Are you a parent with entrepreneurial aspirations? Then you may just be the next “Mompreneur” or “Dadpreneur”!
Contrary to what many might suppose, parents make great entrepreneurs, since many of the skills learned and applied as a parent are equally applicable to a successful business career. For example, both parents and business owners need to be goal-oriented, good planners, super-organized, focused on the finances, team-builders and fiercely tenacious, to name just a few!
So how do you channel all these skills into entrepreneurship? Here are some tips and ideas for finding and starting the business of your dreams while managing the conflicting demands of your new life.
Finding the Right Type of Business for You
When we think of small business we often think of main street stores and family-owned businesses, however the economy and other modern pressures have created a new breed of entrepreneur centered on the home. Home-based businesses offer a vast array of opportunities for parent-entrepreneurs who need the cost-efficiencies and flexibility that a home-office brings.
From home-based franchise opportunities (now one of the most popular sectors of the franchise industry), to in-home childcare and food production businesses, the choices are endless.
Alternatively, if you are looking to go into business without too many overheads or financial investment, then freelancing your skills is a great way to go. Freelancing also gives you a great deal of flexibility to work the hours you want.
The following articles and resources can help you assess which type of business is right for you:
- Guide to Business Types and Industries – This guide from Business.gov provides information on assessing and starting specific business types (home-based businesses, women-owned businesses, franchises, and so on) and industry segments.
- Becoming a Freelancer – Assessing your Readiness to Be your Own Boss and Tips for Getting Started
- Tips for Finding the Right Home-Based Business Opportunity
- Before You Start Your Home-Based Business: Do Some Due Diligence
- Starting a Home-Based Franchise Business – 6 Steps to Help You Find the Right Opportunity
What’s Your Business Idea?
If you’ve got the entrepreneurial itch but don’t know how to scratch it, it may be because you can’t settle on the right business idea. For example, what floated your boat last week might not this week. Or, perhaps, someone turned you off your original idea based on their experiences or market insight.
Whatever is keeping you from pursuing your idea, read these 6 Tips for Finding a Business Idea and Turning it into an Entrepreneurial Reality for help in identifying a business idea that both floats your boat and fits with your core competencies and goals.
Starting your Business
Once you have an idea and a business plan in place (read this article with tips on simplifying the planning process), you’ll need to follow a deliberate series of steps to ensure you start and operate your new business venture in accordance with business law.
This might appear obvious but entrepreneurs often overlook or aren’t aware of the legal and regulatory requirements that go along with being a business owner.
To help guide you through the process, Busines.gov lists 10 Steps to Starting a Business which walk you through the process of registering your business with the government, as well as provide advice on zoning laws and the types of licenses or permits you may need based on your business type and location. You can also read more about the start-up process in Business.gov’s Start a Business Guide.
What about Child Care?
If you need a helping hand to manage the kids while you are at meetings or facing an unexpected deadline, finding flexible child care arrangements can be tough. There is however, an IRS tax credit for childcare expenses if you pay someone to care for your dependent who is under age 13. The credit can be up to 35% of your expenses. To qualify, you must pay these expenses so you can work or look for work.
Managing Work/Life Balance
So you made it, you’re a business owner. Being your own boss is great and that old “Monday morning feeling” is a thing of the past! But all of a sudden you have a whole new set of demands – balancing kids, family, and your business (sometimes all under the same roof).
But how is your business working out for you on a personal level? Are you wasting time on the micro-tasks and ignoring the big picture? Is your family seeing more or less of you? Are you feeling isolated now that you’ve gone it alone? What about child-care?
These articles offer quick tips and ideas for helping mom- and dadpreneurs manage the new demands of business ownership within the context of family life.
- Six Tips for Juggling Home-Based Business Success with Home Life Busy-ness!
- 4 Ways to Combat the Isolation and Loneliness of Being Your Own Boss
- Suffering from Business Burn Out? Fight Back with these Six Tips
Are you a mompreneur or dadpreneur? How did you get started and manage the highs and lows of being a parent and an entrepreneur?
Additional Resources
- Resources for Working Mothers - The National Institutes of Health (NIH) points to many online media and organizations who specifically provide support, advice and resources for working mothers.
- For Women Business Owners: Five Essential Resources to Help you Start, Grow and Expand Your Business
- Starting and Growing an Online Business – An Entrepreneur’s Checklist
- Licensing Requirements for Home-Based Businesses
- Can a Home-Owner’s Association Ban your Home-Based Business
Small Business Matters is brought to you by Business.gov to provide helpful and easy-to-understand tips for small and home businesses, including direct links to resources that help business owners to navigate the government maze. Business.gov is sponsored by the U.S. Small Business Administration to provide small business owners with access to federal, state and local government resources from a single access point. Business.gov creates a dialogue among business owners and the organizations serving them, making government resources and information more accessible to the nation's small business community. The U.S. Government and the U.S. Small Business Administration neither endorses nor guarantees in any way the external organizations, services, advice, or products included in any external website links. Furthermore, the U.S. government neither controls nor guarantees the accuracy.
