URL: http://www.entrepreneur.com/startingabusiness/mompreneur/mompreneurcolumnistlisadruxman/article199686.html

They're often called the "untapped workforce"--the highly qualified, highly educated women who are moms and choose to stay home or work part time because of it. After all, the typical workplace doesn't offer flexibility for mothers who want quality time with their families. This is the first in a three-part "Day in the Life of a Mompreneur" series. As you'll learn, becoming an entrepreneur while being a full-time mom is not only entirely possible, it's desirable for many women. If you've ever wondered whether you could hack it as a mompreneur, here's your chance to find out.

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Name: Jennifer Manriquez

Name of Company: The Bilingual Fun Co. LLC
Provides Spanish language classes and produces instructional DVDs for toddlers and preschoolers.

Founded: 2005

Tell us what an average day in your life looks like, starting with waking up. I wake up at 5:30 a.m. and get a jumpstart on e-mail and my list of "to do's" for the day. Kids need to be up, dressed, fed and out the door at 8 a.m. for the bus stop [She has two children. Only one goes to school.]. My 4-year-old gets shuffled along with me for most of the day. Some days he goes to a sitter and I teach my Spanish classes or have business meetings. Other days we participate in library story times, swim lessons and co-op preschool. I always try to squeeze in some kind of exercise, as well as try to stay on top of housework, laundry, doctor appointments, vet appointments, etc. during the day. We pick up my daughter at 4 p.m. from the bus stop and we're off to skating, dance or Spanish class. Evenings consist of dinner preparation, homework, baths and bedtime rituals. I sit down to work after the kids are in bed around 9 p.m. until I am finished. Whew.
 
What's your biggest challenge in being a mom entrepreneur? Balance, balance, balance. It's a fine art of balancing life and work when you are a mom entrepreneur. I've had to make this a priority, especially with two young children at home with me as I have been building the business. Making specific "work times" is a must for me. Allowing myself a certain amount of time to accomplish work tasks and then being 100 percent with my children at other times has helped me stay balanced.

What's your best tip for success as a mom entrepreneur? Finding reliable child care. The notion of working during nap time is a great concept but can't always be counted on. With no family close by, I've had to be very particular and conscientious about finding reliable part-time child care. As soon as I got this issue ironed out, I was much more productive and in control.

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Do you make time for yourself? How? Yes, absolutely. Not as much or as often as I should, but I do. Going to the gym is my own time and I try to make it a priority every day if possible. I do sporadic girls' nights out and brunches with my college girlfriends.
 
If you could start over in your business, what would you do differently? I don't think I would do anything differently. Each day is a learning process for me and, although I've learned so much in my journey, I'm very happy with the way I started my company and the way it's growing.
 
What's your favorite book?
The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch.

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Name: Joanna Meiseles

Name of Company: The Snip-its Corp.
A child-centered hair salon and franchise business designed to be captivating for kids.

Founded: 1995

Tell us what an average day in your life looks like, starting with waking up.
There is really no such thing as an average day. Every day is different, but here's an example: I wake up at 7 a.m. and get my two younger children bathed, dressed, fed and off to school. While tidying up the house, I check my office e-mail to prepare for the day. I'm a strong advocate for having work/life balance, so on a good day, I go to yoga from 8:15 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. This I do a few days a week. I'm at the office by 10:30 a.m. My day at the office is very busy and consists of e-mail, conference calls, meetings, store visits, writing, etc. The nice thing about my work is that it varies a lot and gives me a lot of opportunity for creativity and leadership. My job is to facilitate my corporate team's ability to help our franchise owners maximize their earning potential. I get to work on everything from marketing campaigns to financial planning to operations, recruiting, training, management, sales, real estate, product development, PR and anything else that's important. I also have a solid corporate support team. At home, we have a family babysitter and I meet her around 6 p.m. By that time, usually all my children are home and together we make dinner. We also eat together and put the younger children to bed. At around 9 p.m., I relax, watch TV, check in on my office e-mail and go to bed at 11 p.m.

What's your biggest challenge in being a mom entrepreneur?
When everything happens as planned, being a mom entrepreneur is manageable and fulfilling. However, the challenge comes when everything explodes at once. Juggling all the elements is a challenge, especially when one or more balls go haywire. For example, today I had an important conference call but my babysitter called in sick, so I worked from home. One of my kids was screaming in the background. I tried to concentrate on the call but my daughter was stung by a bee, so I had to jump off the call and tend to her. Of course everyone understands, but on those random days, it looks unprofessional and holds up productivity. Another ongoing challenge is that my second son, who is 16 and not driving yet (two more months), always seems to need a ride somewhere at the most inconvenient times. I often leave him stranded.

What's your best tip for success as a mom entrepreneur? Get lots of support, both physical and emotional. I'm lucky because I have good help at work and at home. My family, my husband (who is my college sweetheart), plus my colleagues are all supportive of my life plan.

Do you make time for yourself?
How? Having balance between life and work is important to me and helps clear my head for important decisions. The beauty of owning your own business is flexibility, but you have to make it happen. I make time to do yoga, visit the mall and get my nails done.
If you could start over in your business, what would you do differently? I love what I do. I never thought I would be in this position running my own successful company, but I wouldn't change a thing.

What's your favorite book?
I just finished Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides, and it was really good.

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Name: Jen Martino

Name of Company: Project X Media
Provides brand strategy and creative services.

Founded: 1996

Tell us what an average day in your life looks like, starting with waking up.
I wake up at 6:30 a.m. to my 3-year-old son jumping on to the bed, ready for breakfast and yelling, "Is it wake-up time?" I make breakfast, pack lunch, get dressed, get my son dressed and am out the door by 8:20 a.m. After dropping off my son at school, it's off to work. Today consisted of back-to-back meetings. A new business meeting at 10 a.m. entailed pitching our services, finding out if each of us will be a good fit to work together, etc. The next meeting at my office was a presentation of three new website homepage designs up for review. Then I had a lunch meeting with a colleague. In the afternoon I tried to squeeze in responding to all e-mails and getting actual work done before having to leave to be at school by 3:30 p.m. Then I'm home for an hour or two, where I make dinner for my husband and child, and then I'm back out for an evening networking event and home by 8 p.m. or 9 p.m. Phew.

What's your biggest challenge in being a mom entrepreneur?
One of the biggest challenges is being able to shut my brain off. It's hard to not think about the next day, what needs to be done, and to stop discussing the business with my husband (since he works there, too).

What's your best tip for success as a mom entrepreneur?
Follow-through and perseverance. Follow your intuition. Find a mentor in your same field and ask them important questions. Be open to change.
Do you make time for yourself? How? I schedule time for myself on my calendar. I book the time like an appointment. My husband and I alternate days for pickup/drop-off of our son, and alternate mornings for who gets up and makes breakfast so the other can have their own time. It's teamwork.
If you could start over in your business, what would you do differently? I think I would have hired my first employee faster. It instantly allowed me to work on the business, rather than in the business.

What's your favorite book? 
Barking Up a Dead Horse (Avoiding the Wasted Time and Effort in Business-to-Business Sales) by Tom Batchelder. This has been a pivotal business book for me.

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Name: Gretchen Vogelzang

Name of Company: KDCP Productions, MommyCast
Weekly podcast that focuses on topics of interest to mothers.

Founded: 2005

What's an average day in your life, starting with waking up? Because my business partner and I are moms, we fit everything around kids and family. I usually have time between getting my 15-year-old off to school and getting my 10-year-old up. That's when I check e-mail, check up on the site, do work on our social networking site (Facebook), etc. We talk a lot about current events, so I always have one ear to Good Morning America listening for potential topics. Our schedule is such that we podcast once a week--usually recording three or four shows. Then twice a week I sit down to edit the shows, do show notes and links, and post them to our website. I usually do this later at night when the kids are in bed. With our new video show, we go into the studio once every four to six weeks and do a blitz of shows. Sometimes we can record 20 to 30 shows per production stretch.

What's your biggest challenge in being a mom entrepreneur? Probably not becoming all-consumed by it. I think it's hard when you work out of your home to sometimes shut it off. I try hard to resist sitting at my computer while my kids are around doing homework or other evening activities. And on the weekend, I try to keep my focus on family. Besides, it's all potential story material for our shows. It's great when your job is your family, and even better when your other job is your family.

What's your best tip for success as a mom entrepreneur? Be passionate about what you do. You need to really love it or it'll become drudgery. A lot of people start businesses because they think they can make money. That ambition will only sustain you so far. And I think you're less likely to be successful if you don't have a fire in you that allows you to really believe in what you're doing. People gravitate toward sincerity and enthusiasm.

Do you make time for yourself? How? Yes. That's another perk when you work for yourself. Because my kids are older, I have a substantial part of my day when they're at school. I try to exercise or play tennis at least five times each week, because sitting at the computer for extended periods of time, I really need it.

If you could start over in your business, what would you do differently? Nothing. Our business has been one pleasant surprise after another. We've enjoyed every step, and I can't really think of anything I would do differently.

What's your favorite book? The last book I read that really touched me was Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. It's rare that I get to read for pleasure.

Lisa Druxman is Entrepreneur.com's "Mompreneur" columnist and the founder and CEO of fitness franchise Stroller Strides. Druxman is also a nationally recognized speaker and author, and is considered an expert in the field of fitness, particularly pre- and postnatal fitness. She hosts a free monthly webinar during which she answers questions from fellow mompreneurs. If you are interested in participating, contact her at lisa@strollerstrides.com.