Being a mom has to be the toughest job on earth but it can also be the most rewarding.
What's harder than trying to be the best mom to your kids, trying to be an entrepreneur and run your own business while raising your family.
Even if you don't always feel like it, we know moms are a bit like superheroes and hold everything together somehow.
If you've ever thought about building your own business or just need a reminder that you really can have your cake and eat it too, here's some inspiring examples of moms running their own business empires.
1. Rachel Rodgers - HelloSeven
First up, this mother of four, mother, and an attorney turned entrepreneur decided to live life on her own terms.
Some of the many titles she goes by include attorney, business coach, podcaster, marketer, and community builder.
She recently added best-selling author to his list with her book "We Should All Be Millionaires."
Rachel Rodgers might be earning over $5 million a year but her life looked very different not too long ago.
As an attorney handling trademarks and intellectual property, she barely made ends meet while working from a desk she had by the front door, because it was the only available space in their super small house.
There are a number of action that have impacted Rachel's fortunes (literally and figuratively) and the book is well worth a read (it's a wake up call spliced with plenty of humor and Rachel's trademark laughter).
2 of the biggest changes she made were raising her prices and getting crystal clear on her offer.
As soon as she got real clarity and started charging more, she attracted a better clientele too.
(She admits the 1st time she gave her new price to someone, she was absolutely terrified but to her surprise, they said yes without even questioning it.)
Realizing there are many women (and members other minority groups) facing the same struggles, Rodgers started her wealth coaching business.
Fast-forward a few years and she leads a thriving community for entrepreneurs and has an entire team of staff helping her leverage her time to the max.
Having recently released her first book, Rachel is extending the reach of her message to the masses who need to hear, and acknowledge, that it is possible to be a millionaire mommy and stay sane at the same time.
While Rodgers is changing the money-mindsets of women across the globe, our next spotlight offers something to do with all that cash they've created with the 'magic money dust'.
2. Nicole Wegman - Ring Concierge
Nicole Wegman is not only growing her own business in a male-dominated diamond industry, she's also catapulted the jewelry-buying process light years into the future.
For many years, jewelry was bought by men to give to the women in their lives.
Nicole shares how difficult and cold the buying experience was when she and her fiancee were shopping for her engagement ring.
Something that was supposed to be exciting and memorable ended up being soooo stressful and difficult.
As someone who had some experience in the jewelry and retail trade, Nicole saw an opportunity to do things better.
Ring Concierge was launched.
There was also a huge market gap in that out-date industry model with demand for a new type of customer.
Jewelry designed by women, for women who want to buy their own pieces and wear them in a layered fashion.
Nicole talks about the struggles to be taken seriously and to build a network within the industry to get things done.
Once she began to see growth with her fresh approach and how much demand there was for a new way of purchasing high-end jewelry, it didn't take long for industry folk to buy in.
What did Nicole do differently?
She made the focus of her designs and buying process about women.
After all, plenty of us ladies are capable of buying our own jewelry and who knows what we want better than we do?
Another significant change in approach was the option to order a sample pack of rings to try on and find your exact style and size before ordering an expensive ring.
Nicole had already launched this channel before Covid hit.
As you can imagine, Ring Concierge was thriving while the big names were scrambling to figure out what to do when they had to close their stores to the public.
On the topic of motherhood and competing business priorities, Nicole said having her daughter made her recognize the need to compartmentalize and being 100% present when in either space.
Overall, Nicole has turned a male-dominated and out of date industry on it's head.
She's a great reminder to not let the discouragement of others, especially competitors, stop you when you know there's a market for your service or product.
After all, many of the big start ups of recent years have been major disrupters of their marketspace...think Uber or Airbnb.
Now, maybe you're thinking you have to go into huge marketplace on a big scale to rock your world.
Think again...
3. Linda Greenberg - Firetail Marketing
Linda decided to build her own business so she could spend quality time with her kids and be in control of her own income.
Admittedly, stepping into entrepreneurship was entering a whole new world.
However, through practice she's learned step-by-step to run a highly successful marketing business based out of Boston.
While her experience might not match the rags to riches story, I believe she's a incredible example of a mom who went into a space that probably appeals to many but they don't know where to start.
Linda decided on her service and set about building her skills, processes, and her business from the ground up.
She also invested in some quality mentoring and joined a community of like-minded people who she could learn from.
In the space of just a couple of years and pushing beyond her initial comfort zone, she's a confident business owner with some serious sales spunk.
Next up, we've probably all seen the movies or read at least one of the books.
But do you know the humble beginnings of the author behind the Harry Potter craze?
4. J.K. Rowling - Bestselling Author
Life might look rosy for the British author of Harry Potter but do you know about her struggles before finally getting the book deal that changed her life?
J.K. Rowling spent her 20s living on welfare as a single mom.
She credits her time living as low as humanly possible (without being homeless) as the foundation for her success.
I believe there is something about experiencing struggle that creates hunger and drive to reach higher.
Suffering from bouts of serious depression and crediting therapy for helping her cope with the stresses of life, J.K. has carried that sense of compassion in her charitable giving over the years.
As a self-claimed 'disorganized mess', J.K. had amassed tons of notes on her characters, spells, and story threads.
She spent more than 2 years living penny to penny while writing in local cafes as she brought her 1st Harry Potter book to life.
Without childcare options, she would have to take her young daughter with her and hope she would sleep while J.K. wrote.
Sadly, it was rejected by all the publishers she sent it to.
Eventually she got a break!
An unknown literary agent in London decided to take a chance and print 500 copies of the book "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" (the name it goes by in the UK).
The rest, as they say, is history.
Rowling would have billionaire status only she gives away so much of her income to the charities close to her heart.
We can all take encouragement here that even when times are incredibly tough, we just need to keep taking daily action toward our main goal.
I really enjoy learning about people's journeys and experiences.
It often seems that when someone goes 'all in', great things happen.
5. Jennifer Telfer - Pillow Pets
Talking about taking an idea and running with it.
Jennifer Telfer watched her son flatten out a cuddly toy to rest his head on.
Seeing this as an opportunity, the concept for Pillow Pets was born.
If you have young kids, you might have a Pillow Pet around the home too.
Pillow Pets was started with $800 and has grown to a company with over $300 million in revenue.
Granted Jennifer had the help of her husband in both the company and at home but she's a great example of a mom who's realistic about the challenges of entrepreneurship and how to ride them.
One of the things I find really encouraging is how she doesn't look back with regret.
Jennifer shares how she takes her time making key decisions.
And once a decision has been made, it's all a learning experience from there.
She's readily admit that it's impossible to get everything right.
While it took a ton of time and effort to build her company to the level it is now, as she's grown as a business owner, she now values her time more than anything else.
I think that's a common thread for most people.
The more time I spend in business and learning about different industries, I see so many opportunities to make really great money without trading your time for dollars.
While most people think entrepreneurs are made overnight, our next spotlight is very open about the legwork that went into getting her company off the ground.
6. Sara Blakely - Spanx
As a women, you're probably no stranger to Spanx.
They are a lifesaver for fitting into those jeans or avoiding VPLs.
But how much do you know about the face behind the miracle shapewear.
Imagine trying to sell a product no one has ever heard of or tried before. It's not easy.
Sara recalls her early days of Spanx while flying around the country to different Neiman Marcus stores everyday to personally promote the product to women shopping in the clothing section.
And get this.
Knowing that no one is looking for something they don't know exists, she took the bull by the horns and set up her own displays near the checkout counters where she would promote the product to women as they were getting ready to purchase their goods.
If a store worker questioned the tactic, Sara said it was normal practice at all the stores - and most of the time, she got away with it.
I mean, this lady literally took the future of her company into her own hands.
14 years later and Sara hit billionaire status.
I'm sure there were many times in those early days where she questioned if she was wasting her time.
If you've never dug into Sara's story, it's well worth a closer look.
And she's got a wicked sense of humor too (if you don't already follow her Instagram, check it out for hilarious captions about motherhood, plus a healthy dose of motivation).
Perhaps one of biggest reasons she finally achieved breakthrough success was her ability to hear no and keep going anyway.
She wasn't afraid of failure and accepted it as part of the journey.
Speaking of using failure as fuel...
7. Lisa Nichols - Motivating the Masses
You might recognize Lisa from her appearance on the Secret or the many talk shows she's appeared on but if you know about her backstory, she's had an incredibly inspiring path.
While she is now worth an estimated 5 million and runs a top training and development company, life was not always so rosy.
In fact, remembering her time in school, Lisa recalls how one of her teachers told her to find a desk job because she should never try to speak in public.
As a young single mom, she hit rock bottom when she had to wrap her son in a towel because she didn't have enough money to buy diapers.
But that was her turning point and all the drive she need to make sure she never found herself struggling for money again.
Even though she felt completely out of her depth learning finance and how to run a business, she persisted until she figured it out.
After attending the same seminars over and over, until she finally understood everything that was once so alien to her, not only did she empower herself to build a business, she got a bunch of people to sponsor her first training program for kids.
It worth taking 5 minutes to watch this short video to remind yourself of the strength we all have within us.
Fast forward and Lisa not only impacts lives through her business but has her own charitable foundation to empower teens to live healthier and happier lives.
Next up is a mom who has set an amazing example and showing the way to others too as she builds her digital marketing business.
8. Kathy DalPra
As a mother of 2, Kathy is running her 6-figure digital marketing business.
While she's not at 7-figures yet, she's well on her way and thriving.
Her main bread and butter is lead generation and she's found it an easier method of building income while still prioritizing her family and health.
(Lead Generation is a way of building digital assets that keeping paying you month after month)
Kathy is building her digital marketing business from the ground up while being a full-time stay at home mom and wife.
How does she do it?
After experimenting with what works and what doesn't, she's figured out how to create pockets of time to do quality work on her business.
Here's a snippet of some of the many things Kathy has figured out...
Do you know what I love about Kathy's story?
The path she has taken is the same one available to you or to anyone who doesn't want to have to choose between being there for their kids OR earning enough money to raise them.
If you've been looking for a real way to make money online as a stay at home mom, you owe it to yourself and to your sanity to check a bit more about Kathy's journey and how you can do the same.
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