The Halifax Chronicle Herald.  Business Section.  Sunday, September 23, 2007 Mompreneurship: New name, old idea Women are increasingly turning away from corporate employment toward family-embracing entrepreneurship By MEGAN VENNER Special WHEN CYNTHIA MELNICK had her baby, returning to work was not an option. Her new family and her job — following the Canadian Forces to hotspots like Afghanistan, booking leave for soldiers — just didn’t mix. Now Melnick owns a consignment shop for kids in Kingston called Storks Landing Consignment, and says she couldn’t be happier. The business, while forcing her to work far more hours than the traditional nine-to-five corporate job, gives her the freedom to choose her hours and her lifestyle, allowing extra time at home with her one year old daughter, Kailey. Melnick is part of a growing trend in Atlantic Canada and across the country. Women are turning away from the corporate world and looking to entrepreneurship as a way to blur the line between work and family. "It definitely is a trend," says Jennifer O’Quinn of Mount Saint Vincent’s centre for women in business. "We’re seeing that the number of women-owned businesses has increased over the last 20 years, so that now 50 per cent of owners are women." In particular, the idea of "mompreneurs," the concept that a woman can start her own business to allow for more time with her family, is really catching on. Popular culture has promoted the concept, lending it an air of credibility that the idea of working from home has never really enjoyed. "I would argue that this phenomenon of mompreneurship is actually not a new one. For centuries women have been either supplementing income, or supporting their families from their homes," says Acadia University business professor Kelly Dye, "but I think the context within which it is happening has changed." Statistics Canada says one third of new mothers are over 30. That means many have valuable skills and experience from corporate jobs they are choosing not to go back to. That, combined with significant advances in technology, means female entrepreneurship is on the rise. In fact, four out of five new businesses are started by women, and they’re not the traditional home-based services like laundry or sewing. "We’re seeing more and more women choosing to practise law from their home, or to do engineering work from their home. We also see consultants, creators of products, graphic designers, so it has evolved from the more traditional work roles to more professional careers." Angela Johnston says going back to work after her daughter was born was just not for her. "Thank god I don’t have to do that anymore. It’s crazy, it’s chaotic. "How do you get everybody up in the morning in time to get to child care and rush out of the house and have bags packed and be ready and everything cleaned and ready to go? It’s just so much planning and so much work. "And then you get home at the end of the day and you’re exhausted and you don’t get to spend all those hours in a day with your kids." Instead, the married mother of two is running the Valley Cloth Diaper Store, an online diaper business from her home in Port Williams. While she says she does have to use some day care to keep her sane, she says 10 hours a week is much better than the 40 hours she was using. "I like the flexibility of it," says Johnston, who knows she’s not alone "Almost everybody who comes through looks around my shop and sort of longingly says: ‘I wish that I could come up with something like this, so I don’t’ have to go back to work when my maternity leave runs out.’ " Johnston is in an industry at the forefront of mompreneurship. Many cloth diaper companies, be it the producers, retailers or marketers, are run by homed-based mothers. In fact, the whole industry surrounding babies and children is increasingly saturated by mompreneurs. A glance at the businesses nominated for Savvymom.ca’s Mompreneur of the Year award show photographers, clothing designers and retailers, all targeting the preschool set and their mothers. Interest in the Savvymom.ca contest was much higher than expected, with nearly 400 businesses nominated and tens of thousands of people voting. Katheryn Bechthold says she was astonished at the interested when she trademarked the term "mompreneur" and began her magazine, catering to the busy women who run these businesses. "I knew nothing about search engine optimization, but within the first three months we had 12,000 subscribers, and within the first six months we were at almost 18,000. That, in itself, goes to show the interest out there. "Women are just choosing that they’re not going to go back to the corporate world after they’ve had their children. They want something different." Bechthold is just one of a growing number of online businesses aimed at helping mompreneurs. There are consultants and support groups offering advice and resources for the struggling business owner. Financial resources are growing as well. Organizations like the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and the Business Development Bank are recognizing the difficulty women have historically had in accessing capital. They are targeting women with some of their startup programs. "I would very carefully call it a fad," says Dye. "I don’t think the phenomenon is going to go away. I don’t think it is a new phenomenon, but I think all of a sudden it’s become a very popular one. "I think there are an amazing number of supports out there for women who do want to work at home, so that they can have flexible schedules and also take care of their children, and I think that it is making it easier for women to become mompreneurs." For Johnston the choice has meant long hours but quality time with her young family. Her children, ages three and one, get more time with her, but she also says the business gives her a sense of satisfaction she didn’t get working outside the home. "I like the creativity and direction that I get to choose with my business. Particularly because of the business that I’m in, I get to meet a lot of moms and I get to meet a lot of moms that have similar philosophies that I have, which is really neat." That balance of professional satisfaction and family life is what mompreneurship is all about, says Bechthold. "It’s not necessarily about just being a stay-at-home mom with a very small business, or a micro business. I think what we’re trying to use that word for is for any woman who wants to take some control over earning an income through their own skills as an entrepreneur, and balance having a family." Statistics looking directly at mompreneurs are limited, but there are more than 800,000 female entrepreneurs in Canada and half of those have kids. Pop culture icons like Oprah are even turning to the idea as one that will allow moms to step away from the traditional concepts of working or staying at home. Melnick says the reality isn’t as rosy as she might have hoped, and her business takes her away from home far more often than she’d like, but she says it’s still the right decision. "I have no regrets. I’m loving every minute of it. I know that in the future I’ll have more time with her." Megan Venner is a freelance writer and mompreneur in the Valley who tries to work around the demands of a two-year-old. GETTING STARTED When Angela Johnston went into business for herself she expected hard work, but the reality of working at home with kids was a bit of a surprise. The Port Williams woman says she’s had to learn to let things go and that she can’t get everything done in a day. Ms. Johnston remembers a speaker at a business conference telling her the idea of being superwoman is just not realistic. "I mean it’s true. I just had to accept that people were going to come into my house and look at diapers and they’re just going to have to ignore the mess because I just can’t do everything." Ms. Johnston, and other "mompreneurs" like her, have learned some valuable lessons they say women looking at this as a career option should know: •Be realistic about your financial expectations. A new business takes time to generate income and a lot of mompreneurs find they have to survive on their partner’s income for some time before they start bringing in enough to contribute to the household budget. •Take a serious look at day-care options. Some businesses can be run with kids underfoot but most require time spent at things like client meetings or sales calls. The importance of a little quiet time at the computer can’t be underestimated either. •Don’t try to do it all. The concept of superwomen is not only unrealistic, it can be dangerous to a woman’s self-esteem and expectations. Things like the laundry or the vacuuming may just have to wait. It’s up to you to decide on your priorities. Which is more important, attending your son’s hockey game or washing the dishes? •Take time to periodically re-evaluate the business. If it is not fulfilling your dreams, stop and change. Making a business successful is hard work and if you don’t enjoy it you’re taking an awfully large risk with your finances, your time and your family.