Some Mompreneurs start down the challenging road to owning their own business with a dream, an idea in their heads or their hearts that they know they’ll do anything to see come to life. Other mompreneurs, like Mauria Finley, founder of Citrus Lane, start with the desire of owning their own business and then come up with the concept.

After having spent years as a project manager at an impressive number of some of Silicon Valley’s biggest and brightest companies, Mauria decided she wanted to start her own company, but she had no concrete idea that she wanted to capitalize on. So, on the advice of a good friend, she tackled that problem head on.

The suggestion? 100 meetings in 30 days.

Mauria embraced the challenge with the excitement and energy that she seems to bring to every aspect of her life. She met with venture capitalists, CEOs, entrepreneurs, engineering leaders. She tapped her old network of coworkers and friends. She called on her husband’s business school friends. And every time she met with someone she asked them to recommend other people she should meet and other things she should investigate.

At the end of the 30 days Mauria had talked to over 100 people and had come away with 12 viable ideas for businesses. A little deep thinking helped her narrow the list down to two.

Most of us would have pondered the issue further until only one idea was left, but not Mauria. Instead she started both companies.

For a month, Mauria, and the partners she found to help her run both companies, toiled and let the ideas blossom. She loved both concepts, but in the end, Citrus Lane was the baby that called to her in the middle of the night and the company she decided needed her full attention.

A year later she’s just as delighted with her decision as she was back then. I met with her in the new Citrus Lane offices, surrounded with baby products, open packages and walls covered with ideas and plans. Everyone there oozes passion and love for moms and babies. The entire staff seems just as thrilled as Mauria to be fulfilling the company’s mission.

The concept behind Citrus Lane stems from two things. First, as a new mom, Mauria was consumed with the desire to always get the right products for her babies and the lack of time to actually do the research to find the products. Second, again as a new mom, Mauria was—as many of us were—overwhelmed and a bit cowed by the whole parenting experience. Citrus Lane sends moms a pleasant surprise through the mail, filled with age-appropriate and carefully selected baby products. It’s a treat; a lovely, stylish box filled with all the products the moms would pick for themselves if they had the time and the bandwidth to do the research.

Under Mauria’s careful guidance Citrus Lane is growing quickly. The company has secured a first round of funding and has been staffed with mostly women who truly understand Mauria’s concept. The team has been carefully selected because Mauria believes that success lies in surrounding herself with the right people. It’s actually the result of the best advice she’s ever received. Anyone running or starting a company should always listen to the ideas of the people around them. If they find themselves only choosing their own ideas, they’ve hired the wrongpeople.

By the time Mauria decided to start her own company she was already mom to two little boys. Being a working mom was her norm, so switching to being a mompreneur didn’t overly affect their daily routines. The only noticeable difference lies in her heart. For the first time she feels the emotional investment that comes with running your own company. Citrus Lane is like a third child to her—one that she wants to see grow and knows that she does her best to help it become the best it can be.

Balance for Mauria hinges on an early morning run that happens as soon as her mother’s helper arrives at 6:30am. The help is necessary. Mauria’s husband commutes weekly to Arizona, leaving early Monday morning and not returning until Friday evening. Despite his absence thefamily thrives, prioritizing time with family and friends over material issues like laundry or housework. It’s not a neat existence, but it’s a happy one!

For Mauria, being an entrepreneur brings more uncertainty than working for a large corporation ever did, but she loves the challenge and rewards that come from building her own company’s culture.

Her advice to other aspiring mompreneurs is profound. Time away from kids comes at a high cost, so make sure the math works before you start. Run the business model. Do the math. Figure out if the business will be successful. Then you’ll know it’ll be worthwhile.

Visit Citrus Lane at www.citruslane.com for great baby gifts for a friend or for yourself!

by Jessica Rosenberg who is mom to two little girls, social media expert, and an aspiring novelist and freelance writer who blogs daily at www.itsjessicaslife.com and posts frequent reviews at www.roselemonade.blogspot.com.