5 Reasons Why You Need To Start An Etsy Store

If you’re a mompreneur or you hope to soon start a business, getting results quickly and making money is our main objective.

But when our results don’t match our expectations, we can quickly become disheartened and lose interest.  But if we stop working, all hope for success is lost.

The one simple trick for fast business results is a consistent effort.

Being consistent

You don’t have to be a prodigy or have a lot of degrees listed behind your name to be successful. You just need to show up every day willing to work without any credit or fanfare.

Being consistent matters for the same reason we make our kids practice the piano, violin, dance, painting (or whatever artistic expression they pursue).  Practice makes perfect.

This isn’t just true with our kids. It’s also true in mom’s life too.

The practice of mommying

For example, when you first became a mom, you didn’t know a whole hell of anything. But every day you nurtured, fed and loved your new little baby, and you learned something.

The daily practice of mothering made you a great mom. I read somewhere that it takes something like 10000 hours of doing anything to become an expert.  That means, as a mom dedicating 24 hours a day to mothering, it takes you just under 14 months to become a “mom expert” with each new kiddo.

Whether you wanted to become a ‘mom expert’ or not, you became one by virtue of having a baby. If we’re being honest, you may not even feel like a ‘mom expert’ but when you compare what YOU know now to what any childless woman knows about mothering, you are the expert.

The practice of becoming a mompreneur

Since practice makes perfect. If you want to be a successful mompreneur, you have got to be consistent in your work.  The very act of being consistent will do two things: allow you to plan and strategize.

For example, you’ll quickly discover what you DON’T know. Believe me. There may be a lot of things you don’t know. But by consistently (daily) working on your business, you’ll be able to plan and prioritize your professional development.

Since you’ll be working on your business daily (even a consistent 30 minutes counts), you’ll see what works (or doesn’t work) for your business, and you’ll be able to strategize. You’ll take steps to either expand or course correct the various parts of your business and work life.

Creating Fast Business Results – Be consistent

You want to create fast business results, but being consistent with your business may seem impossible (at first). Being consistent is one of those things that’d be nice to have, like a spa day or the ability to sleep all night without a small child needing you.

It’s not. Starting a business AND being consistent is not impossible.

When you’re first getting started, you’re not going to have a lot of time.  That’s ok (for tips on creating time read How To Make Time To Make Money

At the very beginning, you only need to find an hour. And the great news is that it doesn’t have to be all at once.  If you can’t sit down for 60 uninterrupted minutes, it’s really ok.  You can plan to do three chunks of 20 minutes.

When you only have 20 minutes of focused work time, you need to be super clear about what you want to accomplish.  To do this, you need to PLAN + STRATEGIZE in advance.

The Mompreneur Work Plan

This plan works from the very beginning and scales when you start to either have clients as a freelancer or as your business starts to make money and requires more time. At the very start of your business, focus on working one to two hours a day.  And as you grow, the plan will scale easily.

Step 1. Plan for 10 minutes before bed. Figure out what you have going on the next day, and squeeze in your work time.   You need at least 3 blocks of 20 minutes. If you can work for longer spans of time or more frequently, great.  It’s also ok if every day you work different hours. It’s your business.

Step 2. Strategize. Once you know WHEN and for how long you can work the next day, you need to figure out WHAT you’re going to do in each work interval.  Now the secret here is to be realistic about what you can actually accomplish over the course of your day. It may take a week or so for you to get a feel for your work rhythm.  The more consistent you are, the faster you’ll settle into this routine.

Use this 24-Hour Mama Planner to simplify your life.  This FREE PRINTABLE is exactly the planner I use for my own weekly work scheduling.  It’s simple but effective.

If you’re into planners, these Amazon weekly planners can also be helpful.

Step 3. Do the work.  So, you can’t do all of the planning and strategizing but not do the work. Being consistent in your work is the whole point of this.

That’s it. Get to work. What’s your biggest struggle as a mompreneur? Leave a message in the comments.

 

 

 

 

 

So you’re a new mompreneur and you love your business, but you’re not making a whole lot of money.  Sometimes you look at your business, your non-existent income, and all of the stuff you still don’t understand, and you feel like a fraud.  And you find yourself asking, Why would anyone hire me?  To get through these low moments, here are 10 mompreneur confidence hacks when you feel like a fraud.

1. Examine the facts

This may seem a bit naive, but it’s helpful, really.  Take a second and just look at the facts.  Are you in business?  Are you new to entrepreneurship?  Do you have business goals?  Are you creating products or services? Have you asked anyone to test the products or services for free?  What have they thought and what feedback did they provide?

If you can answer any or all of these questions then you’re most definitely NOT a failure. I would venture to say you’re just in process.  You’re in the creative process. If you can look at the list of questions above and see things that you haven’t done, get to work.  You’re not going to be a success if you don’t do the work.

So the next time you feel like a fraud, take a step back and examine the facts. Feeling like a fraud is temporary. It’s what my former life coach, Ileana Ferreras, used to call false evidence appearing real (FEAR). Feeling like a fraud is just a whole lota fear.

Next time, shake off the FEAR with facts. Facts never lead you wrong.

2. Everyone starts at the beginning.

This is a great sentence to print and post near your work area (or tape on the back of your laptop).

Everyone starts at the beginning.

And you’re no different than anyone else. You have to start from the beginning too.  Sometimes the beginning is slow and icky, especially if you want to start your business and skip over all of the learning and growing pains and head directly to the massive cash windfall and recognition that comes with the time and work.

You’re a mama, you didn’t just get pregnant one minute and have that baby the next month! You waited and nurtured that little baby in your body for 40 weeks before you ever met face to face.

This leads me to my next confidence hack for you.

3. Don’t compare your beginning to someone else’s middle.

In Tim Hiller’s book Strive: Life is Short, Pursue What Matters he says:

Don’t compare your beginning to someone else’s middle, or your middle to someone else’s end. Don’t compare the start of your second quarter of life to someone else’s third quarter.”

As a rule, comparing yourself or your business to anyone else is a recipe for bad feelings. Don’t do it.  Just be yourself. Do you.  You are on a personal journey that only you can walk. It may take you 10 months to meet your business goals while it takes someone else 5 years (or vice versa).

Be kind to yourself and remember you are walking a path that is meant for you (and only you).  Embrace your path and keep striving for your goals. Don’t let your circumstances deter you.

4. Visualize the future you’re working toward

This may sound a little “woo woo” to some of you but it works for me and is one of my daily practices. Every day, I take a few minutes to visualize how I want my business to look and how that business success will impact my family, me, and all of the people who I am able to bless with my gifts and talents.

For me, that looks like inspiring women from all walks of life and all over the world to start online businesses to create more flexibility, income, and financial independence for themselves and their kids. I want to see mothers fulfilled professionally while still being able to take an hour or two sit on the floor and play with their kids.

Those are the types of things I visualize because those are my personal and professional goals for my business, to create financial independence for my family and to support other women to do the same.

Practice visualization for a few minute a day. Even two minutes will help you. And as you build a muscle around visualization, you may choose to visualize for five minutes or more.

Hear me out. I’m not advocating visualization for the sake of daydreaming, but when you feel like a fraud, visualization may help remind you why you’re doing all of this work and help you slough off the negative emotion.

Give it a shot.

5. Do the unthinkable, and share it.

When we start to feel inadequate, we automatically shut down and isolate ourselves from others. We don’t share our feelings of inadequacy; we hide them. So, break the mold. Be brave and share your feelings with other entrepreneurs.

Join a Facebook group. There are plenty of mompreneur Facebook Groups out there. If you’re already a member of a Mompreneur Facebook Group and you usually just lurk and read other people’s posts, do something new and post a new thread or comment on someone else’s question.

If you have other mompreneur buddies, call a friend.

My point here is don’t allow yourself to wallow in that feeling alone. Share it with a friend and let them help you dig yourself out of the negative hole you’ve fallen in.

6. Accomplish ONE New Thing.

In my experience, feeling like a fraud is usually directly related to having not been productive. A quick fix for that is to identify ONE thing you can sit down and complete.

The feeling of completing something, following through on an action, and finally crossing it off of a to-do list is one of the most rewarding feelings (for me).

It’s a quick and easy way to wash away negative feelings and create a fresh perspective for yourself.

7. Find A Course

All of us have areas in our lives and in our businesses where we could benefit from learning a bit more. There’s nothing wrong with admitting you want to learn more about a certain topic related to your business. In fact, it’s an honorable thing to identify an area where you could use some improvement and take action.

The act of finding a course to help you learn more about a given subject matter is a wonderful way to allay feelings of unease or feelings of failure. Finding a free online course is always a quick and easy pick-me-up for me.

8.  Review (or create) monthly goals

When you feel like a fraud you’d generally think that reviewing your monthly goals (which you may not be meeting) is only going to make you feel worse.

Ok, so in the short term, maybe you’ll feel worse. However, if you review your monthly income goals (or create them if you don’t have them) you can create a realistic plan for achieving that income goal.

It may be that you need to focus on promotions a little differently or you may need to do more content creation. The thing is, when you look at your goal and compare it to your reality, you will have a better idea about how to start working to achieve your goals.

When you have a goal and you create a realistic plan to achieve that goal, you start to feel better because you have a plan that you can commit to achieving AND you start to realize how possible your goals are.

9. Join A Mastermind Group

Working with other mompreneurs (in person and online) is an amazing feeling. A Mastermind Group can be paid or free, and it’s a group of entrepreneurs who are looking for support, encouragement, and to network with like-minded entrepreneurs at all levels of business creation. They may be more advanced than they are or just starting out.

The more you network, the more you realize it’s not about how much experience you have or how long you’ve been in business, it’s just about you. Each person has different talents and skills to offer in any situation.  You have talents and stuff to work on—just like everyone else.

When you’re feeling down, a group like this is an amazing resource to dissect your business and laser in on the areas that may not be working optimally.

Mastermind groups are a bit tricky to find but ask around in your existing networks and if all else fails, create your own.

10. Have a naked dance party or exercise

I mentioned this earlier but feeling like a fraud is your mind playing tricks on you. You are not a fraud, and you just need to shake off that negative energy. So if none of the tips above work for you, have a naked dance party in the privacy of your room or go exercise (preferably with clothes).

Remember, this feeling you’ve got going is temporary. Don’t treat a temporary feeling like a permanent problem.  Let it go as quickly as it arrived.  Hopefully, these ten tips will help you shake off the feelings of fraud and embrace the fact that wherever you are in your business is exactly where you’re supposed to be right now. We all learn at different places and in the next moment, things could be totally different.

Being an entrepreneur is a rollercoaster; just hold on!

What do you do when you feel like a fraud in your business or things aren’t going the way you want? Leave a comment below.

Anyone can be a nomad, but first, you need a career webover. What is a nomad career webover?

A nomad career webover is the process of transforming your career by using your existing skills,  education, and personal hobbies to create a web-based business. Your career webover is what will allow you to become a nomad.

Now, before you get confused, at Nomad Mom Life, being a nomad is just as much of a mental mindset as it is a physical description. You can have a permanent home and be a nomad.

Once you have a business (or a job) that allows you to have the flexibility to be a stay-at-home mom and work from anywhere in the world you choose, you are a nomad. You can also be an actual nomad, like me, who travels the world with her family and works wherever she finds wifi.

DIY Career Webover

Now that you know WHAT a nomad career webover is, you need to understand how to DIY your own career webover.

Generally, I like to say there are three phases to your nomad career webover.

1. Self-Reflection + Brainstorming.

Starting anything new requires demands that you examine yourself. You need to take a look at your lessons, learning and loves. Examine your work, professional, personal, and academic skills and experiences.

At this point, it’s not about finding a money-making idea as much as you’re trying to find a synergy between your skills and your joy.

The foundation for your nomad career webover requires you to find the synergy between your joy and your actual skills.  Because ultimately, if you don’t enjoy what you do—or worse—you don’t have sufficient proficiency, your online business won’t succeed.

At the end of this brainstorming exercise, you need to have a general idea of WHAT you’d like to do. For instance, you could write, provide graphic design, make jewelry, do YouTube videos, provide tax preparation assistance, you name. You can do it.

Ok, so here’s a caveat.  At this point in your business, you don’t have to be an expert, but you do have to enjoy the work enough to WANT to become an expert.  So if you love graphic design, but you’re not the BEST designer, it’s fine. You just have like and know enough about graphic design to take the courses and do the work to become the BEST designer.

Remember, getting started isn’t about being an expert. It’s about starting.

Once you find where your joy and your skills intersect, it’s time to form a business.

2. Business Formation

Phase number two is business formation. Now, full disclaimer, I can’t help you with the legal aspects of business formation, because each location has different legal and administrative requirements. I can help you create a business model for the purposes of starting to make an income online, using the self-reflection and brainstorming you completed in phase 1.

Creating a business can be intense and a bit scary.  Before you get started, here are two great points to remember. First, everything is changeable and second, if you don’t know how to do something there’s a good chance you can either figure it out on your own or find someone (free or paid) to explain it to you.

So now that you have a general idea of WHAT you want to do, let’s get started on your business creation.

Identify Your Audience or Customer

As an employee, you work for a company. They’re your client. They hire, employ, and pay you.  As a business owner, you get to decide who you want your clients to be. So, you need to understand WHO you want to work for.

If you want to create YouTube tutorials on makeup applications or fun hairstyles, you need to know WHO you want to be watching the videos. The same is true for a graphic designer, a freelance writer, a health coach, a bookkeeper, or a consultant.  Who do you want to hire you?

Communicate With Your Audience

Now that you know WHO you want to work with you, it’s time to meet them and talk with them. That means you need to create a way to find where they hang out online and invite them to hang out with you.

You may be thinking, I don’t have anything to communicate.  I don’t have anything to sell.

Right. You don’t and that’s a good thing, for now.

When you meet someone, you don’t automatically launch a product or service in their face.  No. They would most like be appalled, perhaps a bit offended, and they most certainly wouldn’t buy from you. After all, they don’t know you, yet.

Enter your communications. You need to meet the people who you want to hire you. And since you’re starting an online business, you need to meet them online.

At this point, you may be asking… So, how do you meet people online?

Well, you need to create an online platform. Ideally, you’d create a blog/website with your own domain. If you need help getting started, I did an overview on How To Start A Blog. 

Now, if for whatever reason, you can’t or don’t want to start a blog right now, you could create a public, Facebook Page.

The point here is to start creating targeted content that you can share publicly to find your ideal audience/customer. Then, start getting to know them. Figure out what they like, want, and need because the success of your career webover will depend entirely on your ability to create content, products, and services that your customers like, want, and need.

Create A Great Freebie + Start A List

As you’re building an audience of ideal customers, create something free to gauge their interest in the products or services you plan to offer. As a health coach, it could be something as simple as a free kid-friendly snack recipe, and you could offer it as a PDF for download. Whatever you create, be innovative and generous. Give more away for free than you’re comfortable giving. And try to add tremendous value to your ideal customer.

If you use a free email marketing and database service like MailChimp or Drip, you can start collecting email addresses of the people who love your free product. These are your people, and you need to get to know them so that you provide them with the services and products they want and need.

Create Your First Paid Offer

By this point, you should have a pretty clear idea of who your audience/client is and what he/she needs. If your first great freebie was a success, you could build on it and create a product or service that provides even more value than the freebie.

From here, the goal of your business is to create and price products or services in a way that benefits your customers and adds value to their lives.

3. Plan To Be A Full-Time Digital Nomad Mom

Remember, you can be a digital nomad mom from your laptop in your kitchen in the ‘burbs. Being a nomad mom is about creating location-independent income and having the options to live and work wherever you want.

So, once you create you launch your first product or service, you have a baby business. However, to complete your career webover, you need to make a full-time income from this baby business and sometimes, that takes time.  Most digital nomad moms aren’t overnight successes, but you have to plan to go full-time with your business. Here’s what you need to do:

Start A Monthly Profit and Loss Statement

Determine how much money you need monthly to make a full-time income. Remember, you also need to take into account how much money it takes to run your business. The best way to do this is to start a profit and loss statement that list your business expenses and your business income.

When your business is covering your expenses, you’re making revenue.  Figure out how much you need to make monthly to cover your expenses, have enough money to support yourself and your family, AND pay taxes.  Don’t forget to factor in taxes; they are sneaky, but most people (no matter their country of residence)  have to pay some form of taxes.  So, everyone’s ideal amount of profit will vary substantially.

Set An Income Goal

Based on your profit and loss statement, set an income goal that states: By X date, my business will earn Y income.   Then work backward from that “X” date to create a monthly marketing/advertising plan to meet that goal.   Just work diligently toward your goal.  You may not always hit them, but you’ll move closer to your full-time income number with each goal you set.

Final Thoughts

Giving yourself a career webover is not easy.  It’s a constant uphill battle and only those willing to keep working, even when it’s hard and not quite working, are the ones who ultimately succeed in their nomad mom career webovers.  Don’t expect to be an overnight success.  Expect instead to work for six months to a year before you actually start build traction, but know (and remember) that the ability to create your own income and bless others with your product(s) or service(s) is a gift for you, your family and all who benefit from your services or product offerings. Invest in your gifts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The post contains some affiliate links. Review my disclosure for more info.

It’s safe to say now that it’s cool for moms to start businesses. There’s even a cool name for us, mompreneur.  Get it? Mom plus entrepreneur!  Genius.

So more and more moms are starting businesses.  Blogs, Freelance Consulting, Multi-Level Marketing, Crafting, Etsy, Coaching, Traditional Brick & Mortar shops, Catering, Cake Decorating, YouTube vblogging.

You name it. I know moms doing it. And they’re still homeschooling, watching kids, keeping house, cooking meals, grocery shopping, changing diapers, and keeping their family on a budget, one cup of coffee at a time.

Can I just say… Moms kick serious ass.  Sorry for the profanity, and I know I’m biased (mom speaking), but the level and mix of pure talent, drive, love, and crazy that it takes to be a mompreneur is epic.

Mompreneurs are epic.  We rock.

So while most mompreneurs would love a BOSS MOM coffee mug or a call BOSS MOM t-shirt.…

When it comes to gift giving, why not give the mompreneur in your life something she can use??Here is the ultimate gift guide for the mompreneur in your life. 42 of the best mompreneur gifts.

Me Time

So, the number one most desired gift on this mompreneur’s list is ME TIME!  And no, I don’t want to just stay in bed, read romance novels, sip hot cocoa, and watch HGTV movies (although that sounds FABULOUS!).  I and most mompreneurs have a list of to-dos that need a nice chunk of uninterrupted time to complete. And with some consistent or at least planned chunk of ME TIME, most mompreneurs I know could cross some long-standing to-dos off their lists.

These are budget-friendly mompreneur-approved gifts that spouses, partners, friends, and even older kids can offer the mompreneur they love.

These gifts work best as gift cards. You can use the Nomad Mom Life Gift Certificate templates for your gifts. They’re the perfect gift for a mompreneur and they’re called “nomad mom” gift certificates because you can be in one state (or country) and give this gift to someone else.

1. Uninterrupted Work Time.

Having a consistent—even a one-time—opportunity to work without interruption is a mompreneur’s dream.  Create a gift certificate and gift your mompreneur an opportunity to have at least 2-hours of uninterrupted work time. You can gift uninterrupted work time by taking care of her responsibilities for a finite number of hours. The great thing is, you can do this yourself or pay to have this done. Your choice.

2. Weekend Away.

This is a BIG gift, and you can give your mompreneur the house for a weekend OR splurge on a hotel stay for her. However you do it, the point is to give her a comfortable weekend of time alone to work on her business or take a long nap. You’re giving her time to herself. How she spends it is up to her.

3. House help.

These gifts get more and more extravagant. So, your mompreneur isn’t just called an entrepreneur because she’s doing all the work of an entrepreneur AND a mom.  You can help for free though, and you have at least two options. You can either help with more housework OR you can hire someone to come help with the housework.  It’s up to you.

4. Childcare.

Having consistent or even occasional childcare is a godsend to the mompreneur. We love our kids, and we want to spend time with our kids. Our challenge is that we can’t spend time with our kids AND run our businesses at the same time. So having a safe trustworthy person watch our kids so we can concentrate only on our business is a fantastic gift.

You can go the free route which is to watch the kids yourself or you could go the paid route, paid childcare. The paid route includes babysitters, daycare, and even in-home au pairs.

Childcare swapping is a great budget-friendly gift for fellow-mompreneurs.  If you have a friend who is also running (or starting) a business, the two of you could gift each other childcare swapping.  That way, you guys give each other consistent childcare AND uninterrupted work time to dedicate to achieving your business goals.

5. Virtual Assistant Support.

Your mompreneur literally has more things to do in her day than she has hours to do them.  She’s constantly learning new things and stumbling along until she gets a handle on this business thing.  If you’re looking to give you mompreneur the ultimate gift, giving her a couple of hours with a virtual assistant (VA) would be spectacular. Check out this VA Finder through Gina Horkey.  Gina trains VAs. So she only recommends the absolute best.  Before you bulk at the expense, you should know that most VAs charge anywhere from $15 to $45/hour. Their rates typically depend on the type of work they’re doing and some VAs will even create packages of hours, allowing you to get a discount on their hourly rate.

Time Management

I don’t know a mom who doesn’t have a schedule and no matter how organized she seems, she wishes she was MORE organized.  As a mompreneur, this desire to organize, plan, and schedule can be intense. Sometimes bordering on OCD.  Helping mompreneurs manage their time is an amazing gift. Here are few of my fav resources.

6. Paper Planners.

Everyone sells a planner and everyone thinks their planner is the ultimate.  Please.  Planners only work if they’re right for you.  If your mompreneur has a planner she LOVES, please don’t waste your time or your money. Just buy the one she likes.  If she’s not yet found HER planner, here are a few paper planners I like.

7. Shulaner Spiral Daily Planners Undated Planner Sketchbook Kraft Paper Softcover
8. Deluxe Law of Attraction Life Planner 
9. Living Well Spending Less Planner

 

Online Planners

Free online planners have come a long way.  If your mompreneur has a system that works for her and she’s not interested in changing it, then skip this section.  Online planners are not the gift for your mompreneur.  However, if your mompreneur is constantly seeking efficiencies and wanting to make things better.  In other words, if she’s a bit OCD (but you should never call her that), then an online planner subscription may be her thing. Here are two planners she may like.

7. Home Routines.

Ok, so most moms do the SAME thing every day (more or less).  The life of the mom is a life of love, hugs, cleaning, and routines.  We do the same things every day. This app is great. You put your routines in the app and you can check them off as they’re accomplished.  It has a built-in timer, and you get the satisfaction of checking things off as they’re completed.  You can manage everything on your phone, but there’s also an online component that you can access from your laptop.

8. Cozi.

At this point, most people have heard of Cozi. It’s a FREE and online system that allows your family to create a family schedule.  Cozi’s paid version has shared to-do lists capabilities and allows you to create multiple schedules.  I tried this and I was able to create a work calendar, a personal calendar, track my husband’s work and travel schedule, and create separate schedules for both kids’ activities. I could also create a weekly grocery list that I shared with my husband so that we could both add things as we thought about them.  It’s a pretty great system.

Client Schedulers

Online scheduling software is a combination of an online planner AND an automated efficiency for service providing mompreneurs.  So if your mompreneur is running a freelance, coaching, or consulting business that requires her to work directly with her clients in-person, over the phone, or on video chat system, then she may benefit from an online scheduling software subscription.

These systems, all you to have one calendar that shows your WORK time and availability to clients as well as you unavailable time.  They all three make your client-available time periods available for potential clients to book you. Each system allows you to upload client agreement templates and contracts to automate your new client intake. You can also take payment on these systems.

Here are three systems that I’ve tried.  Personally, I think all three systems are similar.  Which one you select is really based on the type of service your mompreneur offers and what just feels right for her. At this point, I’ve tested:

9. Calendly,

10. Satoriapp, and

11. Acuity Scheduling

Of the three systems listed, I’ve used Calendly and Satoriapp.  I liked Satoriapp for scheduling my coaching clients. The interface and all of the features simplified my intake of new clients. It was simple to use and easy for my clients to understand.  However, when I started doing more freelance writing, using Calendly was easier. It had fewer bells and whistles but it made scheduling a time to talk (when you’re a gazillion time zones apart) a breeze.  I haven’t used Acuity Scheduling, yet, but I know several coaches AND freelancers who swear by it.  I can’t wait to give it a shot. Talk to your mompreneur before you gift her a scheduling system.

Website Design & Support

This may be the unruly bane of entrepreneurial existence. Most mompreneurs work online.  So we all need websites but when you’re first starting out, it’s expensive to outsource your web services. And while we can build a website on our own, the learning curve initially seems insurmountable.  For some mompreneurs, the technology piece is a deal breaker.  Unless your mompreneur is a web developer, the following resources will delight your mompreneur and allow her to sigh a bit in relief.

12. Maintenance/Support.

iMark Interactive is one of many fantastic and reliable website maintenance, support, and general life-saving tech-support companies for mompreneur website whoas.  Grayson, the owner of iMark Interactive, provides regular back-ups; he updates plug-ins; completes website design overhauls; provides premium themes and he fixes irritating tech problem in minutes that would literally take you all day. Plus, he’s just a nice person. There are literally a TON of people who do this work but when you’re buying a gift for someone, it’s nice to have a solid recommendation for a reputable company. This is it.

13. Hosting Services.

For aspiring mompreneurs paying for hosting is a great gift. Starting out as a mompreneur (generally) requires at least website. Even if your mompreneur is launching the website on her own, she’s going to need hosting services and a domain. Those things cost money, and generally, you want to pay for the hosting and domain for at least a year. Again, there are ton of hosting companies. I recommend starting with HostGator. Once she has her domain and hosting package, she can learn how to install WordPress with HostGator and start her website.

14. Upgrade to Premium Plugins.

You may have no clue what a plug-in, let alone a premium plug-in, is, but your mompreneur is way too familiar with them. They make her website run. Get interested in her business and in her website or blog. Ask her which plug-ins, in an ideal world, she’d like to upgrade.  She’ll know exactly what you’re talking about.  Make sure you have a pen and paper.  Then head to my gift certificate template resource page and download your gift cards.

You may have no clue what a plug-in, let alone a premium plug-in, is, but your mompreneur is way too familiar with them. They make her website run. Get interested in her business and in her website or blog. Ask her which plug-ins, in an ideal world, she’d like to upgrade.  She’ll know exactly what you’re talking about.  Make sure you have a pen and paper.

15. Design Services.

If your mompreneur has a website design service crush, then this may be the gift for her. Website design (and redesign) services can cost anywhere from $1000 to $5000.  You can definitely find cheaper options but if it’s not what she wants, don’t bother.

16. New Theme.

In lieu of a complete custom design overhaul, you could also gift a premium theme to your mompreneur for her website. A theme governs the design and layout of a website. It’s like a mini website makeover. It’s also exponentially less expensive.  I love Restore 316 themes. They’re easy to use and very responsive.

17. SSL Certificate and configuration.

As of October 2017, any page that uses Google Search Console and doesn’t have an HTTPS or an SSL Certificate will show as NOT SECURE in the browser bar. The only way to fix it is with HTTPS and getting an SSL certificate. So, if your mompreneur hasn’t gotten her SSL certificate and set it up, that’s a worthwhile gift. You can simply log-in to your hosting company, like HostGator or BlueHost, purchase your SSL directly and then configure your site. I’m not a technical whiz and I’m not particularly patient. So, I got Grayson from iMark Interactive to set mine up. Throw that in as part of the gift.

18. New logo.

Having a unique logo that visually represents how you view and want others to view your brand is a huge milestone that many mompreneurs (secretly) never achieve. The price of a new logo is all about value. You can DIY a logo. Hire someone to create something “new to you” for as little as $5 or pay thousands of dollars for a logo designer to custom make a new logo. If you’re on a budget but want something nice, Fiverr has talented designers.

19. Subscription to a stock photo site.

Being a mompreneur is not only about having a profitable skill but also being able to create a visually appealing brand. The internet is no longer static. So having great stock photos to accompany every blog post and all of the social media is key. But good stock photos can get pricey.  Giving a subscription to a stock photo site is worth investigating for your mompreneur.  While there are a ton of free stock photo sites, having a subscription for a month or two to a paid stock photo site will give your mompreneur more options. For a paid site, try depositphotos.com and for free photos, try this: 35 Best Places for Free Feminine and Styled Stock Photos.

20. Professional photography session.

So, what woman do you know who would not shed a happy tear to get dolled up for a professional photo shoot for their website?   Not one.   Best gift ever. If you have the funds, a professional photo session for your mompreneur will make her feel beautiful, professional, and on top of the world.  Plus, she’ll get some great looking pictures of herself for her blog and finally be able to feel confident about how she looks online. You’re welcome.

Training

OMG! The Training.  Mompreneurs are up to their eyeballs in training courses, and there is always something new to learn. She could most easily rattle off a list of courses she wants to take, if you asked, that she thinks are either too expensive or are just not currently available for purchase. Here are a few she may covet.

21. Elite Blog Academy.

Elite Blog Academy (EBA) is an amazing course that helps bloggers learn how to monetize their blogs. The beauty of this program is that you don’t have to be blogger to benefit. You can be a coach, a freelancer, sell handcrafted products on Etsy, or even provide resell services. If you have an online presence, the more eyes your mompreneur has on her website, the more money she makes. And knowing how to blog helps her attract more targeted eyes to her website.

While EBA is a little pricey, the results your mompreneur can create with this knowledge is crazy.  It’s probably the greatest single investment I’ve made in my business. In the first 3 months of the program, I made my first passive income and attracted over 800 subscribers.  EBA is only available for 5 days a year. So hop on the waitlist so you can buy this course for your mompreneur the next time its offered. You can join the waitlist here.

22. Virtual Assistant (VA) Training.

Becoming a Virtual Assistant (VA) is a fantastic way to start a mompreneur business. General VAs can work from home whenever they have the time. VAs typically work for small business owners and solo-preneurs who don’t have time to get everything done in their business. The work can include but is not limited to administrative, writing services, graphic design, social media maintenance and updates, and website support. However, each VA can determine the specific work she wants to do. And for a mom wanting to create some extra income for her family, this is a great way to do it. The greatest issue with VA work is getting started and finding the first few clients, and Gina Horkey’s VA Training helps aspiring VAs solve these problems. So if your mompreneur (or would-be mompreneur) is interested in becoming a VA, this is the program for her.

23. Social Media Training.

No matter your mompreneur’s business, social media promotion is part of any business.  Learning how to use the various social media platforms is key, and there are several amazing courses designed for mompreneurs (by mompreneurs) to learn the ins and outs of social media promotion. Several great social media training gifts are Pinning Perfect by Blog Clarity which is THE best course I’ve ever taken to learn how to use Pinterest. My blog traffic skyrocketed after I took this course.  For Facebook courses, you can check out Udemy to find a course that matches your mompreneurs needs and budget.

24. Business Training.

Your mompreneur may have already found out that making money and running a business are two different things.  And for me, making money is way more fun than running the business. So, I’ve found that the best course to learn how to automate your business so that your mompreneur can spend more time making money is Stress Less to Impress. Leah takes you through the tools and processes you need to look professional without sacrificing the time you spend making money.

25. Copywriting/Sales Training.

The way you describe what you’re selling will determine how much you sell. People like concise honest descriptions, but learning how to write that way can be a case of trial and error. Enter The Copy Cure.  It’s a quick and painless course with video, transcripts, and worksheets to solve your biggest copy issues so you can help more people with your products and services.

26. Consulting/Coaching Services.

Getting someone to help you figure out the next best step forward in your business, strike a balance between your life and your business or, even just get unstuck in your business or life is worth every single penny.

27. Increase Blog Traffic Training.

For bloggers, this is the holy grail of their business, traffic. For new bloggers, getting that first 10,000 page views/month is a differentiator in the blogging world.  So any course that can help a new blogger hit that milestone is golden. Elna Cain’s Ready Set Blog For Traffic Course is best entry-level course a mompreneur can take to start generating more eyes on her business.

28. Legal Services

Except for a few lawyers, I don’t know a single mompreneur who isn’t a little terrified that her business isn’t standing on solid legal footing. Now, she may have absolutely no specific reason to fear her legal situation but she just doesn’t know enough about small business law to be confident and she doesn’t have a lawyer in her corner.  That’s enough to make any a smidge uncomfortable.

Businessese is a fantastic online legal resource for mompreneurs who want to have an extra layer of confidence that their business is safe.  Businessese offers easy to download legal forms to support your mompreneur’s business.  For instance, they offer website disclaimer templates, privacy policies, affiliate disclosures, and contract agreement templates. Plus, they’re constantly adding new products to their site. Gifting your mompreneur a little legal safety net may give her the confidence she needs to promote more and grow even bigger.

Equipment & Software

In addition to online resources, most businesses also need equipment and software to do the money-making work. Think about giving the following equipment or software for you mompreneur.

29. New camera.

If your mompreneur takes her own photos for her business as a photographer or a blogger, she may need (or want) a new camera.

30. Lighting Kit.

A lot of mompreneurs are shooting videos and vblogging on their websites and on video sites like YouTube.  Having the perfect lighting can be difficult without a little help.  Using a lighting kit like this is great for newbie and experienced vbloggers, and having the right lighting makes a huge difference on the quality of the final video.

31. Laptop.

Who doesn’t want a new laptop? Personally, I think Apple makes superior laptops. I love them. They last forever; they’re beautiful, easy to use, easy to transport, and powerful little machines for every situation. Love them. If you’re buying a gift, make it awesome. Buy her an apple product.

32. Photo Editing Software.

With the advent of social media, creating amazing visuals for the web is the new normal.  While everyone can’t afford to hire a graphic designer, every mompreneur still needs to be creating visually stimulating pieces of content on their websites for social media promotion.

There are a TON of software programs with cloud-based systems and there are systems for direct download that even a novice can use.

33. Canva and PicMonkey

Canva and PicMonkey are online graphic design tools that are easy to use, and they have FREE versions. The upgraded versions require a monthly subscription but they’re not too expensive.

34. Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign.

These three products are available through Adobe either through their cloud system with a monthly subscription or you can buy a license for the product and install it to your PC.

Administrative Software

 

35. E-signature software subscription.

Once you have your legal house in order, you’ll want to start sending out contracts to formalize for subcontractor work, new client work, and joint ventures. A program like Docu-sign simplifies the process of electronic signatures and will make your mompreneur look and feel like a pro.

36. Accounting Sofware. Generally, mompreneurs are also solo-prenerus; they’re a one-woman shop. If she’s just starting out and not making much money, she can probably manage her accounts payable and receivable on her own, but as she starts to grow and have more and more clients, an automated system for paying, invoicing, and receiving payments will free her up to focus on her business.  A system like Freshbooks is super helpful for not only tracking time worked but also invoicing, receiving payments, and tracking expenses.  If she’s working on multiple projects, Freshbooks also integrates with her project management software.

Let your mompreneur test out an accounting system for free. The FreshBooks Cloud Accounting – Free Trial is totally free but user beware, once you start using Freshbooks, you’re not leaving it. It’s just that amazing.

Conferences

One of the most fantastic things about being a mompreneur is meeting other mompreneurs. This is one gift I want and a lot of other moms in business will also dig.  Here are few conferences you could give to your mompreneur. Remember, the gift has to include conference registration, flight, and accommodation.

37. Activate Conference

38. FinCon

39. She speaks Conference

40. Focused Blogging Conference 

41. BlogHer Conference 

If there’s a mompreneur in your life these are 42 gifts she may love! The trick to making sure you get her the perfect present is to ask her about her business and find out what she needs.

Now, if YOU’RE the mompreneur, make sure to share this post with your nearest and dearest. You deserve the best. After all, the best way to get what you want is to ask for it, and we both know a little HINT never hurt…

Did I miss a great gift?  Leave a comment with the perfect gift for you and your mompreneur business.