Women Entrepreneurs and Mompreneurs

Are you a woman with a great business idea? Did you know that in Canada, “four out of five businesses launched today are started by women”? According to a May 8 article called “In the Company of Women” by Lisa Wright in The Toronto Star on page U1 (a special section on Small Business), there are “821,000 self-employed women contributing $18 billion to the Canadian economy”.

Networking Groups and Websites for Women Entrepreneurs

Should you be interested in starting up your own business, consider contacting networking groups like:

Company of Women: www.companyofwomen.ca
Women Who Excel: www.womenwhoexcel.com
Athena Oakville: www.athenaoakville.ca
Women Entrepreneurs of Canada: www.wec.ca
Businesswomen in Trade: http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/businesswomen/menu-en.asp
The Business and Professional Women’s Clubs of Ontario: http://www.bpwontario.org/public/home.php

The Canada-Ontario Business Service Centre’s Resources for Women (formerly Industry Canada’s The Network for Women Entrepreneurs) page offers an introductory “Women in Business Info-Guide”, a Q&A section (networking, business planning, mentoring, financing) and an extensive online business tools section.

When or if you require financing, check out the website for BDC, the Business Development Bank of Canada. A portion of their site called “Woman Entrepreneur” is dedicated to Canadian women entrepreneurs.

Want to do some reading? Your local public library might have just what you want; a search on entrepreneurial women at the Oakville Public Library indicates that there's lots on this topic.

Mompreneurs

A subset of women entrepreneurs who are growing in numbers are mompreneurs. The term “mompreneur” refers to women who have left the corporate workforce to care for their families and during this time have started home-based businesses; these businesses are generally based on the creation of products/services that they have found a need or desire for during the care of their young children and families and that still allow the business founder to balance her home and work lives.
In February, 2008, the CBC website profiled mompreneurs as a trend on the “Fortune Hunters” page. “The Mompreneur Trend” profiles three women and their businesses. Don’t forget to check out the SavvyMom Mompreneur of the Year Award website, celebrating innovative ideas by Canadian mompreneurs.