business mum's journal edition 2: jane

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Hello! It’s the Spring issue; supported by

Mothercare and what a great one it is!

Publisher:

Community Times Limited

0800 243 462

info@communitytimes,co.uk

Jane Hopkins - Editor

Editorial: 01675 465863

Advertising: 01675 465863

email: [email protected]

www.mumsclub.co.uk

Whilst every care has been taken to

ensure that the data in this

publication is accurate, neither the

publisher nor its editorial contributors

can accept, and hereby disclaim, any

liability to any party to loss or

damage caused by errors or

omissions resulting from negligence,

accident or any other cause.

Community Times Ltd does not

officially endorse any advertising

material included within this

publication.

is the registered trademark

of Community Times Ltd.

All rights reserved. No part of this

publication may be reproduced,

stored in any retrieval system, or

transmitted in any form - electronic,

mechanical, photocopying, recording

or otherwise - without prior

permission of the publisher.

Contents 6 Mumpreneur Revolution

7 M.U.M.S Campaign

10 Get your Business noticed

14 Pitching for business success

17 Web Tips - where to start

18 Benefits of true relaxation

21 Beating the credit crunch

23 Create a lava lamp at home

24 Mumpreneur Watch!

28 Work from Home Opportunities

To prepare for less children coming to her afterschool classes, one mum has opened an online store to reach further afield, another has already taken on the biggest order of her business life, whilst another is moving into bigger premises, and two franchise owners have seen a surge in new business coming in.

This magazine is a celebration of their successes, designed to inspire and help women, and with the support of Mothercare, we will reach more mums who may not have considered a life in business be-fore. There are so many options that a mum has regarding working for herself, information and support is out there, all you need to do is click the right buttons!

If you’re not yet in business, you’ll see what some of the thousands of mums are already doing. Browse their online stores and grab a great gift, be inspired and pick up tips from the articles – all written by mums. And if you’re looking for new business ideas, check out the business opportunities feature – there’s plenty to choose from.

Whether you’re in business or not, once you’ve finished with your copy, please pass it on to another mum you know. And if you’re not already using the MumsClub website, grab a hot drink and come take a look. There’s a whole world of possibilities out there, let’s go and get them!

Finally, my personal thanks go to both Mothercare for supporting this issue of the Business Mum’s Journal, and to all the mums who have found time away from their own businesses and families to contribute to our forums, these are the mums who have made it the hugely supportive community it is today.

Jane x Jane Hopkins, Founder of MumsClub.co.uk UPS Local Business of the Year 2008, chosen by Theo Paphitis WOW (Women on their Way) Awards Finalist 2009

Jane Hopkins

with Jamie

The credit crunch has dominated the news so far into 2009 and is set to continue for some time. However, I am pleased to report that after speaking with many mums in business, it seems that not only are we undeterred by talk of a recession, we’re motivated and already adapting to ensure our businesses not only survive but thrive so where sales could go down, we’re seeking alternative markets...

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Mumpreneur Directory

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BusinessMumsMagazine.co.uk - Raising the profile of Mumpreneur businesses

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Free work at home advice, support, and online networking - MumsClub.co.uk

ANTECELL BUSINESS SERVICES

DESIGN AND COPYWRITING FOR SMALL BUSINESSES C O M P E L L I N G C O P Y T H A T R E A L L Y S E L L S | U N I Q U E , I M A G I N A T I V E , C R E A T I V E D E S I G N

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Working from home...Working from home...Working from home... by Mumpreneur Mary Cummings

TOP TIP No. 1 WRITE A BUSINESS PLAN:

Doing so enables you to carefully plan your business finances, sales & profits.

TOP TIP No. 2 NETWORK:

Easier said than done with young children in tow, however do make the

most of online forums such as www.mumsclub.co.uk.

TOP TIP No. 3 SEEK ADVICE:

Seek professional advice as early on in your start-up endeavours as possible.

Mumpreneur Revolution! Join the

- - MUMPRENEUR MARKET WATCH- - Business Mums contribute £4.4bn to the economy annually.

According to a recent poll:

- 40% of the women polled said that pregnancy changed their priorities

- 40% started their business while pregnant or within a year of the baby being born

- 92% said working while caring for their children improved their work-related skills

The process of starting up and running a

business while juggling the responsibilities of

motherhood is a unique challenge.

Yet there is a clear trend in mums who are no

longer content to be stay at home mums. These

days we want more out of life. We want more for

our families, a better future for our children, we

want to improve our self esteem and confidence.

For a mum, everything is planned around the needs

of the family. This can mean constant distractions,

difficulty in obtaining professional advice and little

or no opportunity to network offline.

One may also lack confidence due to having taken

a prolonged absence of maternity leave. In such a

case, trying to pitch to The Decision Maker (think

Dragons Den) can be daunting to the

point of terrifying.

Yet despite these challenges, Mumpre-

neurs and WAHM’s (work at home

mums) are on the increase.

These days, having access to the internet

means the world can come to you, your

own website is just clicks away, and un-

paralleled support from other mums with

the same difficulties as you can be there

as soon as you log in.

So if, as a mum, you are thinking of setting

up your new business from home, all you

need is an idea - so what are you waiting

for? Go ahead. Join the revolution!


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M.U.M.S Campaign Mum’s Ultimate Mission for Success

All mothers do a great job but sometimes a woman needs more; she needs to get out there, do her own thing, have her own money, her own life and her own independence.

Sound familiar? Being a mum in busi-ness can mean anything from selling books or homemade cakes, designing children’s clothing and setting up your own website, right through to sourc-ing investment and thinking really big.

Anything is possible, it simply depends on what you want for yourself.

More and more mums are setting up businesses from home, and although being a mum can be lonely, having the support of other mums, also juggling kids and a business can remove much of that isolation. Rest assured there is always a mum awake and working – especially after nightfall (aka kid’s bedtime).

As well as being the online venue for meeting other mums in business, MumsClub is always looking for new benefits to add that will help busi-nesses start and grow. In addition to our own services, you’ll find tons of

mums that can offer you products and services that can help both your business and your home & family life.

With the credit crunch threatening us all, now is the perfect time to reach further to find all the mums who have ever felt an entrepreneurial streak.

There are options and we can show you them all and help you on your way. With more business partners joining our campaign, in the spirit of MumsClub, together we will thrive.

Join us today, it’s free and you never know where it might lead. And be sure to tell your friends too...

www.mumsclub.co.uk


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If you dream of having all your

favourite meals, hand prepared by

experienced chefs, using quality

ingredients, delivered to your

door, we can make that dream come true!

Choose from our range of over 320 dishes at

www.kitchenmonkey.co.uk or call 0870 140 3213

Special offer—Enter MC09 at check out for £5 off

10 10 BusinessMumsMagazine.co.uk - Raising the profile of Mumpreneur businesses

Get your business

A mailing list

If you’re just starting out then

from day one you should be

thinking about keeping records

so start a database, even if it’s

just in a spreadsheet, you need

to keep track of all customers

and enquiries. Your mailing list is

one of your most effective

marketing tools and it’s all free so

look after it. If you have

previous customers then you’ll

have their details, so keep in

touch – let them know what

you’re up to, what new offers

you have, new products that

would appeal to them. Business

success is all about building

relationships so make sure your

customers know who you are.

Friends and family We all have our own small

network of friends and family,

make sure they know what you

and your business offers. By

telling as many people as you can

about what you do increases the

chance of those people referring

your business to people in their

own networks. Present your

business at a playgroup or local

clinic, talk to other mums at

school - Mum’s talk, we help

each other, so build your own

network of friends and family

then tap into the networks of

theirs. Who knows what doors it

could open for you.

Become a walking advert Wear a promotional t-shirt, carry

shopping bags with your logo,

have a sign in the back window of

your car, magnetic stickers for

the doors on your car, get some

flyers printed and hand them out

at playgroup, to your friends,

leave them in libraries and local

shops. These are all cost effective

ways to get your name out there

with a minimum outlay.

Online networking! You need to network as much as

possible, who is your target

market? Who buys your product

or service? And where can you

find them? Many mum owned

businesses sell products aimed at

mums. As mums, we know what

we want to buy and when in the

role as the customer we are able

to identify gaps in markets. How

many times have you said ‘I could

do with a ...’? There are hundreds

of parenting forums out there,

join some and get involved with

the community. You’ll also make

new friends along the way!

Meet your media Whilst you’re doing all of the

above, you need to come up with

some creative solutions for

meeting your advertising needs

whilst keeping to the (possibly)

non-existent budget.

When you are starting

out in business and no

one knows who you are,

one of the greatest challenges you will face is how to drum up new business. Even if

you’re on a tight budget, there are some great tactics out there to get your business

known; here are a few tips to get you started from MumsClub founder, Jane Hopkins.

Noticed!Noticed!Noticed!

11 11 Free work at home advice, support, and online networking - MumsClub.co.uk

Press Releases The next database you will need

is to help you keep in contact

with your media. Press releases

are a great way to generate news

about your business. The editor

of your local newspaper, will

always be looking for news of

general interest, so if your

business has an angle of

community interest then write

about it and send it off.

Remember the important thing

about a press release is that it

must be written in the form of a

news story. Don’t fall into the

trap of writing sales copy,

because it simply will not get

printed. You need a story that

readers will actually want to

read. Have a punchy heading and

first paragraph which flows into

the main details. Put in relevant

quotes about the news from

yourself and get your business

name and website address

quoted. Ensure you provide the

reporter with your contact

information, written clearly so

that they can contact you easily

for more information as they may

want additional details to

enhance the article.

Build a database of media

contacts, start with your local

papers; build relationships with

journalists and editors, then

move on to the nationals!

Feedback & research When you do go for some

advertising, take it step by step.

Don’t rush into a massive

campaign taking up all your

funds. Go slowly, one medium at

a time to test the success of each

small campaign you do. Add

promotional codes for each

advert you place so you know

where your leads are coming

from. Then you’ll know where to

concentrate for advertising in the

future.

The same goes for your website,

get hit counter software and

Google analytics, web design and

hosting businesses such as

mumstores.co.uk provide lots of

free software including a stat

counter to help you keep track of

how your website visitors have

found you.

You can also ask your customers

and site visitors how they found

you, such information isn’t

always reliable but it will also

give you an idea.

When you have researched your

advertising tactics you’ll have the

confidence to invest more, by

which time the smaller

campaigns you’ve been working

on will be paying off. Think about

timing your advertising though,

think about the time of year,

what’s going on? When is your

product or service going to sell

best/worst. Plan your campaign

strategically around these times.

In conclusion

You don’t have to spend a lot to

promote your business. When

you’re just starting out, every

penny counts so you must spend

those pennies wisely. Don’t make

the mistake of blaming your

business idea if something

doesn’t work, take a harder look

at the decisions you’ve made

instead. Business planning is

important at this stage; you need

to know where you’re heading so

invest some time into writing

your plans down.

Useful Resources when promoting your business on a budget:

• Low cost web hosting and free websites on www.mumstores.co.uk

• One-off Promotional polo shirts, shopping bags & more from www.teesonline.co.uk

• Learn more about doing your own PR on www.prbasics.co.uk

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MumsClub; the business club

for mums, founded by mum-of-

one Jane Hopkins, was awarded

the title of UPS Local Business

of the Year 2008 after

impressing none other than

Theo Paphitis of Dragon’s Den.

Melanie Riddell, a mum and

scientist from the Scottish

Highlands created Sizzling

Science, to provide Fun and

Interactive Hands-On

Science Workshops for children.

Her idea and future plans

helped her to pick up the

MumsClub New Business of the

Year award.

Claire O’Conner creator of Baby

Ballet, the pre-school dance

franchise was crowned

Mumpreneur of the year and

appeared live on ITV’s this

Morning along with runners up

Sharon Ward, who started

Teddy and Me; tiny clothes for

premature babies, and Lynn

Oakes and Pamela Lowes whose

business Milky moo moo,

provides Cool Creative Organic

Clothing Shop for Babies, Kids &

Adults with Attitude.

As all of these mums know, to

win a business award is great as

a PR tool; a winners badge looks

impressive on a website!

But what makes a

successful business win

an award?

What do you need to do, to say,

to demonstrate?

Who better to ask than the

ladies who have done it

themselves?

Lynn Oakes took time out from

Milky moo moo and with the

kids running berserk in the

background, gave us her insight

into putting together the

perfect pitch...

First and foremost what you’re

pitching should be something

you believe in and are

passionate about. This is picked

up on, and if you don't believe

in your product or idea yourself,

who will?

Advice from

award winning

mums...


Lynn Oakes with her fellow finalists on ITV’s Mumpreneur competition

Pitching for

Business Business Business Success!Success!Success!

For some mums, 2008 was an award winning year. But what does it

take to win a business award? Members of the MumsClub forums in

particular have found success by picking up some great business titles...


You must be able to back up

everything you say in your initial

entry, so although you need to

make your business sounds the

bees knees, be careful not to get

carried away and flower it up too

much, as you will need to

substantiate all claims if you are

put through to a selection stage.

Preparing the pitch

Writing the actual pitch depends

on the amount of time you are

speaking for. We found that

starting with a longer pitch but

then chopping it down

(condensing a 1 minute pitch into

30 seconds) enabled us to

literally keep the key points!

If time is short you need to focus

on the strongest aspects of your

business that will engage your

audience (whether that is a single

person or a panel or millions of

daytime TV viewers!) and

make your product

memorable to them!

Pitching to potential

stockists, investors or

panel of judges is

entirely different to pitching to

your buying public. That is

important to remember; when

pitching to a supplier, investor or

judging panel, you are selling

your 'unique selling point' and

telling them how well your

product or service sells to a

customer - with the customer you

are selling your product and how

it will benefit them! It's worth

thinking from both the customer

and stockist’s perspectives prior

to writing your pitch so you have

two angles.

Anticipate questions

You must also prepare for

questions that you may be asked

about your business. Know your

figures and try to anticipate

everything they may ask you. You

need to appear 100% clued up

about the in’s and out’s of your

business; your accounts, where

you are now, where you want to

be and how you are going to get

there.

Even if you are asked something

unexpected that you

can’t answer, as

long as you’ve

already

demonstrated

your knowledge

and passion for your

product, such curl balls

may not always adversely affect

your overall success on the day,

so relax!

The last piece of advice I would

recommend is to find out exactly

who and what will be at your

pitch:

Who are the people you will be

pitching to? Research them so

you know all about them. This

may give you some indication as

to how they may question you (if

this is to happen) for example, if

they run a marketing company

they are likely to ask you how you

market your company or propose

to.

What if camera's are going to be

there? You need to prepare

yourself for that as they will be in

your face and you must practice

talking to one (as silly as it may

seem).

Practice, practice and practice

your pitch until you know it inside

and out and take any information

or samples which will not only

back up your claims but will

impress your panel and give you

the opportunity to show your

product off. A cue card with

pointers is also handy in case you

panic or freeze!

Believe in yourself, be yourself

and your enthusiasm will shine

through!!

And the best of luck to you.

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Becoming a new mum is a fantastic experience and during the first

few weeks, life is hectic getting to know your new baby and all that

that entails – not to mention the countless visitors you’ll receive to

wish you well and welcome your new bundle of joy into the world.

But for many mums, once the rush of visitors have gone, being at home with

your newborn can become quite lonely especially if family don’t live nearby

and friends work all day. When you’ve been up all night with a crying baby

and most of the next day as well, meeting up with other mums and having a

reassuring chat over a cup of coffee works wonders and helps you realise

everyone is in the same boat and experiencing the same things.

You’re not alone

According to a recent survey by

www.whatson4littlesones.co.uk,

over 70% of new mums would like to

make more friends and yet over 40%

have no idea how to do this. All of us

need help and support more than

ever as we embrace this new territory

that is motherhood. And the great

news is that many new mums who do

make new ‘mummy mates’ go on to

have lifelong friendships.

So what’s the secret to making new

friends and finding other new mums

that are in the same situation as you?

Be Confident

There are literally thousands of

groups out there just waiting for you

to join them. Making the first step

and going along to your local mum

and baby group may feel daunting

but there is really nothing to worry

about. Whilst it may feel too much

trouble to leave the house with all the

paraphernalia you need, you’ll be so

glad you made the effort and didn’t

just stay put.

And don’t worry if you don’t know

what is available in your local area.

Website

www.whatson4littleones.co.uk spon-

sored by pioneering children’s food

company Organix, has the perfect

solution providing comprehensive

and up to date details of over 12,000

classes and activities across the UK

for babies and children under 5. The

website offers parents a range of

activities from baby swimming classes

and massage groups to baby signing

classes and local mother and toddler

groups. What’s more, there are lots

of activities listed that are free of

charge - from baby rhyme time at

your local library to playtime sessions

at Early Learning Centre stores. There

are also lots of classes that offer the

first sessions free if you want to try an

activity before you sign up.

The website was set up 3 years ago by

Sam Willoughby (pictured), a mum

with a young baby, who found it very

tricky to find out what was going on

in her local area and meet other

mums. She decided to set up a web-

site of local activities for mums and

their children and is amazed at how

the site has grown. She now even

employs other mums and can work

from home as well as being able to

take her daughter to music, swim-

ming and gym classes too!

“Many new mums feel isolated and

need to meet other mums who are

going through similar experiences,

but it can be difficult to know where

to meet them,” says Sam. “Taking

part in local activities gives mums the

chance to meet other parents, share

tips and advice and make lasting

friendships. Plus babies and children

have fun, meet other children and

learn new skills too.”

It’s Free

The website offers a completely free

search and doesn’t even ask parents

to register. All the information is

quickly available, dates, times and

everything else parents need to know

including links to websites and con-

tact information plus a map of how to

get there! The information is up to

date as the people running the

classes and activities for children can

update their details whenever they

need to.

Visit www.whatson4littleones.co.uk

for more details and to find your

nearest groups and classes.


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Web Tips - where to start Being a mumpreneur is a great way to live. You

are your own boss, set your own hours, and can

fit your business around your family.

Mumpreneur Guide Antonia Chitty has written this arti-

cle with lots of ideas from the MumsClub forums on

boosting your website and sales.

Useful Resources:

• More Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) tips

on www.mumsclub.co.uk

• Free e-course for Mumpreneurs covering

SEO on www.themumpreneurguide.co.uk

by Antonia Chitty

down.” Try directories like

DMOZ, Zoom Info and

Yahoo. A quick tip when

submitting to Yahoo is

that if you drill down to

find the exact category to

submit your link you can

avoid paying the $299

submission fee.

Once you have submitted

your business to a num-

ber of directories, set up

Google Alerts to search on

your business name. You

will get an email alert

whenever your business

appears somewhere on

the web.

Persist in generating links to your

business.

Looking for new directo-

ries and submitting your

site or contacting comple-

mentary businesses to ask

Many mumpreneurs run

web-based businesses;

flexible and family friendly,

your website can keep

selling even if you are cook-

ing the kids’ tea. But the

key question is, how do you

get more visitors to the site

and how do you encourage

them to buy?

Jane Hopkins runs

MumsClub, and is a trained

web designer too. If you’re

looking to increase your

search engine’s profile, she

recommends, “Links, links

and more links back to your

site. The more quality links

you have, the more valu-

able your site appears to

the Google spiders who are

sent out every 3 months to

mooch the web.”

So, where do you start to develop these

links?

Jane says, “First, you need

to get your site submitted

to the search engines to let

Google and the others

know you're here. A web-

site is your advert to the

world, but if you don't tell

them you've arrived, it's like

placing an advert on a lamp

post in a street no one goes

for a link need only take a

few minutes each day.

Think about the structure behind

your site too.

Jane says, “You need to

make sure the pages of

your website are titled

correctly. Think about

your keywords, and how

you want to be found,

then name your pages

with that. Have a different

title on each page.” Key-

words are the terms that

people might search on to

find your site. Antonia

Chitty writes content for

websites and advises, “Do

your keyword research.

Go into the Google Key-

word finder and it will

give you alternatives to a

word or phrase. Aim for

the more specific terms:

you will have a harder job

appearing high on the

search engines for ‘baby

clothes’ than if you work

on integrating the phrase

‘organic cotton baby

clothes’. Be sensible abut

how you use your key

words and phrases in your

page content. Make sure it

reads naturally for the

person visiting the site.

Overuse of keywords can

get you marked down by

search engines.”

“Content is King”

Keep your site up to date

and relevant. MumsClub

member Jo Garrett runs

maternity website Cecily

Plum and has done a lot of

work on her own site. She

advises, “Change your

text: Google really likes

pages whose text changes

regularly more than once a

month. Keep your text the

same for long and your

site looks unmaintained, or

out of date, this is a really

important one.”

Follow these tips to start improving the number of visitors to your website - today!



While rushing back from my local parade of shops one after-noon, I bumped into a friend who teasingly poked at - what was at the time a rather rotund tummy - and jokingly remarked, “I hope you’re taking time out to relax madam - you shouldn’t be rushing around like that at this stage of your pregnancy”.

I felt reasonably relaxed actually, but this got me thinking about the term “relaxing” or “relaxation” – and that it can mean different things to differ-ent people.

A relaxing holiday to one person could mean lazily strewn across a sturdy hammock, stretched between two palms on a beautiful white sandy beach, warmed by the sun and gently caressed by just the hint of a breeze. To someone else, it might mean an amble through the countryside, to another, the opportunity to curl up on a comfy sofa with a jolly good read - or it might simply mean a change of scene.

True relaxation, however, involves far more than the act of simply stopping or sitting down – as helpful as these are in themselves. Relaxation is a way of reaching inner peace and calm. Effectively, this involves taking time out to really concentrate on this state of calm and thus, true relaxation needs to be learned. If healthy living is about finding true balance in one’s life, then relaxation is part of that balancing process.

We know that too much stress can make us ill, yet some of us find adjust-ing to a slower pace of life a chal-lenge. When the body is stressed, it releases the stress hormones adrena-line and cortisol, causing our blood pressure to rise. These stress hor-mones are useful in the short term (the “fight or flight” response mecha-nism), but are toxic in the long term,

as high levels of stress hormones can for example, suppress proper func-tioning of the immune system.

So not surprisingly then, studies have been carried out to determine the benefits of relaxation in an effort to combat the effects of stress (such as the incidence of heart attack, stroke, mental health problems, memory or sleep problems), and such studies have shown that regular use of relaxation techniques can de-crease these effects.

There are, of course, many forms of re-laxation:

Deep Breathing is the art of learning how to breathe deeply from the abdomen. The stresses of daily life often mean that we take shallow breaths, but deep breathing involves using our lungs to their fullest capac-ity. When mastered, this can be wonderfully relaxing.

We all know that sleep is vital for our bodies and essential for restoring energy – even a short nap can leave us feeling refreshed, invigorated and rearing to go.

Massage, the oldest form of therapy, is well known to be beneficial for relaxation as well as stimulating and invigorating our mind, body and soul.

And to these, one could add Reflexol-ogy, Yoga, Aromatherapy, Meditation and Visualisation, to name just a few.

Finding and choosing the right form of relaxation for you is simply a matter of preference – but whatever form you choose, once mastered, it will produce a better state of personal health, both in mind and body - and ultimately true inner peace and calm.

Which brings me back to pregnancy.

What then, is the key to a relaxing pregnancy?

Well, in addition to some of the above, listening to calming music. The recording of “Claire de Lune” by Claude Debussy was played to me some 30 years ago by my piano teacher. I was mesmerised by it then, and to this day, its romanticism still

reduces me to near tears (although the complete suite, Suite Bergamas-que, is beautiful).

Or why not enjoy a good laugh? Meet up with some friends and enjoy a good night in, or dig out some of your favourite comedies, settle back and have a good old chuckle.

Try to put your feet up as often as possible, as this helps to minimise achy, puffy ankles. Find a comfortable chair, a stool, plenty of cushions and close your eyes for at least 15 to 20 minutes.

Take time out to spend quality time with your partner, it’s important to relax and unwind together.

Fill your lungs with fresh air and enjoy the sunshine - take a nice stroll around the block, or if nearby, your local park.

…. And if you can, slow down.

Mary Cummings, Antecell Business Services, Design & Copywriting. Antecell.co.uk

By Mary Cummings

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Using 20 years experience at some of the UK’s leading businesses Chartered Accountant Elaine Clark, who is also an Internet specialist, has developed www.cheapaccounting.co.uk, an online accounting service aimed at small businesses with big ambitions. For further information contact

Elaine Clark on 0844 884 2399 or email [email protected]

It’s official 2009 could be one of the hardest years

ever for any business so it’s time to;

Take control of your costs before they take control of you!

Let’s get

Back to Basics! It’s difficult influencing how much customers spend with you, but one thing you can do is to control your costs.

There are two types of costs:

Variable costs change in relation to the amount you sell or supply. E.g.: stock, packaging, postage or delivery costs, etc.

Fixed costs remain constant and do not change regardless of your level of sales. E.g.; rent you pay on premises, electricity bills, accountants fees, bank charges and so on.

How to reduce costs

Firstly, write down all of your costs and decide if they are fixed or variable. This is a good exercise as it will establish exactly how much you are spending each day/week/month.

Once you’ve established all of your costs the next task is to reduce them – yes it can be done and it would not be unrealistic to set a target of between 10% to 20%.

Remember, anything saved on costs immediately means more

profit for your business.

Reducing

Variable Costs

Let’s start with the variable ones first which can be changed quickly and so should have an immediate benefit on your profit. Start thinking proactively:

•What can you reduce or eliminate?

•What can you re-negotiate, put out to tender or shop around for a better deal. It is a buyer’s market at the moment so don’t be afraid to ask. Barter and negotiate hard.

•Can you get discounts by buying in bulk? If a supplier does not offer a discount – ask for one! You will be surprised at what you can achieve if you ask. So be ruthless and say you will go elsewhere if the price is not reduced.

Make savings today! #1

•Save on paper, printing & postage by sending invoices and paperwork by email instead of printing them or only provide them if requested.

•Use less packaging for products or charge for none essential items e.g. carrier bags.

Reducing Fixed Costs

These may take a little more time to alter but can actually result in higher savings, so should not be ignored.

The target here is to reduce all costs. So challenge everything you are spending. You may have to put some effort in but your hard work will result in huge savings.

Make savings today! #2

•shop around for cheap utilities such as electricity and gas

•change banks regularly to take advantage of free banking periods

•Shop around for savings on professional fees e.g. accounting. By paying monthly some accountants will provide a fixed fee service.

•Change your business telephone, internet or broadband packages to take advantage of special deals.

Remember • be harsh • be ruthless • negotiate hard • challenge all fixed costs • do not be complacent

Control your costs and Beat the Credit

Crunch!

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Mumpreneur and scientist Melanie Riddlell won the MumsClub 2008 New Business of the Year. Here she shares with us one of her experiments which will help you and your children create a bubbling concoction in your own kitchen... oooohs & aaaahs guaranteed!

Food colouring dissolves in water but not oil, so only the water changes colour. Oil and water don’t mix – they are im-miscible and this allows us to

create the blobs of colour.

The tablet reacts with the water releasing bubbles of carbon dioxide gas. These bubbles attach themselves to the coloured blobs causing

them to rise to the surface. When the bubbles pop, the coloured blobs sink back down to the bot-tom of the glass. Adding another piece of

tablets starts the fizzy fun all over again!

1. Drinking glass, jam jar or plastic bottle 2. Oil - vegetable, sunflower or olive 3.Water 4. Food Colouring 5. Fizzy Tablet eg. Alka Seltzer or effervescent vitamin C.

• Fill the container 1/3 full with vegetable oil.

• Add the same amount of water. Leave space at the top for the fizz!

• Add a couple of drops of food colouring.

• Notice the food colouring only colours the water and not the oil. Hmm...?

• Split the tablet into about 6 pieces.

• Drop the pieces one at a time into the oil and water mixture.

• Add more tablets to re-start the bubbling!

Thanks to Melanie Riddell

For more science fun visit www.sizzlingscience.co.uk


Where they’ve come from, what they’ve

achieved and who to keep an eye on...

Sharon Ward creator of Teddy & Me, designed a range of clothing designed specifically for premature and tiny babies.

Sharon lives in Warwickshire with husband Jon and four year old son Louis. She devotes much of her spare time raising funds for the premature baby charity ADAPT (Charity no. 1080112), based in Leicester.

The concept of Teddy & Me came about through her involvement with ADAPT, she discovered that finding practical, well fitting clothes for babies weighing less than 8lbs was very difficult and wanted to help alleviate the problem.

Sharon launched her business in March 2008, following eighteen months of research and development involving neonatal specialists and parents. It is important to Sharon that parents can buy Teddy & Me clothes with confidence.

Look out for Teddy and Me in 2009, as they are expanding their range to offer more choice and will continue to strive to make Teddy & Me the premature baby store you can trust. www.teddyandme.co.uk

Pauline Adams developed a thriving online business printing a n d s e l l i n g maternity t-s h i r t s , b i g brother tees and

now promotional clothing, specialising in well priced short runs.

A serial motivator and permanent positive thinker, Pauline Adams left her top marketing job to have

added a sportswear and promotional clothing business to her portfolio which she still manages to juggle from home, as well as home educating her two children.

Ever looking to the future, this year Pauline is aiming to invest in new machinery which will add even more items to her growing range, and she’s also planning on employing her husband full time too! www.teesonline.co.uk

her first baby. After a time she took a job, working from home making bannerettes until her entrepreneurial streak unleashed itself and she took over the business when her boss needed to sell due to ill health.

Within 3 months, baby number 2 was on her way, but undeterred, Pauline was already diversifying into t-shirt printing; designing slogans for maternity t-shirts and big brother/little sister tees.

Five years on, and Pauline has

Dribblebuster an online business was started when Alison Withell a busy dressmaker and designer discovered a need. She had a very dribbly grandson who was constantly getting chills from the dampness on his chest caused by dribble. Ordinary bibs didn't really help the problem and besides they hid his lovely outfits.

gorgeous."

Alison finds online networking one of the best and continual sources of help and inspiration to further her business. "people are so friendly and will ing to share their resources and business acumen", she says. "I would recommend MumsClub to any

aspiring Mumtrepreneur".

www.dribblebuster.co.uk

"As an experienced d r e s s m a k e r , I experimented with a f ew desi gns and p e r f e c t e d t h e Dribblebuster which has

won a TIPS Clever Design Award. My grandson can now keep the same outfit on all day, massively cutting down on the laundry pile. He no longer gets chills and to top it all, he looks

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Milly Bee is the brainchild of Camilla Braidwood, a mum whose passion for

art and design has come together to offer an eye-catching collection of varied and colourful artwork for children’s rooms.

Camilla is no stranger to the visual arts, having

worked as a photographer prior to starting a family. It was her fruitless search to find tasteful and affordable artwork to decorate her daughter’s nursery that led Camilla to start Milly Bee - ‘Milly’, as Camilla is known by family and friends, and ‘Bee’, an extension of her surname initial ‘B’ and now the image associated with her brand.

Getting Milly Bee going involved several months of planning and careful picture selection; from canvassing local mums on picture style and choice,

through to liaising with other designers to ensure a comprehensive picture collection to suit all tastes.

Launched in Aug 2008 after several months of planning, the business has gone from strength to strength with new collections being added on a regular basis. There are some exciting plans for 2009 too – including the launch of a new range for older children. For now however, she simply wants her young customers to enjoy her art and ‘Bee Happy’!

www.millybee.com

Elaine Player, designer and founder of Kicsi Baby Wear, started trading only last year with the help of the Princes Trust. Previously Elaine had been training to be a burns specialist n u r s e u n t i l unexpectedly falling pregnant with her first child in 2005. After maternity leave was over, she had to make a

decision to either return to study, or find a job.

As a child Elaine had exhibited her own art work in galleries throughout Sussex, and had been

commissioned to do private works on the landscapes of Gibraltar. She returned to her love of art but with an idea of combining 2 ideas she had… a gap in a niche market! Fashion for babies in cloth nappies, Elaine

has used cloth nappies on Alana now 3, and her most recent Harriet only born last March. She told us, she had found it so difficult to find any funky fashionable clothes to fit over the bulky cloth nappies. So after initially trying to make her own alternative fashion for her own 2 children, she put her art skills to use and designed a range herself. In 2009 she is expanding her range and continually coming up with new ideas.

www.kicsi.co.uk

With a Masters degree in M a na ge m e nt a n d a background in graphic design combined with 4 years experience in the prepaid industry, Gemma has the knowledge, vision and gutsy determination to make BaBeeCard the must-have financial tool for every household looking to reduce their monthly outgoings.

Mum of one and co-founder of BaBeeCard - the prepaid MasterCard that helps expectant

mums and mums w i t h y o u n g children through the credit crunch - BaBeeCard offers a c c e s s t o d i scounts on everyday living essentials such as groceries, petrol & baby related items at stores such as Asda, S a i n s b u r y s ’ , W a i t r o s e , Mothercare, John Lewis, Argos and Boots.

Gemma is a mum to watch because she believes in a win/win ethos. Gemma is creating a tool

where everyone can benefit, not just by growing her business but by helping mums and fami l ies directly where it

matters most, the household finances.

Her entrepreneurial flair is born from a natural desire to succeed, to help others and to create a business that her son will be proud of.

www.babeecard.co.uk



Rachel is mother to toddler Thea and step mum to two sons. Her career has taken many twists and turns to lead her to this point. Formally trained as a Beauty Therapist, she moved into a long period of sales within the luxury industry. This lead to a 10 year career in Executive Recruitment.

Having left motherhood until her mid thirties and 2nd marriage! Thea Josephine arrived in 2006. During pregnancy, the lack of stylish clothing available to suit her personal image and taste was a shock, and so during the rare hours of peace whilst listening to the soft whistling of a baby sleeping, images of “The Black Fairy” were created in water-colour. A short fairy story was penned and the brand ‘Lafeenoire’ was born.

Designer and High-street Maternity and ladies clothing sits amongst essential accessories for the discerning mother- to- be. Sales grow as does Rachel’s ambition for a career online!

A recent launch of a specially commissioned product will help Rachel’s support of ladies suffering from Symphisis Pubis Dysfunction. Lafeenoire’s ‘Corset Couture’ is a new style support band to help relieve symptoms of SPD and back pain in pregnancy. Lafeenoire Maternity

is one to watch!.

www.lafeenoire.com

Claire Bennett, a Wiltshire based mum of 4, dreamed of setting up her own preschool music classes after the birth of her youngest son when she saw a gap in the market for play-based and interactive classes (exactly the kind of class she had tried and failed to find, for her own children).

In 2004, the dream turned to reality with

the launch of Music Bugs classes in her hometown of Swindon. Starting off with a small class of just 7 local mums and babies, the classes soon boomed and in 2006, the company went national.

Thirteen franchisees now welcome 2000 children each week to classes as far north as Newcastle all the way down to the South Coast and Kent and Claire looks forward to the day when Music Bugs classes

are running in every town throughout the British Isles!

Says Claire “the fun and play-based element of the classes was a big hit with parents from day one and we think that Music Bugs makes an excellent opportunity, either for women who are looking to run a business alongside existing family commitments or who are simply looking for a career change.

www.musicbugs.co.uk

Lyndsey Young not only runs her own design consultancy, she has also successfully designed and brought to market her own innovative product.

Not afraid of a challenge, Lyndsey left full time employment to study for a design degree at University. Graduating with a First class honours degree, she then worked as a Marketing manager in Local Government,

during which time she had her two sons.

Later disillusioned with her job, Lyndsey was considering establishing her own design consultancy when she was chosen to appear on the first

ever ‘Deal or No Deal’ and won £15,500. G r a s p i n g t h i s opportunity, she left her job and established her own business in 2007.

S p e c i a l i s i n g i n

producing marketing literature, Open Design also focuses on bringing to market innovative products to make families’ lives easier. One such product, Count On It® food freshness labels, launched in 2008 and is now available nationwide at Lakeland and online.

With new products in the pipeline and plans to expand the Count On It® brand, 2009 is set to be another exciting year for Lyndsey.

www.count-on-it.co.uk.


buy a start up pack which may include sales & marketing material and products to start you off. They will provide the products and main marketing, whilst you will be re-quired to do some local marketing and earn a percentage of the sales you make. As with all things the more time you put in, the more you can earn, and a good living can be made from direct selling. If you only have part time hours you can still make good money, but do it at your own pace and in your own time. Either way, make sure you have fun doing it – getting the girls together for a party can be a great night – even better if you’re earn-ing from it!

Franchises

If you’re looking to invest a little more into your future, then buying a franchise or a license from an established business with an al-ready proven product or service could be your ideal option. You could be running your own music class for children or your own magazine in no time!

Franchising is a way of setting up on your own but with the support of a bigger company behind you. As the franchisee, you’ll have day to day responsibility of running your business, but (as with direct selling) the research and groundwork will have been done already so you won’t have to make any mistakes finding the best method.

Mothers are known to be creative and resourceful, let’s face it we need to be when juggling the mad-ness of family life every day! But often we can stumble upon a new business idea by realising a need for ourselves. Have you ever wanted, say, a style of clothing that you just can’t find in shops?

The chances are that if you’ve needed it then other mum’s will have done too.

So if you’re up for the challenge you could set yourself up, source a supplier and run with your own idea; you already have the advice and support you need, freely avail-able on MumsClub.

Find a

business opportunity

that suits you

Or, on the other hand you could find a business opportunity that is suited to you and benefit from someone else’s bright idea and groundwork. There are hundreds of opportunities currently available that are suited to a mum wanting to work around the children, over the next few pages you’ll find a few to get you started.

Party Planning & Direct selling

One option is selling on behalf of another company. It’s simple to set yourself up as a party planner, or working from home sales; You will often, although not always, need to

Often, you’ll buy a package that entitles you to work in a specific area, where no other franchisee of that company will be allowed to operate. You will receive training in all aspects of running the busi-ness in accordance to their

method and standards, and you’ll have the use of their business name which will be centrally mar-keted to help provide you with a recognised and trusted brand and image.

If you’ve ever wanted to own your own business but simply don’t know where to start, then direct selling or buying a franchise could be your ideal solution.

For more ideas when starting your own

business from home, log on to mumsclub.co.uk

Whether you’re looking for ideas and inspiration for a new business you can run from home or simply looking for an additional income to run alongside your current business, the following pages are full of some ideas for you to consider.

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Work from Home Opportunities


Work from Home Opportunities

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business mum's journal edition 2: jane

Documents

business opportunities

business life

business mums journal

business success

new business ideas

ups local business

thousands of mums

jane x jane hopkins