Mumpreneur or Mumtrepreneur – an entrepreneurial mum with children and with a business…
This article is about the entrepreneurial term ‘mumpreneur‘ or ‘mumtrepreneur‘, which is a continuation of my articles about the variations of entrepreneur.
Why an article on mumpreneur or mumtrepreneur?
inBizBlog is about business and entrepreneurs. Having written an article about types of entrepreneurs, I discovered the many forms of the word.
One such variation of the entrepreneur word is mumpreneur or also termed mumtrepreneur on programs like Dragons Den. This is where in linguistics, a blend-word is a word formed from parts of two or more other words. The process is called blending and the result is a blend word.
In this case the two separate words are “mum” and “entrepreneur“, where the “entre” bit has been dropped and replaced with “mum”.
I love to learn about success and read about successful entrepreneurs and in researching this article I came across some amazing women in business. For more information on how a woman entrepreneur turned and idea into a £12 million (USD $16 million; AUS $20 million) business.
One of my main reasons for wanting to write this article is that I’m in ore of women that can be a mum at the same time as run a business. Running any business at the best of times is hard, but to do this whilst juggling kids too…hat’s off.
Making a go of a family and a company at the same time requires considerable sacrifice. This is especially true of single mothers. Part of their time is devoted to their children, with the rest spent running the business. But then there’s sleep too!
The examples of mega-successful mums who become entrepreneurs with multi-million pound businesses need a medal. There’s an mumpreneur-example of this towards the end of this article that’s worth a read.
The main sections of this article on mumpreneur include:
- Mumpreneur meaning or mumtrepreneur definition.
- Ideas for mumpreneurs.
- Inspiration from mumpreneur quotes.
- Business ideas and mumpreneur networking.
- Book by mumpreneur Annabel Karmel.
- Inspiration for your mumpreneur business idea.
So let’s begin by looking at the meaning or definition…
Mumpreneur meaning or mumtrepreneur definition…
A mumpreneur, or the mumpreneur definition, is an entrepreneurial mum, who has children of 18 or under, but at the same time is running a business.
Interestingly, this is a much more popular term than either dadpreneur or fatherpreneur, as it is search for by more than 10-times the number of people.
I guess we always admire (both men and women that is) a woman who is able to balance life between bringing up children and running a business. Each one is a challenge on their own, let alone doing it at the same time.
Work from home jobs, the alternative to mumpreneurship…
There are many mums who are either single mothers or in a relationship (married or otherwise) who have chosen to start their own small business. However, there are also many mums who choose the alternative to starting or running their own business.
This alternative is ‘work at home jobs‘, where working from home allows more flexibility.
Many companies these days are open to flexible working hours. Wanting to fit in with working mothers, but for some, working for someone else is not quite enough.
An example of a very successful mumpreneur is Dragons Den Sarah Willingham. Sarah Willingham is described as a mumpreneur, but recently quit the BBC show to focus on her family.
She, along with her Husband Michael, decided to travel the world. She actually quit the show after her husband had a cancer scare…saying that ‘life is too short.’
Small business ideas and the online world…
The online world, AKA the Internet, has opened up a whole new world of home business ideas to start. Online businesses are easy to start and require in most cases a small investment. However, the most important aspect of an online business is the flexibility it provides.
For a working mum, flexibility is key. Having the freedom to drop the kids to school and pick them up to fit in with school times is vital.
Mumpreneur ideas…
There are many great small business ideas for mums, other than selling things on the Internet. But top of the list of mumpreneur ideas is selling on websites like eBay, Amazon and Etsy.
Updating the information, working on the promotional elements of the business, etc. can all be done at a time to suit. These days, with drop shipping being more accessible, mums don’t even need to have storage space to hold stock.
Mum’s working from home selling things on the Internet are selling while they sleep, but also they are selling whilst they are playing with their kids.
Information products…
Creating an informational product is a great way to make money online. Mums that are able to create an information product around one of their skills, interests or hobbies can do really well. The beauty of this type of business is the costs are very low.
Also, there are many outsourcers too to make the best use of time. However, many mums choose to write their own information products to sell on their own websites too.
Blogging mumpreneurs…
Blogging is still a huge and blogpreneurs or bloggers can make a living in their chosen niche from running a blog. Some use popular subjects like travel, as this is a great way to see the world, whilst at the same time making some cash. As with selling a product based upon an interest or hobby, mums can begin a blog around the same topics.
Once a blog becomes successful, blogpreneurs are able to monetise their blog site. The main benefit of blogging is the writing and promoting can be done at times to suite. When the kids are tucked up safely in their beds asleep, mums can sit down with a cold glass of white wine and begin their writing.
Buy into a franchise…
With the right franchise business and the correct business setup, there’s every reason why a franchise could fit the mum-entrepreneur scenario. There may be some franchise companies that would not like a part-time business person to represent their brand, but this can be discovered in the opening conversations.
Each year there are franchise shows and conferences where you can meet the franchisors. So I recommend you visit one of these and do the research.
There’s an article here on Franchise Direct about eight ideal franchises for mumpreneurs. These franchises include a yoga-based business, a local resource agency, a sweets and snacks business and more.
Child minding business…
Having a child minding business would be ideal for a stay-at-home mum. This is especially the case if you have some very young children yourself in your home. You’ll be able to look after other’s children at the same time as your own.
Bed and breakfast and Airbnb…
Airbnb has gained a huge following and is an ideal business to run from your home. Not all people looking for Airbnb accommodation will want a full breakfast, but so long as you offer something for the morning this would work.
The proviso for this business is that you’ll need a spare room in your home. Assuming you do, this would easily fit in with your family routine of school runs and so on.
Tutoring is a great business…
Tutoring students at your home is a great way to earn extra income. Depending on what knowledge you have, will govern the type of tutoring you can offer. There’s a fantastic market for tutors and there’s a great franchise setup specifically for this called Tutor Doctor. This is a Canadian-based business, but is available in the US, the UK and other countries around the world.
EBay or Amazon business…
Selling on either eBay or Amazon can provide a great income. With this type of business you should be able to choose your hours of working too. Many times with an Amazon based business, you never actually handle the products. Which is even better, as this will mean your time spent working in the business is less and you will not have the stock-holding costs.
This is referred to as drop shipping. Drop shipping is where you sell the product and receive the proceeds. Amazon in this case will ship the product direct to your customer and you pay over the cost of the product to Amazon or the supplier concerned.
Successful mumpreneurs (mumtrepreneurs)…
This article wouldn’t be complete without looking at some successful mumpreneurs. I’ve already mentioned one successful mum-entrepreneur, Sarah Willingham, but of course there are others.
The first one to mention for me, who is a fellow novelist and an extremely successful authorpreneur is J. K. Rowling. Her story is an amazing journey and not only inspirational to mums around the world, but also to men too.
Related: Successful womanpreneur Michele Romanow is now the youngest star on Dragons Den Canada – Romanow even agreed a $1 million dollar deal on the show to invest in a performance car online business.
An article was written in the Telegraph Newspaper about Victoria Beckam, mother of four. The article describes the “mum economy” as women with children of 18 or under. This is a thriving economy and generating over £7 billion (USD $9.4 billion) for the UK’s economy and supporting over 200,000 jobs too. This article was written in 2015.
Interesting the most successful mum-run businesses include health and care services, professional, scientific and technical services, which are responsible for £2.5 billion (USD $3.35 billion). Retail is high too and is responsible for £650 million contribution, which surprised me, as I thought this one would be top.
The mumpreneur awards…
There are awards for mumpreneurs and some that are for simply women in business. On the mumpreneur website in the UK it would appear the last awards were in 2015.
There are the NatWest everywoman awards each year too, which is held each year and the 2017 submissions are still open. The NatWest awards are described: “The Spirit of everywoman Award is in recognition of women whose determination, commitment and pioneering spirit has helped change the landscape for women in business in the UK and paved the way for others.”
In the Daily Mail there’s the Femail’s Daily Mail Aphrodite Award, which is a part of the NatWest Everywoman Awards. This award ceremony is in its 15th year. Camilla Stephens won the prestigious award in 2010. Mumpreneur Stephens is founder of Higgidy Pies and comments “winning doesn’t change your business over night, but it gives you access to this astonishing group of women.”
As an example of what can be achieved by mumpreneur businesses, Camilla’s business has a turnover of more than £25 million (USD $33.5 million). Her original mission was simply to ‘reclaim the pie’ back in 2003.
In New Zealand there are the FlyBuys Mumtrepreneur Awards each year. The Fly Buys Mumpreneur Awards recognise women who have set up or run a business while bringing up a family.
The Mumpreneur & Female Association…
The Mumpreneur & Female Association put on a conference, with their last one in 2015. The 2018 conference is on 6th July 2018. It is to be held at the Hogarths Hotel Solihull, Birmingham. The 2018 speakers are still to be announced, but the ones in 2015 included Kelly Brearley. Kelly Brearley, Female Entrepreneur, is a holistic health & wealth coach. She helps and supports others.
Coach Jo Davidson was another of their guest speakers in 2015. Jo is the “Get a Life” coach, an entrepreneur and single mum of two. She specialises in helping women to get the results they want, in their business and their life.
They also had mum of three Joanna Miller who is a mumpreneur herself. Joanna Miller founded Bespoke Verse and managed to fit her business around her family life. Bespoke Verse produce both personalised poems and a range of ready to buy poems, which are stocked by John Lewis and online retailer notonthehighstreet.com.
Inspiration from mumpreneur quotes…
I thought I’d include mumpreneur quotes for inspiration.
One of the quotes is from Aus Mumpreneur or mumpreneur Australia (mumtrepreneur Australia).
This quote sums up what a mumtrepreneur is about – “You can work how, when and where you want.” The most important part for a mum…”You can be with your baby.” Other sections of the mumpreneur quote are contributing to the local economy, doing something for yourself and for your family too.
This is a quote from an extremely inspirational woman and mother. She is Michelle Obama and she puts it like this:
“Success isn’t about how much money you make, it’s about the difference you make in people’s lives.”
And Little Steps Asia, which is mumtrepreneur Singapore have created a list of “mumpreneurs who rock.”
Another appropriate inspirational quote I love is:
“Being true to yourself is the most effective formula for success there is.” Unknown
Mumtrepreneur business ideas and mumpreneur networking…
An event for 2017 for you to bookmark in the UK:
If you are looking for support for your mumpreneur business or local networking in your area here are a few links and ideas for you. These are some of the more popular areas in the UK:
If you are a “Mumpreneur Brighton” follow this link: Mumpreneurs networking Brighton.
Are you in Blackpool, if so go to “Mumpreneur Blackpool” this article where a mum of two has set up a business expo Thrive in Lancashire Expo.
For mums in Cambridge follow “Mumpreneur Cambridge” and on Heart FM they share a Mumpreneur Market Cambridge in The Grafton Centre. This might be a great place to meet fellow-mumpreneurs and to get ideas for your own business. It’s a way great to get like-minded-support from a network that understands you and gets what you are trying to do.
The Grafton Centre for those that are familiar with Cambridge know that it’s also a great place to have a coffee too.
If you’re a mum entrepreneur in Chichester or a “Mumpreneur Chichester” visit the Chichester mumpreneurs business networking club – see details below with a link to their website.
Other popular mumpreneur searches looking for help include..
For “mumpreneur Edinburgh” you’ll find other mums in business at the Edinburgh business networking club at the Monboddo Bar, DoubleTree by Hilton Edinburgh City Centre, 34 Bread Street Edinburgh EH3 9AF.
If you’re looking for “mumpreneur London” then you may find your best option is Mumpreneur Meetups in London. There is also a networking club you can attend in Enfield (see below) and on their website they mention about their London networking to be based in Battersea Arts Centre, Lavendar Hill, Battersea, London, SW11 5TN. So you might want to make contact there.
For “mumpreneur Portsmouth” you’ll find a networking club runs on Tuesdays – see below for details.
The “mumpreneur Worthing” was reported in the West Sussex Gazette so has a good following there – for more details see below.
If you live in Scotland, there’s a networking club in Edinburgh, see below for details, but for “mumpreneur Scotland” in general there is a Facebook group here: https://www.facebook.com/scottishmumpreneurnetwork/. There’s also a Scottish mumpreneur network too found here http://scottishmumpreneurnetwork.webs.com/.
The Mumpreneur Networking Club…
There is a mumpreneur networking club for networking with like-minded mums and it’s called The Mumpreneurs Networking Club. They have a phone app and new venues opening all the time, I’ve listed the current networking locations in the UK below.
Becoming a member of The Mumpreneur Networking Club, which is based in the UK, offers the following benefits:
Attend any of the networking events in any area for FREE – They have on average 350 visits to meetings every month – so you will never be short of networking opportunities.
Networking event locations in the UK…
They currently have an extensive network 14 areas to choose from and over 150 + meetings a year – the current areas include:
Networking meetings on Tuesdays…
- Emsworth and Havant on Tuesdays at the Tuppenny Barn, Main Road, Southbourne, West Sussex, PO10 8EZ.
- Hove on Tuesdays at Hangleton Manor, Hangleton Valley Dr, Hove BN3 8AN.
- Portsmouth on Tuesdays at Sovereigns Restaurant, Kingston Crescent, Portsmouth PO2 8AL.
Meetings held on Wednesdays…
- Arundel and Littlehampton on Wednesdays in The Norfolk Arms, High Street, BN18 9AB.
- Horsham on Wednesdays in Bill’s (upstairs), The Old Town Hall, Market Square, Horsham, West Sussex RH12 1EU.
- Edinburgh on Wednesdays at Monboddo Bar, DoubleTree by Hilton Edinburgh City Centre, 34 Bread Street Edinburgh EH3 9AF.
- Lewes on Wednesdays at The John Harvey Tavern, Bear Yard, Cliffe High Street, Lewes, East Sussex, BN7 2AN.
- Petersfield on Wednesdays at the Petersfield Golf Club, Tankerdale Lane, Liss, Hampshire, GU33 7QY.
Networking on Thursdays…
- Shoreham on Thursdays at Brighton City Airport (Shoreham Airport), The Terminal Building, Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex, BN43 5FF.
- Chichester on Thursdays at the Student Union 2 Common Room, Chichester College, Westgate Fields, Chichester, PO19 1SB.
Meetings on Fridays…
- Bognor Regis on Fridays at the Butlins conference centre, Bognor Regis PO21 1JJ.
- Brighton on Fridays at The West Quay, Brighton Marina Village, Brighton, East Sussex, BN2 5UT.
- Eastbourne on Fridays at the Landsdowne Hotel, King Edward’s Parade, Eastbourne BN21 4EE.
- Enfield Town on Fridays at The Skylight Restaurant, 2nd Floor, Pearsons of Enfield, 11- 14 The Town, Enfield, Middlesex EN2 6LJ.
- Fareham on Fridays at Cams Mill, Cams Hall Estate, Fareham, Hampshire, PO16 8AA.
- Worthing on Fridays at The Thomas A Becket, 146 Rectory Road, Worthing, West Sussex, BN14 7PJ.
As a mumpreneur you’ll be able to list your business, logo and business details on the Business Directory, which will be accessible by anyone who visits their site. You’ll also be able to access articles and information in the members section of the website too. Plus you’ll receive discounted rates on Mumpreneurs special events.
Mumpreneurs looking to network around the globe…
Some of the popular areas in the World include the following:
Mumpreneur UK…
For those mums in the UK looking for resources you might want to take a look at “Mum’s Got a Business.” This website has some great business resources, which includes recommendations. The recommendations is a place to find help and the advice comes from other women entrepreneurs.
Their other resources include business tools, some freebies and useful websites like Enterprise Nation and Smarta.
Other top searches include “mumpreneur Deutschland“, “mumpreneur Belgique“, “mumpreneur France“, “mumpreneur Luxembourg“, “mumpreneur Nederland” and “mumpreneur Ireland” across Europe. But the UK mumpreneur networking club staged an event to go global. This event touched countries including Australia, China, Canada, France, Italy and the USA. This was held all the way back in 2011, so things will have moved on since then. So I suggest you reach out to them in your local area. The article on this can be found at Global Mumpreneurs Networking Day.
For those mumpreneurs in Australia and New Zealand (NZ)…
If you’re looking for “mumtrepreneur Australia“, your best initial resource is AusMumpreneur, which is noted as Australia’s Number 1 community for mums in business. Their last event was held in Sydney on 24-25 August 2017. The event isn’t cheap with ticket costing AUS $395, but it’s for 2 days conference. The conference included secrets to success, some expert workshops and networking lunches.
Mumpreneur Mandurah near Perth Australia…
Business woman Stella Kassiotes started a successful catering business and is featured in Mandura Mail. There’s a link there at the bottom of her story to business training and support in the City of Mandura.
Nearby to Australia is mumpreneur Malaysia & Singapore…
For mumpreneurs in Malaysia there’s a useful Facebook page, which can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/MumpreneurshipMalaysia/. There’s also a great article about a mumpreneur Tess, which now lives in New Zealand with her husband, but who has spoken at conferences in Australia, China and Malaysia too. The article is titled: The move from Entrepreneur to Mumpreneur.
How to make it as a ‘mumpreneur’ in Dubai…
It was reported on the BBC website about hundreds of thousands of what are known as “trailing spouses” across the Gulf, which includes Dubai.
Wives make the move to join their husbands and partners who’ve taken up job offers in places like Dubai or other Middle Eastern countries.
They are mostly women, and many want to get a job themselves. These women find it a big challenge to juggle their career and employment with family commitments. They discover that most employers are not keen on part-time work. To watch a video on this on the BBC’s website visit: Making it as a ‘mumpreneur’ in Dubai.
Book by mumpreneur Annabel Karmel…
Mumpreneur Annabel Karmel MBE is proof-positive that you don’t need a business degree to build a successful business and brand. Her book is available on Amazon in paperback, hardback or on Kindle. In her successful book you’ll find useful tips, skills need to succeed and inspiration you need for the confidence to setup your own business on the side. The book is like a guide for would-be mumtrepreneurs who are considering setting up on their own or who have already begun their journey to freedom.
Annabel Karmel grew her business empire from scratch at her kitchen table. Since then this mumpreneur Karmel has become a bestselling author and a trusted food expert with 40 books to her name.
You’ll find a copy of her mumpreneur book here on Amazon Annabel Karmel Mumtrepreneur. For full disclosure, this link to her book is an affiliate link, which means that I will get a commission if you decide to purchase her book.
For some inspiration for your mumpreneur business idea…
In this article you meet the Mumpreneurs who turned one idea into serious business. For example, Dannielle Michaels turned her simple idea into a £12 million (USD $16 million; AUS $20 million) business.
The article say is all you need is one brilliant business idea. Dannielle Michaels’ light bulb moment came as she changed a nappy on a flight to New Zealand. Her light-bulb moment came when she was juggling a nappy bag with a squirming three-week-old. She was changing a nappy in the ridiculously cramped confines of an aeroplane toilet cubicle. This was happening somewhere between Australia and New Zealand.
But just as Dannielle Michaels was running out of hands, and patience, a light-bulb went off in her head. So was born the ‘nappy’ wallet.
In the same article, Kristy Carr was at a baby shower. From tasting baby food she hated at this baby shower: To thinking if I don’t like it why would my baby like it: To having her Organic Bubs baby food range sold worldwide.
To read more and to find more mumpreneurs and their success stories with video, you’ll find this article here: Mumpreneurs who turned one idea into serious business.
Finding a mumpreneur coach or mentor…
Starting out in business can be a daunting thought. This is especially true for anyone who’s not run a business before.
I’d recommend any new business person or entrepreneur seek help. This can be in the form of a coach or a mentor. I’d also say, don’t necessarily restrict looking for a same-sex coach or mentor. You’d be better off finding a person who knows about your business. But more importantly, finding someone with the right skill-set, rather than to hire someone simply because they are a man or a woman.
Take Dragons Den for example, pitching-entrepreneurs tend to choose the best suited dragon. This is usually based upon their background and knowledge of the sector (especially where more than one offer is on the table).
A business mentor is there to provide guidance and will be there as a sounding board too. A coach tends to be more hands on and would tend to spend more time in your business than a mentor.
Mumpreneur success stories…
There are many mumpreneur success stories, as the number of mothers with babies and young children who run businesses has grown enormously in recent years. The statistics already mentioned estimated that in 2015 the UK mum-economy from mum-run-businesses was £7 billion (USD $9.4 billion).
Buy 2025 the mum-economy is expected to be £9.5 billion (USD $12.73 billion). This is as reported by the economic think tank Development Economics, which was commissioned by eBay. That means the number of success stories within those numbers are massive.
However, one success story that caught my eye is about Julie Waddell of Totnes, Devon. The reason I love this story is the business idea came from her mother-duties to her child, just like Dannielle Michaels one above. Julie Waddell was 41 at the time she started her business, with two children, a daughter of 11 and a son of eight.
Her son was a fussy eater and would only eat food that was smoked. So she developed her own brand of smoky flavoured hummus. Her hummus is now sold in Waitrose and they sell around 6,000 pots per week. This provides her business with an annual turnover of £1 million (USD $1.34 million).
At the time she set the business up, her and her husband were struggling to pay the mortgage. He had just left the Army and was training as an osteopath. Julie had a job as a marketing coordinator. Her dream: To be with her children at home.
Her smoky flavoured pots, called Moorish hummus, were on the shelves of Waitrose just four months after her initial letter to them inviting the buying department to try her new recipe.
To read the full article please follow this link to the Daily Mail, where you’ll find more mumpreneur success stories too.
Related: Michele Romanow net worth – CBC Dragons Den Entrepreneur
Finally please social share and comment below…
If you enjoyed reading this article about mumpreneur or mumtrepreneur, please share. Choose your favourite social media channel below. I’d also appreciate your comments below too, and thank you for reading in-Business Blog.
Please social share and comment below…
Thanks so much for mentioning my site Mum’s Got a Business in your post Russell, I really appreciated it. I just wanted to point out that I’m from the UK, not the US as stated. Really enjoyed all the info and look forward to reading more. Best wishes, Heather Bestel.
Hello Heather, you are welcome and apologies for the error. Duly corrected! Thank you for your comments too, Russell