What is a Mumpreneur?
We call our mumpreneur logo lady Bliss ~ it sums up how calm she looks as she multi-tasks
I often get asked to explain exactly what a mumpreneur is. Is she a woman in business? Is she an entrepreneur who happens to be a mum?
I believe mumpreneurs are a whole breed apart. We are born out of many needs, wishes, dreams, desires and yearnings:
- The need to earn a living in order to support our family
- The wish to find a flexible solution to our complex needs
- The dream of being creative and express our talents
- The desire to be recognised for our skills
- The yearning to have our full potential realised
The answer to all these needs, dreams and wishes creates this wonderful role of being our own boss, owning and running our own business. Sounds like heaven – but comes at a price because being a mumpreneur is not the easy option.
Being a mumpreneur is a 24/7 serious business. Just like being a mum – we are never ‘off duty’. When a child wakes in the night with a pain, we know because we’ve woken seconds before. We are programmed to be ever watchful whether for a problem with our children or an issue in our business.
Being a mumpreneur is about wearing so many different hats and being able to change them at a moments notice.
Being a mumpreneur is a very delicate job of juggling and balancing many things and is about so much more …
It’s about:
- Being brave
- Being creative
- Being focused
- Being determined
- Being passionate
- Being persistent
- Being the best we can be
It’s also about motivating yourself and nurturing yourself at the same time.
To do all this and be all this, we need to take care of ourselves and find time for total self care, so start today by taking just ten minutes to connect with your inner self and tell her she is loved, appreciated, recognised and you are so proud of what she’s achieved.
Then, every day, take a moment to remember how totally amazing you are!
Hi Heather,
Along with your beautiful, diverse, and all-inclusive definition of ‘mumpreneur’, this is my favorite line in your post: “Then, every day, take a moment to remember how totally amazing you are!”
We mums forget to do that sometimes, don’t we? I believe it’s because, by nature and by instinct, we get totally immersed in taking care of others. It’s what mums do! And we’re good at it.
But I don’t think it’s a bit selfish to put ourselves first once in a while. In doing so, everyone around us reaps the benefits. 🙂
Thanks for sharing the entire ‘hat rack’ of mumpreneurs!
Melanie Kissell @SoloMompreneur recently posted..First Ever “No Questions Asked” Interview
Melanie,
Thanks so much ~ you’re absolutely right, we’re SO good at putting ourselves last. But when we do put ourselves first, everyone benefits. I’m on a mission to help every mum (and mumpreneur) put herself first – WooHoo! Thanks Melanie – you’re totally amazing! Have a wonderful weekend xx
Excellent post, Heather! Very beautifully laid out and I love that you highlight the specialness of being a mumpreneur. To do it successfully really does take bringing all these skills and talents together. It is so easy to forget all that goes into making it all happen. (Of course mums are used to that! LOL)
Columbia Jones recently posted..Final Exams are Coming – Look Ahead Now for Big Success on Finals
Columbia,
Welcome and thank you for your kind words.
You are right! So often we do forget what it takes and we forget to value ourselves.
Thanks for the reminder xx
I’m still on maternity leave and I can’t imagine trying to run my own business as well! I’m due to go back to full time work in June, and that should work fine, but when we eventually go for number two I’ve a feeling I’m going to have to rethink my work options and I have to say: being a Mumpreneur simply looks like flippin’ hard work!
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Hi Mother Badger and welcome,
You’re so right! – being a mumpreneur isn’t the easy option, but the pay-offs for a lot of mums outweigh the challenges.
I love that you’ve taken a year off to get to know Baby Badger ~ what a wonderful gift for both of you.
Enjoy
Heather x
[…] They list blog posts from bloggers in the niche on a particular topic. Our group was from the parenting blogsphere and were primarily mummy bloggers and mumpreneurs. Our topic was Work Life Balance and my post was What is a Mumpreneur? […]
Great post. I really do think it’s difficult for people to understand what a mumpreneur is. Many seem to think because you’re looking after children and running your business from home that you have loads of time on your hands and are ‘playing’. It’s an awful lot of hard work and a lot of juggling. But well worth it when it goes right…
Love the logo. I might print that out & hang it in my office 🙂
Thanks Sarah,
Isn’t the logo wonderful – says it all really.
We’ve named her ‘Bliss’ because even though she’s juggling a lot of things, she looks totally serene.
Hx
. . . brave, creative, focused, determined, passionate, persistent, loved, appreciated, proud. . .
Fab post, Yes these are the qualities you need to be a mumpreneur and it is hard work, but very enjoyable and exceptionally rewarding when it pays off.
Thanks Kizzy,
You’re so right!
It feels wonderfully rewarding when we see what we are achieving.
Thanks for dropping by.
Heather x
Lovely post, thanks for sharing it!
Thanks Jen,
Great to see your business growing and getting out and about in the blogging world. Lovely to have you here.
Heather x
Every one of these reasons resonates with me, Heather:
The need to earn a living in order to support our family
The wish to find a flexible solution to our complex needs
The dream of being creative and express our talents
The desire to be recognised for our skills
The yearning to have our full potential realised
I’m so glad we met online so I can follow your brilliance! Your ideas and tips make me feel like I’ve found my tribe.
I remember my mum always said that she has never felt she was taken seriously running her own business from home. She was always there to drop us off and pick us up from school and take us to ours clubs etc. I think because people saw her daily they didn’t believe that she was trying to work full time as well. What they didn’t realise was that once we were all in bed, out would come the sewing machine and the next customers curtains would be made.
Now I can really understand how she felt. Having set up a business, working from home, juggling the children, husband, dog and chickens, I sometimes feel it’s only other women who know how hard it is to be in our many roles we have to play throughout the day.
That said, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’m not really one to work for someone else, and enjoy being able to be there for the children at the end of the day, (well most days, depending on their moods and how much homework there is to do!!!).
Motivation is something I find hard at times, but having come across your site Heather, I am really trying to do my 10mins of time out a day to re-focus and become more productive.
Thanks for the article,
Amy
Amy Murphy-Watts, you are so right! I feel that an awful lot of people who know me think I am ‘playing’at trying to get my business going – usually people who know me from before I was doing this. I find the Mumpreneur network so important to me as these fantastic ladies value each other, share ideas, promote and help each other and most importantly – take me serious about the business I’m trying to build.
This blog is an important part of that inner value as each week I read about other, everyday mums who have had an idea and run with it as well as managing their homes and families. Thank you Heather for introducing me to this inspirational network xxx