I have trouble answering a very simple question: What do you do?

As a new parent, I would answer, “I’m a stay at home mom,” while exuding a matronly glow. A couple years later I’d say, “I stay home with my daughter, but I also do a little consulting” (which was true enough at the time).

These days I ramble, “I’m home with my kids, which is great, I wouldn’t miss it for the world, but what I’d like to do is start my own business, maybe next year, but maybe not until the year after, when my son is in school full time…”

Is it just me, or does this scream woman-in-conflict?

One of the great blessings of parenthood has been learning to live in the moment. But now I’m letting myself look into the future, and I’m getting a little confused. Clearly I don’t know how this is all going to play out.

So do me a favor. If you meet me on the playground or at a soccer game, please don’t ask me what I do.

-Michele Golden, The Reluctant Momtrepreneur

A very bizarre thing is happening lately. As I think about business, talk about business, and write about business, I feel like I’m getting…smarter.

For years my world has revolved around diapers, playdates, laundry and school schedules. I’ve been downright exhausted and never made time for much outside motherhood.  As a result, my brain became quite flabby.

I think that if I had kept up with my field, took on volunteer work or learned a new language, I might have staved off mental atrophy.  Lesson learned.

The good news is that it hasn’t taken long to get my brain back. After a few short weeks being back in the professional realm, I feel able to think big thoughts and envision the next phase of my life. Perhaps my new business could be Mommy Brain Boot Camp?

-Michele Golden, The Reluctant Momtrepreneur

My friend Maria is a dynamo. When she’s not serving organic meals, whipping up gorgeous curtains, or running many, many miles, she is plotting her triumphant return to the workforce.

Like me, Maria plans to go back to work when her youngest child is in school full-time, but she isn’t sure what path to pursue. With so many ideas buzzing in her head, she decided to corral them into a single chart to help her focus.

Maria listed her passions (such as child nutrition), skill sets (I know she’s a marketing phenom), and lifestyle requirements (home from work when school ends). She keeps this document on her computer desktop and modifies it as the thoughts come. Slowly but surely, she is creating a vision for her ideal job.

I’ve started a “focus chart” as well. Mine contains all my half-baked business ideas alongside my skills and wants. So far it’s not pointing in any coherent direction. But I’m hoping that if I keep at it, my focus chart will live up to its name.

-Michele Golden, The Reluctant Momtrepreneur

Last week my seven-year-old daughter overheard me chatting with a neighbor about this blog. She immediately asked what I was up to. No sooner did I say, “I’m thinking of starting my own business,” than my darling daughter cut me off. “I know! You’re a good ice skater! You should be a skate counselor!”

Now, I don’t think skate counselor is my true calling; that axel I landed in 1981 was a fluke. But I did appreciate the compliment. There are probably lots of things I’m good at that just don’t come to mind. I decided to ask around for more ideas.

At breakfast the next morning, I asked my three-year old son what kind of business I should start. He suggested I run a firehouse made of candy. That is something venture capitalists would obviously fight over.

While skate counselor and candy-coated firefighter may not be in the cards for me, I think it’s useful to ask those who know me best what they think I do best. Then again, maybe not. Scarred from a recent furniture shopping excursion, my husband suggested I try a career in second guessing.

-Michele Golden, The Reluctant Momtrepreneur

Which one is The One?  You just know.

Which house is The Dream Home?  You just feel it.

So which business idea is The Big Idea?  The one that will put you on the cover of “Fast Company,” send your kids to private college, transcend you to career nirvana?

About 45 times a day I think, “Someone should invent this.”  Lately I’ve thought that Someone should be me. Problem is, I just don’t have a gut feeling about which idea to run with.  I suspect it’s because I can’t believe any of my ideas are good enough.  But then I get to thinking about The Snuggie — if that can make millions… I mean, it’s a backwards robe, for crying out loud.

I bet if I buckled down and actually drafted a business plan, I’d see that I have good ideas that shouldn’t be dismissed. So I’m starting today. If you need me, I’ll be furiously typing at my computer, wearing my Snuggie.

-Michele Golden, The Reluctant Momtrepreneur