As a mompreneur, how do you see yourself? Do you view yourself primarily as an at-home mom who also works from home? Or, do you see yourself as a mom who works at home because you feel passionate about being there for your kids and equally passionate about running your own business? I ask these questions because, the other day, I heard one woman tell another, “Well, you don’t know what it’s like to be a working mom; you work from home.” This same mom then went on to say, “If I worked from home, I could do everything I want to do. I could scrapbook my son’s baby pictures, keep the house clean, and get more than Taco Bell on the dinner table. Please.” That’s what I say. Please. This woman’s comments really got me thinking about how I see myself, and how other mompreneurs might see themselves.
It’s easy to think that everybody else has it easier than we do. I t’s true I don’t work for someone else’s company outside my home. But I am a working mom. Oops. Do I sound defensive? Probably. I honor all moms. Stay at home moms work. Work outside the home moms work. Work at home moms work. All moms work. How we work looks different based on our circumstances.
I think as mompreneurs we need to acknowledge that we are in a very unique category, and with that comes unique needs and challenges. Yes, we work from home, and that enables us to do some pretty cool things that work-outside-the-home moms might find more challenging: put dinner in the crockpot, throw a load of clothes in the wash, read our child a story or help her with homework, write a blog post, talk to a client, lead a teleseminar. Still, because we work from home, we can be pulled in several different directions. We can be painfully aware of our children or husband needing us (and don’t forget the dog), while we are busily working away on our businesses. We are constantly being called to be intentional with our time and our boundaries in ways that differ from other moms. It doesn’t make us better or worse. It just makes us different.
As mompreneurs we need a tribe of people who “get” us. We are trailblazing a new path in motherhood, which is both exciting and overwhelming. Because of this, we need support that is tailored to our unique situations. Our tribe can consist of other mompreneurs (both as friends and business partners), life and business coaches, virtual assistants, etc. The key is to surround ourselves with people with whom we resonate and who support us. Sometimes these relationships will be reciprocal (as in friendships or business partnerships). Other times, they might be others we pay to provide a service that makes our life easier (such as a virtual assistant or a housecleaner). I think it’s important to have both kinds of relationships so we can build our tribe of support. I’ll admit that one of the reasons I love hangin’ with other mompreneurs is that we “get” each other on a fundamental level. We understand the desire to work for ourselves, to have a flexible schedule so we can be there for our kids, to leave our mark on the world as a mother and as an entrepreneur. All moms deserve their own tribe.
Who’s in your tribe?
I definitely see myself as a “working mom”. Maybe it’s because my path to working at home started with working a job where I had to be there 70-80 hours a week, then changing jobs to one that only required 40 hours, but adding a business in the evenings and weekends, to now working the business only – from home. I’ve always been the major breadwinner, so that probably has a lot to do with it, too.
While it’s true that we work-at-home moms can keep laundry going while we work, and we can throw dinner in the crockpot to cook while we work, and we can do a “27 Fling Boogie” (a la Flylady) when the clutter just gets too distracting…it doesn’t mean that we do these things. There are days when I long for the peace and solitude of the office cubicle I left years ago…where I couldn’t see that the house was a wreck, or that the laundry was piling up, or that the cupboards were bare. I can see all those things working at home, and still I have to find the discipline to work on work.
But – and it’s a BIG BUT – I’d far rather be here than at an office somewhere.
Lord knows I can ‘get my whine on’ as well as the next working mom, no matter where she’s working, but the point (for me) is to concentrate on choices that work for me and my family and let the rest of the world do their thing in their own style, whether it matches mine, or not. I’m a firm believer that we’re all about has happy as we choose to be in any given moment. (And yes, I can be my own biggest party pooper with that attitude when I get the urge to have a pity party. LOL)
I am a mompreneur that ventures to an office space a few times a week and stays home for the balance. Funny, I do not at all characterize myself as an at-home mom. I’d be 400 pounds if I were!
For me the trouble lies in the “what are you doing all day?” comments I hear. Some think that if you are not working in a traditional sense than you are not truly “working.” On the contrary, mompreneurs work harder because it is our own business and it is up to us to succeed. In many instances there is no one to delegate to or opportunities to outsource. We take the weight of a new business on our shoulders and we forge ahead with the drive and determination of any passionate entrepreneur. Just add the mom in front and somehow we are different.
I love being a mompreneur and I know my kids are proud too.