Stay-at-home support

A new mother launches a local chapter of Bizymoms, a national network for parents who work at home.

By LOGAN D. MABE

© St. Petersburg Times, published February 18, 2001

NORTHDALE -- While pregnant with her first child, Susan Kolocotronis decided to trade her office job for stay-at-home mothering duties.

But that didn't mean the Odessa woman couldn't pursue a career. Kolocotronis discovered a Web site devoted to helping men and women balance entrepreneurship and parenthood.

At http://www.bizymoms.com, Kolocotronis found kindred spirits. The site is operated by Liz Folger, author of The Stay-at-Home Mom's Guide to Making Money From Home. It is designed to provide the personal interaction that women and men -- Bizymoms also caters to fathers -- usually get in an office environment.

The book and the Web site aim to "help all of you through the daunting task of finding the business that is right for you and getting it started," Folger wrote.

"The most helpful aspect for me was the support network," Kolocotronis said. "When I discovered that there was a Web site and other people doing this, it was a spark of motivation."

Bizymoms.com has about 65 support chapters throughout the United States and Canada, and when Kolocotronis saw that there was none locally, she decided to start one. The first monthly meeting will be at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Bob Sierra Family YMCA, 4029 Northdale Blvd.

"I realized it was a wonderful resource for people who strive to work at home, who already work at home or telecommute," said Kolocotronis, balancing her 4-month-old daughter, Jordan, on her knee.

Monthly meetings will focus on specific topics, she said, such as time management, taxes and finance, or a niche for a home business.

"I want to have some sort of theme for discussion," Kolocotronis said. "At every other meeting, I want to have a speaker who is an expert on some aspect of having a home business.

"I saw it as a great opportunity to get involved with them and get involved in the community at the same time," she said. "I wanted to be home with the baby, but I wanted to contribute to the family's income as well."

Kolocotronis' husband, Phil, is a systems analyst for Raymond James & Associates. Kolocotronis previously worked in sales for a computer network integrations company.

Now she is developing a graphic design business that she can run from the powerful computer in her home office.

"I think it'll be a lot of juggling, but that's one of the reasons behind the Bizymoms resource," Kolocotronis said. "You can learn tricks of the trade from other moms who are doing this."

Blessed with a child who usually sleeps straight through from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m., Kolocotronis said she hopes to log business hours in the early morning before Jordan wakes, during the day while the baby naps and at night after she goes to sleep.

Kolocotronis said once the chapter is established, officers will help run it, thereby reducing the time that she'll need to devote to it.

"Most stay-at-home parents aren't putting in 40 hour weeks (on the job)," Kolocotronis said. "But if crunch time comes along, there are things you can do to get the job done."

Kolocotronis said the bizymoms.com chapter is not meant to be a vehicle for selling products, but for forming a network of support among like-minded professionals. "It'll just be an opportunity to get together and chat on any issue that deals with children and running a business from home," she said.

For information, call Kolocotronis at (813) 920-4274.

- Logan D. Mabe can be reached at 813-226-3464 or at mabe@sptimes.com.

To learn more

The first local Bizymoms.com monthly meeting will be at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Bob Sierra Family YMCA, 4029 Northdale Blvd.

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