On our blog we have featured a large selection of inspirational mumpreneurs and, without exception, all of them were inspired to start their own business so they could work flexibly around their children.  So we’ve clearly acsertained why so many of us are self employed, but why are we working at all? What drives women with young children to take on the huge additional responsibility of a business? Money, obviously, I hear you cry! But is it really? With most businesses not expected to make a profit within the first 18 months of trading, there must be something more that drives us on. I can’t speak for all mumpreneurs, but I can tell you what motivates me.

I realised, fairly quickly after having my first child, that I still wanted to work. I didn’t want to go back to my old job, but I wanted something else to do other than childcare and housework. People talk about the perils of ‘Nappy Brain’ and that feeling that your former brilliant mind has turned to mush due to tiredness, boredom and kids TV!  Not surprising really, as 0nce you have a child you are forced to live life dealing with their very basic needs. So, after 10 months of pure mummy and baby time, I started working freelance for my previous employer. It felt so good to excercise my brain cells again and to realise that I could still string a coherent sentence together and converse with other adults on topics other than weaning, sleeping and teething.

When the freelance work dried up, I took one step further and bought a franchise. At the time my children were just 1 and 2. At the start it was breathtakingly exciting – all that promise and anticipation, a feeling of unlimited potential. Fairly quickly though, I realised this business would not make me any money and ended up being a huge drain on our family resources. But happily, out of that disappointing business experience, came the realisation that there was a need for an organisation like Mum’s The Boss.

Quite selfishly I have accpeted that I need something in my life that is just mine. I need the sense of achievement you get from a job well done. I need a To Do list where I can tick things off and know that I have achieved something today. I like having 2 different personas and 2 sets of friends – the mums from school and my businessmum friends. And I thrive on the pride and sense of accomplishment I get as the business – my business –  grows and succeeds.

The things we do for our children are unconditional and largely unappreciated. Every day we cook, clean, wash and tidy, all for little or no thanks. But in business there is the opportunity to get feedback, fulfillment, monetary reward - and sometimes even a little recognition.

What drives you to be your own boss? Is it purely the cash or is it as much to do with your own identity and self-fulfillment? Do leave a comment and let us know.

When was the last time you gave yourself a pat on the back for a job well done? Most of us get so bogged down with what’s still to do on our To Do list that we don’t give ourselves credit for everything we have achieved.

Many of us rely on feedback from a customers or clients to let us know that we’re doing a good job. But it’s just as important to recognise your own achievements as a way of keeping your enthusiasm and motivation levels high.

The type of reward you give yourself will vary according to your tastes, your personality and your business and needn’t cost a lot. If you are the type of person that is strongly motivated by reward it could be something little like treating yourself to a cup of tea and a biscuit after you’ve made that phonecall you’ve been putting off for days, or a long, hot bubblebath as a treat for doing your monthly accounts.

If you provide a service, you could treat yourself to a bottle of wine or a bunch of flowers each time you win a new client. Or if you make handmade products or sell gifts online, maybe you could treat yourself every 10 orders? You could even make yourself your very own reward chart and work towards one really big treat once you’ve ticked off a month’s worth of To Dos!

The treat in itself isn’t important – what’s more important is that you get into the habit of recognising how brilliant you, how far you’ve come and all the amazing things you’ve achieved. If that’s not worth a Mars Bar or a cream cake, then I don’t know what is!

Is it because we are women? If so does that mean the end of the Women’s Institute, the WRVS, the Girl Guides and every other women only organisation in the world? Is it because we are mums? Perhaps then we should ban Mothering Sunday? If a group of mums running their own businesses is so objectionable, maybe we shouldn’t allow groups of like-minded individuals to meet up at all. No more industry-specific events, political party conferences and definitely no Star Trek Conventions – they discriminate against people who aren’t interested in space travel! And what about Fathers For Justice – do they now have to let Mothers join too?

Running a business around a family presents its own set of unique challenges which are best understood by like-minded business people. This isn’t being exclusive or cliquey – it’s common sense – and I’m quite certain a single-dad responsible for childcare would understand that perfectly.

The question of discrimination has been raised about our group too, presumably because we have the word ‘mum’ in our name and run a creche at our networking meetings. We always reply that we aren’t exclusive (it’s not like we check for stretch-marks as people come in!) but that we are targeting a niche who simply aren’t catered for by other networking groups – or the business world in general.

If you are a business man or woman and are not responsible for childcare, either because you don’t have children, or they are grown up, then the world of business networking is pretty much at your disposal. The thing about us though, is that rather than accuse everyone ELSE of discriminating against US, we have got off our backside and done something about it.

Discrimination is a dangerous word to bandy around and a serious allegation to make, and needs to be based on fact rather than assumption or sour grapes. There is a BIG difference between discrimination and addressing the needs of a niche audience, particularly one that is making a genuine contribution and achieving such great things.

This marks a massive turning point for us. In less than a year we have gone from the people seeking advice to those giving it! It is also an enormous compliment that outside agencies rate what we do enough to include us in their event and a fantastic way for us to raise our profile amongst local businesses.

When we started out less than a year ago we contacted lots of local organisations asking for help and sponsorship and in all but a few cases never received any replies to our requests. We quickly got the feeling that people viewed us as ‘just a group of mums’ and not really worth taking seriously. It made me smile then last week when 2 of these organisations contacted us out of the blue with offers of assistance and support – obviously word has got out that this ‘group of mums’ is going from strength to strength!

We are just one tiny example of what mums can achieve when they put their minds to it. All over the country mums are making a difference to their schools, families and local communities as well as in business.  Look around you – Mum Power is happening everywhere!

In business mums inherently possess a number of skills which can make them great entrepreneurs. Bringing up a family makes you skilled in the art of multi-tasking, prioritising, negotiating and dealing with finances. As women we are good at thinking creatively, being supportive and generous with our time and often adopt a more more holistic approach to business. And working around a demanding family we can be incredibly productive given limited amounts of time!

Mums know how to get the best from social networking  by doing what they do best – making connections and chatting! Women concentrate on building relationships first and doing business second. Work at home mums with online businesses can generate healthy sales by promoting themselves in a friendly and generous way. How much cheaper is that than paying for expensive advertising that people may never read?

Sally Walker of Squash Box Media has written a brilliant article on The Power of the Social Media Mum. “If you want a piece of news to spread quick, you don’t need to publish it in the daily newspaper or hire a TV crew to come round and interview you on the news. Just find a Mum who has a computer and let her do it for you…..What better way to promote something than by getting millions of Mum’s worldwide to chat about it online.”

Plus a new genre of Mummy Bloggers has emerged, who are generating an enormous amount of attention from their online thoughts and recommendations. Some are even being approached by large companies asking them to review their products, such is the sway their opinion holds. Mum’s like to turn to other mums for advice, hence the growth of online communities and forums such as Netmums, Mumsnet and Gurgle. Individually mums have a powerful voice – but en masse they can be formidable! 

So whatever it is you do, or want to achieve, never underestimate yourself or your ability to make things happen. A mum who feels passionate about something is a force to be reckoned with. Never think ‘but I’m ONLY a mum’ – YOU are a superhero!