Mothers with a mission

Motherhood, some say, can become the mother of all invention. When Manda Warner gave birth to her oldest daughter four years ago, she was disappointed with most of the baby products she found at the chain stores. She couldn’t stand all the pink. Baby blankets, bags and other gear adorned with pastel flowers and butterflies also didn’t match her style.

“I could make something better than that,” Warner told herself one day as she was inundated with catalogs full of pink princess-themed products.

So she pulled out her sewing machine and started making her own diaper bag – a piece of artistry made out of glittery red vinyl with prints of skulls and scarlet roses.

“It was way cooler than anything I could find,” said Warner, a Coeur d’Alene resident with an affinity for tattoos and ’80s punk fashion.

Along with her best friend, Jaclyn Clarry, Warner started creating funky baby blankets and bags as shower gifts. Before long, their sewing hobby evolved into Monkey on the Moon, an online business that sells unique, custom-designed baby products to people all over the country.

Warner and Clarry are among a number of local mothers who have become “mompreneurs” – women who take care of the kids while running their own home-based business. While some moms make money by working at home as graphic designers, freelance writers or consultants, a growing number are earning a living by offering products and services geared especially for children and families.

It’s the best of both worlds, according to these moms – some of whom left full-time jobs in order to find balance and spend more time with their families.

“Running a business is a lot like raising a family,” wrote Ellen H. Parlapiano and Patricia Cobe, authors of “Mompreneurs: A Mother’s Practical Step-by-Step Guide to Work-at-Home Success” and the founders of MompreneursOnline.com. “You have to be well organized, disciplined, nurturing, good at relationship building and able to shift gears quickly. And these are skills that mothers use everyday – which is why moms make such great entrepreneurs.”

After their children were born, Clarry and Warner had no desire to go back to their retail jobs. They both wanted to stay at home with their children, said Warner, but they also were looking for ways to contribute to the family income.

Now, the two mothers have an “office” in the basement of Warner’s home – a room packed with several sewing machines and rolls of material in various colors and textures. Instead of sending their kids to day care, they work around their children’s schedule – charting out business plans, designing products and making everything by hand during naptimes or when the kids are busy playing in the room adjacent to their sewing area.

Clarry, who just gave birth to her second child, Natalee, about two months ago, can breastfeed while working. Warner’s oldest daughter, 4–year-old Keyona, often helps by choosing materials. In the meantime, her other daughter, 2-year-old old Kali, spends most of the time playing with Clarry’s son, 1 1/2-year-old Tristan.

“We have a schedule that works out not just for us, but also for our kids,” said Warner. “If it’s too nice outside, then we don’t work. We go swimming or go to the park. If one of the kids is sick, it’s no big deal. We’re all at home anyway.”

Warner and Clarry, ages 30 and 28 respectively, sell most of their products online, but they also bring their goods to Coeur d’Alene’s Art on the Green and other fairs in the region. Most people also learn about Monkey on the Moon by word of mouth. Customers who order one of their flannel car seat “cozy” or a colorful messenger/diaper bag often tell them they were inspired to check out the Web site after noticing other parents sporting their products at the park and other public places.

Running their own businesses not only enables these women to set their own schedules and spend more time with family; depending on their particular product or service, becoming an entrepreneur also gives them the opportunity to reach out to other parents.

On Mother’s Day last year, Debra Cashman of Nine Mile Falls launched SpokaneMama.com, a Web site featuring personal, professional and parenting resources for moms and dads in the Inland Northwest. Cashman – a mother of two who also worked as an elementary school teacher for 13 years – wanted to help bring mothers together through articles, blogs, charitable giving programs and also by providing a daily calendar with events and fun things to do for the entire family.

Her Web site gets more than 100,000 hits a month, she said. In addition to writing articles and compiling information for the Web site, Cashman spends a lot of time blogging, connecting with advertisers and spreading the word about SpokaneMama by attending various community events.

The site is a franchise of TodaysMama.com, which produces regional “Mama” resource guides in Houston, Seattle and about a dozen other cities nationwide.

“It’s been a great way for me to meet people and to teach people about the area,” said Cashman, who moved to Nine Mile Falls from Eureka, Calif., in 2005.

Like other mothers with home-based businesses, Cashman works odd hours – often before the kids get up in the morning and after they go to bed at night. She also depends a lot on her laptop.

In recent months, Cashman has carved out some time to attend women’s networking groups in the area. One of her goals, she said, is to help other mompreneurs with the “Support Your Local Mama” campaign on her Web site.

“I’ve met a lot of creative mamas,” said Cashman, 44. “As a mom in business, I have grown to appreciate the other mamas who are trying to do this, too… If I can find something that’s made locally by someone else like me – someone who’s trying to make her own way in the world – I’m much more willing to buy from them than from the mall.”

Starting her own business and figuring out how to juggle it all has been a challenge, Cashman acknowledged, but the experience has taught her many lessons.

“Go and talk to other women who have businesses and really pick their brain for information,” said Cashman, when asked about the advice she would give for moms seeking to be entrepreneurs. “Find out the pros and cons. … And don’t be afraid to do it. I’ve grown a lot and learn a lot from this business – it has helped me in all areas of life.”

The owners of Monkey on the Moon also have no regrets about launching their business.

“Your kids are only little for such a short time,” said Warner, who first learned how to sew in high school. “If you can do something that can benefit them and support you (financially), and also if it’s something that you love, then it is totally worth it. …

“We get to do something we enjoy – we see each other every day and our kids grow up together. Our business also supplements our husbands’ incomes. It’s a win-win situation.”