Mom Entrepreneurs
By Joni Hilton

Working at home has taken the sisters by a storm; innovative ideas and real inspiration are letting hundreds of sisters stay close to their kids— and be entrepreneurs at the same time. This column has become a clearing house this week, connecting sisters around the world and helping you network!

This reader even found that non-Mormons appreciate the ideas as well:

…I sent your article to someone very dear to me to share that you had chosen me as one of your contributors…She is not of the LDS community....she wrote back telling me your article was exactly what she needed in her life at this time. You truly never know the good that can come when striving to help others, Joni...thank you!! Janet Huff, Rexburg, Idaho

We’re for anything that promotes families and unity at home! I’m so glad you shared this column with her. She might like this week’s ideas as well.

Also, many of you wrote with some amazing ideas for starting up businesses at home, and simply don’t know where to begin. So here’s my checklist, if you will, of what to ask and do before you launch a business:

Do your homework. Check out every Internet site you can, which has to do with your idea. Has someone else thought of it already? Is the market glutted? Can you beat the competition? Research at the library, make calls, and formulate a plan.
Have you talked to your family about what this would involve as far as time/money/sacrifice on their part?
Is this something that you’re going to get carried away with, and neglect your kids because your business has grown too big? How many hours are you really going to spend on this? Are you prepared to hire others to work in a separate office if it grows bigger than you expected?
Have you brainstormed with friends and family about other ways to do this?
Ask yourself why you want to do this. Would you truly enjoy it, or would it just be for the money? If it’s just for the money, it will probably become a grind. Make sure this is something you love, and could do 24/7 if you had to.
Will there be a demand for your product? Does it solve a problem? (Example: Holy Cow cleaner solves three problems. One, it’s the only cleaner you need under the sink, so you can get rid of the dozen bottles there, two: It’s safe enough that kids can use it and pitch in to help clean without using toxic materials, and three: it does a better job than other cleaners.)
Now pray. Present your plan to the Lord, just like the brother of Jared presented his idea about the stones to light the vessels. I have a whole chapter on this in my new book, The Power of Prayer.
If you’ve been given the go-ahead to pursue your plan, go with gusto, not doubting. The Lord would not set you up for failure!
How’s your funding? Many businesses fail because they don’t have the money to keep the merchandise flowing. If you have to front your own expenses, you need to cover the time between start-up and actual collection/profit.
Do you plan to take on a partner, or are you going to do this yourself? If you decide to take on a partner, remember that a friend is not the same thing as a partner.
If it’s a service, what are folks charging for similar services?
Have you looked through the forms from the Small Business Administration, to see what you need to begin?
Do you have a business plan filled out in detail, plus an exit strategy?
Go to the bookstore and look for books on starting businesses up from home. They should give you step by step instructions.
Can you get a loan and do you want to? Would investors be a better idea? If so, what do they get out of the deal?
Can you start small and let it grow, while your main source of income remains steady?
How will you let people know of your business? Are you prepared to advertise? Check out the costs.
See an attorney if you need a patent, if you need to incorporate, if you have a partner, or if you need to register a trademark.

Here’s a sister who stayed home and sewed parkas in Alaska:

I created a business making "parkas" for dog mushers on the Yukon Quest and Iditarod sled dog races. I also created fur hats, mittens and ruffs (fur trim on hood). This started as a personal project to make stuff for my kids that was warm enough to get them through the long COLD winters in Fairbanks, Alaska!!! I called it Frostbite Furs. I also picked up a little cash from the state "tagging" furs that they needed trapping/tracking on. Since I was the only one within a 100 mile stretch of highway--the monthly checks added up. The first year I did fairly well and my business increased by about 30% for each of the first 3 years--by this time it was either hire someone to help or cut back to what I could personally handle. I even did a contract with the City of Fairbanks and made beaver fur hats for the whole police department! – Christie Roberts, Sacramento, California

Now this sister lives in Sacramento, and makes jewelry, soaps and aromatherapy pillows in a business called “Christie’s Creations.” She also does bookkeeping, massage, and web-site management.

Several readers asked about Janet Marie Huff’s cookbook, and Janet shared this information:

My cookbook is called Basic Essentials. It hasn't even been out for even a year yet. Right now it’s at: American Screen and Print, Rexburg, Idaho, The Preparedness Store, Idaho Falls, Idaho, Latter-day Resources, Spanish Fork, Utah (they have a website and a mail order catalog), and an LDS bookstore in Kenniwick, Washington (name of store...don't recall at moment!!)
I am also working on a website at this time... should be going by October of this year. Book will be into Nevada and California areas before Christmas this year. When I teach for BYU-I Education week, their bookstore carries my cookbook... Thank you for letting me know there's an interest out there :)
Janet

Another sister put out a call for sisters to submit their work to her web pages:

I just read your Creative Work At Home article. I would welcome new and creative products to add to my web pages. I am looking for cook books for www.HoneyGardenGifts.com . I need genealogy related items or gifts for genealogy lovers for www.4GenealogyNuts.com . The site is still in the process of being created but I already started promoting it so it will be in the market for the holidays. I would welcome something relating to American Sign Language for www.ASLcd.com . Especially looking for something for baby signing and homeschoolers. I have sites that are rising on Google ratings and we could help each other.- Sharon Diluvio, Columbia, Missouri (More of Sharon’s websites)

www.herbpeople.com
www.ASLcd.com
www.HoneyGardenGifts.com
www.4LifetimeHealth.com
www.4MyFoodStorage.com
www.My4Life.com/herbpeople
www.4GenealogyNuts.com
www.TransferFactorResearch.com/5909543.html

This reader is curious about writing at home:

I'd love to find out how some of the women who wrote to you found their writing, editing, and proofreading opportunities. (I edit student essays nine months of the year for very little money!) I know you've written for "Family Circle," and probably other magazines. Do you just write an essay then submit, submit, submit?

Is there a website or other resource that suggests how to find opportunities? We live in a tiny, tiny town, so I'd need to look elsewhere online for ideas.

Might any of your readers have specific suggestions? Thanks again!

Trish Mercer, Buena Vista, Virginia

I hope some of you will share ideas with Trish, for how to do editing and proofreading at home. I can give you some freelance magazine advice:

First, get a copy of the reference book, Writer’s Market. This will tell you most of what you need to know. It will also list all the publications, what they want, what they pay, and whom to contact.

Next, study the magazines before you submit, so you’ll send them things they’re likely to buy. If you can submit samples of published work with your query or proposal, so much the better. Your submission shouldn’t be the whole article—just a cover letter and your pitch of what you plan to write and how (and why you should be the one to do it). The exception is a humorous essay, which is submitted in full.

Take a class or two which will give you the chance to get feedback and criticism from a good professor.

Write, write, write. Mail, mail, mail. When rejections come, ignore, ignore, ignore! It took me years to develop close relationships with editors at big magazines. There are also some good beginning writer’s magazines on the newsstands, that give you pointers each month, about how to write great cover letters, how to interview experts for your self-help piece, how to find your voice, how to read the contract, etc.—all good to absorb.

Keep honing your craft. Read good writing, and above all, be willing to rewrite.

I read your article today on Creative Ideas for Working from Home and was especially intrigued by the letter from Marci Wahlquist in Riverton, Utah. I have always wanted to be able to work from home editing and proofreading (my husband calls me 'grammar nazi' sometimes!) because I'm a nut when it comes to finding spelling and grammatical errors in any printed material. I can't even drive down the street here in Boise without noticing every error on every business sign, and when I find a typo in a novel or article, I just cringe because I realize how unprofessional it might appear.

I would love to hear how Marci got started doing this and how she finds her work. I've been privileged enough to be able to edit two screenplays for good friends and also an epic novel for my older brother, but it wasn't for pay. Can you put me in touch with Marci or perhaps forward this e-mail on to her so I can find out how she was able to do this? Thanks for your help...I LOVE your column! :) -- Kelly Young, Boise, Idaho

Marci, I hope you’re reading and can respond for Kelly and others. Another writer also asked for personal contact:

I would like to get in touch with Amy Porter at Wright Patterson AFB concerning doing medical transcribing at home. I have looked for a reputable company and am a little uncertain about all of the companies out there. Is it possible for you to give her my email address and ask if she would contact me? Thanks, Kathy Oxborrow, Wichita, Kansas

In fact, if anyone’s letter was printed last week, who has a web site for others to use to contact you for help or information, please send it and I’ll post it for those interested.

We also heard from a sister who wishes the “super mom” types wouldn’t judge those less high-achieving. And I agree—we feel too much unspoken pressure to out-jog, out-quilt, out-can, out-nurse, out-garden, out-decorate each other, and instead we should simply pursue our own, inspired goals, and know that Heavenly Father judges our hearts, not whether our bread is homemade or not. Let’s face it, in today’s world, it’s tough enough just to raise kids. I have one friend who feels it’s all she can do “just to get my kids to class fed and clean and dressed, with nobody in jail or breaking windows.”

Last, we heard another vote for working at home— from a dad who feels his wife’s outside career contributed to their breakup:

This is not really cadet-mommy- this is her husband who works full time now and then, and has a story about his earlier life with his first wife. She was pretty unhappy being a stay-at home with our three little ones. She wanted me to have a better job than plumbing and sent me to school in the evenings to become a teacher .I stayed with the kids and studied while she got a city job with benefits (911 dispatcher) and it all went smoothly for the first 3 years. When she started working nights and I went back to work for the air force we had a pretty good combined income. But it was about that time I noticed some warning signs. We didn’t seem to talk much and whenever we did she was telling me she felt really good about her job - that she was protecting women from dangerous situations (mostly abusive husbands) and guiding "her officers" through the perilous nights. I came later to see that she had come to see anyone not connected to law enforcement or emergency services as suspect . She went back to Relief Society after a long absence and told me "those people are out of touch" so she refused to return to church services or the temple. Closer to the end I noticed that she fudged on the taxes (I ended up paying later) and tithing settlement. So I guess I paid for that also. She said in the end that we needed to split up so that we could both be happier.- and then it got real ugly and real painful for me and the children. Anyway I read reviews (even the first chapter for free) of a book published last year by a mother-daughter research team called "The Two Income Trap" about bankruptcy figures and the American family….

My life with my second family is so much better and I am a lot happier now - The only thing I can think of to tell all you ladies who seem to read this magazine are words from a Primary song-- "Keep the commandments, he will send blessings, words of the prophets- in this there is safety and peace-“ Name Withheld

Satan leads us away in increments, and one of the most alluring traps is a glamorous career outside the home, where you get public recognition or a feeling of importance from “the world.” This is true for men, as well. All of us need to remember the real point of being here on Earth, and make our families Number One. Thanks for your great information.

Be sure to read next week, when we revisit the subject of pornography addiction. See you then, Joni