Motherhood is a wonderful experience that changes your life in every way from your brain chemistry outward. It has an interesting way of changing a woman’s perspective. She re-evaluates her job, her career and her personal relationships and in many cases re-assesses her personal value. Between the shift in perspective and the absence from work to raise her child, a woman can begin to realise that she has more to offer the world than she’s previously been allowed to demonstrate within the confines of her old job and / or career. This paradigm shift has led to a rise in Mumentrepreneurship as Mums around the world formulate business plans in lieu of returning to the daily grind.
If the return to your old job causes a deep pit of dread to well in your stomach, this newly trodden path may just be the avenue that leads to a whole new you. A you that reaches levels of success she never even dreamed of in her previous life. A you whose motherhood was not the end of her career but a new beginning. The path of the Mumtrepreneur is like that of any nascent business. It’s beset on all sides by obstacles and challenges but it can also be incredibly edifying and rewarding. Not only will your business give you the freedom and flexibility to raise your kids that your old job never could, you’ll also take pride in knowing that you are blazing a trail for all those pregnant women around the world who have yet to realise that they needn’t choose between their careers and their kids.
Start right now
As soon as you have an idea for a business plan, you don’t need to wait until your plan has been completely finished, your costings and cash flow analysis has been carried out and you’ve had funding approved by a business lender to get started. You can crack on with the fun stuff straight away. Consult with a branding agency (or even a friend who has a gift for graphic design) and hammer out some ideas for a logo, and establish an outline for what you want your brand to be. Remember that a good brand should make a promise. What promise do you want to make for your brand? It can be anything at all so long as it’s a promise you can keep.
Now might also be a time to establish your social media presence. Reach out on Facebook, Instagram, Vero and Twitter to those who might have need of your services. Help to get a better idea of what it is they want before you start trading as this will give your business plan more focus. This might also be a good time to encourage potential customers to help you out with some market research. Get them to fill out a survey for you on Survey Monkey so that you can get the feedback from the exact people who will potentially be buying from you. If you don’t get as many responses as you’d like try broadening your reach with a pay per click social media campaign or incentivising contact by putting all respondents in a draw to win an Amazon or iTunes voucher. It’s a relatively tiny investment but one that could get your business on the right track.
Know your niche
All of this market research will help you to know your niche and cater to it. Many a well meaning and ambitious entrepreneur has created a rod for her own back by trying to be all things to all people. The best way to find your niche is by getting to know your chosen market really well and then finding a gap in it. The more specialist, the better.
Project for success
When starting out, you’ll have to master the fine art of being a small business, yet appearing like a heavy hitter. Whether we like it or not, customers are fickle and while there are many people out there who would be happy to give a small business a must needed break, there are just as many who are skittish when it comes to trusting new brands. This doesn’t mean that you have to max out on expensive overheads. Simply invest in a virtual HQ and a sleek, professional looking online presence. You’d be astonished how many big and professional looking businesses out there are run out of a home office or spare room.
Build your brand
People are predisposed to invest in other people, especially those in whom they feel a personal investment. You’re a wonderful, smart, resourceful person as well as being a great parent. Make sure that comes out in your branding. Use content marketing to your advantage. Give your target markets regular blog posts, videos and podcast episodes and they’ll develop the kind of personal investment in you that will keep them coming back time after time.
