WOMEN SHUNNING CORPORATE NICHE, USING THEIR UNIQUE TALENTS TO BECOME ... `MOMPRENEURS'.

Byline: Evan Pondel Staff Writer

Jill Schiff's office is just beyond the kitchen, down the hall from where the dog sleeps and the kids roam when they get home from summer camp.

Welcome to Schiff's corporate annex, the place where she can baste a turkey and run a million-dollar business at the same time.

She's not your average stay-at-home mom. Schiff, 36, is growing a jewelry business and pulling double duty as a mom - or, more accurately, a ``mompreneur.''

``I get a lot of creative energy from my kids. They egg me on. And it's never like 'Mom, get off the phone,''' said Schiff, who runs Planetjill Custom Photo Jewelry out of her Studio City home.

As more women find themselves caught between making money and motherhood, many are starting their own businesses in search of flexible hours and decent salaries. The challenge is finding a marketable niche that doesn't require mounds of startup cash.

Between 1997 and 2004, the estimated growth rate in the number of women-owned firms was nearly twice that of all firms, according to the Center for Women's Business Research. The Washington, D.C.-based organization also found that sales growth was reported at more than half of the women-owned firms valued at $1 million during the past three years.

``There seems to be a greater awareness about business among women these days,'' said Gayle Watson, president of the National Association of Women Business Owners. ``But the key issue for many women is balancing between their home and work life.''

Historically, women have long juggled jobs and their home life. But with most households requiring two incomes these days, moms and dads are looking for more creative ways to parent and put food on the table.

For Schiff, incorporating her yen for photography and a knack for the entrepreneurial ultimately evolved into a business idea. Her company has a simple premise: Transform photographs into necklaces and bracelets enshrined in diamonds. Mostly sold at boutiques and via her Web site, planetjill.com, Schiff employs about a half-dozen people who also routinely play with her 6 and 9-year-old daughters.

Her day unfolds methodically. She works all morning, leaves in the afternoon for a couple of hours to pick up the kids from camp and takes them out for snack. By early evening, she's back in the saddle. Her mantra: ``Always go for the low-hanging fruit.'' That means Schiff doesn't go out of her way for business. She looks for logical fits instead of ambitious plans. Schiff's husband, a screenwriter, also works from home and often helps out when the jewelry business interferes with domestic life.

``I do lean on him a lot,'' she said. ``In many ways, we're kind of like 'parentpreneurs.'''

Having a supportive spouse certainly can help when launching a business. But including the kids is also key to running a successful business as a mom. ``It's critical that everyone is on board. And you have to paint an accurate picture so that everyone knows what you're planning to do,'' said Susan Dearing, associate director of EMBA and Alumni Career Services at UCLA Anderson School of Management.

Dearing, an entrepreneurial mom who successfully sold her gourmet fudge sauce business, often consults with women who are coming out of corporate life disillusioned. Despite their intentions to work hard as entrepreneurs, ``there is a common naive view about starting a business,'' she said. ``And you have to realize that you will end up working twice as hard for half as much.

``The other hard part for me personally was that I didn't want my kids to think there was a third child.''

To understand the full scale of starting a business as a mom, Dearing recommends a feasibility analysis that would take the form of a checklist or something that illuminates the financial consequences of a business. Family should be another factor, accounting for how much time a business will take away from the kids and spouse, Dearing said.

But there are also intangibles that determine whether or not moms make good entrepreneurs. That's why Janise Graham, mother of 7-year-old twins, has a secret weapon. His name: Eli Broad. Graham has tracked the magnate-turned-philanthropist for years. She has even applied his philosophies to her financial management business in Ontario.

Whether it's his ability to overcome adversity or his sheer will to succeed, Graham said Broad is her mentor even though she has never met him in person. ``Everyone needs a mentor, and it helps when you can pattern yourself off someone,'' said Graham, who even wrote Broad a letter expressing her gratitude and received a response from an assistant.

But Graham said the biggest lesson she has learned as a black woman in business is to never feel intimidated by other professionals. ``I do business based on mutual respect,'' she said. ``I have to walk the walk and talk the talk.''

Anita Sparks, president of NAWBO's Inland Empire Chapter, has noticed a shift in corporate board rooms. ``More women are working their way up because others are taking note of their abilities to multitask,'' Starks said. ``We get good at that as moms and employees who have to balance between family and taking care of that bottom line.''

Suzie Gardner and Beth Laski have adapted to such a notion. The two moms from Sherman Oaks recently opened Burgundy Blue, a fashion outlet for babies, children and teens. The women said the fact that they have kids helps them understand the needs of other parents.

``And no, this business was not started because I got bored at home,'' said Gardner, who has two boys. ``This business was started with blood, sweat and tears.''

Work is like therapy to Gardner. Several sewing machines sit behind a wall at Burgundy Blue, where she usually designs the clothes before they hit the rack. Gardner's 12-year-old son Matt also hangs around the store.

``I like coming here and check in on my mom,'' said Matt, who goes to school just a few blocks away. ``And I'm proud of what she's doing. It's awesome.''

Evan Pondel, [phone]

evan.pondel(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Jill Schiff of Planetjill Custom Photo Jewelry works from home along with her family and Ed, their Labradoodle puppy.

John Lazar/Staff Photographer

(2 -- color) Janise Graham finds time to spend on both her family and her clients while running her own financial management company in Ontario.

Isaac Reyes/Staff Photographer

(3) Suzie Gardner, left, and Beth Laski operate Burgundy Blue in Sherman Oaks to make money and have time for family.

Evan Yee/Staff Photographer