Mompreneurs^® - Growth and Change of Mom Writers!

by Tracy Lyn Moland

Certain people have had strong influences on my life as an entrepreneur and a writer. Two of the most important have been the incredible women that created the world of the Mompreneurs^®.  Pat Cobe and Ellen Parlapiano joined forces in 1995 to write their best selling and incredibly helpful book, Mompreneurs^®: A Mother's Practical Step-By-Step Guide to Work-At-Home Success. Since then, they have received incredible recognition from appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show to presentations to a second book Mompreneurs^® Online: Using the Internet to Build Work@Home Success (Perigee, 2001) and an update of their original book. Their work in the field of moms who run their own businesses has turned the word Mompreneurs^® into a household name (although keep in mind they do own the trademark.) They have opened many doors for Moms all over the world and made opportunities available in places where before there were none. They are currently launching the new and exciting Mompreneurs^® Marketplace—a marketplace where you can find products and services offered by mom-owned businesses. www.mompreneursonline.com

I am honored to feature Pat and Ellen in this issue of Mom Writer’s Literary Magazine. Enjoy their story of inspiration and ideas to help you grow as a Mom writer.

1. How did you become a team of Mom writers?

We were both magazine editors in our pre-baby lives, and as colleagues, we had become friendly. After we had our babies and both began freelance writing careers, we realized that we lived near each other. We became friends and often turned to each other for support on balancing life as work-at-home mom writers. We even collaborated on a few big projects to help strike our family balance; by splitting the work on huge projects, we were able to keep our clients happy, and cultivate new writing outlets, while still having time to devote to our families. Through these collaborative projects, we realized that we had compatible writing styles.

We realized that there were a lot of mothers in our area who had home businesses. They were professional women doing really interesting things like graphic design, speech therapy, inventing parenting products, starting their own ad agencies, etc. That's when we came up with the idea of writing a book together on mothers who work from home.

2. Explain some of the changes in your writing patterns as the children go thru different ages and stages?

Pat: When my children were very young, I had a babysitter come two days a week, and I crammed all my writing into those two days...adding in play date exchanges with other moms and grandma coming in a pinch. As they got older, I was able to work around their school schedules. I tried to do all my interviews and phone work when they were out of the house, at school or a play date, saving my writing for later in the day and finishing up when they were in bed. As my children went through different stages in their lives, they inspired article ideas...especially for the parenting stories I did and some of my food/recipe stories.

Ellen: When our children were infants, we first attempted to write around their naptimes, but quickly discovered that that was NOT a reliable way to meet deadlines. Both of us learned early on that we needed to get back-up childcare. I was lucky enough to have my mother-in-law nearby to babysit three days a week in my home. When my daughter was born two and a half years later, it became too much for grandma, and I hired a sitter for three days a week. I worked on this Mon-Wed-Fri schedule for several years until the kids were in preschool, and then I was able to work every morning and then three full days that I had the sitter. Once they were in full-time school, I was finally able to work from around 8:00 to 3:00. Heaven!

Now that they’re teenagers (one is actually away at college, and my “baby” is in 10^th grade) I have full days to work every day, and a full workload to match!!! In fact, I must admit that as they have gotten older, I have fallen into the habit of working many nights and weekends...something I was able to control better when they were little because I didn’t want to miss any time with them. Now, as teens, they’re rarely around, and I’m reverting to some pretty serious workaholic habits—which I am trying to get under control! In many ways, I think family keeps you focused on that work/family balance, and you always have your eye on the clock and work effectively so you can be with your kids and still cultivate your career. But as they get older, you can expand your work hours, and your opportunities, and though it’s all very exciting and fulfilling, it is very easy to work round the clock. 

3. Favorite moments as mom writers? Least favorite moments? Challenges?

Pat: One of my favorite moments was when my children were interviewed for a story that a fellow writer was doing on what kids think about parents who work from home. Their responses were very revealing - from the fact that they liked that I could be there at 3 pm to pick them up from school (which is definitely my favorite thing, too!) to the feeling that they were nervous that I didn't make enough money because I wasn't employed full-time at a company.

Other favorite moments came when our books came up, and we did a lot of TV and radio. One morning, a friend of my son's came to school and said "I just saw your mom on TV as I was eating my breakfast!" We really enjoyed giving work-from-home moms the media attention they deserved and getting recognition for our efforts. The TV, radio, and iVillage gigs also led to consulting work, which was a lot more lucrative than writing books!

Challenges: Biggest challenges are the fact that you have to continually pitch ideas to get magazine work and market yourself constantly. It's also a challenge to have a tight deadline and know you have to work late into the night...after you've already helped with homework, made dinner, cleaned up, read bedtime stories, bathed the kids, etc. My husband is a big help, but I always felt guilty not giving it my all.

Ellen:  My favorite moment as a mom was actually an embarrassing moment that had a golden lining. One afternoon I somehow got caught up in a deadline and wrote down the wrong date for the registration of this after-school my daughter had been selected for. (It was one of these programs that was an honor for her to be in). Well, we missed the little celebration/reception, because I wrote the wrong date, and I felt terrible. After telling my daughter, Amy, that I would win the “Most Terrible Mom of the Year Award” she made me an award that said “Most Amazing Mom of the Year.” I still have it hanging!

Least Favorite Moment: Interviewing this high-powered Doctor on Christmas Eve, because that was the only time he could do it!!!

Challenges: I think writing is particularly tough because it is so deadline intensive. I’m fortunate enough to always have assignments lined up, but often there is no breathing space between them. And even though my kids are now teens, I want to be able to take some time to hang out with them and catch up. I try to carve out this time by at least leaving a day or, if possible, two between finishing one project and starting the next. But of course, it doesn’t always work out that way. So I try to squeeze in time: for example, I always pick my daughter up from school. Often I’ll stop in Starbucks so she and I can have some one-on-one time before I head back to my desk and she heads to the computer to IM friends!

4. Advice for other mom writers?

Pat: Get help if you need it. If you have to juggle several projects at once, exchange child care with another mom or hire a babysitter once in awhile. That way you can work when you're at your peak of energy, not dragging your feet late at night.

And learn to say "no" to assignments that are too low-paying, will require lots of legwork for little return, don't interest you in the least, have unreasonable deadlines, or make you work with an editor who is too demanding for no good reason. Make sure the money you are promised is worth it. Get that contract in writing, too!

Do anything you can to get clips - a story with your byline. You can write for the Internet, your local newspaper or community magazine, do brochures for local businesses, etc.

Despite what I said above, in the beginning, you sometimes have to take assignments that are not to your liking or pay nothing just to get your foot in the door and get good clips. But once you do, you can afford to be fussier.

Networking is very important. Try to meet with editors personally, get to know them, go to meetings of professional organizations where you can meet new editors. When an editor can put a name with a face, you're more likely to get an assignment. If that's impossible, develop an e-mail relationship.

Ellen:  Form a writers' group. Pat and I formed one in our county, and it’s still going strong today. Not only have we become a support group for each other, but we share business leads, recommend editors (and even give warnings about a select few!) I don’t know where I’d be without my writers' group. I depend on them so much!

5. Career progression - what are/were some of the stepping stones along the way?

Pat:  Progression: I freelanced for 15 years, writing magazine pieces, books, and public relations material. By the time my younger son was in middle school, I felt the urge to get out into the 9-to-5 world. So I made myself available as a "fill-in" editor when staff members went out on medical or maternity leave. It started when my colleague at Ladies' Home Journal (for whom I freelanced) called me up and asked me to fill in for 12 weeks when her associate editor went on maternity leave. I was only required to come in three days a week, which was perfect. It gave me the opportunity to get re-acquainted with the editorial world and provided great networking experience. I did the same thing at Working Mother magazine a year later. All in all, I "filled in" about four times, and this provided a springboard to get back into the magazine business full-time when I was ready.

Stepping stones: Try to get a lot of different experience when you are working from home on your own. Don't limit your projects to those skills that you have previously done...branch out and take on new things, learning along the way. I started doing public relations writing and educational kits...two areas that really broadened my experience and provided good material for my resume! This helped me land other projects. When you think outside the box, your world expands exponentially. And even if you think you can't do something, you can educate yourself or reach out to other Mompreneurs® to learn the skill set. With all the online forums and other networking opportunities we now have, there's no reason to say "no" to a client unless you truly don't want the job or assignment.

I am now working full-time as a magazine editor. I started when my first son went to college...the steady income and benefits were necessary, plus I really was ready for a change. But I was able to branch out into a field that combined my business writing and food expertise...writing for a restaurant magazine. All those years of gaining different kinds of experience really paid off. Next on my career path...pursuing a passion other than writing. Not sure exactly what that passion is yet, but it will probably center around the food world, since I'm very passionate about that and have a lot of connections.

Ellen:  For us, I think there was a big progression from magazine writers to book authors. I think one of the best things we did as partners was to both keep our individual writing businesses. Though we do all our Mompreneurs® writing together, we each have separate businesses as well. That gives each of us something of our own, and gives us variety. I am a contributing editor for Family Circle Magazine, and I also write for many parenting and education magazines. Another great benefit of book authorship: it opened the door to a speaking career for me. When I first started freelancing, I never imagined that I’d branch into speaking, but it seemed a natural extension of the book. And I love that I have the versatility to do different kinds of things, and to put on dress-up clothes and get out among inspirational professional women. 

Some advice on stepping stones/career progression: Though writing is very isolating, it is so important to get out and meet people in person. Join a professional organization, go to the press events you’re invited to, and when you’re there, talk yourself up in a humble way. People want to know what you’re doing…tell them. You never know when it will lead to new business.

Personally, I am working on cultivating a new specialty of travel writing. I just kept telling my established editors that I wanted to do travel writing, started with one story and that led to another and another. I post often on travel websites, referring to myself as a travel writer, and I attend press trips, where I have landed many many travel pieces. You have to create your own destiny…and writers are especially poised to do this!!! Don’t be afraid to create the next chapter of your writing career!!!

6. Where are you now with the Mompreneurs^® - what is next?

We want to do more with our website to optimize its value to our members and potential advertisers. We also want to be the "go-to" people for the media, corporations and others who are focusing on work-from-home businesses run by moms. We were the first and always want to be considered the pros!

We are focusing our efforts on our Mompreneurs®Online.com website. We have just launched the Mompreneurs® Marketplace where mom business owners can list their businesses and benefit from cooperative marketing. Since we get a lot of media coming to our site, the marketplace will give Mompreneurs® exposure that other types of ads would not give.

Ellen and Pat have provided so many amazing opportunities for Mompreneurs^®. I am excited to see the growth and changes they have made over the years, and it inspires me, as I know it inspires you, that life as a Mom Writer will continue to bring us joy and success! Thank you to the Mompreneurs^®!