When Crystalee Beck was pregnant with her second baby, she was laid off from her corporate job. Unable to find a new position that gave her the flexibility she needed and wanted as the mom of two under two, she decided to take a leap of faith and open Comma Copywriters, a content marketing company.
With grit and determination, Crystalee turned $5000 of working capital from her first client into one of Utah’s fastest-growing companies and a seven-figure agency that has been featured in Forbes. All while raising her now four children.
Stunned by the steep learning curve that came with starting a business while caring for young children but grateful to be making more money working fewer hours, Crystalee decided she wanted to help other mompreneurs find similar success.
With the help of Belly Bandit founders Jodi, Kari, and Lori Caden, Crystalee launched the High Five Grant for mom-owned businesses. This grant has awarded more than $32,000 in funds and services to 18 mompreneurs since 2018, and this year the High Five team is getting ready to give out more money than ever before.
How former finalists feel about the High Five Grant
Our 2019 High Five Grant Grand Prize winner, UnbuckleMe, is the business baby of Rebecca Davison and her mom, Barbara. They used their $5000 grant to make their website more efficient after a Shark Tank appearance for their nail-saving car seat unbuckler dramatically increased the amount of traffic they were getting.
In addition to an influx of capital that helped streamline operations, Rebecca says the High Five Grant played a key role in growing UnbuckleMe’s brand. “I think the High Five Grant helped us…appear on 'How I Built This' podcast with Guy Raz (the ending segment), which then gave us credibility when we were speaking with Shark Tank producers. I truly believe it was an integral part of our journey,” she told us in an email recently.
Why moms are great bosses
If you’re a mom, you know exactly why moms are the bosses. As a mom, you have to get things done. You’re an expert on solving problems and finding answers to big problems while simultaneously juggling the hundreds of small things that keep your family’s lives moving forward.
This can-do, buck-stopping attitude is exactly what entrepreneurs need to succeed. The grit, perseverance, and big-picture focus that come from momming is perfect training for the crucial soft skills needed to run a business.
But developing the hard skills of a CEO—selling, operations, accounting, product development, HR, logistics, etc.—can be intimidating to any entrepreneur.
According to a recent Shopify study, 60% of moms were interested in starting their own business. That same study also found that 70% of moms who wanted to supplement their income wanted to do so on a part-time basis to ensure they could still spend significant amounts of time with their children.
So what’s stopping this majority of moms from taking over the business world?
Hint: this isn’t a trick question. It’s the same thing that has held back underrepresented groups since the beginning of time—money and access.
That same Shopify study found that 55% of moms said “finding the money for initial expenses” was a challenge to starting a business, and 45% said “not knowing where to start” kept them from turning their business ideas into a reality. When dads were asked the same questions, 41% said initial capital was an issue and only 29% said they didn’t know where to start.
And that’s exactly why we created the High Five Grant.
Showing moms the money (and the networking door)
Hayley Voorhees, a runner-up for the 2020 High Five Grant, started Hey Cheeky Baby when her fourth child staged a full-scale revolt against her highchair. Unable to find a practical, inexpensive solution to help transition her toddler to a regular chair, Voorhees came up with a compact, portable chair guard (called a chair hug, or chug) that could keep kiddos contained anywhere there’s a chair.
Collapsible and compact, Hey Cheeky Baby has expanded their product line to include toddler-friendly tableware and gotten their original chair onto Walmart’s website.
“[The High Five Grant] is such a wonderful opportunity to connect with small businesses across the country in a positive, supporting environment where everyone wants to see you succeed! I was able to use the grant money to purchase more inventory and continue to fill orders…all over the United States,” Voorhees says after telling us her sales have doubled since 2020.
The High Five Grant has also awarded mama-owned businesses valuable services and coaching that has helped them develop a growth strategy.
Charlene Li, founder of gourmet popcorn line and 2019 High Five Finalist Eatable, says the professional services she was awarded helped propel her business in its early days. “It gave me the validation for my business and the means to…fill some of my skills gaps. I used my grant to tap into tax, PR, and copywriting help,” she says.
As valuable as the professional advice was, Li says that’s not the best thing that came out of applying for the High Five Grant. “Importantly, it connected me to an amazing network of mom-owned business owners who are making it happen every day so I wouldn’t have to feel alone in this journey.” And with press coverage and retail/wholesale sales thriving, Eatable’s journey has been impressive.
High fives are a shared experience
The High Five Grant didn’t make UnbuckleMe, Hey Cheeky Baby, Eatable, or any of our other finalists successful. All we did was give the brilliant moms who had killer ideas and unparalleled determination a boost so others could see just how great they are.
We named our grant the High Five Grant because giving someone a high five is a joint celebration. We want to celebrate you as you build a business that honors your role as a boss and as a mom.
If you’ve ever been an expecting mom, stepmom, foster mom, or adoptive mom, you’re eligible to apply. It doesn’t matter what country you live in or how old your kids are. As long as you own at least 50% of a for-profit product or service-based business, have earned at least $1 in revenue in the last year, and are serious about growth, we want to hear from you!
2023 High Five Grant Awards
Prizes for 2023 finalists include:
GRAND PRIZE
$10,000 USD GRANT
FIRST RUNNER UP
$5,000 USD GRANT
SECOND RUNNER UP
$2,500 USD GRANT
Five Honorable Mentions
$1,000 USD GRANT
Here’s how you can apply for this year’s record amount of grant money:
Sign up as an early applicant! Early applicants receive a special rate for their application fee ($25 instead of $50) and will have access to a virtual workshop all about how to create a winning application.
If you don’t apply early, head to our grant page on September 1, 2023 and click the link to apply. It should take between 30–60 minutes to complete the application.
After September 1, write the “why” behind your business on your hand and post a high-five photo on a public social media account. Please tag @themamaladder and @bellybandit and use the hashtag #highfivegrant so we can find you.
We can’t wait to see your application and give you a high five!
