Other posts you may like
- Do You Want Your Own Business?
- Mumpreneur Profile: Frances of bigbooklittlebookcardboardbox
- Mumpreneur Profile: Caitlin of Cherish and Cherubs
- Mumpreneur Profile: Charlie Plunkett, Author
- Mumpreneur Profile: Lisa of Baby Not Included
Mumpreneur Profile: Caroline of Party Sprite
Name of Business: Party Sprite, part of The Dales Party Company Ltd
How did you get started?
A friend decided she didn’t have time for her party supplies business, and wanted to hand it on to someone rather than just close. I inherited a website and a list of suppliers and have taken it from there. It is still early days but starting at the beginning of the year gave me a busy Valentines and Mother’s Day to get the sales going.
What has worked well about your business?
Running the company from home is a challenge but especially with the current financial climate has meant that costs are rock bottom, so I don’t have to worry too much if the sales slow up a bit.
What has been your biggest challenge so far? How have you dealt with it?
The biggest challenge is keeping the sales ticking over so the cash keeps flowing. If the stock hangs around too long then I am not able to keep with the seasonal changes in the party industry, and I will get left behind. I have also had to get over my fear of balloons!
How has the pre-Christmas period been for business?
I am certainly finding that I am getting more orders through the site however, with it being my first year I am really happy that the website is already bringing this volume of orders in. As far as coping with organising our Christmas and working, well I have yet to get the balance right. I haven’t done much of my own Christmas shopping as I am concentrating on all the fairs that I have booked and sorting stock out for New Year and Valentines for next year. Luckily we visit my parents for Christmas Day so all I have to worry about is the presents side, and I think a lot of my adult gifts will be baskets I make up myself, which I have done in the past, but it still means extra work.
I am having such a great time though, I just love parties and all the fun that goes with them, and it is lovely getting all the new stock in for this really busy party season!
How do you fit in work with the family?
I am lucky in that my eldest has just started school and my youngest goes to a fantastic playgroup 3 mornings a week. They come with me on weekend events and I do all the jobs that need concentration when they are out or asleep. It’s a struggle at times but I wanted to have this balance so I could be around for them too.
What advice would you give to someone else wanting to work in this area?
Research, research and research! There are a lot of other businesses selling party supplies out there, especially online, so do your research and try to find something that will set you apart.
Your website link. http://www.partysprite.co.uk
This entry was posted
on Monday, December 22nd, 2008 at 9:32 pm and is filed under Christmas mums, Mumpreneur Profiles.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Leave a Reply
Mumpreneur Profile: Caroline of Party Sprite
Name of Business: Party Sprite, part of The Dales Party Company Ltd
How did you get started?
A friend decided she didn’t have time for her party supplies business, and wanted to hand it on to someone rather than just close. I inherited a website and a list of suppliers and have taken it from there. It is still early days but starting at the beginning of the year gave me a busy Valentines and Mother’s Day to get the sales going.
What has worked well about your business?
Running the company from home is a challenge but especially with the current financial climate has meant that costs are rock bottom, so I don’t have to worry too much if the sales slow up a bit.
What has been your biggest challenge so far? How have you dealt with it?
The biggest challenge is keeping the sales ticking over so the cash keeps flowing. If the stock hangs around too long then I am not able to keep with the seasonal changes in the party industry, and I will get left behind. I have also had to get over my fear of balloons!
How has the pre-Christmas period been for business?
I am certainly finding that I am getting more orders through the site however, with it being my first year I am really happy that the website is already bringing this volume of orders in. As far as coping with organising our Christmas and working, well I have yet to get the balance right. I haven’t done much of my own Christmas shopping as I am concentrating on all the fairs that I have booked and sorting stock out for New Year and Valentines for next year. Luckily we visit my parents for Christmas Day so all I have to worry about is the presents side, and I think a lot of my adult gifts will be baskets I make up myself, which I have done in the past, but it still means extra work.
I am having such a great time though, I just love parties and all the fun that goes with them, and it is lovely getting all the new stock in for this really busy party season!
How do you fit in work with the family?
I am lucky in that my eldest has just started school and my youngest goes to a fantastic playgroup 3 mornings a week. They come with me on weekend events and I do all the jobs that need concentration when they are out or asleep. It’s a struggle at times but I wanted to have this balance so I could be around for them too.
What advice would you give to someone else wanting to work in this area?
Research, research and research! There are a lot of other businesses selling party supplies out there, especially online, so do your research and try to find something that will set you apart.
Your website link. http://www.partysprite.co.uk
This entry was posted on Monday, December 22nd, 2008 at 9:32 pm and is filed under Christmas mums, Mumpreneur Profiles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Leave a Reply
-
Do You Want to Be one of 3000 Mums and Dads improving their Work and Family Life?
If you want tips to help you work flexibly from Antonia Chitty straight to your inbox, sign up for our newsletter. You’ll also be the first to hear about special offers, competitions and freebies.
For Email Newsletters you can trust -
-
-
-
