Mommy Blogging: Where and When Did It Begin for Me?

I have to admit…

Even though many of my friends are mommy bloggers, I did not become one, nor have I labeled myself as one, at least not until yesterday.

Even so, I’m not sure if I really have labeled myself as a mommy blogger.

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t judge anyone for becoming a mommy blogger. In fact, I really respect mommy bloggers and I think the movement (if that is what is called) has helped other mothers to learn about business and how to make an income, even in-between changing diapers.

And, I have been there. Believe me.

Even if I didn’t label myself as a mommy blogger, I was a freelancer when my children were in diapers.

I think the reason the mommy blogging bug didn’t bite me is that I was so focused on being a businesswoman. Eventually, when my children were teenagers, I guess I got that wish, moving into a corporate c-level position in the financial world.

But, when they were little, it was mommy sitting at the computer, holding the baby on her lap while older siblings were watching Blues Clues.

The Beginning of Mommy Freelancing

Believe it or not, even with my business background, I actually started as a manicurist. Oh, I went for the cosmetologist role, but with a baby on the way, finishing up and getting my licensure for becoming a manicurist was more practical.

I found what I thought was the perfect job, with a sort of on-call type situation where people could make appointments with me at the one salon in the small town, ahead of time, so I had time to drive in and keep the appointment. I even found a babysitter who would watch my children while I worked the hour or two hours for the manicure or artificial nails.

So, why was this not the perfect situation, working part-time and still able to be a stay-at-home mommy to my children?

The small town was not really “into” artificial nails, which made more of a profit then, say, manicures and pedicures. Granted, I really wasn’t that good at artificial nail application so I was actually thankful for the potential clients that did not have to be disappointed! I loved servicing tired hands and feets with the comfort that is provided with a manicure. I was probably guilty of providing the service for 60 minutes and charging for 30 minutes.

So, again, what is wrong with that?

It is in the finances… When you realize that you are paying twice as much for the quality child care as what you are making with your part-time gig, you realize you are not contributing to the family finances.

A Business is Born

It was there that I decided I needed to figure out how to make money with my computer. I had already done some of that, freelancing, prior to getting married. So, now, I just needed to find something that worked with my mommy schedule and made money.

Fortunately, I did discover that.

What I didn’t realize and I do now, in hindsight, is that I was technically functioning as a mommy blogger before the term existed!

Granted, I was also freelancing in other categories, but I began writing. I learned HTML and how to write articles and place them on my sites. This was also before the word “blogging” came on the scene so back then you actually had to know HTML to insert anything on your page.

If any of you were online back then, there were some frightful looking sites back then! Also, SEO, though it sort of existed, hadn’t come into its own as an acronym, let alone methodology.

So, my first few days, weeks, months as a mommy blogger was really just what I described… a freelancer who changed diapers in between gigs. I spent time with my children, played with them, loved them, and then popped over to the computer writing and even designing websites for other future mommy bloggers and businesses.