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Did you know that women own nearly half of all small businesses in America — and that number is growing?
There’s a significant interest in starting companies from mothers. With one million mothers having lost their jobs during the pandemic, over 62% of mothers saying that they are looking for ways to supplement their income, and 50% of mothers saying they are interested in starting a business, entrepreneurship is quickly becoming a enticing opportunity for women with children. But a systemic lack of networking support for working mothers hinders women from finding the right communities to advise and enable their businesses — and their business growth — through this period.
digitalundivided BIG program graduate Anamarie Torres — founder of LoVi — a loyalty reward system exclusively for businesses, cautions that finding communities centered on motherhood and career development is essential for all women pursuing this dual path;
“Seeking guidance from fellow mom entrepreneurs — something hard to find — becomes crucial in balancing these roles, and their support becomes a lifeline.”
Luckily, more and more communities for working mothers are beginning to pop up. Many of these mompreneur communities specifically support women of color entrepreneurs and provide ample virtual and in-person resources, classes, conferences, and retreats to help working mothers from all walks of life and at all stages of motherhood and career/startup development. Read on to learn more about five mom-focused business communities that provide supportive, restorative, and inspiring spaces for you to continue growing in many womanly ways.
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Mater Mea
“Mater Mae” may be Latin for “my mother,” but it has become a stronghold of Black women’s storytelling over the last eleven years. Self-described as “Black mom Google,” Mater Mea focuses on developing high-quality blogging content on wellness, living, culture, baby, pregnancy, parenting, and career. They are a community resource to support Black mothers seeking answers to life, career questions, and motherhood.
Motherly
With a following of over 1 million, Motherly is the media and news company redefining motherhood through videos, podcasts, articles, and more. Self-described as the judgment-free, women-centered manual you never had but always for navigating motherhood, Motherly also offers virtual classes — many of which are free — on topics such as family planning, parental leave, the 4th trimester, savings, and more. Motherly has a “shopping” section, curated as well-researched listicles, so you have peer-reviewed resources to discover- and find valuable insights into what products work best for you and your family.
Mocha Moms
Mocha Moms is a chapter-based online organization that supports mothers who are women of color. Through participation with local chapters, Mocha Moms enables mothers to come together in the community, providing supportive meetings on motherhood and growth. They include chapter events and activities, such as mom’s night outs and kids’ socials.
You can also access exclusive events, educational summits, leadership and management training, and conferences as a member. Virtual resources include news and information, newsletter, photos, and communications from chapters nationwide.
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Hey Mama
The juggle is real. Hey Mama is here to provide a solution to that. With 87% of employees stating that employers could foster moms into working conditions and an overall lack of structural support as a mother in the workplace, Hey Mama is a community of 4,000+ working moms — 75% of which are entrepreneurs — helping mothers find each other, connect, and support one another in meaningful ways.
As a members-only social and professional network for mothers growing careers and families, Hey Mama provides in-person and virtual events and articles. It also has a vertical dedicated to budding writers — from building a proposal to marketing their non-fiction story.
The Founding Mom
The Founding Mom is a membership-based community for mothers on a mission to build their companies. The primary offering within The Founding Mom community includes relationship-based commuting that focuses on promoting deep connections and comprehensive online and offline resources for members to enhance their business skills across marketing, branding, and sales.
Each year, The Founding Mom provides +35 in-structure video courses, 60+ live educational events, and 300 pieces of supportive content. The Founding Mom has also coached over 30,000 mompreneurs to build better businesses.
What are you waiting for? With this great list of mom-focused communities, explore your options and find the tribe that provides an empowered sense of community, ownership, and support to build your business dreams while growing your families!