Jenn Uren is here to help you figure out what to get the mompreneur in your life. Find her Mompreneur Gift Guide here: The Momepreneur Gift Guide

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This is a transcript of the This Mom Knows Podcast - Episode - 42

Jennifer Uren

There are three main things that Mompreneurs need: time, space, and energy!  I know, I know – you can’t actually gift these things.  But, you can gift or be given things that will help mompreneurs use time, space, and energy more efficiently and intentionally.

If you’re stumped on what to get the mompreneur in your life, or even looking for ideas to give someone else for your own benefit, I’m here to help! 

I’ve compiled a list of things that I personally use or am familiar with that will help mompreneurs be their best as both mom and entrepreneur. You can find links, some of which are affiliate links, to all these things at this momknows.com/podcast.

1. Plan to Eat

4:00 is the witching hour (and a real productivity killer) when suddenly the idea of dinner begins to step onto center stage. You’ve probably heard me talk about this great meal planning program, Plan to Eat.  With its Pinterest style recipe clipper, its drop and drag menu planner, and its automatically generated shopping list, meal planning is no longer time consuming.  Since its cloud based you can use it on your computer or through the app.  Everyone in your family can be part of the solution to the problem of “what’s for dinner?”

Bonus – the shopping list integrates with Instacart for effortless grocery shopping, which leads us to the next item on our gift guide...

2. Instacart

Instacart is a service that lets you have someone else do your grocery shopping and choose between picking it up or having it delivered.  For a mompreneur not worrying about groceries can be the difference between eating healthy food at home or grabbing take-out…again!  The annual subscription to this fabulous service is very reasonable and more than pays for itself with the amount of time that is saved not grocery shopping.

3. Thermal Coffee Mug

You know you’re a mom when you have to reheat your coffee 47 times before you finish your first cup.  This coffee mug is a game changer!  It keeps coffee hot all day long so the distractions won’t keep your favorite mompreneur from enjoying her coffee all morning long.  Make it extra special and find someone on etsy to make a custom decal of her logo to give it that extra special touch.

4. Portable Monitor

Mom’s are multi-taskers, and a 2^nd monitor is a game changer with this, especially when it comes to doing work while being on a Zoom call, but being able to take it with you when you go work somewhere else, like a coffee shop is a whole new level of productivity! I was personally resistant to a 2^nd monitor until this one came along.  Now I can watch a training on one screen and apply it on the other.  I’ve even had a child watch Netflix on one screen while I worked on the other.  This monitor is freestanding so you have lots of flexibility when it comes to placement and is completely powered from the laptop, so no need for an extra outlet. When it comes to being mobile, it slides into the computer bag right next to the laptop so you barely notice it’s there.

5. Pencil Case

I know you’re thinking that this seems like a silly thing to include, but hear me out.  When a mompreneur works at home, she has everything she needs within arms reach.  Theoretically at least – the reality of kids in the house means things are often missing from where they should be, but that’s a different issue.  When working off-site, it’s easy to forget something you need or hard to find it in the bottom of the bag.  This pencil case has an amazing design that will have your mompreneur working remotely with all the conveniences of being at her own desk.  It zips close for easy transport but once you unzip it, the top slides down and it becomes a freestanding pencil case keeping everything in arms reach.

6. Swift To-Do

Mompreneurs have lots of things going on.  Between business tasks, home tasks, vacation planning, keeping kids on task and al the rest, it can be overwhelming.  Swift To-Do is a very robust task manager that lets you create multiple To-Do lists and even sub-lists within that.  You can assign due dates, make tasks repeating, color code, and prioritize.  This program helps make sure that nothing falls through the cracks, even if it is something that you don’t need to think about for 6-months.

7. Artful Agenda

Moms and mompreneurs manage multiple calendars, and if that is a challenge, then this digital planner may be the solution. With the look and feel of a paper planner, but the convenience of a digital planner, Artful Agenda is a cloud-based program, it works on the computer, phone, and tablet.  It even works with the Apple pencil!  It even has stickers! Sync your online calendars so they all show in one place to make sure that work and family don’t collide.  There is a limited task list function which, depending on your needs, may be sufficient. Personally, I find it to be not quite robust enough for my home and business needs, but Artful Agenda is constantly adding and improving functionality.

8. Canva Pro

Canva is an amazing design program that fuels many mompreneurs businesses.  The free version offers a lot, but the Pro version offers even more.  The Pro version is worth every penny and will take your mompreneurs digital design to the next level by unlocking more templates, images, and other tools.  One of my favorites is being able to upload my brand fonts, colors, and logos and have those readily available when I need them.  Looking up hex codes to find the correct shade gets old fast. This is another cloud-based program that works well from both desk and the phone app.

9. Light and Airy Filters

Mompreneurs know that the right image is important when it comes to marketing.  Stock photos are a great option, but using your own unique photo is even better!  Unfortunately, original pictures can often look like you took them yourself – the composition is great, but the look is amateur.  Light and Airy solves this problem with their preset pack!  Once you upload their preset pack to the free LightRoom app, you can use them to quickly edit photos you took, apply one of these pre-set filters and end up with photos that look professionally edited.  The difference is stark and you will be amazed.

10. Something for her own enjoyment

Every mompreneur is different when it comes to what she enjoys.  You know best. Maybe it’s a gift certificate to a spa for a manicure or a massage. If you do a manicure, I recommend a dip nail manicure; they look great and last for weeks! Perhaps it’s a weekend getaway to visit a friend or just to be alone.  Or maybe it’s a monthly subscription to something she can enjoy all year long like fresh flowers or coffee. If you go the subscription route, check out the Mama Needs Box at mamaneedsbox.com  Whatever you choose, make it easy for your mompreneur to enjoy and hard for her to give away.

Mompreneurs, what would you add to this list?