Meet the Mompreneurs

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Many an expectant mother has embarked excitedly on her first expedition to a baby-gear emporium only to break out in a sweat at the overwhelming array of must-have products. Blinded by brightly colored plastic, dazed by dozens of strollers and high chairs and cribs, she would be excused for running from the store and hoping for hand-me-downs. Fast forward just a few months, though, and the same mom can be found expounding on the design flaws of her stroller, wishing her diaper bag had a couple more pockets and surfing the Internet for the latest and greatest gear. And if she doesn't find what she's looking for? Maybe she'll make it herself--and make a fortune while she's at it.

Mompreneurs, as they have come to be known, have created an endless variety of kid-inspired products--motherhood, apparently, being the mother of invention. Cynthia Drasler, of Phoenix, Ariz., came up with Organic Excellence hair- and skin-care products because her daughter's skin was too sensitive for most products already on the market. Narmin Parpia designed Potty Scotty, an anatomically correct male doll that pees water, after struggling to find toilet-training aids for her two sons. Julie Dix was inspired to create Taggies, a line of tactile blankets and books, when she noticed that her toddler son often preferred playing with the tags on his toys to the toys themselves. And Denise Marshall cooked up the Mac & Cool, a bowl that instantly cools a toddler's food, when she got tired of hearing her first child, Scott, shriek impatiently for his meal to be ready.

Most of those women had no idea how to write a business plan, secure funding, find manufacturers or market their wares at a trade show. Many had taken a break from another career, intending to stay home for a while and work just one demanding job--that of mom. But a passion for their products and the realization that others wanted them too led the women to embrace the risks of starting a small business. Along the way, many say, they have found the perfect answer to combining parenthood with an engaging career.

No one has hard figures on the growth of mompreneurs, but they are clearly part of a larger trend of female entrepreneurship. According to a study by the nonprofit Center for Women's Business Research, women are starting new businesses at twice the rate of men and own a 50% or greater stake in 10.6 million U.S. businesses. Organizations and websites have sprung up to serve the women behind these enterprises. Ladies Who Launch, an online, women's-only networking group, offers live workshops to its 25,000 members--40% of whom are moms. Authors Patricia Cobe and Ellen Parlapiano dispense advice and provide message boards on a website specifically directed at mompreneurs--a term they coined to describe moms running home businesses and, in the entrepreneurial spirit, have trademarked. Mompreneursonline.com attracts 7 million visitors a month, they say.

Technology and changing attitudes have made it easier to create home-based businesses, says Victoria Colligan, founder of Ladies Who Launch. "We can have our BlackBerrys and be waiting in line to pick up our child at school. We can respond to an e-mail at 2 a.m., and that's acceptable," she says. "You're taken seriously now if you have a work-from-home business."