MOM, Incorporated [Paperback]

Aliza Sherman (Author), Danielle Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 16, 2011

According to research, there are more than 10 million women who own and lead their own businesses. Entrepreneurs Aliza Sherman (founder of Cybergrrl, Inc.) and Danielle Smith (founder of ExtraordinaryMommy.com and DanielleSmithMedia.com) have joined forces to write a book that helps women who are already moms (or are thinking about becoming moms in the future) learn how to take charge of the family/work balance by starting their own businesses. As more women become mompreneurs, there is an increased need for a book that will cover all aspects of how moms can successfully start and run a business that allows them to make money, pursue a profession, and have time to devote to the kids as well. This holistic, user-friendly book will draw on Aliza and Danielle's own experiences, and their interviews with moms who've started their own successful businesses. In addition, both authors interviewed numerous business experts about finding your passion, getting started, marketing your business, tackling funding for women, and the book includes valuable information about the current alternative sources of funding for female entrepreneurs. Also, in sidebars throughout the book, you will find handy worksheets and an abundance of anecdotes to keep you motivated. In addition, Aliza and Denielle address women who don't have children yet but are planning for it down the road and want to know how to combine having a family with running their own business.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Sherman (The Complete Idiot's Guide to Crowdsourcing) and Smith (founder, extraordinarymommy.com) provide the nuts and bolts for parents wanting to start a home-based service- or product-oriented business. They introduce the KISS principle - Keep it Simple, Sister! - and include handy planning worksheets throughout (also available for download via MomIncorporated.com). A solid business perspective is supplied, with practical info on accounting, taxes, patents, insurance, and more. The authors also cover time management, PR/marketing, and legal advice. This is a helpful business resource for parents. --Barb Kundanis, Library Journal

About the Author

Aliza Sherman: Aliza is a successful serial entrepreneur with over 20 years experience starting and running companies, particularly in the Internet space. In 1995, she founded the first full-service Internet company, Cybergrrl, Inc., and the first global Internet networking organization for women, Webgrrls International. In 2005, she founded one of the first social media marketing agencies that became Conversify in 2008. In 2010, she started a mobile apps communications, marketing and development company called Mediaegg. Aliza is the author of seven books including PowerTools for Women in Business: 10 Ways to Succeed in Life and Work (Entrepreneur Press); The Everything Blogging Book (Adams Media) and the upcoming StreetWise ECommerce (Adams Media). Her eighth book, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Crowdsourcing, will be out Spring 2011. She is an avid blogger and freelance writer, contributing to WorkitMom.com as Entrepreneur Mom, WomenEntrepreneur.com on the Women at Work blog, WebWorkerDaily.com, Entrepreneur magazine, Pink magazine, and many other online and offline publications. Aliza has been featured numerous times in USA Today, US News & World Report, CNN, CNBC, and been profiled in People, Time, among many others. When she started her Internet company Cybergrrl, Inc., Newsweek named her one of the ""50 People Who Matter Most on the Internet."" More recently, Fast Company named her one of the Most Influential Women in Technology. Aliza was recently included on a number of lists including Forbes.com's Top 20 Women for Entrepreneurs to Follow, Twitter Grader's 100 Most Powerful Women on Twitter, MyMediaInfo's Top 10 Twittermoms, and Babble.com's Top 50 Moms on Twitter.

Danielle Smith: Danielle Smith is a former award-winning television news anchor and reporter turned blogger, vlogger, video correspondent and public speaker. She is the founder and primary author of ExtraordinaryMommy.com and DanielleSmithMedia.com, as well as the host and producer of Bliss TV. Danielle has emceed events that included guests appearances by the First Lady, Michelle Obama and Martha Stewart. She worked as a correspondent at the 2011 ProBowl in Hawaii and 2010 Winter Olympic Games on behalf of P&G and has championed the fight against Child Hunger, working directly with the Con Agra Foods Foundation. She has been featured on the CBS Early Show, Fox News, MSNBC, NPR, in USA Today, as well as on a variety of Web sites. Danielle has continued to follow her on-camera passion working the Red Carpet and hosting live-streaming events on behalf of the 140 Character Conferences: Exploring the State of Now. She is thrilled to be the mom of seven-year-old daughter Delaney and five-year-old son Cooper.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Sellers Publishing, Inc. (September 16, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416206515
• ISBN-13: 978-1416206514
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 0.6 x 8.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #728,287 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Informative and inspiring book for aspiring momprenuers October 12, 2011

By Tamara Walker

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Whether you are just thinking of starting your own online business, are in the process of starting one, or even if you have an established business already, there is something in this book that will be helpful to you. My business has been online since 2001 but has changed and evolved over the years and the lessons in this book are helping me improve upon it and gave me some great ideas on how to expand and further my outreach. I appreciate the authors sharing not only what has worked for them but also the mistakes they've learned along the way so we can all avoid making the same mistakes. This book is filled with knowledge I wish I'd had from the start of my journey as a "momprenuer".
Also, just because the title of the book makes it sound like it is only for moms with babies or very young children, don't think this book can't help you if you don't have kids or have older kids or teenagers. There are some helpful tips for juggling the needs and demands of young children along with your business, but even as the mom of an adult child and an older teenager, I found this book to be filled with advice and information that is relevant to me and to almost anyone starting a business online. It was well worth the money and the time spent reading it and I will be using it as a reference guide for a long time to come.
Job well done, Danielle and Aliza!

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars I recommend to all my mom friends looking to get back into the working world February 10, 2012

By J. Nickel

Format:Paperback

I love how the authors take you step by step into what basically becomes a business plan.
Everything from the amount of work a busy mom can feasibly take on, to the hours she might work, to how to fund the business, the team to assemble (lawyer, bookeeper for example) and more. Yet they write it in a very unassuming way which puts even the most inexperienced at ease.

That said, experienced business women will benefit from this exercise as a refresher. It can help you look at your current business model differently, and especially your work-life balance to see where there is room for improvement.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Author of The Pregnant Entrepreneur & Owner of HeartWork Organizing November 22, 2011

By Darla DeMorrow

Format:Paperback

I LOVED Mom, Incorporated, by Aliza Sherman and Danielle Elliott Smith, and recommend that if you are a mom who wants to start a business, you click over right now and buy a copy. Or keep reading and let me convince you why you need this book.

There is very little about being a mom that is easy. However, Mom, Incorporated makes it easy to understand the steps to getting started in your own business. The actual work may or may not be easy, but having the roadmap all laid out for you is wonderful.

These gals don't skip the obvious, as so many other business books do. They start with a plea to find your passion because you'll be energized if you work from that space. But then they discuss the necessary, like the building your business team (p74) and how to calculate revenue potential (p94) for your business.

Forms. Gotta love them. When someone creates a form that saves you time, it's worth the price paid for the book. The one form I wish I had included in my book, The Pregnant Entrepreneur is on pages 22-25 of Mom, Incorporated. The Weekly Calendar Template is a really useful grid, and Danielle's schedule shows the crazy type of schedule many of us moms carry, toggling between home and work lives. If you are trying to get your business off the ground, my advice is to take the time to write in the book, and get some of the nuts and bolts of your business figured out before you have to learn about it the hard way.

The new social media is both an opportunity and a burden for some. These gals both make their living in the blogger realm, and share their methods and knowledge, especially in chapter 2, Tapping the Power of the Internet, and throughout the book. If you are trying to figure out where to spend your time online, let this duo help you.

The book is easy to read and helpful in a big-sister kind of way. Both Danielle and Aliza share their struggles with trading past paid positions to create a more sustainable and yet challenging professional identity as independent business women. As children change the equation, relationships with the spouse change, and we may even have to remind ourselves and others that our small business is a real company and a real job. But there are benefits beyond a paycheck, and amazing opportunities for those who seek them.

Wish you had someone close by to chat about your small business musings? Pick up a copy of Mom, Incoroprated, and get started building your business plan.

Disclosure: I received a review copy of the book to facilitate the review, but I still really read and loved the book and meeting these women.