found a way to monetize her support of the McCain/Palin political team. She has taken ahold of that spirit which makes women good entrepreneurs and ran with an idea that is bound to be popular while the election is running hot.

I may be young, but I have never witnessed so many people that were as worked up over an election year, like they are this year. Even more so, I have never witnessed so many interesting businesses launch out of political pride.

I think that once the election is over, the door to opportunity is going to be wide open to anyone looking to step in and launch their own business. Could this potentially be the right momportunity for you?

Photo taken by I am K.E.B.

Not all times are good for work. No matter how much we need to get done for our ‘business’, kids will not always cooperate with us. That’s why it’s so important to find something that will entertain them long enough for you to finish that order, tweak that website, or balance your books. It doesn’t matter what the task is, but you are bound to face this situation at least once in your life.

You need to entertain your child.

But how? From toddler to the pre-preteen stages, crayons hold a power that can render nearly anyone helpless. If you give a child crayons and a coloring book, they are bound to sit and color. How long they focus may be determined on their attention span or how much they actually enjoy the coloring process, but it will give you a few precious minutes to finish an important task or two.

However, that isn’t always enough. Children that are especially clingy or just want to be near you for a bit might not be completely satisfied. This is where we get out the childrens table and set them up right next to us. If we’re typing it out on the computer, your child still has the benefit of being next to you and ‘working’ just like you!

In the past, crayons and a piece of paper have been exactly what I needed to get my daughter to stop talking for a few moments. She’s a chatterbox, and nothing is harder than trying to concentrate through a long stream of chatter being sent directly to my eardrum. By pulling up a table, whipping out her crayons with some note paper, and setting her down, I have been able to accumulate at least 10 minutes of quiet at a time.

Every time I meet someone new, I always introduce myself and play a little game called “ask and share”. They generally ask me a question, and I return the favor. With any new blog, I always use the first post as a way to introduce myself.

I want to kick off this blog with my intentions. After all, this is my first post and there is no previous content to lure you back here in the future. I refuse to lose a potential reader!

I have been working from home as a freelance writer (and, yes, I do some virtual assistant work as well) since October of 2006. I have done all of this with a toddler in the home. There have been good moments, then there have been some not so good ones which creep up and make me wonder, “Why do I do this to myself?”

Over the last 2 years I have learned quite a bit about handling my workload while handling a 3 year old. It is never without a challenge or two, but I have loved every minute of it.

Now I want to share those experiences with YOU.

Today’s Mompreneur wants to inspire you to follow your dreams. We want to show you that it can be done. We want you to stand up at the end of the day and say, “I am a mom, and I am an entrepreneur. I’m darn proud to be a mompreneur!” There is no better way to do that than to show you that I have been there, currently am there and will continue to be there. While I walk through this wonderful experience, I want you to walk along with me.

I am filled with stories, advice, and fun mompreneur related chatter. If that doesn’t motivate you to come back, then I do not know what will!