:: Baton Rouge Business Report :: Mom entrepreneurs on rise Friday, July 29, 2011
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Mom entrepreneurs on rise By Maggie H. Richardson (Contact) Monday, March 8, 2010 Post on Twitter
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To her substantial network of e-mail subscribers, Facebook fans and Twitter followers, soapmaker Elizabeth Hill recently announced her latest product: a red-beans-and -rice massage bar meant to soothe the skin with all-natural ingredients. It joined dozens of Hill’s other creations, items like naturally dyed bath salts, shea-butter lotions, handmade lip balm and Hill’s signature sugar scrub, all sold through her online marketplace and at the Saturday Red Stick Farmers Market downtown. Hill launched the venture, Handmade at Homestead, in 2007 after swearing off the rat race. She had worked under Gov. Kathleen Blanco as communications director for the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, followed by a two-year stint at the Road Home program. She says the combination of grueling hours and post-Katrina workplace stress left her with negligible life-work balance.
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“I had no time for my family,” Hill says. “I’d look at my son and say, ‘I don’t even know you anymore.’” After resigning, she thought long and hard about her next move. Like many corporate dropouts, she found the answer in a personal hobby. Years earlier, she had begun making soaps, lotions and lip balms for friends and family. The response had been positive, and she began to toy with the idea of a line with a clear brand and purpose. She started creating all-natural products, many from familiar foods, which would provide a chemical-free alternative to the expanding market of socially conscious consumers.
Did the Metro Council d introducing the $748 m discussion?
Today, Hill is among the substantial community of so-called mom entrepreneurs, who have turned personal interests into small businesses.
Yes, the council did the issue
While her story sounds easy, she says it’s not all fun and games.
No, the council should h next month
“It has its challenges,” she says. “I did not have a lot of experience with the business side. I like the creative. And it was really hard to gain respect. I’d tell people, especially people I already knew, that I was CEO of my company, and they’d just laugh.” Hill pressed on, making several moves that yielded good results. She tapped into local resources, including small-business technical assistance through Louisiana Economic Development, where she learned the basics of developing a business plan, going after capital and launching a new brand.
http://www.businessreport.com/news/2010/mar/08/mom-entrepreneurs-rise/
No, the council should h ballot for the voters to dec Don't know
7/29/2011
:: Baton Rouge Business Report :: Mom entrepreneurs on rise The other half of the equation was her relentless use of online resources. Through Google groups, issue-based forums and trade associations equipped with online chats, Hill learned from a new community of soapmakers and small-business owners what it would take to effectively run her small venture.
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Social networking is an essential ingredient for women launching small businesses from home, often under tight time constraints, says Traci Bisson, founder of The Mom Entrepreneur virtual community, adding the field has grown considerably. “When I started in business in 2000, there was nothing out there in the way of resources. Today, the field has really exploded.” Bisson started The Mom Entrepreneur after a downturn in her public-relations company. With less revenue coming in as a result of the national recession, she made a radical move. “I decided to take my son out of day care and find out what the online world was all about,” she says. As Bisson cast about for resources, she discovered many other women were doing the same. It gave her an idea: Rather than continue exclusively in PR, Bisson created a Web site that compiled information and delivered discussion opportunities for mom entrepreneurs looking for help. Today, the site has 1,100 members. “It really has amazed me how many women are interested in working at home and see leaving the corporate field as a viable option,” she says. Among Bisson’s rules of thumb are to keep the networking lines open and to remain confident. If you lack knowledge in a certain area, seek it out. The by-product of online networking, Hill says, is that she’s now comfortable with up-to-theminute social marketing and managing an online storefront. Nobody there laughs about her being CEO.
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Comments Posted by amynolan on March 11, 2010 at 2:35 p.m. (Suggest removal) Great article on mom-entrepreneurs - what I like to call the "new corporate America." I joined the ranks of mom business owners and love the work-life balance I have now achieved. I agree that social media has been a tremendous tool for helping me to connect with other PR pros as well as potential clients. Thanks for this article in Business Report!!
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7/29/2011