A Des Moines entrepreneur whose ventures include a women’s business networking group is the 2024 U.S. Small Business Administration Women in Business Champion of the Year for the state of Iowa.
Erin Huiatt is the owner of Des Moines Parent, a website she purchased in 2015 that provides tips, ideas, events, activities and suggestions to central Iowa parents. She also is president of the networking group, FemCity Des Moines, which promotes women’s achievements by providing them with tools, resources and connections to succeed in business.
“The SBA Iowa District Office is honored to recognize Erin Huiatt as an inspiration to professional women throughout central Iowa,” Iowa District Director Jayne Armstrong said in a press release, adding, “She is truly making a significant difference in Iowa’s small business community,” Armstrong said.
On her website, Huiatt describes herself as an entrepreneur, community leader, author, mom and wife.
Huiatt, who grew up in the Des Moines area, said that since she took over the Des Moines Parent website, it has grown from 1,000 followers on Facebook to over 21,000, with about 90,000 page views per month. The site is free, generating revenue through ad sales, which she said has been her biggest challenge.
“We have such a large community and I’ve spent a lot of time making those connections with” the advertisers,” she said. “They’re very loyal and they trust what I have to say or share and kind of how it (the website) works.”
Author, organizer, planner
In addition to her businesses, Huiatt is the author of “100 Things to do in Des Moines Before You Die” and launched the Des Moines Beyond Business Conference in 2022. The conference attracts women business owners and professionals throughout central Iowa for a day of personal and professional development, including educational sessions, guest speakers and networking opportunities, according to the SBA news release.
Huiatt also sits on the boards of the Des Moines Children’s Museum and Grimes Chamber & Economic Development, is a certified postpartum doula and is the author of “The Postpartum Plan Workbook.” She was a finalist for the Inspiring Women of Iowa Character Award and winner of the FuseDSM 2022 Rising Star Award.
Huiatt was nominated by Tricia Rivas, owner of Trixie’s Salon & Spa in Des Moines.
One of the projects she has coming up in 2025 is a printed directory of indoor venues for families to visit.
“It will be indoor places for families to check out, maybe like family friendly restaurants. Just really families focused places,” she said.
As president of FemCity Des Moines, Huiatt said the organization seeks to help women learn to make a living from pursuits that began as personal interests.
“A lot of these small businesses began as a hobby and they want to know how to move away from the hobby mentality to making it into a business,” she said.
Like many businesses, big and small across Iowa, attracting and retaining good employees is one of the key challenges members of FemCity Des Moines face, Huiatt said.
“I think the women are looking for the support and similar backgrounds and stories from others that they can learn from and that’s kind of what FemCity provides,” Huiatt said.