If it’s hard being a woman entrepreneur in India, it’s probably doubly hard being a member of that growing community called ‘mompreneurs’. The women who progress from mother to startup founder are in a class of their own.

From changing diapers to writing business plans, these moms are taking on the world and showing how it’s done. According to this article, mothers constitute 11% of all women entrepreneurs in the country. Most of the successful women entrepreneurs we know today, from VLCC’s Vandana Luthra to Shahnaz Husain, are mompreneurs too.

Here are some of the benefits of becoming a mompreneur.

1. Boost your self-esteem

Most women have had to give up or cut back on their career plans when they become a mother. For a lot of moms, who derived a sense of self-esteem and confidence from their career, it can be devastating to have to give that up.

Becoming a mompreneur and managing your own startup, whether it is a tuition class or a boutique, or an IT company, can restore a lot of their self-esteem and confidence and give them a sense of purpose aside from their family. For moms who love to work, it restores their sanity to have a new focus.

2. Enjoy financial independence

In an uncertain world, where divorce is becoming ever more common, it doesn’t make sense to depend on one’s spouse to be a provider for life. For women, it is ever more important to have one’s own source of income and to become independent in every way.

Becoming a mompreneur is one way to ensure that your interests are taken care of and that you have an income for life, spouse or not.

3. Make your own rules

As a mompreneur, you don’t have to follow the rules that are rigged by generations of boys clubs in the corporate world. You can be the CEO of your own company and have people working for you. No longer will you have to move up the ladder one step at a time, or playing office politics to get ahead. You can be top dog right away, running your own establishment and making your own rules along the way.

4. Set your own work times

For a mother, it’s a blessing to be able to set your own work timings, working when the kids are asleep or at daycare, not having to ask anyone for leave whenever your kids are sick. Being a mompreneur is probably the best way you’ll be able to pull that off.

5. Better work-life integration

Nowadays, the focus is less on work-life balance and more on work-life integration, where we integrate work and family to give the best of ourselves to both of these crucial aspects of our life. As a mompreneur, it’s much easier to integrate work into your family days, especially when you have to push that Skype call with a client to after the kid’s bedtime.

If you play it right, you can have the best of both worlds. You can be there for your kids when they get home from school, and catch up on work when they’re doing their homework or playing with friends.

So if you’re planning to become a mompreneur, don’t let anything stop you from following your dreams.

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