The Mumpreneur Conference

I’m very excited that I’m getting a day off my baby-wrangling duties to go to the Mumpreneur Conference!  Maybe I’ll see you there?

The conference is on 18th September at The Heart of England Conference Centre near Coventry. I’ll hand over to Laura Rigney, one of the faces behind the conference and owner of Pitcher House.

The Mumpreneur Conference & Awards is an event that aims to recognise the achievements of the UK’s mumpreneurs and inspire more women into business. The day has been organised as a way for this unique community of mums to come together and celebrate the fantastic work and achievements of one another, no matter how big or small. The conference will support and celebrate mums who juggle family life with starting up or running a business, providing opportunities for the attendees to move forward in growing their business in a way that will fit around their family commitments.

What makes The Mumpreneur Conference different from other business conferences and events, is that this is organised by mother for mothers, ensuring their needs are met, with a suitable day and location to allow mums from around the country to attend, and with the days itinerary created to ensure the attendees get the best out of the day on both a personal and professional level.

We’ll be offering six seminars tailored specifically to the needs of mums juggling family life with running a business, and indeed run by Mumpreneurs. Attendees will be able to attend three of these seminars. The workshops are as follows:

– You Don’t Have To Be Superwoman to Achieve Your Goals

– Tax Tips and Accounting Accuracy for Mumpreneurs

– Simple Social Media Marketing

– Ten Things Every Business Owner should know about the Law

– Creating a Successful Website

– Sales: The 10 Commandments

We’re delighted to be joined by three guest speakers on the day. Millionaire Mumpreneur, Emma Wimhurst, will be talking to us about her journey as a Mumpreneur. Carmen MacDougall will be talking to the attendees with the aim of motivating us, and aiding us in building our confdence, with “The secrets to boosting your inner confidence and how to attract new business opportunities”. Our award ceremony will be opened with a short talk from Lisa Warner of Fink Cards, who’ll be talking to us about her experience of entering awards, and her experience of judging The Mumpreneur Awards.

This fantastic initiative is in its second year, and with tickets at just £20, you’d be mad to miss it. The ticket price includes all of the above, as well as lunch and a complimentary invitation to a charity event in the evening, the official launch for the Mums Mission calendar. To buy a ticket, submit a nomination or find out more information about the event visit www.themumpreneurconference.co.uk.

P.S. I’ll tell you more about the awards tomorrow.

Why Jen Started Her Family Friendly Business

If you’re like me, you’ll look on mums with school age kids with just a bit of envy. Now I know that working around school hours has its own problems.  But at least by that stage I’ll have from 9.30 to 3pm free every day and I won’t be squeezing my work into nap times.  Sounds wonderful!

But life doesn’t always go so smoothly, as Jen Sargeant of Jen’s Nappy Cakes has found.

“I started this business as my son Jimmy has autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) and many conditions within that spectrum. He also has terminal Crohn’s disease and colitus. He goes to a special needs school and because of his conditions we are at the hospital regularly for check-ups. I just found it completely impossible to get a job to work around my family and because my son wouldn’t go to a carer.

He was diagnosed with ASD at 7 years and terminal Crohn’s disease and colitus at the age of 9 years, so we have had a lot of time in hospital and I have had to concentrate on him keeping well. I fit the business in around my family when my son is at his special needs school.”

Jimmy is now eleven (that’s Jimmy in the picture) and Jen also has a daughter, Cheree, who is fourteen. Jen has always been creative but stumbled across nappy and towel cakes on American websites when she was looking for a business idea.

“I decided to do the nappy cakes and occasion cakes as they are not very well known in this country as yet and I want to change that.”

If you haven’t come across nappy cakes before, they look like celebration cakes, but are made up of the bits and pieces you might give as a gift to a new or expectant mum. Jen doesn’t stop with cakes though, here’s her sock bouquet.

nappy cake

Jen also makes arrangements for charity auctions and raffles as she believes it’s good for businesses to support others.  And she sent Danni Minogue a nappy cake when her son was born last week.

“My tips for other mums are to work at it every day, put the word out about what you do to as many places as possible, network like crazy, swap links with as many companies as possible. BE PATIENT!”

And her plans for the future?

“I want to eventually open a shop, as at present I work from home and my creations are everywhere! I would love to achieve is to have the nappy cakes and any occasion cakes in the large retail shops, which is something I’m working on at present.”

Jen, we wish you every success!

Business Mums’ Blog Carnival for July is Now Live!

This months’ Business Mums’ Blog Carnival is now live over at Mumazing. It’s well worth a read to check out what other mums in business are up to and (if you leave a comment) you’ll also be doing some networking. Without leaving the house!

Not only does that save on petrol, it also cuts down on calories because you won’t be tempted by the coffee and cakes!

I Started a Business with a Baby: Louise Guinda of Safe Dreams

Tell us a little about your business

I designed a product called the Safe Dreams Breathable Cot Wrap which is a safe alternative to cot bumpers.  It is made from breathable padded mesh, covers all four sides of the cot and is perfect for keeping arms, legs and dummies in.

What was your job before starting your business?

I was an accountant.  It wasn’t a job which I really enjoyed but I had passed lots of exams and was earning good money so it was hard to leave and start all over again.

How did you go from your old career to your new business?

I didn’t have a job to go back to as I had been living in Argentina and came back to the UK while I was pregnant and just did a bit of temping.

What were your reasons for starting a business?

I had always wanted to, my dad is an entrepreneur so it probably runs in my blood.  I just could never decide what kind of business to start.  I also couldn’t face putting my son in nursery to go back to working in a profession which I didn’t really enjoy and this gave me the kick I needed.

Did you use any childcare?

My son has been going to nursery for two afternoons a week for around a year now and he is just about to start going three full days a week.   Up until now it has been very tough fitting everything in; I have been mainly working during his nap times and after he has gone to bed.  Its only now when I find myself having to work when he is around that I decided its time to put him in nursery for three full days.  He has recently dropped his daytime nap which has been a huge disaster for me!

How did you get your business idea?

I got the idea after I had a scary experience with my son when he was very young, I found him blue in the face and struggling to breathe as a result of sleeping with his face buried into his cot bumper.  After I had stopped using the bumper he would wake up many times through the night with his arms stuck between the cot bars.  I spoke to lots of people and found that they were having the same problem, they were doing crazy things like sticking cardboard onto the cot bars.  I found that there were breathable bumpers available in the USA and I had one sent over, it solved the problem but was incredibly ugly.  I decided to design a safe but stylish product that would look good in the cot.

What were your challenges and how did you overcome them?

My biggest challenge has been lack of knowledge: I knew nothing about bringing a product to market.  I couldn’t even sew to make a prototype, I had no idea about manufacturing and spent six months trying to get my product made in the UK when it is just too labour intensive and is much more suited to being made in China.  I didn’t understand how marketing and PR work and had very little experience of selling.

What training, information or advice did you need to get started?

I went to Business Link but to be honest they didn’t really know what to do with me.  My biggest challenge at the beginning was finding a manufacturer and they couldn’t help with that.  The best advice I’ve had has been from other mum inventors whom I’ve met on Twitter and forums like Mumsclub and She’s Ingenious.

If you could give one  piece of advice to a mum of a baby or toddler starting a business, what would it be?

The most important advice I have been given is to believe in yourself.  When you are trying to promote your business, you really have to shout about your achievements and how great you are which is very difficult when you have been brought up to be modest and not too cocky.  It is uncomfortable at first but, as they say, ‘fake it until you make it’.

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