Mumpreneur Profile: Julie of SoreThumb Marketing

Julie Wilson

What business are you in?

I offer freelance marketing and PR support for SMEs

Why did you start your business?

I worked for Boots for 17 years in a marketing role and after the birth of my first son, went back to this job full time. This was OK until my second son came along three and a half years later. Going back after my second maternity leave, coincided with my first son starting school, and I found it too difficult to juggle the school and nursery as well as a pressurised job. I decided to leave Boots and work for a local, small company as their Marketing Manager. I managed to secure part time hours but it was still a struggle to take and pick up my children from school and school holidays were a nightmare! Working for a small company gave me much more of an opportunity to find creative ways to maximise low budgets. I realised the potential of PR, reciprocal deals and email marketing to mention a few.

I decided I’d take my 20 plus years of marketing experience and offer my services to other local companies and SMEs. Unlike a consultant who offers advice or guidance, I am able to provide a hands-on service and the flexibility for ‘task specific’ help. What’s more clients only pay for marketing when they need it and don’t have to hire a new employee or an agency.

How old were your children/child when you started your business?

I started working for myself in April 2008. At that time my eldest son was nearly 10 and my youngest was 6.

How did you get the finance for your company?

I really didn’t need any finance. I already had a computer and a phone and really that’s all I needed. I did make the smallest bedroom of our house into an office and had to buy some office furniture but I kept my start up costs very low – less than £500 in total.

How quickly did you first see a profit?

I had decided to set up on my own about a year before I actually took the plunge. During that time I networked liked mad and so when I actually became self employed I already had a number of clients and received payments from them at the end of the first month and so saw a profit straight away.

What has been the biggest learning curve for you in running your business?

Remembering how much time you have agreed to give to each client and sticking to it. I always seem to give much more than I am charging for.

How do you manage your childcare?

I try and work from 9am to 3pm each day so I can take the children to school and pick them up again. I also do work in the evenings when they are in bed so they really don’t notice that mum is working.

Did you ever feel guilty about working and having kids? If yes, how do you deal with it?

Yes. After the birth of my first son, I went back to work full time and my working day was long, not getting home until 7pm or later. Fortunately my husband had more flexible hours and so could pick our son up from nursery each evening and be there for him to bath him etc. I dealt with this by knowing that my son was in an excellent nursery with fantastic care and he was very happy. He knew no different and I always said I would reduce my working hours when he started school as I felt he would want me more then than as a baby.

How do you cope with the school holidays?

With difficulty. We do have a family holiday in the summer and I have my parents close by who are fantastic and help with the boys a lot. Plus, now they are getting older, they can occupy themselves for some of the time and so I find I can work and just keep breaking off to tend to their needs etc when required.

What impact has running a business had on your family life?

Lots more flexibility for all of us.

What advice would you give another mum wanting to start her own business?

Go for it – but plan well in advance and make sure you have a good business plan before you actually take the plunge so you know what income you can realistically expect.

 Your website: www.sorethumbmarketing.co.uk

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 29th, 2009 at 8:55 am and is filed under Mumpreneur Profiles, media mums. 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.