I am a millennial mom. As such, I fit into some pretty stereotypical bubbles and I don’t really care. I like to buy vintage. I like to buy homemade and handcrafted. I like to attempt to buy organic when the price is right. I like to pretend I am in the know about GMO and toxins in the environment and how to not expose my infant to carcinogens and processed food. And most of all, I like to try shopping small.

Don’t get me wrong. I freakin’ love Target. My husband would have you believe I go there far too often, and he may have some truth to that claim; but since becoming a mom, I have discovered a treasure trove of mom made products that I find myself obsessing over.

I think it all started during my pregnancy haze when a friend shared something on Instagram that I “had to have” for my unborn son (I am pretty sure they were baby moccasins he has yet to wear). Of course, once you click on one shop you find yourself in a social media spiral of similar shops and vendors that are selling the most absolutely adorable outfits, shoes and accessories for your wee babe that will just get poop, spit up and defile all over it.

What I began to notice, the more I honed in on what I liked and what met my needs and my newborn baby’s needs, are 99 percent off the shops I loved the most were created, produced and run by moms. Now I know that some man may be reading this thinking, “Okay, another stay-at-home mom with a glue gun and too much time on her hands thinks that she can be a burgeoning self-made tycoon,” but that isn’t the case. When you really stop to look at these shops, at these women, at the products they are producing, it is QUALITY work. It reminds me of a time that is slowly slipping away, a time when we used to value the handcrafted goods. The other thing that is amazing about these shops, it is allowing these women to provide for their families in a way that a 9 to 5 job oftentimes can’t.

Think about this, people – we live in a time where most families need a two parent income in order to survive. Most families don’t have the luxury or the ability for there to be a stay-at-home parent (mom or dad, it doesn’t matter). If you live in an urban area, most likely you are barely surviving with a two parent income to provide a house, the food, the cost of childcare, and more. It is hard, and not to mention stressful.

As I began to shop more online and with these small businesses, you learn their stories, and find out that some moms are working a day job and by night they are selling their wares to supplement for their families. Now I am not saying every small business owner is a struggling mother, but what I am saying is that by shopping small we are helping one another out in this human journey. We are saying, “I value your skill and talent, let me pay you for the handcrafted work you do,” instead of feeding into more corporate machines.

Again, I get the purpose of “big industry” and “capitalism,” but that doesn’t mean I have to rely on it as a sole means to satisfy my power as a consumer. I would rather spread my money by investing in something smaller, something that will benefit a more immediate group of people.

Now with all of that being said, I reached out to my current absolutely FAVORITE mom run business The Vintage Honey Shop. The Vintage Honey Shop is an online store that sells teething and nursing necklaces. Each necklace is handcrafted, packaged and shipped by Jen and Mel or their amazing assistants, who also happen to be mothers! There is nothing about their products that I don’t love. Store owners Jen and Mel pick the most adorable prints and quality wood for babies to chew on. The necklaces that they sell don’t have to only be worn by mothers; I am always complimented by coworkers when I wear my necklaces to work. Someone always asks me where I purchased the necklace and they are so shocked that I purchased it for my son to be able to chew on when I am holding him. I promise you, check out their “teething necklace” section, you will want one whether you have a child or not.

Here is what Jen and Mel had to say when I asked them to tell me a little more about why they do what they do:

Jen and Mel, can you tell us why it is important for you to own your own business? “It has been an unexpected enjoyment owning our shop. We did not open our shop to have a business, but more as a creative outlet where we could sell our handmade crafts. We feel like The Vintage Honey Shop is a gift and we want to be a good stewards of it,” they said.

When asked what it means to you, as a woman and mom, to be able to contribute or support your family through your business they replied, “Being able to help bring in additional income into our homes has been a huge blessing for us. What we love the most is that we are inspiring our children to become entrepreneurs!” That is a great lesson for anyone to be able to teach their children! How putting in the hard work, dedication and drive can help you achieve your dreams! Jen and Mel are not only looking at the immediate reward but how their example impacts their children’s future.

I finally wanted to know what advice Jen and Mel had for other women who want to start their own business as a means to support their family while actively raising their little ones. They told me their best advice was, “Just go for it! If you only dream of starting a business it will just stay that, a dream! You need to take active steps to make it happen. You need to be the master of your own destiny!”

Jen and Mel are not only sister-in-laws but business partners, mothers, friends, wives. Mel not only works as a business owner, but is a critical care RN... how boss is that? I think we can all use a little of their confidence and passion in pursuing the things we love.

So the next time you are thinking about shopping small, look at the business you are supporting, who is running it? Who is this purchase helping? Are we not only shopping but helping to build the future for someone else? We work hard for our money, so we might as well spend it on things we love and businesses we want to see succeed out of corporate America.