Identity Crisis – Am I really a MOMpreneur?

Am I really a MOMpreneur?

A little look into the life of a mompreneur!!! I am a little confused here. Perhaps I am not the feminist I thought I was, perhaps my choice of words are actually causing the segregation and discrimination of strong women everywhere. Maybe you, my amazing community of friends and family, can help me out?

The other day I tweeted this picture of one of my favourite women doing what she does best: multitasking.

Yup, that is April from lil bean & green having 2 phone conversations at one time, while little kids run around EVERYWHERE! I posted this:

April from @lilbeanandgreen hard at work. 2 phone convos at once!!

Seemed pretty innocent, but soon I was being accused of discrimination and being disrespectful to April’s business abilities. I assure you this was not my purpose; in fact, I was trying to show the twittersphere how awesome she is!

So, has MOMpreneur really become that bad a word? Eek….Well don’t I have egg on my face? Here I was walking around using that word with such pride and conviction, when all along was I belittling myself and my fellow women?

To be quite honest, I think that Moms (or Dads) who run businesses while raising children are just so freakin’ cool that they actually deserve their own word. I mean, being an entrepreneur is cool, but add parenting to it and BAM…..you add a whole new level of ‘challenging’ that I would have never believed possible before I had my daughter.

I totally get what our fellow twitterer (is that right?) was saying. We should use the term entrepreneur across the board to promote equality, but I can’t help but disagree. Mom or Dadpreneurs are not equal, not even close, and the term Mompreneur is only disrespectful or discriminatory if you believe the term “Mom” is of little to no value.

The truth is, the Mompreneurs I know are amazing, hardworking, multitasking superheros who should be proud to embody the word. I know I am, and if you too want to use this title, I have compiled a list to let you know if you fit the mold:

1. Before business meetings, you stock up on goldfish crackers (or Amy’s organic bunnies)

2. Your most productive work hours are 12:00pm – 2:00am

3. You often go to meetings with food/puke/poop/snot on your shoulder

4. Most of the business professionals in your life have seen your boobs (or at least parts of them)

5. Your children believe your business partner’s children are their siblings

6. Your children believe your cell phone is their sibling

7. Your staff meetings are fully stocked with crayons, crafts, modelling clay and Lego

8. You make grown up business associates in fancy suits conduct meetings at lil bean and green or a play centre of any kind

9. The term ‘hands free’ is no longer in reference to time spent on your bluetooth. It means get child care fast, something big is going down (or something needs to get done in a reasonable time frame, not the typical work while chasin’ a toddler time frame)

10. You do not get a lunch break

If you have anything to add to this list, let me know! On the flip side, if you have reason to believe I am completely out of line by using this word, let me know. There is nothing wrong with a little healthy disagreement 🙂

xo Natasha

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