Mumpreneur - Mum or Entrepeneur?

I was recently asked to write a feature for this NCT Magazine so I thought I would share it here as my first post.

Being asked to write about being a Mumpreneur is a bit strange really as I only started by business in March this year and certainly don’t feel yet like any kind of role model yet. It’s been a struggle at times and certainly not an easy track to take and maybe that it what I can share with you here.

Firstly the word Mumpreneur itself, Mum comes first in this hybrid or language and that’s about right, I am a Mum first and business woman second. Not only because of course they mean more to me than any business could but also because they demand so much more of my time and energy!

After my first son was born I happily returned to work as an Event Manager when he was 8 months old, I knew from the start that I would return as I loved my job and the people I worked with and of course we needed the money. I did return part time (if you can call 4 days part time!) and had to adjust my hours to suit the childcare arrangements but overall it worked well and I enjoyed being able to still be myself at work and ‘mummy’ at home.

Once we decided to have another child I knew that I would not return to work after the birth, childcare costs alone for 2 small children would make it unfeasible and I felt it would be a good opportunity to move on and do something new.

After my second son was born and once I got over the first few months of complete incredulity of how to cope with 2 children I couldn’t help starting to think about my future career. While on maternity leave with my first son I was able to enjoy our time together as I knew it was going end when I went back to work but this time, knowing I was not returning weighed heavily on my mind. I started searching the internet for ideas for my own business, should I start my own kids cooking classes? Community Magazine? Event Management Company? Art classes? All great ideas but knowing where to start is the problem, especially when sleep deprived and with 2 children constantly vying for your attention. This is when I started to look at franchises, these provide a framework for your business, advice and support on how to get it started, marketing materials and training etc to get it off the ground. Not going it completely alone appealed, as did the flexibility of working for myself and being in charge of my own business. However, finding the right one was a challenge, most were either too expensive to purchase or required too much time commitment to make them work as excessive childcare costs was something I was keen to avoid. I finally came across a brand new franchise opportunity that felt perfect for my circumstances and duly started down the route of contacted them for details, getting legal advice and attending training. Big Local App Kingston was born.

I was really excited by the concept of the app and its focus on promoting local businesses, I had loads of ideas and couldn’t wait to get started. The reality is less exciting, sitting at the desk with one child on my knee and the other demanding to watch spider-man on my laptop while trying to email clients is commonplace. Phone calls are impossible unless both children are asleep (a rare occurrence) and the stress of having such a young family is evident in my multiple grey hairs!

Social media and networking are the best ways to create brand awareness these days. I still wake up at night thinking about what my next tweet will be, who my new followers are or how to get more likes on my facebook page! Luckily these things are pretty addictive once you get started. Attending networking events is a great boosts my confidence and business, I have had some great feedback from the people I have met.

My family have been incredible supportive, I really couldn’t have done it without them. Starting your own business can also be very lonely but I am growing my professional network and having the franchise team’s support is a great help.
I think most people thought (and probably still think) that starting a business with such young children is crazy!

Of course the intention is to provide an income but the drive was more personal, I just knew I couldn’t be a stay at home mum. I need grown up interaction and the fulfilment that a career offers. I would by no means say that the business has proved a success yet, I am still working hard at it but its only 6 months old! I am sure my sleep deprivation and sheer tiredness have caused me to make many mistakes and bad decisions along the way but I am so glad that I took the opportunity, no matter how hard it has been, and still is to juggle family and work. I still worry about whether I am neglecting my children while trying to keep up with those emails; surely he should be doing something more educational than watching Cars 2 for the second time today? Or missing out on appreciating the important milestones; How many weeks old is he today and when exactly did he start crawling? Did I miss something? But I hope that in years to come my kids will be proud that mummy runs her own business, that it will inspire them to be independent and adventurous and that they will appreciate that mummy was always able to attend their sports days, Christmas concerts and school plays.