“Tech-enabled business,” like “stay-at-home” Mom, are terms that have taken on new meanings for entrepreneurs.

Tech-enabled used to refer to big data, cloud-based collaboration, and algorithm-driven enterprises, such as Facebook. And stay-at-home moms were women who gave up their careers to devote themselves to childcare and the PTA.

Neither definition fits anymore. In fact, tech-enabled businesses are often e-commerce sites run by women working from home so they can be both CEOs and full-time moms.

So “tech-enabled” no longer means geek-driven; stay-at-home no longer means not gainfully employed. Those work-from-home entrepreneurs are what give “tech-enabled business” its new meaning.

Online marketing, especially social media, has created a whole new range of business opportunities, from curated shopping advice to global markets for handicrafts, that are internet-based but not technologically challenging.

Don’t discount the value of non-tech, tech-enabled businesses. Even if you aren’t Facebook, you can still be a successful, high-growth, tech-enabled business. It’s called e-commerce but what do you call the people who start them?

All businesses are somewhat “tech-enabled” now; customers expect to find them, judge them, and do business with them online through websites or social media.

Yes, you do have to set up online payments, update your website and your social media pages, and pay attention to keywords but these don’t involve higher mathematics. They are no more difficult than learning to track payroll, manage your inventory, and hire well.

And what about a “stay-at-home” Mom? She isn’t unemployed; she may be the boss. Dareth Colburn built a multi-million dollar business as a single parent working from home. 

Phyllis Cheung runs LuxeFinds from home. She also home-schools her child.

For more about Cheung, check out Building Relationships is Key to Women’s E-commerce Success.

Definitely employed.

Some have suggested “mom-preneur” as a replacement for stay-at-home CEO moms. Could be, but what about entrepreneurs who work from home but are not parents or even women?

Like Alice Wang does not have children but does have extensive experience in finance. She and Pegah Ebrahimi started Sparkbox Toys from home. The company allows parents to subscribe to monthly deliveries of age appropriate toys that are returned when no longer of interest to the child. It is environmentally friendly as well as mentally stimulating for the child. It has expanded beyond the confines of her home.

Or Matt McKee whose business, ROAR, is both tech-based and tech-enabled. He has developed apps for churches to consolidate social media and website information into mobile apps for both iOS and Android. He works mostly out of his home and Starbucks. (Has anyone ever done any research as to how much business is conducted from Starbucks?)

None of these businesses has a brick-and-mortar presence; they are all part of the e-commerce sector but what can we call the people behind these innovative businesses? Maybe the terms we’re looking for is “e-preneur” or “home-preneur” or “coffee-shop-preneur”… what’s your suggestion?

For more articles about high-growth women entrepreneurs, visit Guiding the Way for Ambitious Women Entrepreneurs, Ventureneer’s curated source for information women entrepreneurs can use to power-up their businesses.

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