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Madison Mompreneur Member Highlight Series: Featuring Michelle Thao of Momtastic Fitness
Today we are excited to share a Member Spotlight on another Madison Mompreneur! The Member Highlight Series is designed to help you get to know the members of Madison Mompreneur as we ask them questions about their personal and professional life as moms who own businesses in the Madison, Alabama area.
We are continuing this series by shinning a spotlight on Michelle Thao, owner of Momtastic Fitness.
Introduce yourself!
I’m Michelle and I am the owner of Momtastic Fitness where I specifically work with pre/postnatal moms.
How does your business help people?
I help my clients by providing and executing safe and effective workouts for pregnant and postpartum moms. Making sure they are comfortable and knowledgeable about exercising also.
How long have you lived in Madison County?
I lived in Madison about a year but city hopped over Huntsville/ Madison area. Currently live in Meridianville.
What inspired you to start your business?
What inspired to start my business all started when I was pregnant with my daughter 6 years ago. Being in the fitness industry and lacking resources for the pre/postnatal demographic was discouraging. Moms should be able to feel seen and heard not just athletes.
What sets your business apart from others in the industry?
I’m a mom who loves fitness! Not only that but I actually work with pre/postnatal moms specifically. I mean, that’s pretty niched down! Not a lot of people actually heard of pre/postnatal trainers when they schedule a consultation with me.
What do you consider to be your biggest success so far?
My biggest success is having the desire to see change in people whether small or big, I celebrate them all. Seeing people getting results is already the big success.
How does your business contribute to the local community?
My business can contribute to local communities by providing resources about safe and effective exercising to the hospitals, pelvic floor therapists, doulas/midwives, etc. I think exercising during pregnancy especially can be really beneficial to these communities and physicians because not a lot of people know fitness trainers that works with moms.
How do you see your business evolving in the next 5-10 years?
I see it evolving into great, bigger things than what I expect! In the next 5 years or less I hope to have my own fitness studio instead of renting one.
Who are your typical customers, and how do they find you?
Typical customers are mainly moms. They find me honestly through word of mouth
What do you enjoy most about running your business?
The part I enjoy the most is putting my expertise and knowledge into action.
How do you stay up-to-date with industry trends and changes?
Continuing education! In addition to continually learning from physicians and physical therapists.
What advice would you give to someone interested in starting a business in your industry?
I would say, things take time and consistency. Don’t rush into anything that doesn’t make you feel at peace when making decisions.
Any product/service you would like to highlight at this time?
I offer FREE consultations. In late Spring, I will be starting small group training sessions.
Michelle offers training year round, so make sure to check out her website for the latest programs.
Do you involve your kids in your business? If yes, how so?
No, I don’t. Not really but whenever I have clients, and they bring their kids with them, I help assist the mom with their kids.
What do you find is the most difficult part of balancing motherhood and business life?
Oh my goodness, scheduling and keeping up with things will probably be the most challenging thing!
What business in the Madison area is your favorite?
Mine is The Exercise Coach and YMCA!
Who is your business bestie?
Yes, Shelby Simon and Kaelie Harris.
Anything else you want us to highlight?
I also offer in home training in addition to my small group classes. I would love for all pre/postnatal moms to join me.
Where can people find you?
Send me a message on my website or text me.
We love that Michelle offers specialized support for pre/postnatal moms, as moms often give so much of themselves during that season of life. If Michelle’s experience as mom and business owner resonates with you, we want to hear from you in the comments! And if you are a mom and business owner in Madison, Alabama email us at madisonmompreneur@gmail.com. to be featured in a future Member Highlight post!
Don’t forget to read about other Mompreneurs, our latest member highlight was Heather White of Heather Leigh Art
February 22, 2024
Member Highlight: Heather White of Heather Leigh Art
Welcome to another edition of our Member Spotlight Series on the Madison Mompreneur blog! This series will help you get to know the members of Madison Mompreneur as we ask them questions about their personal and professional life as moms who own businesses in the Madison, Alabama area.
We are continuing this series with the spotlight on Heather White, Owner of Heather Leigh Art!
Introduce yourself!
I’m Heather White, and I own Heather Leigh Art.
How does your business help people?
I create art for homes or offices or to give as gifts.
How long have you lived in Madison County?
I have lived in Madison County for 23 years.
What inspired you to start your business?
I had a urge to create beauty out of blank canvases. I love decorating and finding the perfect sentimental pieces to be displayed.
What sets your business apart from others in the industry?
I’m willing to work with you (and even brainstorm ideas if you wish) to create a special painting or series of paintings.
What do you consider to be your biggest success so far?
I’d say taking the leap to invest in my art whether it be a new class or better materials has been well worth it.
How does your business contribute to the local community?
From time to time I like to donate a piece of art for local causes.
How do you see your business evolving in the next 5-10 years?
I’m finally launching my website, so I’m hoping to expand my customer reach.
Who are your typical customers, and how do they find you?
My typical customers appreciate original art over mass produced art and love giving sentimental paintings as gifts.
What do you enjoy most about running your business?
Painting and creating!
How do you stay up-to-date with industry trends and changes?
I’ll notice color trends, but I try not to focus on it and just paint things I love in my style. There are always trends in social media which is a bigger challenge I’m still trying to understand.
What advice would you give to someone interested in starting a business in your industry?
Just start and give yourself time to fail and learn, but keep going!! Slow and steady wins the race!
Any product/service you would like to highlight at this time?
I love all my art pieces, but I especially love doing custom pet portraits!
Do you involve your kids in your business? If yes, how so?
They sometimes watch me and give me “pointers” or opinions.
What do you find is the most difficult part of balancing motherhood and business life?
Finding uninterrupted time is hard, but it’s good to step away from a painting and come back with fresh eyes…so, maybe it’s a good thing to need to stop.
What business in the Madison area is your favorite?
Right now PiperMache because she helped me build my website and is phenomenal to work with.
Who is your business bestie?
Right now, I’m partnering with Amy from The Keen Hart. We are planning to do a candle & notecard bundle soon.
Anything else you want us to highlight?
I’m a featured artist at Harrison Brothers Hardware.
Where can people find you?
On my website at heatherleighart.com.
If Heather’s experience as mom and business owner resonates with you, we want to hear from you in the comments! And if you are a mom and business owner in Madison, Alabama email us at madisonmompreneur@gmail.com. to be featured in a future Member Highlight post!
October 23, 2023
Member Spotlight: Emily Willis of Womb Space Healing Center
Welcome to another edition of our Member Spotlight Series on the Madison Mompreneur blog! This series will help you get to know the members of Madison Mompreneur as we ask them questions about their personal and professional life as moms who own businesses in Madison, Alabama.
We are continuing this series with the spotlight on Emily Willis, Owner of Womb Space Healing Center. Enjoy!
Introduce yourself!
My name is Emily Willis, and I own Womb Space Healing Center.
How does your business help people?
Womb Space Healing Center is a holistic gynecology office offering safe and natural health solutions.
How long have you lived in Madison County?
I’ve lived in Meridianville since October 2009.
What inspired you to start your business?
The complete absence of holistic healthcare in this country and the bandaid approach that does not heal the root cause of physical problems.
What sets your business apart from others in the industry?
I look at your health holistically meaning complete health of the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. I also have evening and weekend hours which no other gynecology practice in the area does.
What do you consider to be your biggest success so far?
Opening women’s minds to the fact that they can heal themselves and giving them their power back.
How does your business contribute to the local community?
I am offering women knowledge to empower them about their healthcare. I give them the tools they need to do the work and heal themselves.
How do you see your business evolving in the next 5-10 years?
I plan to expand on the small holistic health center I have at my office now with 6 other holistic health professionals. We plan to have a large building that is one stop shopping for holistic health for all.
Who are your typical customers, and how do they find you?
My typical customer is a woman from 18-60, although I have seen ages 10-93. I can be found on Instagram, Facebook, and my website.
What do you enjoy most about running your business?
Freedom with my schedule and what I offer!
How do you stay up-to-date with industry trends and changes?
I am constantly taking courses to further my education out of a desire to find more ways to help people but also I have required CEUs to keep my national certification and state license.
What advice would you give to someone interested in starting a business in your industry?
The first year is really tough on all levels but the end result is so worth it so stick with it.
What product/service would you like for us to highlight at this time?
Holistic gynecology services and products that I sell in my lobby.
Do you involve your kids in your business? If yes, how so?
They visit sometimes when there is no school and momma has to work but are not otherwise involved as school and after school activities keep them and us busy.
What do you find is the most difficult part of balancing motherhood and business life?
Making sure I give my husband and kids my undivided attention when at home.
What business in the Madison area is your favorite?
Phuket Thai Restaurant and Sushi because Thai and sushi are my favorite!
Who is your business bestie?
I enjoy all my suite mates at work a ton and consider them my friends.
Anything else you would like for us to highlight?
I am a one woman show so everyone gets me only when they contact the office and all appointments are an hour long at least so no one is rushed. I am here to sincerely listen and help.
Where can people find you?
My website and my office at 3315 Memorial Parkway SW, Suite 501, Huntsville, AL 35801 which is between Drake and Airport.
If Emily’s experience as mom and business owner resonates with you, we would love to hear from you in the comments. And if you are a mom and business owner in Madison, Alabama and would like to be featured in a future Member Highlight post, email us at madisonmompreneur@gmail.com.
September 18, 2023
Member Spotlight: Juliana Piper of PiperMache Webdesign
Welcome to the first post in our new Member Spotlight series! This series will help you get to know the members of Madison Mompreneur as we ask them questions about their personal and professional life as moms who own businesses in Madison, Alabama. We are kicking off this series with the spotlight on Co-Founder Juliana Piper, Owner of PiperMache. Enjoy!
- What’s your Name
Juliana Piper - What’s your Business Name
Well, grab a chair, I have a few. Webdesign is my main business over at PiperMache Webdesign. I also have a little Digital Shop where I create Printable cards for teachers called Notes on PiperMache (I’m rebranding as I called that business Pipermache Digital Art previously, so it could be either name depending on when you reading this). Lastly, as you probably already know, I am the co-founder of Madison Mompreneur. - How does your business help people?
I help people have a better digital life. Either by creating cards that parents can print at midnight before a major event at school (you know you’ve been there, I certainly have), or by developing visual experience through websites to increase my clients business growth. - How long have you lived in Madison?
Since 2012 - What inspired you to start your business?
Notes was born out of necessity lol.
I started PiperMache just before I turned 40. I had been newly diagnosed (officially) with ADHD and decided to follow my brain’s gift and do what I was passionate about. In 6th grade I fell in love with creating Letter Engineering Drawing. While everyone else thought that was the most boring assignment in middle school, I was having dopamine sparkles and keep doing it on my own just for fun. Unfortunately at the time, I had no idea how one could make a living with a passion for drawing letters. - What sets your business apart from others in the industry?
Besides the fact that I am a business nerd, and have experience working with a variety of industries and business sizes, from Fortune500 Companies Oil Conglomerates to small Homemade jewelry’s business. I am highly empathetic which gives me an advantage to having a keen eye for client’s experiences. - What do you consider to be your biggest success so far?
Having the courage to explore what my biggest gifts are and use that to help others. - How does your business contribute to the local community?
I love helping local businesses grow digitally, specially women owned business. - How do you see your business evolving in the next 5-10 years?
I am currently expanding my webdesign services to e-commerce websites, and I hope to expand to creating website in multiple platforms. - Who are your typical customers, and how do they find you?
My customers are small business owners or managers, and I meet them online or I am refereed to them. - What do you enjoy most about running your business?
I love exploring more efficient ways of doing things, I am often trying new platforms to automate things. That is good and bad, but I guess with my line of work it helps me to know multiple platforms that can help my clients be more efficient online. - How do you stay up-to-date with industry trends and changes?
I’m almost always enrolled in one or two different courses or certifications. - What advice would you give to someone interested in starting a business in your industry?
Just go for it, there are a lot of courses out there that can teach you even if you are not academically trained. We all have something special to offer, and if designing is a passion of yours, you can only go wrong by not trying it. - What product/service would you like for us to highlight at this time?
I just started offering Website Audits, and I am really excited to do a deep dive into many different businesses, I like looking at the data and providing suggestions for improvement. I am excited to see this service grow. I actually offer a Quick Free website audit at the moment so anyone can have at least 3-5 tips on how to improve their website. - Do you involve your kids in your business? If yes, how so?
Yes, to some degree. My daughter is very well versed in Canva as she loves to create digital art. My son likes to make potty jokes’ stickers. I haven’t been able to monetize that one yet. lol - What do you find is the most difficult part of balancing mommyhood and business life?
I run out of time constantly. There’s just isn’t enough time to be a mom with so many requirements, and a business owner. Boundaries have been really key if I want to do my best in either job. - What business in the Madison Area is your favorite?
I have changed my health by attending Barre classes in the past two years, so I would have to vote for Pure Barre. - Do you have a business bestie?
Lauren is definitely my bestie at Mompreneur. I am so thankful she is invested in the idea as much I am. She has been a great partner and I have learned a lot from her. - Anything else you would like for us to highlight?
I want to encourage anyone that having a business doesn’t have to be scary, you just have to be willing to ride the waves. It doesn’t matter how big of a lesson you’ve learned today, you will always have an opportunity to bring that lesson with you and try again the next day. - Where can people find you?
Website: https://pipermache.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/piper.mache/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=pipermache
I hope you enjoyed reading about one of our members, please support our local Madison mom-owned businesses.
August 28, 2023
Have you ever sat down at your desk, the dining table, or the sofa to answer emails, update a website, or work on an advertisement for your business, and then, all of sudden, you are cleaning out your personal inbox, placing a grocery order for pick up, or (gasp!) scrolling Instagram?
You are not alone. Being a solo entrepreneur with a home-based business and a mom who serves as Chief Operating Officer (or the entire C-suite) of her household means that you are constantly being pulled in multiple directions. And working from home can sometimes lead us to use that flexibility to accomplish personal and household-related tasks during the quiet hours when the kids are at school. And while there is nothing inherently wrong with throwing a load of laundry in the washer before you sit down to work, melding the physical realms of the personal and professional means that, if you aren’t incredibly disciplined, the personal tasks will overtake the professional tasks. The next thing you know, it’s 3pm, the kids are running up the driveway from the bus, and you are no closer to having completed the meaningful work that keeps your bills paid and your purpose fulfilled.
We’ve all been there. Enter co-working. If you have never heard of co-working, it is described as “the use of an office or other working environment by people who are self-employed or working for different employers, typically so as to share equipment, ideas, and knowledge.”
A typical coworking environment could be a shared office space (raise your hand if you watched the WeWork movie on Apple TV+), a coffee shop, or a virtual space like Zoom or WebEx. Individuals will meet to work alongside each other, sometimes in complete silence, in lively conversation, or somewhere in between. The best co-working settings meet the specific needs of the overall group by providing support, accountability, and/or counsel.
Co-working could be the key to a successful business as a mom because the support, accountability, and counsel of your fellow mom entrepreneurs helps fill the gaps you can not meet on your own.
Have a packed schedule and are trying to do everything at once? Instead of multitasking through your day, you get to focus on one single task at a time during weekly meetings which allows for more focused work completed quicker and better than if you were trying to do it all at once.
Get distracted easily by all the household management tasks while at home? A coffee shop takes you out of that distraction environment and allows you to focus solely on your work.
Want to create a routine? Weekly meetings are scheduled months in advance allowing you to get into the habit of working during specific days & times each week.
Need accountability to show up in your business? Having fellow mom + business owners who look forward to seeing you at each meeting provides motivation to show up when we can’t do it just for ourselves.
If you see yourself in these questions, know that you are not alone. There is a whole group of business-minded mothers experiencing the same thing, ready to help support you and being your community.
If Madison Mompreneur sounds like what is missing from your experience as an aspiring or current business owner, click the JOIN button in the navigation to apply to join our co-working group. Because we’re strong together and together is more productive and fun!
May 3, 2023
Welcome to Madison Mompreneur, your one-stop shop for co-working, networking, and supporting matriarchal business owners in Madison, Alabama. We are so excited that you are here in support of the amazing mom entrepreneurs that call Madison, the fastest growing city in Alabama (as of April 2023) home. Whether you come from a long line of Alabamians or just re-located to the area, you know this is a stellar place to live and an even better place to raise a family and start a business. With the #1 Public School District in the state and a top-notch Chamber of Commerce, Madison has a strong foundation for your personal and professional life.
With that in mind, our goal at Madison Mompreneur is to build upon that support by giving moms the space and accountability to grow their businesses alongside other women facing the same struggles.
Madison Mompreneur (MM) was born when Juliana Piper, a web designer for solo entrepreneurs, felt a longing in her heart to have a community that could share a working space, experiences, and support. At one very long school chess tournament, Juliana shared with fellow mom and entrepreneur, Lauren Hooper, her dream – Madison Mompreneur was born.
Lauren, an ethical & sustainable finance coach, brought the missing piece to make Juliana’s idea a reality. Together, they organize and host co-working sessions for moms in Madison, Alabama who own businesses or are working on starting new businesses, providing the group accountability and quiet time needed to flourish along with their fellow mom entrepreneurs.
If Madison Mompreneur sounds like what is missing from your experience as an aspiring or current business owner, click the JOIN button in the navigation to apply to join our co-working group. Because we’re strong together and together is more productive and fun!
April 4, 2023
