• by Stephanie Azzarone , Op-Ed Contributor, April 23, 2014

If necessity is indeed the “mother of invention,” then moms are increasingly finding it necessary to not only invent products to make the world go ’round, but to build their own businesses around them. 

Mom bloggers in many cases have led the way in this surge of mother-run companies, discovering ways to turn what they do on a daily basis into income that helps support their families. Some mom businesses are “close to home,” focusing on maternity wear, children’s toys, baby food and other products and services that directly meet the needs of mothers. Other moms take a different route, whether that involves designing buildings, providing tech services, or running law firms. Over the past decade, the number of $10-million-plus women-owned firms increased by 57%— a growth rate nearly 50% more than $10-million-plus firms overall.

The Huffington Post features “Mompreneuer Spotlights,” websites such as The Founding Moms have membership in the thousands, and there are even mompreneur events around the country. This week I’m heading to the Women Presidents Organization annual conference in New Orleans, whose members, myself included, are largely founders of their own companies. 

All of which leads me to the question: Do moms make better entrepreneurs?

Think about the importance of multi-tasking in running a business – where the owner could be responsible at any given moment for everything from ordering supplies to solving crises to paying bills to keeping customers happy. Moms are multi-taskers incarnate.

Planning is essential for running a corporation – and moms plan every aspect of their family’s lives. 

Patience in dealing with staff and clients is also key – I never had an ounce of it before becoming a mom.

Negotiation skills are essential – whether persuading a service provider to lower his price or a child to eat his veggies.

And the ability to creatively solve problems – from lost mittens to a proposal that isn’t quite coming together – is what running a business is all about.

Twenty-first-century leadership skills, such as cooperation, communication, and sharing are more commonly associated with women, according to John Gerzema and Michael D’Antonio, authors of The Athena Doctrine: How Women (and the Men Who Think Like Them) Will Rule the Future.

How does this all relate to marketing to moms?

• Mom entrepreneurs have money to spend. 

• These days, we often make more than our spouses do.

• We don’t just buy for the household – meaning we can be the right target audience for a broader range of products than you might think.

• If you’re looking for a particular niche within the mom market, consider what you can offer to help us manage our business and family lives more efficiently.

• We employ, and therefore influence, a lot of people – so you’ll want to make us your friend.