From SAHM to Professional Pregnancy Photographer, meet Keri Vaca.  Here's her OnRamp story.

1. What's the best part about being a Mompreneur? What's the dark side? I absolutely love the flexibility. After being a stay at home mom for 10 years, I was spoiled by the ability to go on field trips with my kids, help out at the school, and to be able to run errands during the week. It would be impossible for me to have a 9-5 job again.

 2. Tell me about your business. I am a professional pregnancy photographer (Small Miracles Photography).  I capture the beauty of pregnancy around the 36th week. I shoot in the clients home, with all natural lighting. I shoot in black and white, so just the simple beauty of the pregnancy shows through. We do a lot of different outfits, poses etc. Usually the husband and other children and even pets join in for some photos too. It is such a special time. You will never look the same again, even with another pregnancy. Each pregnancy is so unique. That is what I love about my work.

 3. Did you become an entrepreneur before or after you had kids?  What was the primary reason you started your own business and did being a mom play into your decision? I had the idea a year before my first child was born. I got my business license when she was 4 months old...then came my son and boy were things on hold. I figured, once they are in preschool, then I will get things going...well, then I helped out at the preschool. There never seemed to be enough time. I was always thinking of how my business would work, etc. I just had a hard time getting the time to focus on it. I knew I wanted to be my own boss, but I knew this was my passion, so I got lucky it worked out.

 4. How important is networking to you?  Do you network more online or offline? Do you belong to any social networks? I believe networking is a huge part of my business.  Now that my website is up, and search engine optimization is working, networking is the next big step for growth.

 5. Do you have a mentor and if so what value have they provided? I do have a network of mentors. I have friends that have great ideas  in different areas. I have learned to ask and accept there help. I like to hear other people's opinions on my ideas. Paula, from Maximum Mama Maternity has been a wealth of information for me. She is involved in a lot of social networks as well as small business. She always has some great advice of a service I wasn't aware of for small businesses. She has been great. We also network together. I shoot photos of her clothes, for use on her website and she trades me maternity clothes I use on my shoots. It is a great relationship. 

 6. What has been your biggest challenge since launching your business? If your  best (mom) friend was going to take the dive and start her own business, what 3 tips would you give her?  My biggest challenge with my business is convincing women that they will look great at 36 weeks. By the 36th week a lot of women are not feeling their best. I know that I will photograph them in the best light, best pose and will make them look their absolute best, but it can be hard to convince them of that. I feel every woman should have a beautiful photo from their pregnancy. It is a treasure to look back at. 

My other challenge is doing everything myself. I am the photographer, but I am also the receptionist, the web person, the marketing lady. It is hard to learn how to do all of these other jobs, but it is part of the job, so to speak.
 
1.My advice to anyone starting a business is BE PATIENT. It is so hard sometimes, but it pays off. I was so eager to get my business up and running and was frustrated that I didn't have the time to do it. Your children grow so fast, they are little for such a short time.  Now they are 10 and 11 and barely look back when I drop them off to school. In the years since I wanted to start my business and actually starting it, so much has changed with the Internet, that my business was so much easier to start because I waited. 10 years ago, I had to go to people's homes with my portfolio . The main way to market yourself was in the Yellow Pages. Now with the Internet, my clients find me and hire me mainly, online. It is an easy, efficient way for me to run my business. 

2. Be willing to be flexible. If things aren't going the way you planned, be willing to adapt. Everything is a learning experience.

3. Try to offer what you would want, as a consumer. I am a consumer. I use the Internet for everything. This was important to my business plan. I know how I like a website to function when I am searching for a product or service, so I designed mine to be user friendly. I like a straightforward product, that is what I offer. I want to own my own photos, I include a CD of photos with my photo package. I think it is important to think of what you look for when you shop and apply that to your business.

 8. Anything else you want to share? I really believe that you make anything happen. It just might not go exactly as you hope, but it will happen. Follow your passion and you will be successful. That is the Golden Rule, in my book. I can not imagine a better job than mine, because I created it for myself. I love every day that I go to work. I feel like the luckiest mom around.