Mumpreneur Profile: Sharon of Bay Web Design

Tell us about your family (partner, children, ages, where you live etc: whatever you feel happy sharing)     Married for nearly 15yrs, two children (boy 13 & girl 11). I have lived in Morecambe, Lancashire since I was a few weeks old. My husband is an entertainer (karaoke host, DJ, singer, quizmaster etc) who is looking to go into the pub business.

What did you do before coming up with your business idea (previous career, stay at home mum etc) and how was it making the transition?   I left school a 16 and worked for British Gas customer service for 12 yrs before being made redundant around the time my son was born (reorganization, my choice to leave). I stayed at home for three yrs and had my daughter then returned to work for a team development consultancy when she was nearly 1yr. I worked for them for two years before deciding to return to education – lifelong ambition. I got a degree and Masters in History but couldn’t find relevant and child-friendly work in this area. Ended up retraining in IT and fell in love with web design. Going back to work part-time after having the kids was difficult but it did me good to reclaim some of my individual identity. Now they are getting older I have to be around for different reasons but I am able to be more myself than ‘mother’ (although mother is always the most important). I decided to set up my own business rather than look for employment in a company as I wanted the autonomy and flexibility.

When did you launch?   Oct 08

How did you get started?           I already had all the equipment and office space within my home, I joined the local Chamber of Commerce for their advice and networking. I contacted Bay Business Centre which is part of local govt initiatives to help new businesses start up. I also took help from schemes at Lancaster University (Create) and with University of Cumbria (Enterprise Society). I am a member of Flying Start online now too.

What research did you do before launching?      Very little, I already knew it was a competitive market but was determined to give it a go no matter what and didn’t want to be discouraged before I started. I have done research since to enable me to find my niche market.

How have you funded the business?      Self-funded – very limited budget. Looking for ways to promote myself without paying a fortune so doing a lot of networking in my local area.

How do you promote your business? What has worked best? I have only just started out but I am networking, finding my niche and taking all the available help I can find. I have contacted bigger web design companies and asked if we can set up a referral system where if I get a job too big I will refer it to them and if they get a job too small they will refer to me. I am also doing a site in return for services that I use as a way of expanding my portfolio.

What has worked well about your business?       Being at home is working for me as I am around if, as happened the other week, I get a call asking me to collect a sick child from school.

What has been your biggest challenge so far? How have you dealt with it?          My biggest challenge is finding those customers and to do this I need to toughen up and not be afraid of pushing my business (although not so much as to become annoying)

How do you fit in work with the family?   I work while the children are at school, I aim to go into the office as they leave for school. I can work after they come home but generally finish to make tea. I can always bring my laptop in and work later if necessary so at least I’m in the house and not the office. If I want to socialize during the day (girlie lunches etc) then I can make up the time later if necessary.

What advice would you give to someone else wanting to work in this area?          Find your niche market! Find networking opportunities. Look for freely offered advice & help. Offer to help others where and when possible.

 Your website link.          www.baywebdesigns.co.uk

This entry was posted on Saturday, July 11th, 2009 at 9:00 am and is filed under 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.