Moms start own businesses for flexibility
That’s the question that many moms ask themselves as soon as they see that blue line on a pregnancy test. The choice used to be black and white for some. Either you would stay at home changing diapers or go out to earn a paycheck.
But there’s a shift in post-baby life for women. Some women are no longer choosing between being a mom or a business women. They are choosing to have both.
And they aren’t just going back to their pre-baby jobs. They’re becoming their own bosses.
That’s what Karen Doucette did. Owner of Princess Please, she says the biggest benefit of running her own business is that she doesn’t have to change her lifestyle.
“You get to still stay at home with your kids and raise them and be with them and be there for everything but you can still, throughout the day and at night-time when they go to bed, do your business and still have that income come in.”
Women like Doucette have been dubbed ‘Mompreneurs.’ They set up and run their own businesses amidst making baby food and vacuuming up Cheerios.
Produced by Devon Jolie
According to Statistics Canada, 910,000 women are self-employed. Statistics Canada also notes that 46 per cent of small to medium-size businesses are in part owned by women.
And some of these women are ‘Mompreneurs’ like Doucette. The mother of two –and soon-to-be three –started her company over a year ago selling homemade headbands and little girl accessories online.
Doucette says she thinks more moms are turning to business-ownership because it successfully blends their desire to be home with their kids and still make an income.
And it appears that other women see the value in both. A 2012 survey by BMO Bank of Montreal suggests that of the Canadian women surveyed, 71 per cent of them want to start their own businesses.
Doucette also says as a ‘Mompreneur,’ you are supported by other moms who are tackling raising kids and running a business simultaneously.
“I think stay-at-home moms are looking for ways to support other stay-at-home moms,” says Doucette, and because of this built-in support system, more and more moms can start their own businesses and be successful.
djolie@cjournal.ca