The many roles now available for women makes it easier for stay-at-home moms to be active players  in both the home and in business. One can earn extra cash while still enjoying the perks of being with her kids. According to Myrna Yao, president of the Philippine Federation of Local Councils for Women, the home can be where your passion and business lie. Starting out as an entrepreneur herself before getting the rights to distribute Mattel in the Philippines, she now leads a group of businessmen that help mentor women micro-entrepreneurs to be successful.

“You need to have the right ingredients. First, I always believe that you can be successful if you know what you are doing and your interest is there, so the most important thing for a housewife is to equip herself,” she says. “You cannot do business if you don’t have the heart for it. This will depend really on your interest, then from that interest you build up the knowledge, research, and the expertise for that.”

She advises micro-entrepreneurs to learn more about their interests by researching, reading, and testing, while on the other hand they also have to know something about how to run a business. “The DTI and our government have lots of information about this. Even in our own organization, we have information about it.” She says, “No one is going to do it for you unless you have the interest to do it. Even if you have the interest - without research and knowledge, you cannot start anything.

Aspiring women entrepreneurs must learn to schedule their time also, says Yao. Balancing your time between running a business and being a mother and a wife can be a daily challenge.