Are you a female business owner who is actively balancing the roles of mom and entrepreneur? According to Entrepreneur Magazine you are the definition of a mompreneur! Other sources define mompreneur as a mom who has started a business out of her home and/or sells products and services to other moms. The first time I was called a mompreneur I laughed and quickly responded: Do you mean an entrepreneur? I found mompreneur denigrating; a term used to decrease the emphasis on my own business savvy. After all, you don’t hear about dadpreneurs?
Men who work from home or run their own business are called entrepreneurs or freelancers. If a Dad is running a business, we assume his children are being taken care of by their mother or they are in daycare. But if a Mother runs a business, people wonder how she is doing that and taking care of her kids? The double standard is prevalent even in today’s society.
Parents make great entrepreneurs. Many of the skills used in successful parenting are also applicable to running a business. For example, both parents and business owners need to be goal-oriented, organized, strategic thinkers who can also focus on finances. Why the need to use the neogism mompreneur for female entrepreneurs?
In the cut-throat business world, where entrepreneurs and business owners are expected to prove total dedication to their product, their service, their bottom line, using the term mompreneur makes sure that everyone knows that these women have other priorities implies they can’t fully devote themselves to the business.
On the flip side, whoever decided that professionalism meant that one had to be devoid of motherhood or parenthood for that matter? In the age of social media, where people reveal their lives on Facebook and YouTube, why hide the role of motherhood in business? It is an integral part of our modern lives.
Some savvy businesswomen have embraced the term mompreneur and increased their sales by marketing their products to moms. In fact, some have built their business around it. There is a magazine dedicated to the topic found at www.themompreneur.com and the popular website www.entrepreneur.com has a section dedicated to mompreneurs.
Whatever your preference, use the term that helps your business the most! Mompreneur, entrepreneur, businesswomen… target your audience and grow your business.
About Theresa Weber:
Theresa Weber is Co-Founder of Alexandria Consulting Team (ACT) LLC an international management consultancy. Terry is also editor of the the daily e-newsletter: MENA #WomeninBusiness Forum. You can follower her on twitter @TheresaFWeber and @ACT_LLC
By Theresa F. Weber
