8 Strategies For Starting A Small Business As A New Mom

Starting a Small Business as a New Mom

Women, especially moms are very well known for their ability to multitask. But can they actually juggle their newly motherhood status and starting a small business? The answer is there is nothing a mom can’t do!

However, starting a business no matter how big or small can be a tricky thing in the beginning. That’s why we decided to gather a couple of strategies that can help you out in your entrepreneurial endeavor.

You don’t have to give up your passion and desire to own a small business just because you’re a mom. You can manage everything you set your mind to.

1. Do a thorough research

Starting any business requires thorough research of your market opportunity. This means that there is a lot to consider before actually starting your business.

The first thing to do is decide on the type of product or service you’ll be offering to your clients. This is important because once you have this figured out, it’ll be easier to plan how to be different from the competition and how to be unique in what you decide to do. This all might be obvious, but still, it’s the step that you should not overlook.

The next part of the research is to define who will be the users of your services or buyers of your products. This basically means that you have to know the gender, age and similar information about your costumers.

Then comes the part of getting to know your competitors. This might sound a bit daunting but having and knowing your competitors is a good thing. Having competitors means that the business you’re planning to start is in demand. Knowing your competitors means being able to identify and compare what the costumers love and hate. This way you will be ready for what comes next.

Don’t let this whole research process scare you or deter you from starting your business. Yes, this process can be long and boring, that’s why our recommendation is to maybe do this part while you have time – during your pregnancy for example. The whole point of research is to be ready for what comes next.

2. Have a plan

Planning is what comes next. Having a good business plan is half a job done, however, keep in mind that this business plan doesn’t have to be your final plan.

You have already determined pretty much everything that needs to be in this business plan when you were doing the research. What follows is determining the nature of your business, marketing strategy, finances, and sales. You also have to be sure of the kind of directions you want to take for the future of your business. This is basically setting straight whether you want to self-fund your business or if you want investors.

You should also arm yourself with a lot of patience when it comes to finding funding. It’s still so much easier for men to find funding than for women. And it will probably be even more difficult when people find out that you’re a new mom.

Regardless of whether you’re opening a franchise or a business, there are ways to find funding and these include microloans, crowdfunding, and angel investors, grants, and even friends and family to name a few.

3. Start small and start from home

Patience is the key when starting any business. You should be aware that in order to get to the big leagues you’ll have to start small. Have your goals always in mind and work your way slowly and patiently towards them.

Nothing happens overnight, so this won’t either. Wanting something right now will only make you disheartened and annoyed if you don’t get it. Patience and diligence will slowly get you towards your goal.

Working from home and starting a business also from home can be easier to handle for you as a new mom. It’s especially convenient if a business you’re starting involves the internet and your laptop – graphic designing, online stores, etc.

This way you can balance both your obligations as a new mom and your new business. No one says this will be easy, but at least you’ll be at the same place.

A lot of moms are managing running their households and their business just fine. The key is to find a way to balance both of these. And for this too, you’ll need a lot of patience and time.

4. Build a support system and learn to ask for help

Don’t be afraid to ask for help and to admit that you’re overwhelmed. You have a new baby, and you’re passionate about starting a new business but doing everything on your own will only make you more exasperated. And being frustrated is not good for you nor for your baby.

There are sites and groups where you can get support and advice for people who are just starting their business. Here you can share your worries, ask for advice and build invaluable connections.

Find a reliable accountant, attorney or someone who will mentor you through this whole process.

Also, rely on your friends and family. Don’t start this journey without their support and help. Having support and people standing behind you is really important when starting a business, and especially if you’re a new mom starting a small business for the first time.

5. Manage your time and organize your space

Starting a business and then running it, and then running a household and having a new baby on top of all that can be extremely time-consuming.

Because of this knowing how to manage your time in the right manner is really important. If you’re working from home lines can get blurred, and suddenly you can find yourself working overtime or having trouble staying focused.

Knowing how to manage your time can be of great help. Start creating to-do lists before starting anything. Write down on a piece of paper everything that needs to be done that day. By doing this, you’re making it easier for yourself to keep track of what you’ve done and what yet needs to be done.

Have your goals and plans set clear and it will be easier for you to know what’s a priority and what you don’t have to worry about any longer.

Making a schedule

Also, you can make a schedule with all the things that need to be done and all the time you’ve got. These kinds of things – lists and schedules are lifesavers for most working moms.

 Moreover, we all know that no one multitasks better than mom, but you don’t have to. Try to concentrate on one separate task at a time, by focusing on only one task you’ll do it better and in a more efficient way.

Working from home knows to be much more chaotic than when you’re working from an actual office. That’s why it’s always a good idea to have your office space in your home. When you have an office space you close the door and separate yourself from what’s going on outside your office.

That is probably the only way you’ll be able to separate your business from your private life – at least for a bit. Having a baby and starting a business means that there is no such thing as really separating work from private life. You’ll just have to learn to deal with it.

6. Take care of yourself and take breaks

Juggling so much can be really stressful and nerve-racking. And the most important thing when you’re trying to do this new mom – new business thing is your health. Knowing when to take a break and how to take care of yourself is what will help a lot.

Yes, you want this business to take off and you want to take proper care of your child, but what about your health? Working too much can cause fatigue and it can lead you to get burned out too fast.

Don’t be afraid to hire help that can give you a hand with your child. Hiring a childcare provider is probably the wisest thing you can do. This will also be the biggest hire in your life – to choose the right person to take care of your child. If this is not an option for you, you can always ask your family to give you a hand.

Knowing that you have someone reliable there to take care of your child will make you feel a bit more relaxed. Plus, it will give you more space to take care of the business.

If you’re sick don’t work. Just because you work from home doesn’t mean that you should work when you’re sick. Moreover, not taking it easy and resting when you’re sick can only do more harm than good.

Additionally, when you’re sick, you’re not productive at all, your body is fighting to overcome the sickness. That’s why you need to let yourself rest and recuperate.

7. Training

Don’t let the opportunity to learn new things go to waste. When working from home you may not have the opportunity to go to training and skill development courses that companies usually provide. But that’s not the reason not to try to find your own ways to prosper and learn new things.

In this day and age of the internet and with access to all kinds of information, finding online training courses is a piece of cake.

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to learn something useful and important for your business. Additionally, the good thing about these courses is the fact that they’re online, which means that they can be flexible and you can incorporate them into your packed schedule.

You never know how you and your business can benefit from the new information you acquire by doing these training courses.

8. Business ideas for new moms

If you’re reading this it probably means that you already have an idea of what your business will be about. However, it’s never a bad idea to learn a bit more about your possibilities.

As a mom, the most convenient place to work from is your own home. So, here are some of the jobs that can be done from the comfort of your house.

First and the most obvious ones are the jobs that you can do with just your laptop and internet – web designers, graphic designers, social media managers, and so on.

Teaching is another job that can be done from home. English, Math, and music are just some of the classes that you can teach. You can do this through sites like Skype, or you can do it the good old way- by having a student come over to your place.

If your passion is fashion and you love to thinker with clothes and accessories, you can always find people who need alterations to their clothes. Or you can go a step further and create your own clothing pieces and sell them online.

On the other hand, if you’re more of a crafty person you can make your crats and arts and sell them as well, or you can teach people how to do it themselves. From creating jewelry to art pieces, the ideas are many.

Conclusion

Since we are in the area of selling online, you’ll be pleased to know that retail businesses are thriving online. If this is something that interests you, you can sell just about anything on the big vast internet. From sports equipment to garden supplies – anything that seems good to you.

New moms can be very good business owners. The key to a successful start of any business is thorough research and a good plan. Being passionate about starting a new business also matters and especially if you think you can handle having a newborn and a young business.

The balance between work and family is also something you should think about. Do you have the necessary support from your family, your spouse and your friends? Don’t start this business journey without someone supporting you.

Think about finances, don’t put them in the back of your mind. Knowing what to expect and having contingency plans is always a good idea.

No one says it won’t be difficult but it’ll be worth it.