–Winners from the BT Business Essence of the Entrepreneur competition prove that successful businesses are bucking the trend–          

Two businesses established by mums specifically catering for parents and families are amongst the  20 winners of BT Business’s Essence of the Entrepreneur competition.  Holiday Nanny, based in Lincolnshire, provides families with a properly qualified and vetted nanny for their holiday. Since starting the company in 2007, founder Nicola Grant has grown it enormously, and now works with over 140 different families and many top travel companies including Kuoni, Cadogan Holidays and Elegant Resorts. NetMums, based in Middlesex, was founded in 2002 by three mums and provides an online yet localised community for parents and families completely free of charge. It currently has over half a million users. Both these businesses are committed to making life easier for families, and creating networks for parents to talk and share ideas through experience.
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Business Name - www.mumandworking.co.uk - the UK’s first online directory of part-time jobs that parents can do from home.

Joslyn Bellamy and family

Married to Paul, have Felix (6), Maddie (4) and currently 7 months pregnant with number 3! We live in sunny Cornwall.

The site launched in February 2006.

I’d had the idea for Mum and Working whilst still living in London and did some basic groundwork whilst there to check the idea for viability. It didn’t really get off the ground until we moved to Cornwall, where I met a Mum at the school gates who told me of a new business start-up course here. I applied, went on the course which was fantastic, wrote my business plan and accessed the small £1,500 start up grant. This kick started the business and paid for some initial marketing. I’m lucky as my husband is a web designer so a huge part of my business start-up costs were free.

The best thing about running the business is that it has offered me a truly family-friendly flexible working option. I work whilst my children are at school and am able to drop them off and pick them up myself. It is also great knowing I’m able to help other parents achieve these same aims with www.mumandworking.co.uk.

The biggest challenge so far has been being based so far away from London, being only 10 miles from Lands End! Many potential clients and advertisers want to meet face to face and unfortunately that isn’t always possible. Luckily though the majority of advertisers using Mum and Working are small business owners like me and they often have children themselves. We all have a good understanding of each others position and I’m never phased by a call where I hear a small voice asking for a biscuit in the background!

To anyone else thinking of setting up their own business I would say do loads of research in to your market. If you have a unique idea that no one else is doing yet think about why not - is the idea truly commercially viable? Do you have good resources you can tap in to? Test ideas on friends and family. Access local business start-up courses, details can often be found through Business Link. But do go for it - nothing ventured, nothing gained!

If you want  to find family friendly and flexible work, jobs, business ideas and homeworking opportunities check out www.mumandworking.co.uk

Name of Business: Sizzling Science, winner of the Mumsclub Mumpreneur of the Year Competition

What You Do: Sizzling Science provides fun and interactive science workshops for children. Our workshops are suitable for schools, out of school care, community groups, corporate fun days and even birthday parties!

Tell us about your family:

I live in the Highlands of Scotland, with my husband Stuart and our two daughters, Freya (7) and Erynn (6).

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

I previously worked as a scientist in the biomedical industry for a large corporate organisation. After the birth of my second child, I was keen to spend more time at home and work more flexibly. My husband and I bought a guesthouse; this allowed me the breathing space to formulate my science entertainment idea, without losing the security of an income. Read the rest of this entry »

I have recently found a couple of inspiring blogs which might help you if you are looking for family friendly and flexible ways to earn in 2009.

Littlemummy is embarking on Project 500: she wants to generate £500 income each month online, using

• Freelance Writing
• Affiliate Marketing
• Pay per click Advertising
• Home based Sales
• Banner Ads
• Product Reviews

I think this is an ideal way to earn for many mums and dads with odd snippets of time, and I’ll be watching LittleMummy’s blog with interest.

I discovered the other blog through Twitter. Sarah Prout has written a book of inspiring tales and secrets from female entrepreneurs. She writes in the Online Empress blog where you can find more mumpreneur’s profiles. I’m hoping to review her book soon.

Name of Business: Bebebel

Tell us about your family:

Belle McKnight

I have been married to Tom for 8 lovely years and we have a gorgeous daughter Ruby (3 years old). We live mainly in Spain but travel to the UK very often for work reasons - as we both work for ourselves. Hence I realised the need for a service such as Bebebel!

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

Previously I lived in London and had a Senior Management role for a large IT recruitment company, managing teams of up to 30 consultants and did this for 10 long years. It was incredibly hard work with long hours and tonnes of pressure, but very well paid - the only bonus! Eventually I had had enough of the City and moved to Southern Spain (Mojacar Playa) to take some time out, only to find myself pregnant and shortly after having Ruby set up Bebebel. The transition was good for me because I managed to chill out first after the hecticness of London, then had Ruby and managed to create a job for myself that plays to my key strengths (sales and organising) but has flexible hours as Ruby comes first. Read the rest of this entry »

Read my guest post on the Womanwise Marketing blog about How Giveaways Can Make YOUR Business A Winner. It is full of tips on how I obtain great competition prizes and use them to generate sign-ups for my newsletter.

One of the great upsides of freelancing is that you can drop everything if you need. Sick children, neighbours who have locked themselves out - everyone will think that you can drop what you are doing and help. Trouble is, you then end up working into the small hours to catch up. It can be hard to set aside time for holidays too, when a break from work equals no income. With practice you will work out a way to be around for the family without letting your work slip too far: after all, that is one of the benefits of freelancing.

Antonia Chitty is author of Family Friendly Working (www.familyfriendlyworking.co.uk), A guide to Promoting Your Business (www.prbasics.co.uk) and a number of parenting and health books. She has a book on earning a living from writing, The Commercial Writing Guide coming out in July 2009. You can find out more about her own freelance writing career at www.antoniachitty.co.uk and her PR business at www.acpr.co.uk.

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. Read the rest of this entry »

It was all so different when you were employed. Now you’re master of your own time, time management is key. One of the big ups of freelancing in the chance to take time off during the week, to go for a swim when the pool is at its emptiest or meet a mate for a long lunch. However in order to do this AND have money to pay for the treats you need to plan ahead. Work out how much you need to earn each month to pay your bills and have spending money. Allow for tax and National Insurance too. You might wonder what this has to do with time management….but time is money. Your income will depend on the hours you put in. It may take a while to work out how much work you need to do to earn the amount you need to live, and it can take time to build up enough good contacts to have a ready flow of commissions too. You may spend more time pitching or generating business in the early stages so try to have some cash in reserve.

Antonia Chitty is author of Family Friendly Working (www.familyfriendlyworking.co.uk), A guide to Promoting Your Business (www.prbasics.co.uk) and a number of parenting and health books. She has a book on earning a living from writing, The Commercial Writing Guide coming out in July 2009 . You can find out more about her own freelance writing career at www.antoniachitty.co.uk and her PR business at www.acpr.co.uk.

Do you want national media coverage for your business? A parenting magazine is looking for pregnant women and new mums who have been inspired by their pregnancy or baby to start a business or follow a new career path. Case studies should be free for a phone interview and to attend a photo shoot in central London (expenses paid). If you want to find out more, email antonia@acpr.co.uk