Mompreneur moving forward...

Already a good start to the new year! The Georgia Small Business Development Center just called and wants to see my business plan. I've sent it off to them with all the appropriate supporting documents. Now I wait for them to set up an appointment with me, and from there, they'll send me to the bank to get my small business loan! I'm officially on my way! It's just a matter of time until you see... are you ready?... "Domesticize Greenwise". That's all I say about it now, but keep watching... Big things are on the horizon!

Mom Corps

I just found the coolest thing online - it's called Mom Corps and it's a matchmaking service between former full-time professionals who have become stay at home moms and employers looking for non-traditional employees. Check it out here. I'd still love to come up with a great idea and become a mompreneur, but in the meantime, while I'm brainstorming for greatness and coming up with funds to finance my upcoming brilliant idea, maybe I could find non-traditional work in my field. Do you think I have too much going on? (I ask this as Sofia is watching TV - but I least I made her a healthy breakfast this morning and we already took a walk! And when Liam wakes up we'll all be off to the park.)

Of course, the real impact of this website (Mom Corps, that is) is that it circumvents the brain drain of qualified women from the work force. The current trend is that top colleges have a gender imbalance - there are more women seeking higher degrees than men. But, several years after graduation, a huge number of those women leave the work force to raise families. Women are not taking on upper level positions in major corporations because they're choosing families over careers. People like Linda Hirshman say this is because the feminist movement stopped short of its goal. The feminist movement made significant headway in the professional world, but never transformed family life and gender roles. While Mom Coprs doesn't really address that side of it, it does offer an alternative to the current gender imbalance in the workplace. Is it possible that women really can have it all (with the added plus of mopping floors, cooking meals, and being interior decorators to say the least...)?

Plans made. Somewhat.

I think I've figured it out. Long term plans, that is. I've had this whole dilemma about what to be when I grow up. (See my very first post from August this year for more on that.) Long term vision: To end the traffic of women from Moldova into sex slavery. (Did you know that there are more slaves worldwide today than there were when slavery was abolished in the US?)

To do that, I think I need a law degree. It would give me the legitimacy in Moldova to work in that arena, and the international law expertise to work towards that goal. The problem all along was, how do I do it without sacrificing my family? The women and moms I respect most have careers - but they work from their homes, so they're always around for their kids, and by being their own bosses they can take off time when they need to.

So, here it is... I can go to law school part time over the next 5 years or so. Once I've graduated and past the bar, I work part time for an NGO. After I have enough experience (and as long as we're in the US), I set up office in my home and be my own boss, doing some sort of consulting or private practice. The key is that I have to be content with never becoming a high-powered corporate lawyer earning the big bucks. I'll get my kicks from the impact I have as an agent of change.

Short term, I don't know how to make that work. I still want to be a MOMpreneur and I don't want to wait until I can run my own home-based private practice to do that. So, is there some venture I can start in the meantime and work at while I do this? I have almost a full year before I'll enter law school (assuming my application is accepted). I'll have to think more on that. Maybe I can get something started, and have it running smoothly enough by fall next year that it won't be a drain on my time.

mompreneur

I just found a new word that i love on entrepreneur.com - MOMpreneur! Isn't it great?! So, that's my new obsession. I have to become a mompreneur. I'm not sure exactly what kind of business I want to start, but I'll find something. Okay, the real problem is that I have too many ideas to settle on one. I need some time to evaluate and plan. I'd tell you my ideas, but then someone might steal them... sneaky web-savvy idea snatchers... Not that I really think anyone reads my blog, but you can never be too careful, right? Who knows what kind of predators are out there just looking to steal a mompreneur idea... Or am i back to thinking I'm the center of the universe?

Anyhow, stay tuned to see what I eventually settle on for the secret to my (distant future) success! I'm on my way to rich and famous! (perhaps not, but why should I settle?)