Friday
Nov072008
Franchising Opportunities - For Moms, By Moms
Friday, November 7, 2008
When I was pregnant with my first child, I reevaluated my priorities in life. I'd spent a good number of years working my butt off to prove myself to my bosses and I had been rewarded with bonuses, awards, promotions, and compliments. But I knew that if I continued that life, I would constantly feel like I was being pulled in two directions. Being pressured by my boss to spend more hours at the office and being pressured by myself and my family to spend more time at home. I knew being a mom would be hard enough without adding a ton of extra guilt on top of it, so I quit my job and started my own business. I'm still as dedicated as ever (and my clients will attest to that!), but I get to decide when enough is enough. I don't take on more projects than I want. I take lots of vacation. If there are no pressing deadlines, I take a day off. Oh, and did I mention that I make more money this way than I did when I was rushing around to please my boss?
I'm certainly not the only one to have done this. I know plenty of moms that have done this and have been much happier for it. Today i wanted to profile businesses of two mompreneurs I have had the pleasure to meet and interact with, not just because they are great and their businesses are great, but because they have businesses that are focused on helping new moms and they are both businesses that you can get into by franchising or licensing their concept.
Sound exciting? Do you think you have what it takes to be your own boss? If so, read on about these two great opportunities...
Britt Pegan founded Milkface exactly six months after her daughter was born. Britt started out selling nursing clothes on-line and then a couple of years ago expanded into a retail boutique in Ottawa that offers a wide variety of nursingwear, nursing accessories, baby slings and baby carriers. In addition to selling products, Britt also offers workshops and support for breastfeeding and babywearing. Here is a description of the business used as part of Britt's winning submission for the local Pimp my Biz competition, which she won!
Britt feels strongly about giving back to her community and the moms that come into her business. She spends time with them ensuring that they get the breastfeeding and babywearing support that they need to be comfortable and successful. She has brushed off business efficiency experts that tell her she spends too much time with her customers and that she carries too many different types of baby carriers (45 styles!) and her flourishing business and loyal network of clients is proof that her approach is the right one.
The exciting news for all of you aspiring mompreneurs is that Britt is now offering franchise opportunities for motivated, business-minded individuals across Canada and the United States that would like to open a Milkface boutique in their area. If you are interested, contact britt@milkface.com.
Pregnant women and new moms often have trouble staying in shape because they aren't sure what is safe during pregnancy and because it is hard to get away for a workout when you have a small baby at home. Andrea Page recognized this challenge when she founded FITMOM, which offers prenatal and postnatal fitness programs. The prenatal programs include cardio and strength training or yoga classes. The postnatal classes integrate the baby into the workout (using strollers and babycarriers, depending on the class and season) so that the mom doesn't need to leave baby in order to get back into shape. FITMOM also offers personal training to moms that prefer a one-on-one approach.
Here is how FITMOM is described on its media page:
I had the opportunity to be a client of FITMOM Ottawa with licensee Cassandra Mactavish and really enjoyed being able to stay in shape and get to know other moms that were in the same situation that I was in. I loved being able to take my baby to classes with me and integrate her into my workouts. FITMOM now has programs in more than a dozen different cities.
Check out the information and application form on FITMOM Licensing for more information.
Are you ready to take the leap to becoming your own boss? Whether you are potentially interested in licensing or franchising one of these successful concepts or whether they inspire you to come up with your own idea, I think it is a road well worth exploring if you are entrepreneurially inclined. I know I'm glad I quit my job!
I'm certainly not the only one to have done this. I know plenty of moms that have done this and have been much happier for it. Today i wanted to profile businesses of two mompreneurs I have had the pleasure to meet and interact with, not just because they are great and their businesses are great, but because they have businesses that are focused on helping new moms and they are both businesses that you can get into by franchising or licensing their concept.
Sound exciting? Do you think you have what it takes to be your own boss? If so, read on about these two great opportunities...
Milkface Nursingwear
Britt Pegan founded Milkface exactly six months after her daughter was born. Britt started out selling nursing clothes on-line and then a couple of years ago expanded into a retail boutique in Ottawa that offers a wide variety of nursingwear, nursing accessories, baby slings and baby carriers. In addition to selling products, Britt also offers workshops and support for breastfeeding and babywearing. Here is a description of the business used as part of Britt's winning submission for the local Pimp my Biz competition, which she won!Milkface Nursingwear is Ottawa's original "Mom Store." Stylish nursingwear, an unmatched selection of nursing and transition bras up to size K, and the best selection of baby carriers anywhere, we provide mothers of new babies the tools and informational resources to ensure they are equipped to deal with the practical and social challenges of breastfeeding so they can provide the proven benefits of breastfeeding and babywearing to their families.
Milkface is a proud supporter of breastfeeding and babywearing support and advocacy groups and makes available a seminar space located above the store for these groups for free in an effort to spread the word about the benefits of these age-old, yet misunderstood practices.
All staff are parents and most are members and leaders of La Leche League in Ottawa. We know the issues new moms face and can provide counsel and support by providing real-life experience and first hand anecdotes to help moms experience the joys of parenthood.
Milkface has been a bricks and mortar store since DEC 2006. Before that we operated as an appointment-only boutique from our home basement. Britt Pegan, the founder, is a loving wife and mother of 3 daughters including twins who she had many opportunities to wear at the same time and nurse simultaneously.
Britt feels strongly about giving back to her community and the moms that come into her business. She spends time with them ensuring that they get the breastfeeding and babywearing support that they need to be comfortable and successful. She has brushed off business efficiency experts that tell her she spends too much time with her customers and that she carries too many different types of baby carriers (45 styles!) and her flourishing business and loyal network of clients is proof that her approach is the right one.
The exciting news for all of you aspiring mompreneurs is that Britt is now offering franchise opportunities for motivated, business-minded individuals across Canada and the United States that would like to open a Milkface boutique in their area. If you are interested, contact britt@milkface.com.
FITMOM
Pregnant women and new moms often have trouble staying in shape because they aren't sure what is safe during pregnancy and because it is hard to get away for a workout when you have a small baby at home. Andrea Page recognized this challenge when she founded FITMOM, which offers prenatal and postnatal fitness programs. The prenatal programs include cardio and strength training or yoga classes. The postnatal classes integrate the baby into the workout (using strollers and babycarriers, depending on the class and season) so that the mom doesn't need to leave baby in order to get back into shape. FITMOM also offers personal training to moms that prefer a one-on-one approach.Here is how FITMOM is described on its media page:
The FITMOM program is the invention of celebrity trainer, Andrea Page. Andrea is one the leading experts in pre and postnatal fitness in North America. Not only has Andrea trained Olympic athletes like Joy McNichol and Alison Korn, but she has also helped acclaimed singer/songwriter Tara MacLean stay fit through her pregnancy and get her pre-baby body back fast. Television hosts Liza Fromer (BT), Liz West (Star Daily) and Christine Diakos (Three Takes) have also turned to Fitmom for the tough, results-based workouts of Andrea’s Fitmom program. Her challenging, safe and effective approach to both pre and postnatal fitness have made Andrea and Fitmom one of the most sought after programs for celbrity and non-celebrity moms and moms to be. Andrea is also a regular guest or featured on television shows, including Entertainment Tonight The Mom Show, Cityline, CP24, Omni, CTS, The National Post, The Toronto Star, CBC Radio, The Globe & Mail, Breakfast Television and The Perfect Fit and is routinely featured in national magazines, such as Pregnancy , Chatelaine and Today’s Parent and several regional papers throughout Canada and the US.
I had the opportunity to be a client of FITMOM Ottawa with licensee Cassandra Mactavish and really enjoyed being able to stay in shape and get to know other moms that were in the same situation that I was in. I loved being able to take my baby to classes with me and integrate her into my workouts. FITMOM now has programs in more than a dozen different cities.
Check out the information and application form on FITMOM Licensing for more information.
Are you ready?
Are you ready to take the leap to becoming your own boss? Whether you are potentially interested in licensing or franchising one of these successful concepts or whether they inspire you to come up with your own idea, I think it is a road well worth exploring if you are entrepreneurially inclined. I know I'm glad I quit my job!
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Reader Comments (6)
Those are fantastic businesses (and I hadn't heard of either one before). Thanks! (: What's your business (if you're willing to share)?
@ Carla - I'm a management consultant.
Love this post,thanks! Im going to check out FitMom because I have wished so many times over the last year that I could find something like that. It's so hard for me now that I have my son to get a work out in,but I don't know how to take him along with me. Very cool idea!
Some great options. Womens franchises are a big growth area in the UK right now too... its great to see more women and especially moms being able to get started in their own businesses.
Joe
There are many few franchise business that provides opportunities to the women that help them and provide opportunities to prove them. Thanks for your post.
UK has much opportunities for women for having their own business but I think they don't know much about it. This post will surely guide them in the right way and we will see more women working and managing their own business.