Photo Credit: iStock.com/Artist's aomist.
Women have proven to make great entrepreneurs. Not only are their companies more resilient to financial and market crises, studies from Kauffman Foundation and Dow Jones company show that companies led by women produce 12% more revenue with 33.3% less capital. And if that female entrepreneur is a mom, you can bet that she’s going to take her business places.
From the minute the stork delivers her bundle of joy, a mompreneur learns five important skills that help her outperform her peers:
With Mother’s Day 2016 just a few days away, let’s shed the light on 10 American mompreneurs who continuously prove that motherhood is far from a barrier to achieving greatness and building a brand in the business world. Who knows? Maybe you too will follow these Stay-At-Home Mom turned Mompreneurs.
Holly Hanna made it to the list of successful mompreneurs by helping other mompreneurs. Through her website, The Work at Home Woman, she offers women the chance to enjoy the benefits of telecommuting and home-based businesses. From affiliate marketing to event planning and all the way to funds management, there are many home-based positions offered through the site from leading corporations such as Dell, The Nielsen Company, and JPMorgan Chase. Holly also offers valuable advice and recommendations for work at home moms through her blog and separate guides on her site.
Combining her expertise in the Sales/Customer Service and Training industry with her experience as a mother of three athletic children, Krista Woods came up with the idea of GloveStix. An odor management system, it can be placed into the glove or shoes of athletes to absorb moisture, eliminate odors, and prevent the growth of odor-causing bacteria. Krista recently received a spot in the limelight when her product was chosen as the TODAY Show’s Next Big Thing and sold out on QVC’s Saturday Morning Q.
The mom of four children, Haley Lynn Gray has several successful businesses as well as a popular consulting practice. Via Leadership Girl, she offers to empower female entrepreneurs through coaching and business resources. Her team also provides virtual business services, including creating graphics, how to become a better writer, and handling invoicing and billing. She also offers unique home care services to the elderly through her other venture Extension of You Home Care. When she isn’t serving her clients, Haley is busy coming up with a new book to follow up ‘Choosing a Caregiver: Expect the Best and Know How to Ask for It’ and ‘Leadership Girl: Empowering Women Entrepreneurs to Achieve Extraordinary Results by Capturing Massive Sales’.
After receiving a 2012 Huggies Mom Inspired Grant, Lisa Cash Hanson gained fame as the inventor of the Snuggwugg baby pillow. The pillow offers to keep babies calm and busy during travel, shopping, and even diaper changes. Snuggwugg received a lot of attention, earning the title of ‘Coolest Parenting Product 2015’ from BuzzFeed and getting featured on the Steve Harvey Show. Innovation aside, Lisa offers social media management courses and coaching to budding entrepreneurs. That way, they can grow their business and generate traffic, sales, and publicity.
Kim Sutton took a leap of faith when she decided to leave both her job and ex-husband to embark on a new life. The mother of five never regrets her decision as it inspired her to establish Sutton Creative Studios. The company recently expanded beyond virtual assistance and graphic design to provide social media marketing, web design, and business consulting via a separate division: Sutton Strategic Solutions. Kim has another baby on the way, but she’s still as active as a consultant and strategist and speaker.
Kimberly Bryant launched Black Girls Code to provide young African American girls and pre-teens with the chance to learn the skills required in the IT and computer programming fields. She has designed and implemented community outreach programs like workshops to educate underprivileged girls. In July 2015, Kimberly became part of the two-year, cohort-based program Pahara-Aspen Institute Fellow. Through it, she’s contributing to improve public schools for low income communities.
Cinnamon Burnim Bowser is the mind behind Nail Taxi, a unique mobile nail boutique. She came up with the idea when her nine-month pregnant friend wanted a pedicure before delivering her new baby but couldn’t find such a service. Since 2005, Nail Taxi has provided a wide range of manicures, pedicures, and additional services like paraffin treatment. Inspired by the success of her venture, Cinnamon established Get Polished Agency to provide experienced and professional nail technicians to advertisers, publishers, and entertainers.
One of the newest additions to the mompreneurs community, Soraya Hanzus established The New York Studio of Irish Step Dance. Through the school, she offers her 20 years of experience as a professional dancer and instructor. She also co-founded Hungry Watching, a food and entertainment blog. In addition to writing food-related posts, she manages the blog’s social media platforms. Another venture Soraya co-founded is NY Auto Graphix, a company that provides vinyl wraps and graphics for all automotive vehicles.
Winner of the 2014 Don Quijote Award for Hispanic Business of the Year and the 2015 TUMI USA Award for Professional of the Year, Monica Oganes is a licensed school psychologist. She founded Monica Oganes & Associates to provide evaluations, consultation, diagnostics, and therapy to children, teens and adults alike. With her team, she offers to help her patients overcome a range of issues, including reading disabilities, behavioral issues, anxiety, and autism. Monica hopes she can help in nurturing happy families and giving the youth a brighter future.
Rachel Kline established HighleyDesigned Marketing & Creative to help businesses establish an authentic web presence within a budget. Through her business, she offers social media marketing, blogging and copywriting services, web and graphic design, and SEO. When she isn’t working closely with a client, Rachel dedicates her time to her toddler and dog. Her Instagram page proves just how much she loves those two.
These 10 are just a handful of mompreneurs who showed their families and employees that mom’s the boss. There are hundreds more who work hard every day to contribute a little extra to their growing families and their societies. To all, I wish you a Happy Mother’s Day and may you be showered with the gift every mother deserves. Here’s to you being the first role model for your young ones and other moms stepping into the world of entrepreneurship.
Kelvin Stiles is a tech enthusiast and works as a marketing consultant at SurveyCrest – FREE online survey software and publishing tools for academic and business use. He is also an avid blogger and a comic book fanatic.