How A Mompreneur Differs from the Usual Entrepreneur

Does a mompreneur really differ from any other entrepreneur? The answer is YES.Our motivation, work style and ideas all stem from motherhood. Here are some of the ways we're different.

Where we find inspiration

Many women who never would have thought of themselves as entrepreneurs are startled by the ideas spurred by motherhood. We realize all kinds of needs that aren't being met and constantly think there must be a better way. But frequently, it's not a product that inspires mompreneurship--it's motherhood itself. For instance, the drive and desire to be home with our children motivates us, Moms, to create businesses that fit in with our family lives. You may start businesses that have nothing to do with motherhood, but that give them the opportunity to work from home or work non-traditional hours.


How we work

First off, there is no blanket generalization of mompreneurs. I know some who work a few hours a day and others who have worked diligently to create an empire. Most shy away from traditional 9-to-5 hours. They work during the fringe hours of the day so they can spend precious time with their kids. They work from wireless laptops while the kids are in school or while the baby is asleep. I've been a working mom before, you know... but to tell you the truth, it's the hardest I have ever worked in my life! But the good news is that I wouldn't trade it for the world! :-) Mompreneurs truly are working 24 hours a day. When I'm not managing the business, I'm thinking about ideas on how to further improve my business, or about new business ideas that I can start in the future. When I'm working, I'm thinking about being with their kids. It's a very full life, and each woman accomplishes it in her own way.

Where we work

Most mompreneurs like me, work from home (or at least start out that way). They spare themselves the commute to the office, and they don't have to leave the baby or the kids with the 'yaya'. Offices have gone virtual. You'll see mompreneurs working at Starbucks, at the mall and even on park benches. As long as they have cell phones, laptops and wi-fi, they're in business. New business ideas are emerging, giving moms an opportunity to work and take good care of their kids.

Why we work

There are many reasons why mompreneurs go into business. Some want to bring in a little extra money. Some want to have something stimulating and rewarding that they can do beyond motherhood. And others want to see a change in the world. While some mompreneurs do experience huge financial success, most don't go into business expecting it. That is very different from the mindset of most traditional entrepreneurs.

More and more moms are starting their own businesses. I love that more and more women are realizing they can fulfill their dreams and still be successful moms.

Creating An Infant Garments Manufacturing Business From Scratch

My husband and I have been toying about this idea of getting into the infant and children's garments business for roughly about 2 years now, but because he's working full time, and I'm pretty busy juggling the roles of homemaker and 'bazaarista', we haven't really done anything to get this business idea started... until now.

My husband is a Doctor-Nurse ('MD, RN' as they call it) by profession and he's teaching full time. But this summer semester, he was not given a full load, so we have a little extra time to brainstorm about our first steps...

The infant and children's market is quite a lucrative market to tap into. We, parents, love our kids so much that we sacrifice our own needs and wants in favor of theirs... Not just parents, but also grandparents, ninongs & ninangs, aunties & uncles, love to shower kids with gifts. But because of the current economic crunch, gifting toys and other trivial kiddie items have taken a back seat in favor of more important and useful items like CLOTHES.

We are already wholesale buyers of infant and children's clothes. These are our bread-and-butter products which we sell at bazaars and in our permanent shop in Tiendesitas. We get them pretty cheap because we buy in bulk, but our frustration is the limitation in the choice of designs and styles... and an acquaintance who's doing subcontracted work for clothing company 'Pink and Blue Soda' hinted that we can price our product cheaper if we manufacture them ourselves. The key is to know where to buy the fabrics used for children's apparel which usually are 100% cotton, interlock, terry cotton, linen, etc. We asked around and they gave us a few locations to go... but this is a trade secret so I won't publish it here. :-)

We want to start off with making infant garments like onesies, frogsuits or sleepers and infant sets. We ultimately want to expand later on to dresses, t-shirts, blouses and skirts. We will be subcontracting our sewing jobs for now, but when business takes off, we hope to buy our own machines and other sewing/finishing equipment.

We are starting this week in scouting for supplies and materials... I am definitely excited and full of great ideas!!! Yey, here we go! :-)

Doing It Better the Second Time Around

I just recently gave birth to my second child, Ryan Gabriel (nickname: Chase) via automatic Caesarean section... My daughter, Patricia, was delivered via emergency C-section three years ago, so pretty much all succeeding deliveries will be via C-section.

Recovering from the Caesarean Operation
Because this was my second C-section, I recovered much more quickly than the first one. During the first one, I was able to stand up and go to the bathroom after two whole days. At that time, I didn't have the courage to move around out of the fear that I would burst my stitches... and need I mention the post-op pain! Ouch!!! So I really waited until I was comfortable enough, with the help of powerful pain killers, before I mustered the energy to stand up.

This time, I gathered all my energy and braved the post-op pain, and got up about 24 hours after the operation. Doctors actually advise CS mommies to get up as soon as possible to get the circulation flowing again, especially to the extremities in order to prevent blood clots... The fear of your CS stitches unraveling is highly unfounded, Mommies, as these are surgical stitches... and unless you rip them open or you skip and hop (which I highly doubt any mom can do right after a C-section), the stitches will hold up. :-)

Breastfeeding Woes

In the case of Patricia three years ago, she was on a 7-day antibiotic course due to a suspected infection after I gave birth to her, so she had to be confined to the hospital nursery for 1 week. We had to leave the hospital without her as she was still on Hep-lock where the antibiotics were being administered. And so, she was bottle-fed in the nursery. I was not able to initiate breastfeeding right away, so when we took her home, she had gotten used to the bottle. Her suck was not strong enough to trigger my milk letdown. I was also still working at that time, so formula feeding was the practical thing to do.

Now, with Chase, there were no complications, so I can breastfeed him. The first two days were really frustrating for my husband and me, because we couldn't get the proper position for Chase to successfully latch on. We didn't want to use feeding bottles so we fed him formula through an infant feeding cup, which was really difficult for a newborn and very messy! Out of disappointment from days of failing to breastfeed, and out of guilt that Chase is not being fed well using the feeding cup, I decided to just do the next best thing... to use a breast pump and just bottle-feed him my breastmilk.

As much as I want to feed him directly from the breast, pumping breastmilk would give me some extra time to attend to business matters, do some errands, etc. A great tip is to bring your breast pump with you in the car if you have to be away from the house for longer than 4 hours (which is the time limit before you start to leak out milk). Bring a small blanket or breastfeeding cover in case your car is not heavily tinted, or else people will stare at you while you're pumping milk in the car. :-)

Diaper Issues

With my first baby, I experimented a lot, trying different brands. The usual assumption is that the most expensive is always the best for you... Not true. From Pampers to Huggies, I finally settled and was most satisfied with EQ Dry. Talk about value for money! It is one of the more affordable diapers in the market, but it fares equally, if not, even better I believe, than the more expensive brands. My ultimate consideration is my baby's comfort. The baby does not care if we put the most expensive brand of diaper on him/her, he/she will just pee and poop on it just the same... so go for comfort. EQ Dry has cloth-like cover which lets the baby's skin "breathe" and not trap heat in the case of plastic covered-diapers.

With baby wipes, the same applies... expensive does not mean the best. Baby wipes across all brands are pretty much the same, believe it or not. They are all hypo-allergenic, they are all pH balanced. When you hear about other moms complaining that this brand is not good because her baby got diaper rashes because of it, that's just wrong information.

Here is the FACT! Diaper rashes are caused by pee and/or poop staying in contact with the baby's skin for too long. Doctors advice is if you're going to use disposable diapers, then you have to change frequently and regularly and NOT WAIT until the diaper is full or when there's poop already. Remember the stories of our own parents, during their time, there were no disposable diapers, just cloth diapers, which they had to change frequently or else, pee or poop would leak out. We should apply the same principle with disposable diapers. Change frequently and regularly!

I check and change diapers every 3-4 hours during the day and longer during the night which is usually the time that diaper rashes develop... It really isn't about the baby wipes... UNLESS, your baby is allergic to the scent additives of some baby wipes... then use unscented ones. Cotton and water will do the cleaning job just as well and much cheaper. Baby wipes were developed for convenience and not because it's the better option.

Speaking of rashes, my personal recommendation for diaper rash ointment is Calmoseptine. It's a thick cream you apply to the rashes, which provides a barrier to prevent further irritation and promote healing. A thin layer of ointment is enough to do the job, so it's economical to use as well. A small packet costs about Php 40.00 and it will last you a month or so, based on frequency of use.

Doing It Better the Second Time Around... I Hope
With my first baby, it was pretty much about trial and error. This time around, armed with the experiences and lessons from the first, everything is pretty much predictable, but not the less enjoyable and rewarding!

My First Blog: An Introduction

Wow, my very first blog entry!

I spent quite some time thinking about what to write about on my very first post. I guess the best thing to do to kick off this blog is to introduce myself and tell you how I became a Mompreneur. After all, this is my first post and there is no previous content to lure you back here in the future. :-)

I actually came from the healthcare field, finishing my pre-med course (BS Public Health) at the University of the Philippines Manila. I worked for a year as a Research Assistant doing public health research work for UP-National Institutes of Health before entering medical school at the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila. Realizing that the work and schedule of a medical doctor was not for me, I quit med school during my graduating year (don't ask me why it took me that long to realize that... hehehe!) and went back to public health research work, which I enjoyed doing... It's at this time that I also got married. :-)

I spent the next three years building quite an impressive research career, from the entry level position of research assistant, I became Senior Research Associate and later moved on to being a Program Director in a public health NGO.

When I gave birth to my first-born, my daughter Patricia Lyana, I thought that I could balance my career and motherhood, without any hassle. But because research work and holding a managerial position entail extended hours in the office, I realized that I was spending less and less time being with my baby... So I made the big leap from 'working mom' to 'full-time mom', which was one of the best decisions I've made in my life.

In late 2006, having some extra time on my hands, I started to stretch my entrepreneurial spirit and went into the garments 'buy and sell' business and selling these at bazaars. I even tapped into my creative juices and started designing, making and selling diaper and laptop bags at bazaars and online at Multiply. My bag designs proved to be a big hit, so I decided to formally register the business. Thus, Sacs N Packs Leatherware was born.

I continued to join bazaars regularly, usually one bazaar per month during lean months of January to August, then peaking to 1-2 bazaars per week during BER months! I am now what many refer to as a 'full-fledged bazaarista'.

This year 2009 came a welcome addition to my family, my son, Ryan Gabriel! I am now taking some time off from business in order to properly adjust to caring for 2 kids, a 3-year old and a newborn baby but I'm loving every minute of it!

Sometime next month, I hope to start designing and making bags again and relaunch Sacs N Packs Leatherware. I also look forward to joining bazaars again. My husband and I are also working on a new business venture, during our spare time, that we hope to launch early June this year, so watch out for that announcement. :-)

So there, my journey towards being a mompreneur! It is never without a challenge or two but the joy it brings me makes it all worthwhile.

Now, I want to share these experiences with you! I am filled with stories, advice, and fun mompreneur related chatter, so do drop by regularly! :-)