Become A Mompreneur with MUMZY

I don’t talk about it a lot here, but almost two years ago I started an Etsy shop called Hook Smart. I dubbed it “crochet for the modern nerd” and it’s become my other “baby.” When I first started it a friend from high school interviewed me for her blog’s mompreneur series. It was the first time I heard the term and to be perfectly honest I didn’t consider myself an entrepreneur. You see Hook Smart was started on a bit of a whim. I started croching as a way to replace my now defunct Friday night beauty days. When I still had a bachelorette pad, I almost always spent Friday night styling my hair and giving myself a mani/pedi while watching Lifetime movies or a Law and Order: SVU marathon. It was my way to destress from what was usually a hectic week of teaching, tutoring, and coursework. After I got married, I tried to keep up with the Friday night beauty days, but I was also pregnant and uhh giving yourself a pedi with a big belly is not easy lol. Eventually, Sesame came along and my Friday night beauty sessions were gone. I found myself styling my hair and painting nails during a nap, but usually I just ended up sleeping myself lol.

Well when Sesame was about 7/8 months old and I was overwhelmed while studying for comprehensive exams, I decided that I needed to find something to help me destress again. My life had changed so much in a year and I wasn’t finding time for myself, so after spending a bunch of time on Pinterest I randomly decided to start crocheting again. I decided that I would attempt to make myself a scarf during the winter break and went to the craft store with a list. My first scarf didn’t turn out as wonderful as I hoped, but the hats I made weren’t that bad. Eventually, a few of my friends suggested that I open an Etsy shop and start selling my things. I made up a lot of excuses. I didn’t think I knew enough about it yet and my stuff wasn’t really that great, but people kept encouraging me and I bit the bullet. The only part that I put a lot of thought into was coming up with a name. I wanted it to be great because I knew the importance of a good name, but that’s really where my business sense began and ended in that moment.

My master plan notebook…

Two years later and I’m still learning more about the business, but my small taste of entrepreneurship has set off a light bulb of sorts and now I’m constantly thinking of new business ventures that mean I get to be my own boss and control my own schedule.  I’m currently working on one that extends from my Etsy shop and another that extends from Mamademics, but they’re not ready for discussion right now. I will say that when people say that you “have to spend money to make money” they are absolutely not lying. I don’t know about the rest of yall, but I don’t have a tree in the backyard that I can shake that will fund my start up costs and that’s where MUMZY comes into play.

MUMZY is a crowdfunding platform created by a mom for other moms. It’s a place for moms to submit their ideas, raise funds to launch, and grow their business. MUMZY will also provide small business development resources that help the moms on their journey to entrepreneurship long after the capital is raised. If you’re a mom with an awesome new idea and you’re looking for a way to get it off the ground, head over to www.mumzy.com and get started. One of the first 100 people to post a project will have the opportunity to win $1,000 towards their project’s funding goal.

Don’t have an idea, but you want to help? Be one of the first people to help fund a project you believe in or offer feedback and suggestions to budding mompreneurs.

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

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