Hold On to Your Toddlers! This just in…
Are you a woman who runs her own business and also has kids? Then YOU’RE a Momtrepreneur!
Sonsi is excited to announce our NEW partnership with The Momtrepreneur Exchange! We will be officially sponsoring 9 Momtreprenuer Exchanges coast to coast…
Jill Salzman, Founder The Momtrepreneur Maven
Recently we shared a cup of coffee over the phone with Jill Salzman, the founder of Momtrepreneur Exchange. In a nutshell, Jill co-organizes Momtrepreneur Meetups in cities around the globe to bring momtrepreneurs together, live and in-person, to network, learn and exchange with one another. Recently profiled in A Cup of Cappucino for The Entrepreneur’s Spirit Volume II, Jill also speaks to corporations, universities and other organizations about why everyone should be paying more attention to their mothers.
Sonsi decided to take Jill’s advice and extend our love for Moms past SonsiLiving’s SuperMoms group…
You can find Sonsified Meetups in these locations:
- Washington, DC
- Houston, TX
- Costa Mesa, CA
- Austin, TX
- Atlanta, GA
- Bellevue (Seattle), WA
- Boston, MA
- Montgomery County (Philadelphia), PA
- Nashville, TN
Get to Know Your Hosts: stay tuned for the profiles of each Momtrepreneur hosting the selected Sonsified Meetups!
Still scratching your head- wondering who and what this Momtreprenuer Exchange thing is all about? Good! We’ve got the answers!
The definition of a “Momtrepreneur” according to Jill: “A woman who runs her own business and also has children is a momtrepreneur. Women who are running a business while starting to raise children are momtrepreneurs the same way that women who raised children and are starting a business are momtrepreneurs. Could the word be any longer or harder to pronounce? Perhaps.”
Sonsi: So what is the Momtrepreneur Exchange?
Jill: The Momtrepreneur Exchange is a monthly meetup for mom entrepreneurs to get together and share the ins and outs of building their own companies. We’re opening them up in coffee shops around the country. Some cities’ Exchanges meet in the mornings, others in the evenings — and we spend that time hearing from business experts and from each other about how to improve our brands. They’re kid-friendly events, so we also work on “Hearing Expansion” — techniques to expand the ear’s capacity to hear above, through and beyond the sounds that come out of babies.
We also have an online forum on Facebook — The Momtrepreneur Exchange Group. But we’re really focused on meeting up live and in person. There’s no better way to connect.
Sonsi: How did the project get started?
Jill: By accident. After running my businesses at home for 5 years, I wanted to get out of the house and meet fellow moms who ran their own companies. I didn’t know any. I’d attended a women’s networking event once or twice and found it to be too formal for my taste (spit-up covered dresses don’t wear well). And who can afford a babysitter that often? I opened a Momtrepreneur Exchange in my hometown expecting a handful of women to show up. We’re now 220+ members strong–and I live in a small village. If there are that many of us locally, I thought, there are likely to be many more of us out there. So I opened one in New York, then Houston, then another city…and in just a few months, it’s really taken off!
Sonsi: This project currently takes place in 18 cities, has tons of members and is growing! How do you connect with your members? What happens at the Exchanges? What do your members take away from the regular Meetups?
Jill: A lot happens at these Exchanges. Networking. Educating. Friend-making. We start connecting on Meetup.com since they have hundreds of thousands of members, many of whom identify as momtrepreneurs. Then folks either join my mailing list or stay tuned via their Host and their city’s Meetup.com page. Members are regularly reminded about upcoming Exchanges, where they will either have a roundtable discussing each other’s businesses, or where they will have an expert speak to them about what they do best and how the Momtrepreneurs can benefit from their experiences.
Sonsi: What inspired you to target mom entrepreneurs?
Jill: Oh, that’s easy. Because I am one. These Exchanges are really designed to meet my own needs. How selfish is that?
Sonsi: How do momtreprenuers meet up to connect with one another?
Jill: I always request that members show up in Elmo and Big Bird costumes, but no one’s done that yet. Instead, I utilize Meetup.com which helps facilitate coordination of the Exchanges online. Members can check in and see who is going to each Exchange, who can’t make it, and they can also pose questions or leave notes for one another on Meetup.com.
Sonsi: If you could give an aspiring entrepreneurial mom one piece of advice, what would you tell her?
Jill: Come to a Momtrepreneur Exchange. I mean it. I could offer a piece of financial, branding, legal or inspirational advice, but who knows if that applies to everyone reading this? What does apply to all: meeting other women who are trying to do exactly what you are trying to do and talking about it in person. We’ve had 30-person Exchanges where the speakers really make a difference in everyone’s lives. We’ve had 3-person Exchanges where everyone leaves suddenly understanding what to do with Twitter or which local accountant is really the best one to hire. I’ve personally benefited ten-fold by attending one Exchange rather than by spending the same amount of time reading through piles of websites.
Sonsi: What do you like to do in you spare time? When you’re not running your business or meeting with Momtrepreneurs?
Jill: I love to bake (sometimes even barefoot and pregnant). I like to sing (I’m in a band with my husband) and I’m currently attempting to run a Tantrum Workshop for my three-year old so that she can learn how to have them less frequently and more quietly in her room, so that she stops waking the baby.
Find other Momtrepreneur Exchanges in cities below:
- Los Angeles, CA
- Boulder, CO
- Greeley, CO
- Des Moines, IA
- Arlington Heights, IL
- Chicago, IL
- Naperville, IL
- Oak Park, IL
- Ann Arbor, MA (coming soon!)
- West Springfield, MA
- Saint Paul, MN
- Bozeman, MT
- Hoboken, NJ
- New York, NY
- Charleston, SC
- Milwaukee, WI
