With the New Year almost here, many women are evaluating their choice of career and looking for a work environment that is family-friendly, while at the same time, challenging and fulfilling.
(PRWEB) September 15, 2005 -- Stroller Strides, a stroller fitness exercise program, and Moxie Moms, a centralized community-based resource for moms, are partnering up to offer "mom-trepreneurs" the best of both worlds – a home-based, family-centered business for a woman who wants to center her life around her family, not her job. The two businesses teamed up largely because they served the exact same audience – mothers who were looking for fitness, friendship and good value for their familys hard-earned dollars.
"Stroller Strides and Moxie Moms provide an extremely important service to moms - helping them get fit, create friendships, have fun and save money - truly an unbeatable combination!" according to Lisa Druxman, Stroller Strides founder.
At their core, Moxie Moms and Stroller Strides are both moms groups, offering lots of events. While Stroller Strides offers group fitness classes, Moxie Moms is a marketing services company, promoting local businesses that serve moms and offering members substantial discounts.
"The owner of a Stroller Strides franchise and an Moxie Mom area manager are very complimentary roles since they serve the same audience," said Susan Lavelle who started Moxie Moms in Boulder, CO in 2003. "Its very beneficial for both the business owner and for the moms who are her customers."
Jacqueline Lebihan from Austin, TX, owns the local Stroller Strides and is also a Moxie Mom area manager. "I am excited about Moxie Moms because it is just a natural extension of Stroller Strides," she said. "We are now able to negotiate with local area retailers and service providers to obtain discounts for our members, and as a mom on a budget every savings helps! Even more exciting, is that we are able to support locally owned businesses through a co-op of moms."
"I love being able to stay home with my kids AND run a business that helps stay-at-home moms, working moms, working-from-home moms and everything in-between," she continued. "I manage both simultaneously by keeping the end goal in mind - helping moms be successful in motherhood and in all theyre other pursuits. When your focus is helping others, the work behind it doesn't feel like work!"
Rachel Heyer from Portland, OR concurs. "I have met great women through my work with Stroller Strides and joining Moxie Moms has helped me to better serve them. I am able to provide great services and be a resource to moms while gaining great relationships with local businesses and service providers."
Other territories that have a Stroller Strides/Moxie Mom partnership include Weston FL; Richmond, VA; Phoenix, AZ; Littleton, CO; Seattle, WA as well as locations in the Bay Area, in Monterey and in Santa Cruz, CA.
MOXIE MOMS (www.moxie-moms.com)- Self-described as a "very social person," with a background in sales & marketing, Lavelle started Moxie Moms after realizing just how important moms were in terms of their buying power.
"As a group, moms are a formidable force of consumers," she said. "I thought, what if we could harness that power and create consumer strength in numbers. So I began approaching businesses and asking, would you give us a discount if we all – all thirty of us - bought from you and not your competitors?"
The answer from most businesses was a resounding "yes." So Lavelle, with help from her husband Joe, built the first Moxie Moms in Boulder, and then slowly began replicating that same formula in other markets. "The whole purpose is to connect moms with information, coupons, discounts, playgroups, fitness programs, etc.," she explained. "Each market has an area manager who is supported via a centralized infrastructure on the Internet. Each area manager is an independent contractor who devotes about five – ten hours a week and is paid on commission, based on membership fees, advertising, and marketing partnerships."
STROLLER STRIDES (www.strollerstrides.com)- Similarly, Lisa Druxman from San Diego, CA founded Stroller Strides in 2001 with the premise working out with a baby in a stroller was not only an alternative to going to the gym, but preferable. Moms across the nation agreed, and today Stroller Strides is the largest stroller fitness program in the nation, offering classes in more than 200 locations from Tampa, FL to Seattle, WA.
"Stroller Strides has really struck a chord for women across the country – not only as a popular way to workout but also as a tremendous business opportunity for women," said Druxman, explaining the popularity of the growing business. "Our goal has always been to encourage moms to be in a family-friendly business that supports motherhood," she continued. "Most new moms dont have an MBA and most do not want to work 9-5. But they do want a career that challenges them, is financially profitable and affords them the opportunity to make a contribution to their community."
Contact:
Susan Lavelle
Moxie Moms
303-413-0852
http://www.moxie-moms.com
Lynne Latronica
Stroller Strides
805-773-1000
http://www.strollerstrides.com
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