"Mumpreneurship" is a term that has been around for some time now. It's generally used to refer to stay-at-home mums who are able to start and sustain their own businesses while raising children. While such a task still sounds like it's just about impossible to plenty of people, the endless wave of success stories in the news is increasingly epreneurs Contuencouraging.
The fact is, as the Internet has become easier and easier to manage, mumpreneurs have gained significant advantages when it comes to running businesses from home. This is, of course, a broad statement, and we wouldn't want to unfairly encompass all stay-at-home mums with small businesses as "Internet entrepreneurs." Some mums and other small business owners do things completely differently. However, there's no denying that more convenient Internet use—as in easier web design for average users, e-commerce sites, improved storage on devices, etc.—has helped spawn the modern trend of wildly successful mumpreneurs.
This past April, The Telegraph wrote an article on the rise of mumpreneurship, specifically linking it to the rise of childcare costs as well. The article cites an average annual cost of childcare (for two children in a single household) at £12,000, which (it goes without saying) is more than many parents are able to pay using their ordinary jobs. Thus, many families are opting to start small side businesses, and it's often the mums—on maternity leave and in the years to come—who end up in charge. Also, the businesses run by these mums typically involve cultivating a strong online presence.
The primary focus of the article is on My Clear Space, a home "de-cluttering" and organization service run by mother-of-two Alison Fredericks. The site offers a unique brand of home 
cleaning service, providing something a lot of people need by simply marketing Fredericks's eye for organization. A creative communications resource and a research consultancy are also highlighted, ultimately pointing to numerous well-run websites that serve as foundations for their founding mums' small businesses, advertising unique services and talents.
While those businesses make use of mums' talents and experience via offering services online, there is also a rise in mumpreneurs using their own websites to sell crafts and goods they design at home. Just this month the Times Colonist did a write-up on the children's clothing industry Tootsa's Kate Pietrasik, highlighting designer/owner Kate Pietrasik as a mother who's used her own creative ability—and a keen observation about the market—to start a small business.
Pietrasik's Tootsa's Kate, an Internet-based kids' clothes boutique, seeks to provide fashionable but gender-neutral clothing for kids. And in doing so, it's filling a surprisingly large gap in the kids' clothing space. Pietrasik is one of many women taking a similar approach in the world of crafts and art. They use their talents to create product lines offering unique selections to the public, and it's all done through in-house creation, web design, and advertising via social networking and word of mouth.
All things considered, the rise in successful mumpreneurship has been an inspiration to families all over the world. The best part about it is that most mums with success stories are simply utilizing skills, experience, and abilities they already possessed. Starting a small business once meant that you had to make a huge investment in hiring employees, finding an office space, etc. While no one should expect a free or easy ride now, you can definitely make the argument that it can be done from home with a marketable skill and a little Internet savvy.
This article was submitted by
Monica Lory,
Mum and Writer
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