Your Name and Age: Sanjay Aggarwal, 36
Tell us about your family: I live with my wife Laura and baby girl Zara, now 9 months old
What did you do before coming up with your business idea and how was it making the transition?
I have had my own recruitment business since I was 24 but for the last 2 years I have been full time growing Spice Kitchen. I set the business up as a retirement project for my mum and it grew much bigger than we ever imagined
When did you launch?
We started in …

After 25 years of working on the accounts of local and national companies, a twist of fate finally pushed Chelmsford-based Karen Cain into launching her own business that she now hopes to some day pass on to her children.
Her last employer, a small local air conditioning company, began putting her through her first payroll qualifications with distance learning specialist Ideal Schools in 2011. She progressed through her entry bookkeeper exams at good pace, but was made redundant in 2014 when her employer ran into financial difficulties.
“When I was working for …

I’m Neha and I’m the owner of Sonality, a baby and children-wear company which takes personalisation to a whole new level. My husband is Dipe and we have a 2-year-old daughter called Mia. Baby number 2 is due at the end of May.
Sonality is a clothing company like no other. Yes, we’re fun, original and creative. But we also have a serious side which drives us to be who we are. Our core belief is that everyone is unique (especially kids!) – and we love the fact that from the …

Name and Age: Ruth Kudzi, 41
Tell us about your family: I am the mum of two girls who are 2 & 4 and my husband Mr K.
What did you do before coming up with your business idea and how was it making the transition?
I was a deputy head teacher and before that I worked in recruitment and sales so quite a change. I had been coaching in my role for years and had done lots of training and qualifications so I was secure that this was “my thing” before I started.
When did …

Your Name and Age: Rebecca Crawforth, 33
Tell us about your family: Mum to Harry and Hettie and married to Curtis
What did you do before coming up with your business idea and how was it making the transition? I left school at 13 with next to no education or qualifications. I travelled loads and was never without work, I always talked my way into new jobs and opportunities. Not knowing what direction to go in, I was made redundant from a large department store. I lost not only my job but …

Emma Willis has designed and launched a clothing collection with Next, a Spring/Summer 2019 edit featuring beachwear, nightwear and tailoring. She has shared her thoughts on being a career woman, stepping out of her comfort zone and how she never thought she’d try her hand at design.
“It’s a very different project. ‘Delivering babies’* has been absolutely a dream come true but designing clothes I suppose was initially something I never thought I would do as I didn’t train in that field. I didn’t go to design school and I am …

Your Name and Age: Laura, 41 yrs and Kati, 39 yrs
Tell us about your family: Laura is married and has 2 children, a little girl Ella (2 year old) and son Onni (7 year old). Kati lives together with her long term boyfriend and they have a 6 year old son, Roni.
What did you do before coming up with your business idea and how was it making the transition?
We both worked in corporate environments up until giving up our careers in early 2018. Our dissatisfaction and frustration with our corporate …

Being a working mum isn’t easy. You’re constantly having to juggle work, family and household chores, as well as trying to have a social life. There just never seems to be enough hours in the day! However, thanks to technology, there’s a lot of help available to make life that little bit easier.
Did you know there are numerous smartphone apps designed specifically with busy mums in mind? Here, you’ll discover some of the best apps to help mums currently on the market.
Remember the Milk
One of the biggest challenges of being …

Your Name and Age:
Danusia Malina-Derben
Tell us about your family
We are a happy family living by the coast a couple minutes from the sea. I’m mum of ten children but right now five live at home (6 year old triplets and two teen daughters).
What did you do before coming up with your business idea and how was it making the transition?
First, I was a business school academic, an Organisational Behaviour specialist and some years into my career I decided to build my own consultancy. Eventually I left academia to concentrate on …

Emily (Emi) Darnton made great use of her first maternity leave: “I decided to re-train and get qualified in skills that would enable me to set-up in business for myself”, she said.
The 40-year-old mother of two, who grew up in Hamble but now lives in Moreton in Marsh in the heart of the Cotswolds, had worked in a variety of roles. Latterly, she works in her husband, Russell’s, business, High Road Balloons, which runs the Virgin Hot Air Balloon franchise for the West Midlands.
“I decided that the Institute of Certified …