New focus

I have been brainstorming with a friend, and it looks like we may go into business together sometime in the future. We were super excited, but our excitement seems to have died down a bit. But, we have been talking about setting up a booth at a farmers market or craft fair to get the word out about our business. We would feature all types of WAHM goods and pass out fliers about that aspect of the business. That way, when we finally open, people may have already heard about what we're doing. We have been shooting for June as a month to open a booth.

Collaboration, perhaps.

So I finally posted my thoughts about this whole thing at a message board I frequent. I got an extremely positive response so far! I'm even meeting with one of the gals this morning to discuss things. I got a lot of feedback and questions, and it has pushed me more in the direction of a non-profit. I'm super stoked that I did this! I was waiting around for my ideas to be perfect, but it turns out that I needed other people to collaborate with.

Obviously, no real progress

So obviously, I haven't made any progress. And now I have this new idea brewing. What will I ever do with myself!? So the new idea is a co-op. Members could pay in, volunteer store time, and pay rent and expenses based on percentage of sales. Or, we could sell other products besides WAHM stuff to pay expenses. Must research.

Still at it...

I am researching now about for-profit options. Not because I've had a change of heart and want to make a ton of money, but because I do want some control over operations. I will decide this week and try to file incorporation documents by January 31st. I will post more later on how I am weighing the options.

New progress

For some strange reason, the library does not have any books available about non-profits or grant-writing. There are plenty of books listed; they are all checked out. Many books are overdue. I don't understand the phenomena. Is it an omen?

Well, there are resources online, at least. I have begun to look into the steps I need to take, and have set some goals. I have decided that I want to open the daycare/preschool September 2007. It's a rather ambitious goal that really depends entirely on whether I can get grants by the beginning of summer.

Accordingly, my goals are to file the incorporation documents by the end of January, and complete grant-writing by the end of March.

I got very excited about my new goals, but have also been sort of scared too. Can I really do this? I thought I had the support of a couple of people that ended up not being on the same page with me after all. I have thoughts running through my head like: Who do I think I am? If this is such a splendid idea, why isn't someone else doing it already? Have I been shut in my house for too long and am slipping away from reality? And then there are the thoughts that panic me: What will I do if this doesn't work out? What will I do if no one wants to put their kids in my school? Will I have to get a "real job" and put my kids in school?

It's all very scary, but I don't know what I should do with my fear. Hopefully, one day I will be able to look back on this and breathe a deep sigh of relief.

The idea

I posted this on another blog a while back, but am moving this to a new blog:

Well, I have had this idea brewing for quite some time now. And I think it's time I got started. I want to chronicle my experiences in this blog.

My idea came to me when I realized that I was not the only mom who doesn't want to leave her babies, but still wants to have a career and needs to make money for the family. I started to hear other mothers talk about how they wished they could find a job they could bring the kids to, or how they wished they could work from home, or how they wished they could find affordable and quality daycare for their kids.

Somehow, the USA is behind many other countries when it comes to options for mothers. It is difficult to survive on one income in many parts of the country, yet, it is difficult to be a working mother in this country as well. Many governments provide maternity leave for working mothers. In many countries, it is culturally acceptable for women to bring children to work.

It makes sense to accommodate mothers, doesn't it? After all, if Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy! Consider the consequences where mothers cannot achieve their career dreams or provide financially for their families. How can an unhappy and stressed out mother raise happy and secure children? How can unhappy and insecure children grow up to be productive, creative, and fulfilled adults?

So I thought, what if I start a non-profit that will help moms to be able to fulfill their career goals and financial needs, while not requiring them to cast their parenting ideals to the side?

I think that I can start a non-profit that will:

1) Operate a daycare center

The center would offer top-notch childcare for low-income prices. Employees could bring their children to work with them. They would be paid a realistic living wage and be offered full medical coverage for their families.

2) Operate a baby and consignment store

Baby items would be sold to raise money for the NP. Crafty work-at-home moms could sell their goods in the store for a full profit.

3) Assist in business start-ups

Moms who had business ideas could receive legal assistance, business advice, and grants to start up their own businesses.

4) Assist in other community needs as they arise

These are just my starting ideas, so I can't tell what other ideas would arise over the course of time.

So, at this point, all I have are ideas. I have a list of things to do:

-Check out books about forming non-profits
-Check out grant-writing books
-Check out business books
-Read them...
-Find out costs, steps for forming non-profits in OR

So I guess I'll be back when I've done some of those things.