Business Opportunities Weblog

March 31, 2008 by Angela Shupe | 3 Comments

Having opened shop in October of 2003, Heather has seen her online store grow by leaps and bounds. Going from a small cash investment to having a more than enough product for visitors to her boutique to choose from goes to show the success she has had in the past 4+ years. Heather also makes it easy for those looking to support other entrepreneurial moms, because the products she offers are also 100% mom invented.

As a good example to what a work at home mom can do, I asked Heather a few questions about her business and what it took to get to where she’s at now. This is what she had to say:

What was your inspiration for Mom 4 Life?

All great adventures must first begin as a dream. As a new mom, my dream was to be at home with my children, while also helping the family financially. I committed my dream to prayer and asked God for wisdom. I realized that there were many options that could work, but only a few that I would be truly passionate about. I have a lot of passion for being a mother so helping other moms was a logical place to start.

What have you learned since starting that you wish you’d known before?

I have learned that I am much more capable of doing things than I first thought. I have always been confident in my abilities, but starting Mom 4 Life has really given me the opportunity to meet and exceed challenges in a practical way that I had not previously realized I could do. I find myself wishing I would have started something sooner because of how enjoyable it is to be your own boss. However, I believe that God’s timing is best and without the proper inspiration to get started, I don’t feel that I would have found the outcome to be as rewarding.

What steps did you take to start up your business?

My husband encouraged me to explore options on the internet. I began small (with start up costs of $100 and an eBay listing for one product) and grew with demand. God was gracious and took that small beginning and allowed it to grow to something that was truly able to make an impact in the lives of hundreds of women whose products are now sold on our site as well as the crisis pregnancy centers we have come along side to help support.

How do you manage time for your business around your family?

I will not sugar coat it, balancing work and family is very hard. This is probably the hardest part of my job. I am not alone. Almost every mom in business I talk with has the same struggle. I am very motivated and for me it usually means I get used to being ok with very little sleep. I also hire employees to do as much as I can to reduce my workload and I multitask a lot. As my kids get older and our family grows, (I am currently pregnant with #3) my time management methods evolve with my family to try to accommodate everyone’s needs in order to continue being mom first and business owner second.

What did you need to know before you got started?

I needed to know that I had my husband’s support and that I had an idea that was worth pursuing. Other than that, I just had to be willing to ask questions as I went along because there is so much I didn’t know. I have found that aspect hasn’t changed muchJ, the more I learn the more new areas of learning present themselves.

Do you have any tips you’d like to share with other moms who might be interested in starting their own business?

I find that this is a question that a lot of people are interested in hearing the answer to. I have several thoughts on this subject and I wrote an article on it. You can find it here.

In Ecommerce, Interviews, Women, Work at Home | 3 Comments