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How Mommyhood Can Make You Money -- Part 2

Jennifer Herschko — 2010-04-16T13:49:00+00:00

While pregnant with her first set of twins and on bed rest for five months, Jennifer Levinson would read all types of magazines, watch informative television and research different things on the web, then email the info to a few friends (8-10) about what she found. She thought it was fun and found that sharing what she knew/learned with others really helped everybody. Strictly by word of mouth, the Jens List email/networking group has now grown to almost 13,000-plus families around the L.A. area.

How Mommyhood Can Make You Money - Part 1

Jennifer Herschko — 2010-04-15T15:29:00+00:00

Before having kids, most of us spent years mapping out our lives and plotting for successful careers. But when things shifted from late night boardroom meetings to sippy cups and potty training, being a "Working Girl" became a distant memory.

But with the rise of "mommy bloggers," the trend has shifted and moms are now able to marry all aspects of their lives. They're finding ways to market, brand and profit from their mommyhood ... and they're doing it from home.

One mom who's turned new motherhood into a full-fledged business (and obsession for other new moms) is Los Angeles-based Jen Levinson. Five years ago, Jen started Jen's List -- a daily newsletter that shares parenting tips, must-haves, and leads for moms in Los Angeles. She started with just 10 friends. It now reaches 15,000 people daily. She answered a few questions about how she got her start:

Returning To Work: Top 5 Tips for Finding Childcare

Jennifer Herschko — 2010-04-07T19:07:00+00:00

Whether you spent an entire year (or two) home with a new baby, or just the bare-bones amount of time allotted for maternity leave, the transition back to work for a new mom can be extraordinarily difficult.

After my son was born in 2007, I had the great luxury of staying home with him for an entire year. During that time, I started my own "mommy blog," called Perfectly Disheveled, which led to me to a fortunate writing position with a huge parenting site. Taking that year off allowed me to home in on what I really wanted to do with my career: write about what I knew. It also allowed me to say goodbye to a career path that wasn't ever going to be kid-friendly. (Apparently, television producers don't appreciate the importance of sleep training and day-care pick up/drop off times).