single_moms.htm

After researching and writing about home-based business issues for a while, it seemed that most women-owned home-based businesses involved a husband or significant other in the home. The significant other may help take care of the children after work so that the woman can have a chunk of uninterrupted time to work at her business. In addition, the family is not solely dependent on her business for its survival, since someone in the household has a steady income.

Of course, these women still face—and struggle with—issues facing all home-based business owners, such as financing, marketing, growing their business, customer service problems, as well as personal issues such as isolation and fear. On top of these issues, stay-at-home women with home-based businesses usually must also deal with their "mom" responsibilities, such as laundry, meals, housecleaning, transporting school-age children, baby care, grocery shopping, etc., AND still find time to bathe, sleep, eat, and take care of her business. The amazing fact is that most women home-business owners do all of these things on a daily basis.

The Single Mother

But what about the single mother? Whether divorced, widowed, or never married, she has no one to relieve her of child care for a period of time her so she can sit down and take care of her business. She is the sole source of support for her family. That fact puts her in a "Catch-22" situation: If she works at her home-based business full-time, it must quickly bring in enough money for food, clothing, and shelter. If she works outside the home to ensure a steady income and runs her business part-time, that leaves little time for her children and for her "mom" responsibilities and an ever-increasing amount of guilt feelings.

I began searching for information about single mother home-based business ownership. My goals were to determine whether or not single mothers could and did own and operate successful home-based businesses. If they did, I wanted information about how they managed to balance children, business, and personal issues by themselves. Furthermore, I wanted to know the WHY—why they took the risk and made the leap to home business ownership.

All Around, But Never There

I expected to readily find information on the Internet about single mothers who own home-based businesses; the particular issues facing them; as well as demographics and other statistics. To my surprise, such information was not readily available.

I found much information and many Websites about work-at-home opportunities for stay-at-home moms. I also found non-business focused Websites for stay-at-home moms, as well as sites about moms who work from home; and teleworkers. Other Websites were aimed at women owners of home businesses; working moms and work-at-home parents; and Websites for home-based businesses in general.

For non-business focused sites for single mothers, Websites ranged from a chat community, Single Mothers Unite, to Websites offering emotional support, information, and tips on single parenting, such as Single Rose.com, and Single Parent Tips. In addition, some Websites were for organizations, such as the National Organization of Single Mothers.

I found chat rooms, business and motivational articles, online education, and Internet communities devoted to one or the other of these groups. All contained valuable information, support, ideas, and other services. Some even touched on single mother-owned home businesses, but I could not find much information specifically aimed at or focusing on issues facing single mothers owning, or thinking of owning, their own home businesses.

At that point, I realized that the truth was to be found in bits and pieces on all of these Websites. Single parents do have specific work-versus-family issues, whether they have a job or own a business. Stay-at-home moms realize that staying home involves both advantages and disadvantages, even if they don't operate a home business. Self-employed women, whether independent contractors or business owners, also face challenges and issues that differ from those faced by men in the same situations.

Bringing It Together

As research progressed and the amount of information began to mount, a hazy picture began to emerge of home business ownership by single mothers in America. Pieces of information came together about the advantages they sought and the disadvantages they faced in starting and running a home business, as well as the similarities and differences between their situations and those of other small- and home-business owners.

Numbers from the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy and the U.S. Census Bureau give an indication of an increasing number of single mothers starting their own home businesses. Consider the following facts:

In 2003, nearly 14 million households in the United States were headed by women.

Nearly 4 million women were self-employed in 2003 - nearly 7% of all women in the labor force and almost 32% of all self-employed people. (Self-employed includes independent contractors as well as business owners.)

5.4 million mothers, in 2003, chose to stay home with their children and put careers and work on hold.

In 2000, 2.2 million women, 16 years and older, worked at home; half of which were self-employed in their own businesses.

The numbers of employed Americans working from home increased by 7.5% from 2003 to 2004.

85% of all businesses owned by women in the U.S., were sole-proprietorships (one-owner businesses), the category that includes home-based businesses.

The number of one-owner businesses owned by women rose to 7 million by 1998; 37% of the total number of one-owner businesses in the U.S.

Single moms owned 14% of the total number of women-owned sole proprietorships in 1998, compared to only 8% in 1990.

What does it all mean?

Given the above facts and numbers, it is apparent that single moms are starting and running home-based businesses, raising children, and managing their households on their own every day. In fact, the numbers indicate that, like the overall population, an increasing number of single mothers are going into business for themselves, operating out of their homes.

This raises a number of questions, some of which were raised at the beginning of this article. Why are they starting home-based businesses? What are the advantages and disadvantages of working at home in their own businesses? How are they managing to do it all and maintain their sanity - or are they? Where's the money coming from? What are the major factors to consider if you are a single mother wanting to start your own business? What types of businesses are these single moms starting and in what industry or field?

Like a single mother's life, the answers to these and other relevant questions are complex, with no short single answer. Exploring the specific advantages, challenges, issues, and factors a single mother faces in starting and succeeding in a home-based business warrants more space and time than can be covered in one article. Therefore, this is the first in a series of articles on single mothers and home-based business ownership.

Coming up next

Next time, we will look at some of the specific factors that a single mother might want to consider if she's thinking about starting a home-based business. These factors will be considered from the point of view of a fictional single mother, whose situation will be based on the demographics from the U.S. Census Bureau's Census 2000 and the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Until then, check out the supplement accompanying this article, "Selected Websites for Moms, Single Moms, and Women Business Owners." Although not complete by any means, this list includes a variety of Websites that provides information and support for moms, women business owners, single mothers, and home-based business owners in general.

RESOURCES:

Jayson, Sharon. "Census: 5.4 million mothers are choosing to stay at home." USA Today, December 1, 2004. http://www.usatoday.com/news/bythenumbers/2004-11-30-census-momshome_x.htm

Smith, Robert L., Jr. "Work at home grows in past year by 7.5% in U.S. Use of Broadband for work at home grows by 84%." International Telework Association & Council, September 2, 2004. http://www.telecommute.org/news/pr090204.htm

U.S. Census Bureau. "Working at Home: 2000." Census 2000 (PHC-T-35) http://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/phc-t35.html

U.S. Census Bureau. Index to Working at Home information: http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/workathome.html

U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy.

"Dynamics of Women-Operated Sole Proprietorships, 1990-1998." March 2003. http://www.sba.gov/advo/stats/rwosp_03.pdf

Fairlie, Robert W. SBA Small Business Research Summary, "Self-Employed Business Ownership Rates in the United States: 1979-2003." December 2004. http://www.sba.gov/advo/research/rs243.pdf

"Women in Business, 2001." October 2001. http://www.sba.gov/advo/stats/wib01.pdf

Websites referenced in article but not listed in the above Resources section:

A Home Based Business Online, http://www.ahbbo.com/

Blue Suit Mom, http://www.bluesuitmom.com/

Digital Women, http://www.digital-women.com/

Life tips/Single Parent Tips, http://singleparent.lifetips.com/

Moms Network, http://www.momsnetwork.com/newmomsnet/

Mothers Work At Home Resource Guide, http://www.mothersworkathome.com/

National Association of Single Mothers, Inc./Single Mothers Online, http://www.singlemothers.org/

Single Mothers Unite, http://singlemothersunite.com/

Single Rose, http://www.singlerose.com/welcome/

The National Association of At Home Mothers, At Home Mothers.com, http://www.athomemothers.com/

Work At Home Parents, http://www.work-at-home-parents.com/

Pat Dinslage is a freelance writer and staff writer for IAHBE. She has BA degree in Economics, BS degree in journalism and is currently working on a Master's degree in career counseling. She has worked in business, government, agriculture and media, including a stint as a business reporter for a daily newspaper.