8 Tips on Launching your Business as a Momtrepreneur.

If you are not familiar with the term Momtrepreneur or Mompreneur, it means a mom who is an entrepreneur. If ell in love with “momtrepreneur” as I believe it truly signifies the merge between the words mom and entrepreneur. I have been doing business as a momtrepreneur for a few years now and women regularly approach me and ask me how they can become one as well.

In response to this question, I have gathered a few points that I think are most important when launching out as a momtrepreneur.

#1. You must know what is your why.

Your why is the reason you want to be in business and it will help you to hold on in those tough days when you feel like giving up. Your why is usually embedded in your morals and values. Most people will have two why’s, a life why and a business why. My life why and business why are tied into one big why.

My life why is to help moms to become momtrepreneurs but even deeper than that, I believe God created each and every one of us to serve him and to help each other grow in life. As entrepreneurs, our lives include our businesses so to fulfil my purpose, I wanted to support other business owners to grow their businesses and become financially independent.

You can have various reasons for becoming a momtrepreneur, it doesn’t have to be one. Another reason I wanted to have my own business is to create a life of financial freedom for my family and have more flexibility in my time and my life so I can watch my children grow and not miss out on so many things in their lives.

As working moms we tend to miss out on important things in our kids’ lives, well some moms more than others. I wanted to be able to drop my kids to school and pick them up after, I wanted to be the one taking them to their extra-curricular activities and cheering them on. I wanted to be able to take part in activities that were important to them and stop missing all the things I was missing while at work. I wanted to stop feeling so exhausted when I got home, I wanted to be able to be present in the moment with my children and being a momtrepreneur gave me that opportunity.

So write down what is your why and keep it somewhere you can see it. When you have hard days in business you will need to reflect on them to give you the strength to continue.

#2. Your mindset is your asset.

The second most important thing you need to work on when launching as a momtrepreneur is your mindset! I cannot stress how important this is. We don’t realize how negatively society, our culture and even things that happened to us as children have impacted our mindset until we start in business and the little voices of doubt begin to chime in. These voices tell you things such as:

– You cannot be a business owner

– You do not know enough to run a successful business

–  Who do you think you are?

– That business will never work!

Those limiting beliefs will hit you so hard that sometimes you just want to curl up in a little ball and hide but there are ways to deal with this.

Tips to help shift to a positive mindset

• As a Christian, I have started using scripture to remind me who I am and whose I am. My favorite is “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” Philippians 4:13 and I have created my own value statements to remind myself of who I am and what I am capable of, the first being “I am the daughter of King, wealth is my birthright!”
• Read motivational and positive thinking books, a favorite of mine is Battlefield of the Mind by Joyce Mayers
• Invest in a mindset coach if necessary. Nothing is wrong with asking for help and your mental health is a very important aspect of your overall health. A mindset coach is trained to help you dig deep and address the cause of your self-doubt and limiting beliefs.
• Find support in groups of link minded individuals who you can talk to and express matters that are bothering you. You can also receive advice from persons who have encountered the same problem.
• Remember you are not alone and this does not affect you ALONE. A negative mindset affects many persons but there are ways to move past it.
• Believe in yourself, believe in who you are, whose you are and more so who God says you are and created you to be!
• Pray without ceasing, ask for guidance daily and be grateful for everything you do have.

#3. Plan your business and do the research

Before jumping in and opening a business ask yourself a few questions to ensure your business is viable and can succeed. Many businesses fail within the first year of opening because they failed to do proper research to ensure that there is a market and a need for this business. Ask questions such as:

– What is the purpose of my business?

– What products or services will I provide?

– Is there a need for what I am offering?

– What is my passion? When your business is a passion then it doesn’t feel like work

– How am I going to promote my business?

– Ho much money do I need to start this business or what do I need to invest?

#4. Find ways to balance your time between your business and your family.

Remember being a momtrepreneur (and if you’re like me, a single one) will be demanding on your time. Think about how you can balance your family and your time. Write down the answers to questions such as:

– What help will I need?

There is nothing wrong with asking for help. If you have older children or family members that can help then talk to them and let them know that you will need their help for things like cooking, cleaning, babysitting etc.

– Plan out your day:

What time do I need to get up to start my days, get my kids sorted and my chores before I can start to work? Or what do I absolutely need to do on a morning before work? How many hours of work can I put in daily? How can I ensure meals are ready on time? What do I need to put in place the day before for meal prep?

– What are the non-negotiables when it comes to my family time and work time?

Is it that I stop work promptly at 3 pm and do not answer business calls after that time etc?

All these will fall under the umbrella of time management and work-life balance so start early by asking yourself these questions and writing down your answers. Remember when building a business there will be times when you will have to work longer than expected so you should have a little room for flexibility and adaptability in your plans.

#5. Build a team

In the beginning, you may not be able to afford help but the sooner you can build a team in your business means the easier the work will be on you. If you cannot afford help then look into things such as bartering for services, this is exchanging services with someone for something the both of you need or you can look into unpaid internships.

If you have a skill that you are willing to teach and it’s something that someone will want to learn you can offer them an internship where they learn through working with you but they are not paid. You both agree that you will train this person for a period of time after which you can offer them a paid position once you can afford it. This is a benefit to both sides as the person learns and develops a new skill and you gain the help you need in your business.

#6. Keep up with changing technology and trends

In business, you have to learn to keep up with changing trends. Remember the only constant in life is change, and it’s the same in business so read about what is the latest development in your business area. Maybe there is a new method of doing old things, maybe there was a price change, maybe your business area has developed into something new and you can take advantage of getting in that market early. All these things can positively or negatively affect your business if you fail to keep abreast of changing situations. The best thing is to be proactive than reactive and you can only know that if you are aware of what’s going on.

#7. Get visible and keep on increasing your visibility

People cannot buy from you if they don’t know you exist. Use technology to your advantage. Using marketing methods such as social media & social media ads, email marketing and websites will help your brand to have an online presence so people can easily find you. However, you have to know how to use these efficiently and effectively in your business.

#8. Listen to your customers/ clients and what they want

Ask for feedback from your customers and clients. How did they enjoy the product? How would they rate your service? What improvements would they like to see? Encourage them to give you their honest feedback as they will be the ones to promote your business or give it a bad review and I’m sure we all want good reviews!

Launching a business as a momtrepreneur is not as difficult as some may make you feel.

If you’re a Christian, ensure that you pray about going into business first and let the spirit guide you, seek answers from him first before anyone else. Then when you are ready to launch out, don’t overthink it! Make sure to have your plans written down for things such as time management and have your value statements or affirmations as it is more widely known somewhere you can see them. Find support as there will be times when you will need it, especially on those tough days, and then just do it.

As a certified Digital Marketer, I have been exposed to various aspects of online marketing such as social media and email marketing.

I fell in love with email marketing as it helps to communicate the unique messaging of the owner to their community. It allows you to be vulnerable with your audience so they can identify with a person instead of a business. Over time, my love for this has expanded into helping momtrepreneurs to create and manage their content to help them get more visible and grow their audience and their business.