They're going to work on their own terms

Hingham shop reflects women's aim to balance family, business

Bonnie Hertberg organizes inventory at the Coop in Hingham Square, which she cofounded in December with three other ''mompreneurs.'' (Bill Greene/Globe Staff)

In a failed toy store in Hingham Square, four women are taking on the recession in style.

Their brainchild, which opened in December, is a cooperative shop that the four "mompreneurs" hope will weather the recession and serve as an incubator for other mothers with business ideas.

"We wanted to do something creative and mom-friendly," after leaving full-time careers to raise their children, said cofounder Bonnie Hertberg.

The Coop in Hingham Square is riding national surges in two categories: cooperatives and women-owned businesses.

"If you look historically, many cooperatives have gotten started when there's economic upheaval," said Paul Hazen, president and chief executive officer of the National Cooperative Business Association, which is based in Washington, D.C. "It's human nature for people to say, 'Gee, my personal situation is bad, but if we work together we can try to make it better.' It's hard to keep track of it because they're starting organically and there's no central place to register cooperatives. But based on historical fact and anecdotal information," the number is growing, Hazen said.

The number of women-owned businesses also has been growing, according to Cristy McCullough, vice president of marketing and communication at the Women's Business Enterprise National Council, also in Washington. "Nearly 10.4 million firms are 50 percent or more owned by women," she said, and the number "grew at twice the rate of all firms between 1987 and 2006."

"I think that women, especially mothers, are choosing to start their own businesses because it gives them the flexibility to make their own hours," said Vivian Steir Rabin, coauthor of "Back on the Career Track: A Guide to Stay-at-Home Moms Who Want to Return to Work." "Men see it as a way to fame and fortune. It can end up that way for women, but usually the impetus is more for control over their lives," she said.

The Coop's four founders - Hertberg, Kathy Mischik, Jackie Nolan, and Katie Norton - all had jobs before they started their families and took time off to be full-time mothers. Nolan was a middle school teacher, Norton a caterer, Mischik an ad executive, and Hertberg a lawyer.

They also had branched into more creative and part-time pursuits; Hertberg and Mischik had a small business designing bags and children's bedding, Nolan made reversible children's clothing, and Norton taught children's cooking in Hingham Square's since-closed Sensational Toys shop. The store's closing was the catalyst that brought the women together.

They decided to share the space at 57 South St. and, for both philosophical and economic reasons, structure their business as a cooperative, inviting other women to sell their products and services for a monthly fee. They quickly found a dozen takers, offering everything from jewelry to granola to T-shirts.

A back room is used for classes, including children's cooking, sewing and yoga, and a bulletin board advertises other services.

"We wanted something that was more than a boutique - a mini community center," said Nolan.

"We like the idea that it's not just pure retail," said Hertberg, "that it's a place where kids can come and learn things, and not just purchase things, and women can have the opportunity to pass on skills."

Nolan, who has two children, ages 4 and 5, was surprised at how many women wanted to get involved, but thinks the venture's focus helps. "We're moms, our kids are first. People get that and like that about us," she said.

The cooperative aspect also helps, said Hertberg, with daughters ages 11 and 9. "It's giving mostly moms an opportunity to start something with a very small investment; visiting vendors pay $100 a month."

The women also are surprised, but relieved, that business has been good.

"We're doing well in terms of our expectations," Nolan said. "People kept telling us this was a terrible time to start business - but we're seeing people coming in and buying things."

Harvard Business School professor William Sahlman, an authority on the entrepreneurial process, said small businesses, including cooperatives, can succeed in today's recession if they offer "really compelling value - something really good for a much lower price than it normally would be. So you'll see a shift from normal retail to everything from eBay to home shopping parties."

Hertberg said the Coop intentionally is looking to keep prices low, and has just added a penny candy counter. And people continue to spend money on their children, Nolan said. Her sewing classes for 9- to 12-year-olds are full, for example.

"Children are everybody's highest priority, so spending on classes and enrichment, people don't like to give that up," said author Rabin. "In terms of a family budget, it's smaller dollars than a vacation or a new car or a mortgage."

The Hingham store's founders, who opened without a business plan or even a credit card machine, are taking advice from retired executives through the local SCORE volunteer organization. The women now meet every Monday to go over their goals and the week's activities, Nolan said.

They've also signed up a Suffolk University business student as an intern, who comes in twice a week to help with marketing strategies, and filled in at the shop during school vacation.

The women hope that the Coop will become "known in the community as a place for women who want to get a start, not just for products but services, a resource for people to find out about things," Nolan said.

"As a mom it can be lonely, and it's great to be with other moms and pool resources. A lot of what we want to be is who we are, but on a larger scale."