What business did you start up?

I started Calm the Crazy, LLC, a company that develops products that make life with kids easier…because more ease means more fun. We also believe that your life – your style, your attitude, who you are – shouldn’t stop simply because you have kids. So, we create products that are easy, smart, stylish and durable for moms (and dads!) by moms.  We are incredibly proud and excited about our first product – the Kikou: a unique and fashionable cover-up to protect your clothing from life’s little messes (a.k.a. spit-up, drool, snot). And it’s a great nursing cover, too!

What motivated you to do it?

My kids. I am fueled by my desire to both do something that allows me to spend more time with my family and sets a good example for them by following my dreams and doing something I’m passionate about. They have also inspired many of the products we’ve developed and are developing.

How many children do you have, and how old are they?

I have 2 beautiful girls–a 5 year-old and 3.5-year-old.  Both are full of life!

How long have you been running your business?

Almost a year now…but we’ve just launched our first product in the last month.

How long did it take you to start becoming profitable and/or successful, however you choose to measure success?

Well…I’m not exactly profitable yet.  But in many ways, I feel successful for just taking my business this far.  I’ve had tons of business ideas–from a doggie hotel to a bakery–but this is the first time that I’ve taken my business concept all the way to launch.  And for that alone I would define this effort as a success!

How did your family react to you starting your own business?

They are very proud.  My girls are incredibly aware and excited about the business.  They know that part of the inspiration is for me to see more of them, so they are very supportive!  My husband is the backbone to the entire operation. I could never have gotten this far without both his encouragement and support.

Easiest part of your job?

Idea generation.

Hardest part of your job?

Turning the ideas into reality.

What skill would you most like to improve?

Media relations…when does persistence turn into annoyance??

What tools or advice do you wish you knew then that you know now?

It always takes longer than you think, so plan for that.

What is the accomplishment you are most proud of?

Actually producing the first product. There’s no better feeling than seeing your vision turn into a reality.  It takes hard work and persistence…and sometimes you think it’s never going to happen.  But not giving up and seeing it happen–that is priceless.

Favorite part of a typical day?

When I come home from my “day” job.  My kids greet me at the door every day like they haven’t seen me for months.  It’s fantastic.

And a few more questions, considering that American Express should be featuring more momtrepreneurs…

Childhood ambition? Be my own boss.

Time of day you get the most work done? Evening after kids go to bed.

Last purchase? Oval Ring Belt from Eddie Bauer.

Favorite book or magazine? Life of Pi

Inspiration? Husband and kiddos.

Least likely to…..eat sushi.

My life…..is crazy…and fun!!

That makes 17 cities and 570 members nationwide at the time of this writing.  This does not include the future members of the D.C. group–Meetup.com hasn’t notified the area yet about this new group. ALL THESE MEMBERS IN UNDER 3 MONTHS (!!).  One more group to go and then it’s time to build these babies.

This is a quick note of thanks to everyone who encouraged me to open up Exchanges in places of need (read: everywhere.)  Without your support I would not have been able to help support others to help others get support, who are supportive in support of support.

It took three weeks of planning around my worst fears to do it.

But I did it.  Ten whole days without the internets.  No surfing.  No emailing.  These were the notes I took on a yellow legal pad in pencil while experiencing the Ultimate Out-Of-Office Experience:

Day 1:  What are you supposed to do in line at the grocery store without a blackberry??

Day 2:  While circling a parking lot waiting for a spot, toddler sighs and remarks, “I don’t have time for this.”  Can’t Twitter it.  Depressing.

Day 3: Unsure of what to do about finding recipe for cherry pie without internet.  Took twenty minutes to realize that I’ve completely overlooked our 20+ cookbook collection.

Day 4: Just realized that not receiving emails on blackberry means not having to recharge it so often.  (Is “it” a metaphor for self?)

Day 5: Massive relief in the fact that I know my kids just as well without work as I do with work.  Haven’t missed a beat.  Doing ok as a working mom?  Check.

Day 6: Got online to make bank transfer–could not avoid.  Husband used my “excuse” to get online to check movie times.  Both asked the question:  is 777-FILM still around?

Day 7: Played lots of piano.  Amazing how much time there is to play the piano without an incoming stream of emails to get to.

Day 8: Found peace with Comcast.

Day 9: Want to poke and pinch and prod and nudge and nestle and cuddle and nuzzle my 6-month old 24/7.  Some things are internet-proof.

Day 10: Prepare for re-entry.  Fear the return.  But much like an addict, take pleasure in the knowledge that it will be painless and give me a rush to get back into the swing of things.

Time away from technology was the best thing that I’ve done in years.  My family enjoyed it so much that we’re going to do it three times a year.  I love me some technology, but to have the courage to step away was that much harder and that much more rewarding.  Life-changing, really.  Highly recommend.

Upon seeing their post, I had to ask the question:  how did Stephen do it?  I looked up the various ways in which Stephen Colbert’s truthiness was officially accepted into the English language.  Turns out that in 2005, The American Dialect Society named it the “Word Of The Year” and a year later, Merriam-Webster followed suit.

What’s a momtrepreneur to do?

First, I entered my own definition into Merriam-Webster’s online “open” dictionary.  Then, I Google-hunted down Grant Barrett, chair of the New Words Committee of the American Dialect Society and contacted him about hooking me up with his peoples to talk definitions.  Mr. Barrett, Emailer Extraordinaire, shot a response right back to me and directed me to the secret place where all suggestions are made.

I can’t tell you anything more about it.  I took an oath and everything.  But when you dot your t’s and cross your eyes today, please use your mind-grapes and really think about all the possibilities of having momtrepreneur in the DICTIONARY!  YEAH!

Multimedia maven Brooke Randazzo Eggert does everything in two’s:  raising two boys, building two companies, speaking at two upcoming Momtrepreneur Exchanges.  Like any double agent, Brooke aims to maintain her creative lifestyle while driving her businesses forward–and doing it with her sanity.  That’s 4 stars and 1 high-five for you, Brooke.

What business did you start up?

SpiffyMoms.com and r3 multimedia group.

What motivated you to do it?

For Spiffy, my best friend and I worked at another parenting site and were dissatisfied with the atmosphere and the management.  That inspired us to create our own.  It has grown from being just a forum-based site to having a full information-based site with the forums as the add-ons.

For r3, I was working in my family’s business when we decided to create a third company which would utilize the talents of my cousin (photographer) and myself (designer) while also teaching my brother how to do both of those jobs.

How many children do you have, and how old are they?

I have two sons.  Alexander is 8 years old and Kyle is 5 years old.

How long have you been running your business?

SpiffyMoms has been around since February of 2007.  r3 was started in July of 2009.  I have over 10 years of experience in the design field and have done freelance work that whole time.

How long did it take you to start becoming profitable and/or successful, however you choose to measure success?

All of that depends on your motivation, your attitude and how much overhead you have when you first start.  We were lucky that for Spiffy we don’t have much overhead since it’s an online company.  For r3, we were fortunate to use our family’s business’ offices and just needed some equipment and marketing collateral.

I feel that Spiffy is successful and has been running well on its own since about the Fall of 2008 when we launched our redesign and added the content.

r3 is on its way up the ladder of success.  After putting in months of long hours and hard work, we are succeeding in building our business.

How did your family react to you starting your own business?

My family was very supportive!

Easiest part of your job?

The actual designing part.  I love it.

Hardest part of your job?

Seeking out new clients.

What skill would you most like to improve?

I have so many things that I want to learn more about in the design world.  They are things that I’ll see on a billboard or in a magazine or on a website and it inspires me to learn how to do it if I don’t already know.  There really is not one skill, the design world is constantly evolving and that means I do, also.

What tools or advice do you wish you knew then that you know now?

I wish I knew that, for us, print advertising doesn’t work well and I wouldn’t have spent the time on it that we did.

What is the accomplishment you are most proud of?

I would have to say just opening this business.  We opened it in the middle of an economic downturn and have worked hard to get ourselves going and overcome that.

Can you recommend 3 essential websites for moms in, or going into, business?

Your state’s business registration/info websites are a big help.

We were able to use the resources we had from our other family business, which means we didn’t have to do a lot of general research on things.  But the other place that I think is great are the meetups where you can talk to other moms who are doing what you do – like the Momtrepreneur Exchange.  I’ve found a lot of support at these functions.

And a few more questions, considering that American Express should be featuring more momtrepreneurs…

Favorite part of a typical day? In the morning when everything is hopeful and I attach my to-do list.  It feels energizing.

Childhood ambition? To be a bag-lady (and sell bags like my dad does!)

Time of day you get the most work done? Late morning to mid-afternoon and then very late at night.

Last purchase? Supplies for wedding invitations that I’m making.

Favorite book or magazine? Layers Magazine and The Lord of the Rings.

Inspiration? My father.

Least likely to…..want to leave my desk in the middle of a creative inspiration.

My life…..can be crazy at times and the house is usually messy but I’m doing what I love.

Pleshette did not mean to inspire momtrepreneurs.  She did what any practical mother would do: get inspiration from her child to do something great and figure out a way to make it profitable, too.  And doing it as a one-woman show–without the tightrope or circus juggling.

What business did you start up?

King’s Kids Childcare & Resource Center: home childcare that specializes in caring for children with special needs and catering to parents with special work schedules.

What motivated you to do it?

I am a single mom of a child diagnosed with a “special need”.  Like most single parents I needed to master the complicated task of working a job while taking care of my son.  One of the most difficult assignments of being a parent of a child with a special diagnosis, is finding a childcare facility that offers both quality care for children with special needs and flexibility to parents who don’t work the typical 9 to 5 job.  I took my son from daycare to daycare trying to find one that not only stated that they accepted children of all needs, but actually took care of them.  Quite frankly, the high level of patience, necessary training and care was and is hard to find in the childcare arena.

2007 was my turning point. I was laid off from my job and it was then that I decided to take a leap of faith and start my own business. So, when the door opened I jumped in with both feet and never looked back.  It was then that King’s Kids Childcare and Resource Center was born, the childcare home that provides quality care to children of “all abilities” and caters to parents with flexible work schedules.

How many children do you have, and how old are they?

I have one child, a son , age 9.

How long have you been running your business?

I’ve been successfully running my business for 2+ years.

How long did it take you to start becoming profitable and/or successful, however you choose to measure success?

My business has been successful from the day I opened my doors and I have increased ever since.

How did your family react to you starting your own business?

My family and friends have been a great support to me, especially my sister who has been my personal cheerleader/ pep squad.

Easiest part of your job?

Caring for my kids and assisting in their growth and development.

Hardest part of your job?

Being a one-woman show.  If I could clone myself I would need to do it in triplicate just so that I could get everything done.

What skill would you most like to improve?

Financial management so that I can expand my business.

What tools or advice do you wish you knew then that you know now?

I wish that I had started my own business sooner. My advice to anyone looking to step into the world of self-employment is this: if you have a gift or talent, use it to fuel your success. Don’t procrastinate, start today.

What is the accomplishment you are most proud of?

Being a single mom who stepped out on faith and started my own business in the midst of unemployment and against all odds.

Favorite part of a typical day?

Being home when my son gets off his school bus while still being at work.

And a few more questions, considering that American Express should be featuring more momtrepreneurs…

Childhood ambition? To be a billionaire so that I could care for my parents in their senior years, live a life of luxury both me and my children and have more than enough to help others.

Time of day you get the most work done? 1 PM – 3 PM or after my son goes down for the night.

Favorite book or magazine? Your Best Life Now – Pastor Joel Osteen

Least likely to…..fail.

My life…..is pleasant and prosperous.

Annette is an apparel company, run by Sharon Singer, that creates “the only adjustable shapewear that allows you to decide the degree of comfort.”  They were kind enough to send me two samples of their Diva Defined line–and at $50 a pop (score!)–I promised to try them on for at least 2 seconds.  Although I did not know that I was a diva, or that I needed even more defining, let’s just say that it’s been roughly 72 hours since I’ve put one on and it’s NOT coming off.

I got the “Boy Short” in black and the “Long Leg” in Nude.  Each is similar to Spanx in that it hugs your soft bits tightly for you.  But, two pieces of fabric are sewn into the back that act much like the back of your bra: you can tighten and loosen the band around your waist to suit your activity’s needs. In writing, the imagery does not work–they do not think that women who need this product have breasts on their stomachs.  But holding the thing, it makes complete sense.  For the 422nd time in my life, I found myself going, “Why didn’t I think of that first?”

Standing in my kitchen, I threw on the “Boy Short” sample because it looked quite similar to my bike shorts.  Didn’t really do the trick.  It was way shorter than my bike shorts, so much so that it squeezed love handles out of my inner thighs that I did not know I had.  Hello, new complex.

The “Long Leg” was next.  Can you legally marry clothing?  Lucky for the good folks at Annette, I am their prime target since I’m five months postpartum.  And this bike-shorts-meets-waist-flattener is perfection. After a few days of walking around in it, the only serious problem I’ve found is forgetting to put pants over it before leaving the house.  It doesn’t just hold my extras in.  It cradles every inch of my skin.  It wraps love and goodness around the more substantive areas.  Thank you, people of Annette, for creating a great product.

I mean, don’t I look great in the picture above?

Jennifer James is the creator of Mom Bloggers Club.  And Mom Blog Magazine. And Pregnant Bloggers Club. And Mum Bloggers Club.  And Mom Vloggers Club. Oh, and she’s a speaker, too.  And then maybe a consultant as well.  (Tired yet?)  Humble beyond humble, Ms. James is doing a LOT of community gardening and has been bringing moms together for quite some time.  She’s ahead of all the curves.  We could all learn a thing or two from Ms. James.

What business did you start up?

I own a wide range of niche sites for moms from blogs to robust social networks.

What motivated you to do it?

I started building sites in 2003. I have always built sites that I would want to visit if I didn’t start them. I have always been motivated by creativity and a lack of certain sites on the Net.

How many children do you have, and how old are they?

Two children, 9 and 11.

How long have you been running your business?

Seven years.

How long did it take you to start becoming profitable and/or successful, however you choose to measure success?

I was profitable after about a year. I never set out to become a business, but the more I built sites, the more the companies came and wanted to advertise on them or hire me as a consultant.

How did your family react to you starting your own business?

My family has always been supportive. Always! I wouldn’t have achieved any success if I didn’t have my family in my corner.

Easiest part of your job?

The easiest part of my job is creating all the time.

Hardest part of your job?

The hardest part of my job is staying organized.

What skill would you most like to improve?

I would like to improve my organizational skills.

What tools or advice do you wish you knew then that you know now?

I wish I knew more when I started about how to work with brands, such as how to price advertising or how to talk to them about hiring me as a consultant. I had to learn all of that on my own.

What is the accomplishment you are most proud of?

I am most proud that I am able to be the businesswoman I have always wanted to be.

Favorite part of a typical day?

Talking to moms and brands.

And a few more questions, considering that American Express should be featuring more momtrepreneurs…

Childhood ambition? To be a writer.

Time of day you get the most work done? Mornings.

Last purchase? Big purchase or little purchase? I just bought sushi for dinner.

Favorite book or magazine? I don’t have a favorite. There are too many that I love.

Inspiration? I aspire to really grow my business and keep it humming for many, many years.

My life…..is wonderful!

What business did you start up?

I started a natural snack food company, called Snikiddy.  My mom and I founded Snikiddy in 2006 with a passion for children’s health, Snikiddy produces Snikiddy Snacks® – great tasting, family-friendly snacks.What motivated you to do it?

Having had a successful career in financial sales, I still felt unfulfilled.  I wanted to do more to give back and make an impact.  Having always had a passion for health and particularly children’s health, I felt I could create products that would help to make fellow moms looking for healthy product lives a bit easier.  With Snikiddy, families can feel good about these delicious snacks that everyone loves to eat.

How many children do you have, and how old are they?

Two children: Sunny is age 5, Sadie is 3 1/2.

How long have you been running your business?

Since 2006.

How long did it take you to start becoming profitable and/or successful, however you choose to measure success?

We were so fortunate to have had success immediately.  The Snikiddy products were very well-received from inception.  Within months we had national distribution and since 2006 have grown over 100% each year we have been in business.

How did your family react to you starting your own business?

I feel extremely fortunate to have a family with amazing support.  They are so proud of Snikiddy’s accomplishments and support me each and every day.

Easiest part of your job?

Taking calls from consumers.  To this day I still personally answer each and every consumer call and email.  It is extremely rewarding to hear how Snikiddy has impacted the lives of our consumers.

Hardest part of your job?

It’s all hard but it’s also so rewarding and fun.

What skill would you most like to improve?

Maybe not a skill as much as an attribute and I’m sure everyone on the Snikiddy team would agree that I could use some more patience!

What tools or advice do you wish you knew then that you know now?

I’m almost glad I didn’t have any.  In the advice you usually learn about how hard it is to start a business.  If I had known how hard it was I may not have taken the plunge.

What is the accomplishment you are most proud of?

My family.  There is no question I look at my family each and every day and marvel and how amazing everyone is.  There will never be any accomplishment greater or more rewarding than this.

Favorite part of a typical day?

Brand positioning and marketing has become my focus and favorite part of my work day.  Now that Snikiddy has grown, each individuals’ responsibilities have become more focused.  I now handle all the marketing aspects of Snikiddy and love my new found passion.

And a few more questions, considering that American Express should be featuring more momtrepreneurs…

Childhood ambition? Own my own successful company.

Time of day you get the most work done? Before everyone wakes up in the morning or after everyone goes to bed at night.

Favorite book or magazine? The Time Traveler’s Wife.

Least likely to…..Sky dive.