The Mompreneur Movement

Back in 2008 the very first Expo Mom, we had started using the term "mompreneur" in the local scene. While the term was highly common abroad and in some local circles, I think we we the first event that made mompreneurs one of its highlights, and tried to bring focus to the unique creations, innovativeness or mom entrepreneurs. We had a special area for mompreneur sellers and highlighted their creative branding and unique products and services.Expo Mom was always a hit among young moms, moms-to-be and families and we know that the draw has always been our mompreneur partners who always offer new and unique items that fellow moms would find useful. It is also always a great experience to talk with the mompreneurs manning their booths, passionately talking about the products and services they are offering. You not only get to buy something special, you also gain a new mom friend in the process plus also support her business.My personal goal for starting Expo Mom was really to find a way to bring my fellow business-moms together in one event. We were all mompreneur friends online, rarely meeting, or even not at all. We had the same concerns about business, time management, staffing, about motherhood, about our kids-- lots of things we would share with each other via email or text.Fellow mompreneurs who eventually became personal friends, like Anna who was and still is passionately promoting multi-arts education through her school, My Materpiece. Anna is also now a licensed kids yoga instructor.Maricel and her partner Beng of Medela Moms. I remember being online working several times past midnight, because that is when the kids are already asleep. Maricel and I would be emailing and chatting at wee hours of the morning.Jeannie who was a friend since our kids' preschool days when we still had time to wait for our boys to get our from preschool. Then she set up Kindermisk and I set up Mommy Mundo and Creative Juice. Everytime we see each other these days, we talk about our overwhelmingly busy, at the same time fulfilling lives as mompreneurs.Grace who I met at the second Expo Mom, only to find out later that we lived a few blocks from each other and her mom and my mom in law were super close friends! Grace is a dear, dear friend till today.Denise and her partner Monica of Indigo Baby, the only mompreneur store who has joined Expo Mom since the beginning and has not missed a single one since. Catching up with Denise during each Expo is something i look forward to all the time.There are also mompreneur partners who joined us at the start and I am still in touch with till today, even if their businesses have grown and evolved. Here are just some of them...I also recall the early days of Expo Mom which was supported by friends who helped make it grow...As an advocate of mompreneurship and mommyhood, it is a blessing and one of my joys to have these women as part of my life. It is fun and fulfilling to see everyone's business grow, seeing how we all improve on our set ups, branding and product lines through the years. There was one time during ingress, back in Expo Mom 2012, a mompreneur was setting up her beautifully prepared booth complete with shelving, drapes and branding-- we just looked at each other and start laughing and reminscing about how we used to be content with bare and simple displays. I pray for many more years with these wonderful women, and hope more moms choose to be mompreneurs, whether it be fulltime or part time, and we'll be there to provide the venues to support, network and promote each other.So on September 14, I am so excited to be with my awesome mompreneur friends again and also meet new and other aspiring mom entrepreneurs. After last year's successful event, we are scheduled to hold the 2nd MOMPRENEUR SUMMIT: PASSION AND PURPOSE at the Blue Leaf Events Pavilion, BGC. We will learn together, meet one another, connect, synergize, and grow.The 2nd Mompreneur Summit will feature five distinguished speakers to talk about marketing and branding, PR, being a mompreneur, harnessing the passion and skills that are inside each of us. To know more about the speakers, log on to www.mompreneurmanila.com/speakers2.I'm also excited to finally hold the first-ever MOMPRENEUR MANILA AWARDS. Since I've known these women for many years, I've witnessed how being passion-driven towards ones goal and purpose can bring success and fulfilment in business and motherhood combined, and how other lives can be touched in the process.  Voting for your most admire mompreneur is ongoing until Tuesday, September 10. Click on the poster below to cast your VOTE.Come to the 2nd Mompreneur Summit, discover your passion and purpose, and join fellow active, dynamic and fabulously empowered moms in the ever-growing mompreneur movement !--I'd like to personally thank the following who is supporting the coming Mompreneur Summit. This event would not be possible without your help and support:Avida LandMichelle and Eugene Sandejas of The Blue Leaf Events Pavilion, McKinley Hill, BGCJet Versoza of Josiah's CateringMae Moreno, Jonica Pena-Tamayo, Issa Aviles of Microsoft PhilippinesAmor Maclang, Sara Alvarez and Khrizzy Pasigan & the rest of the team of  Geiser Maclang Communications & Newzilla PRMichelle Paten of SatisFind and Kaiz Patel of MindPrintGabby Roa-Limjoco of Teachers and ToddlersOur friends from:SunLife PhilippinesCarlo RossiSouq InternationalOur speakers, mompreneur mentors, coaches, awards judges, & fellow entrepreneurship advocates:Krie Reyes Lopez of Messy BessyJanette Toral of Digital FilipinoAnton Diaz of Our Awesome PlanetJosiah Go of Mansmith & FieldersJorge Wieneke, Entrepreneurship AdvocateAmor Maclang of GMCIAnne Arcenas- Gonzales of Terry SAJenni EppersonAJ & Audrey Dimarucot of Googoo&GagaJoy Abaquin of Multiple Intelligence SchoolPatricia Hizon, our summit hostMedia Partners:Working Mom MagazineLifestyle NetworkWheninManila.com8List.phThe Mommy Mundo SoMomsMommy Mundo publications: URBAN MOM MAGAZINE and MOMMY PAGESOfficial events agency, CREATIVE JUICE.