Mumpreneurs mind store from home

HOTmilk Lingerie founders Lisa Ebbing (right) and Ange Crosbie. Photo / Bay of Plenty Times

Businesses started from home by new mums are a growth sector.

Online selling has provided the springboard for products designed or made by new mums and demographic changes have also boosted them. They've been given a label; mumpreneurs.

New mums are older, have smaller families and many are wealthier than previous generations. Figures show the median age of women giving birth was 30 years, up from 26 in the early 1980s.

OHbaby magazine publisher Angela Pederson said older mums, often from corporate backgrounds, were more likely to start a business.

"They've got the motivation and it's a case of wanting to continue working their brains."

She fits the category herself. She started a website nine years ago and the magazine two years ago, has three children under five and for the moment is working out of home.

"Women with kids just don't get the chance to get out shopping so they look online to do their spending which is why these women are doing so well," Pederson says.

HOTmilk Lingerie co-founder Lisa Ebbing started her business at home and says many new mums accept they aren't going to get the life they had before children back, but are starting a new chapter.

"For a lot of women it's not about just having a baby and being stuck at home but thinking 'cool, this is a new stage in life' and a lot of women are really inspired," she says.

Accounting management firm MYOB is also noticing the mums-at-home business sector growing because they know exactly what other mothers want.

"There's all those connections and channels that become available to you when you're a mum," said Myob general manager Julian Smith. "In that sector there are good examples of people who want to have their cake and eat it too." Grant Bradley

MUM'S THE WORD

International speaker and mother of six, Debbie Mayo-Smith's top tips for mums starting a business:

Focus
You can do anything; but you can't do everything. Delegate or eliminate the activities of your life that aren't the most profitable use of your time such as cleaning and data entry.

Be a great marketer
Develop and use an information-rich database of customers and prospects.

Don't let anyone go
Don't waste the money and time you've spent developing contacts and prospects - put them in your database.

It's about them, not you
Ensure all communications and marketing material are written from your customers' point of view.

Three must-haves
Wireless internet, a laptop and smartphone give you flexibility, freedom and more time with the kids.