“Necessity is the mother of invention” is a saying that has been around since the ancient philosopher Plato wrote it. But in today’s harried world, for some mothers invention is a necessity! Mothers who struggle with time constraints are anxious to embrace products that will make carrying out life’s daily obligations more efficient and effective.

A mother’s work at home knows no bounds. Cooking, cleaning, caring for children, and other chores, require endless time and myriad skills. While all sorts of inventions from microwave ovens to vacuum cleaners have eased the burden, there is still the need for practical solutions to daily problems. Mothers in the United States, who today are, in general, far more educated than their own mothers and grandmothers, often see family-oriented needs that can be converted into opportunities for solutions. As a result, many women have come up with innovative and useful ideas and started their own businesses.

Children as inspirations
Women want the best for their children, especially when they are very young, by keeping them out of harm’s way, trying to improve their lives and assuring sound growth in body and mind. Children’s behavior is often a font of inspiration.

All mothers are aware of germs.  Debbie Estis Greenspan of Rockville, Maryland, a former hotel industry executive and allergy sufferer, noting her firstborn infant daughter crawling around the living room carpet, became worried about the consequences of contact with germs. She learned that 90% of “harmful toxins, pollutants and dirt” that enter an average house come attached to the bottom of shoes. Her solution? With some research, she created (as her website states) the “first-ever antimicrobial treated doormat designed for private residences.” A new business was born: Her company, called “Dr. Doormat,” is now well established.

Another mother, Julie Aigner-Clark, a Colorado English teacher, noting how her very small child was fascinated by television and videos, created a line of educational DVDs that included fine art, classical music and poetry, as well as puppetry and animals, for parents to enjoy with their young children. Her product line was named “Baby Einstein Company.” The enterprise, founded in 1997, was so successful that 80% of the business was sold to The Walt Disney Company in late 2001 for an undisclosed sum.

Susan Beacham, a former Chicago banker who had managed accounts of wealthy families for nearly two decades decided to teach her children about making sound financial decisions.  Innovating on an existing product, she invented a special piggy bank with four chambers, each labeled for a particular purpose: saving, spending, investing, and donating. Made of transparent plastic, the “Money Savvy Pig” encourages children to make a decision every time they have money in hand. As they watch their deposits grow, children are prompted to set goals as to the best use of their money when it is withdrawn. Money from each chamber can be accessed through the four porcine hooves. Sold through a catalog, this little piggy not only went to market but won the Parents’ Choice Gold Award from Parents’ Choice, a non-profit organization that rates children’s media and toys. 

Occasionally  small children, inadvertently or not, lock themselves in a room, stuck; both mother and child unable to pry open the door. This was but one dilemma that led Barbara Kavoort, former CEO of a New York City construction company, to devise a tool kit designed for women’s hands and marketed exclusively to women. This idea proved popular, and soon “Handywoman” was born. The pink-colored tool kit has all the necessary tools—with instructions—to allow women to take care of household repairs and minor emergencies.

Mothers in poor countries
The entrepreneurial spirit of mothers in very poor countries was brought to the fore with the advent of microfinance. The origins are rooted in the idea of helping women, especially mothers with children, who in many countries had no opportunity to borrow. Relief organizations and certain nonprofits began lending tiny amounts of money to women in Africa, Asia, and Latin America who had ideas for small businesses that could earn them some money.  Micro loans of as little as $50 could be used to buy the inputs needed to develop local crafts, such as baskets or blankets, which could be sold locally or even exported. A mother could buy a few chickens, sell some eggs, expand the flock, produce more eggs and so grow her business. A woman might buy a cow or a few goats, sell the milk to other mothers to feed to their children who would become healthier; cheese could be produced and sold in local markets.
 
As these poor mothers come together to borrow, they guarantee each other’s loan repayments, learn the basics of finance, repay their loans, and gain access to more funds if they wish to expand their undertakings. Millions of poor mothers not only have been successful with their simple ideas but their loan repayment records have been the envy of the global banking system. Mothers benefiting from microfinance use their earnings in large part to send their children, especially girls, to school.
 
The idea for microcredit is attributed to Muhammad Yunus who started the Grameen Bank in 1983 in Bangladesh to lend money to women who had no access to credit. The idea was so successful that it quickly spread throughout the developing world. Mr. Yunus was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006. The yardstick for economic success is that over 98% of debts are repaid and 97% of the bank's clients are women.
 
Business mothers making a difference
For professional mothers in the United States, their prior experience in the labor force in such areas as marketing, finance, retail, and human resources helps the creative process from product origination to final sales. That motherhood, invention and entrepreneurship are intrinsically bound, is not at all surprising. Caring, nurturing and other motherly attributes do play a role in developing new businesses whose products in turn can lift the quality of life for families.

Women today, especially in the United States, are better educated, participate in larger numbers in the labor force and have found employment in higher paying occupations. In 2006, one-third of working women held at least a bachelor's degree, compared with one-tenth in 1970. Many had MBAs, and they accounted for over 46% of the U.S. labor force. About 38% of all self-employed workers were women.

Self-employment can bring more control over time, production, quality standards, and other business specifications. But for stay-at-home business moms, or “momtrepreneurs” as one financial journalist called them, by working from home they can keep an eye on their offspring, occasionally basking in pride at what their children inspired them to create!

Vincenzina Santoro, M.A., is an international economist and former Vice President of J.P.Morgan and Co., Inc.