News Break
By Irene Chang
 
>Good Company
For Ally Loprete, Losing her job in the entertainment industry two years ago turned into a chance to cultivate her inner entrepreneur, not to mention spend more time with her son, Braden, now 3.  Ally, 35, began making jewelry on the side, thinking that a little pocket money for things like groceries could be a big help, but she needed a way to connect with customers.

"I started thinking about the value of what I was making, " she says. "I imagined all that I could buy with an extra fifty dollars- and I thought, it would mean so much if someone bought my jewelry."  Such ruminations led Ally to come up with an online directory so parents can purchase each other's products and services. With the encouragement of co-founder Kelli Shand, Our Milk Money (ourmilkmoney.com) was launched last March with $4500.

The site has 250 individual memberships so far and roughly 3,500 business listings. An annual fee of $25 allows members to put up an image, a description of their business, a link to their site and a personalized explanation of why earning "milk money" is important to their family.

The directory includes handmade and used items, household supplies and gifts, as well as professional services such as handymen, hairdressers and more. "Somewhere out there, there's a parent selling everything we already purchase," says Ally. "Our goal is to make it easier for parents to find these other parents."