Momprenuers Today: Floating Above the Pitfalls

Women entrepreneurs are on the rise. An uptick in mom entrepreneurs and women-owned start-ups in recent years has become a story of success in business and economic growth in the country. As per the study, the current business landscape with women-owned enterprises, which comprised only 20% of all businesses a few years ago, is envisioned to reach a substantial 33 % by 2029-2030. Even though the trend looks optimistic, mom entrepreneurs today face tremendous challenges in the work and house front and struggle to juggle family roles and professional demands.

Some of the headwinds that women in business face today:

• The proverbial ‘mom guilt’ – Motherhood guilt is one of the major challenges that hinder growth, push women on a downward spiral and set them up for failure in their venture. Societal expectations and feelings of inadequacy experienced by mothers who are made to believe that they are not doing enough for their child become an albatross around their neck and lead to harmful effects on their mental health.

• The impossible work-life balance – Striking the right balance between personal life and professional endeavours poses a major challenge for mompreneurs. The unrealistic expectations and pressure from society, the inadequate support system at home and poor awareness of mothers’ struggles at the workplace get overwhelming and cause mothers to rethink their foray into business and further push them to quit their businesses.

• The Gender War – Lack of appropriate opportunities for women entrepreneurs, unhealthy societal conventions that dictate mothers prioritizing the household over work pursuits, and limited access to funding for women entrepreneurs act as major setbacks for aspiring mompreneurs to grow and make it big in the male-dominated business world.

Momly’s Moms in Focus: Celebrating Resilience of Mumma Mias

Fostering a safe, happy, and judgement-free climate for moms is the ongoing purpose of Momly and keeping that as a main motto, Momly collaborated with Femtech in Bangalore and Estate Social in Mumbai with a power-packed theme ‘Moms in Focus’ to celebrate -mompreneurs and their wonderful resilience and never-say-die spirit.

Rising above the Odds: Event Takeaways from Key Speakers

Manvi Gandotra, an Indian writer and speaker, spoke about gender stereotypes and biases, and by fostering open dialogue in many forums, is working on creating more awareness and a supportive environment for mothers.

Chaitanya Kenchammana, founder of Maya Medi Spa, champions women’s health and brings attention to the need of the hour topic – maternal health and making it a more inclusive conversation.

Shalini Sarkar, an Indian author, breaks barriers by demonstrating resilience and perseverance in male-dominated fields. Voicing dissent on the gender divides and making space for women to thrive in the business world is what she believes to do with her work.

Bhagyalakshmi Gohokar surmounted the challenges of being the only woman to lead at the age of 66 in a highly male-dominated industry by envisioning a strong goal to reach her customers with authentic food. By saying that age is never a deterrent, she stands as a beacon of hope for aspiring mompreneurs who want to make a name for themselves and turn their dreams into tangible reality.

Rashmee Gajra of Anmol Baby Carriers started a revolution of babywearing and helped new mothers and fathers go hands-free. She claims that her biggest pillar of support is her family. What started as a personal need became a thriving business that makes space for a sprawling network of moms and dads to come and build their connection with their babies by wearing them.

Strength of moms is not built overnight. Lot of dedication, patience and consistency together make the building blocks. And of course, a village of moms to support and nurture each other’s dreams.

Lets support moms. Join Momly.