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Often that big idea strikes, and it’s those take charge people that follow them through to fruition to create a successful small business.

In many cases, those people are moms that see an opening and a need for a certain niche, and then turn it into something big.

In doing so, these women don’t give up their “momminess,” they just add “mompreuneur” as one of the many hats they wear.

It All Starts With Passion

The key to becoming a successful small business owner is doing something you love and find passion in. Being good at it helps, too.

Whether you are artistic, practical, crafty or persnickety, you probably have some good ideas rolling around.

Check out these notable moms who have started small businesses and then turned them into great big giant businesses:

Heather Allard is a mom of three and successful entrepreneur who, among other successes, is the inventor of Swaddleaze and Blankeaze, wearable swaddling blankets sold in more than 200 stores around the world, including some of the big name catalogs like One Step Ahead. She saw a need when her children were young to find something to help them sleep, and followed up on it, turning her blankets into a small business and then a thriving company with a worldwide market. She also began TheMogulMom.com, a community website for momprenuers.

Kelly Lester is another mom who saw a hole and filled it. She is the owner and creator of EasyLunchboxes.com and Art Plates. Art Plates was created after Kelly noticed the bland light switch plates everywhere, so she designed plates with a creative flair. Later, as her children brought their lunch to school, she wanted simple and healthy food without all the extra packaging, hence EasyLunchboxes. Now she owns a top seller on Amazon.com.

Both of these women used their momminess to spot a need for something useful to their families, and then used their drive and creativity to fill that hole, tuning a vision and a need into successful businesses.

Social Media is a Great Marketing Tool

Another thing both of these moms, along with many other small business owners, did was use the heck out of social media.

With blogs, websites, online ordering and social media, they marketed their product and themselves. Moms also usually have great networks, an essential piece of starting a business and getting your name and product out there.

Small businesses begin with a vision and a passion.

With those two things, and a thirsty drive and maybe a Facebook or Pinterest page, your creative insight could turn into a successful small business, and you will still be home to cook dinner for your family and maybe squeeze in a soccer game.

And if all goes well, your small business may end up being not as small as time goes on.

Photo credit: liberatingworkingmoms.com

About the Author: Heather Legg is a writer and mom of two, who covers a variety of topics ranging from parenting to social media to how to become a surrogate mother.

The Real Test of Our Social Skills

Families — fond memories, sentiments that bring us closer together. I’ve sure we’ve all got those. Unfortunately, it seems families aren’t absolved of people who aren’t a joy to the world, of incidents involving human error. Bad times, miscommunication, and conflict come along with the package family deal.

I know more than one person who has thought of starting over — electing a new family, demoting those currently in familial roles — she just doesn’t know how to tell the family she was born into.

It’s not a solution as far as I can see.

I have noticed that we often cut our new friends and new clients more slack than we do our families. Family history gets in the way of our relationships moving forward again.

It sure seems that where we have relationships — yeah even those stuck in a time warp — we might try our best social practices for connecting in positive ways when relationships aren’t happening.

Here’s a four-point plan to reconnect with people that you’ve had a history with.

Smile. Be joyful to see them. It’s a chance to change history. Be the change you want to see. The surprise alone often changes their demeanor.

Live that smile through and through. Folks we’ve had history with have put us into a content and context box. They use their experience and how we look, what we say, what we do — to recognize signs that might validate that smile. Belief and consistency in the smile through every test gives you and them a place to stand.

Never let ’em see you sweat. When we’re at our best we’re authentic. If they ask, tell them life is good and that you’ve decided to look at the world with a positive view. If they bring up bad events, agree that the events were bad and be glad that they’re over. If you need to point out that the happy occasion isn’t the best venue for sorting out history.

Make everything about everyone in the room. Be a great guest who is helpful, curious, and interested in the folks who came. Talk about what they want to talk about. It’s an afternoon with the audience who knows you better than any client ever will.

We know how to meet, interact, and build communities with our friends and customers here. What if we do that with our families too? If we let go of old stories, we might find that the curmudgeon in our family is really someone who wants to be listened to. The hardest ones to know can be holding great bits of wisdom. What if we made it a quest to get to it?

Lots of us know that our families don’t see us clearly. It seems only logical that it must be true the other way too. If we start connecting, imagine what we could be learning. We’ve got the skills and the tools.

What if we try this at home over the holidays?

Meet someone you already know this holiday season.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!