Are you looking for a career change or returning to work after a break? Why not consider a career in retail? It is not all stacking shelves and working on tills. If you have good communication skills, thrive on a challenge and want a job that is different everyday then a career in retail maybe for you.

Are you looking to get back into work after a career break? Maybe a new career in sales could be the answer for you. It can be a rewarding and well paid job. If you are an effective communicator, self motivated, well organised and thrive on a challenge, then sales is a good career choice for you.

Whether you’re looking for employment in a different field of work, or you’re starting up your own business, balancing career change with being a mum is challenging to say the least. Here are a few tips for making the transition successfully.

Did you see Family Friendly Working in this month’s Mother and Baby magazine? I was giving advice for mums who want to change career. If you didn’t see the article, here are my top tips:

Check out your local college and see which courses are on offer this September.
Look into childcare at an early stage: college nurseries get booked up fast.
Visit your local enterprise agency (if it hasn’t been cut!) for business start up ideas.

If you are a mum and thinking of ways to combine a busy homelife with a growing business then consider the pre-school photography market. If you think that cameras and lights are too daunting, don’t be put off.  You can easily learn how to take technically perfect pictures time after time. And, with digital cameras, you can instantly see your results. So, if you want your own business and to explore your creative side where do you begin?

If you need to retrain there are lots of initiatives to help you.  Ask your local Sure Stat Children’s Centre for info on courses with crèches – call into your local college too.  Examples of what you can retrain as are: becoming a complementary therapist could allow you to offer appointments that fit in with your family commitments, or take a creative course and start selling what you make at craft fairs at the weekend.
For more in-depth information on starting your own business, go to www.themumpreneurguide.co.uk

If you’re going to start your own business after maternity leave or want to retrain, you may be looking for ways to save on your salary. Here are some tips:

Low cost lunches: look at what you have been spending on coffee, snacks and lunch while at work. You will be able to make savings there if working from home. Watch out for the cost of meeting other mums for coffee though!
Working wardrobe: if you have had to wear suits to work, you may be able to make savings on work …

Complementary therapies are popular, and therapists usually are self employed, working the hours that they choose. More people are making a second career as a complementary therapist just because of the freedom and flexibility offered. It is a career which offers the chance to make a difference too, with many therapists training in a discipline that has worked well for them.
Jo Lunn offers training in Bowen Technique. She  believes that Bowen provides the perfect opportunity for people to build a new career, create a second income or simply have a …

There is a useful list of 10 ideas for careers you can do from home here. Some of the ideas may suit you if you have specialist expertise as, for example, a web designer. However it is possible to train part time for most of the suggestions. If you don’t see an idea that inspires you, check out the Family Friendly Working book which has hundreds more ideas for flexible and family friendly work.

I’ve been working for myself for a number of years now, and there are a few things that I am glad I knew from the start, while others I have learnt along the way.

Register as self employed within 3months of starting – contact the Inland Revenue to do this.
Start records from day one. Note down each expense and every bit of income. It is FAR easier to update a little each day or week than to create accounts from a pile of receipts. You’ll save yourself money on bookkeeping or …