My name is Natasha Baker and I’m 43, married to Peter (who is a self employed and very busy plumber) and we have one son who is almost two years old.  We live in a small village near Dorking in Surrey.

What did you do before coming up with your business idea and how was it making the transition?

I came up with my idea whilst on a year’s maternity leave and I have since returned to my full time job so have my small start up business as a sideline for the moment.  By day I manage a team of project managers and business analysts for a leading recruitment company.

When did you launch?

My first print run of the ToDoDid laminated notebook was in December 2009.  I created my website on 16^th January 2010 over a glass of wine and have made small tweaks and changes based on feedback from friends and family.

What research did you do before launching?

The inspiration for this product came at 5am one cold winter’s morning, when my brain was buzzing with lists of things to remember for a family day out involving the transportation of a young baby with all the necessary equipment and food! Whilst writing yet another sticky note of things I needed for that day, I found several others stuck to the bedside table (shopping lists, people to call, things to add to the diary etc) and the idea for the “ToDoDid” began (things to do and things I did). Much of my early research was through my network of other mums and family members who had already had children.

How have you funded the business?

I’ve funded everything so far from my own savings, and start up costs have been fairly low.

How do you promote your business? What has worked best?

I’ve registered on a number of parenting sites and used forums as opportunities to introduce my product as well as taken time to read through a lot of forum posts about how to get your site listed for free to help with search engine rankings etc.  I’m still very unfamiliar with the technical stuff so consider myself to be a beginner in these areas, prepared to learn from others and take on board whatever constructive feedback I can get.  My website is a homemade one – built using templates provided by the domain hosting company – but I’ve had some encouraging feedback on it and been told it looks good for something that wasn’t professionally created.   I’ve also used vistaprint to create some business cards and postcard flyers which I’m planning to distribute via the local NCT nearly new sale goody bags etc.  I’ve got some editorial coverage in our next local NCT magazine too.  I’ve also recently started to get my head round Twitter – I’ve been doing a free course to understand how to make best use of it (thanks to NetMums!).

What has worked well about your business?

It’s still very early days but the response I’ve got from forum postings and the number of website hits I’m getting is all very encouraging.   I’m doing my best to make sure that I’m a real person responding to my customers – personal emails to follow up on orders and to check that the goods have arrived.  I’m hoping that by delivering really good customer service I can encourage satisfied customers to help spread the word.  I’ve got big plans for business development to childcare establishments but haven’t yet got the time to build a corporate market so my plans at the moment are to target new parents or people wanting to buy a gift for a new parent.

What has been your biggest challenge so far? How have you dealt with it?

Time!  My maternity leave flew by (and I’ve almost been back at work a year) so being back to full time work now when I really want to develop my business is a challenge.  But I have a lot of determination so am hoping that if I take little steps forward every day and stick to a plan without getting distracted I will be a mumpreneur eventually.

How do you fit in work with the family?

This business is in its very early days, and so for now I am trying to give it whatever energy I have left at the end of my day.  I’m not in a position to give up my day job just yet!

What advice would you give to someone else wanting to work in this area?

It takes a lot of energy and you have to believe in yourself, even if others think you are mad!

www.tododid.co.uk