Preface

Mom entrepreneur. It’s one of those phrases that has a lot of emotion behind it for some people. Why not woman entrepreneur?. Or just entrepreneur?. Some of our contributors bristled a bit when we mentioned the title and that we were writing specifically for mom entrepreneurs. For some, these words conjure up thoughts of not being taken seriously. Of not being thought of as a “real” entrepreneur. Or of being limited in some other way. As it turns out, using the word mom as a qualifier is a bit controversial.

For some of the women we spoke with, being labeled a mom entrepreneur comes with a huge responsibility. Because society still treats business owners who are also moms as a fairly new thing, or even as a novelty of sorts, some of these women feel as though it’s up to them to pave the way. It’s up to them to make sure that they succeed. To these women, it feels like a lot is riding on them having successful and happy lives with the path they’ve chosen. It reminds us of something Clare Booth Luce said: “Because I am a woman, I must make unusual efforts to succeed. If I fail, no one will say, ‘She doesn’t have what it takes.’ They will say, ‘Women don’t have what it takes.’” Substitute the word mom for woman, and the stakes seem even higher.

For our purposes, mom entrepreneur means just that: a business owner who is a mom, or, if you prefer, a mom who is a business owner. What that looks like for each person is unique. For some, that may mean you only work while your children are at school or napping. For others, it may mean you run a large corporation and work long hours away from home. It doesn’t matter what it looks like as long as what you do works for you. Sheryl Sandberg has gotten a lot of criticism for her book Lean In, but what she does beautifully throughout the book is point out that leaning in looks different for different women. We’ve got to stop comparing ourselves to others. We’ve got to stop feeling bad for the choices we’ve made. And we’ve got to stop judging each other for choices that don’t involve us.

Moms Mean Business aims to help mom business-owners create a path for success in their careers and in their personal lives that fits with who they are and what they want for themselves and their families.