Getting Started – Page 5 – Business Plus Baby

April 28, 2014April 28, 2014

You Can Still Run A Business After A Baby

In this modern world where women crave for greater independence than their counterparts of years gone by, the prospect of having a family can spark fears of being tied to the home, a loss of career and a loss of independence. And, in some families, the loss of an income can lead to financial difficulties. These are sacrifices that many are willing to make for the sake of having children – but it doesn’t have to be this way, because after baby you can still run a business without compromising the job of being a mother.

Smart women aren’t having children

According to recent research headed by psychologist Satoshi Kanazawa of the London School of Economics, the more intelligent a woman is, the less likely she is to want children. He suggests that for every 15 point increase in IQ the desire for motherhood drops by 25%. Census data also shows that if a woman has an advanced degree she is less likely to have children.

But, irrespective of education, birth rates are falling as more couples choose not to have children. The reasons most commonly cited are: no wish to have children; work commitments make it undesirable to have a child; and, inability to give a child the life it deserves.

Women with children can still succeed Continue reading “You Can Still Run A Business After A Baby”

March 18, 2014March 18, 2014

Quick! My business start-up e-course closes tomorrow

Great news! It’s never been easier to start your own part-time business. The technology available now means that you no longer have to commit to a bricks-and-mortar business, plus there are many cheap or free ways of promoting your business online.

With sky-high childcare costs and mums being exhausted by trying to keep their families and employers happy, starting a part-time business is now a popular option.

And it doesn’t have to stay part-time, there’s no reason why you can’t grow it to a full time business or even take on employees if you want to.

It all sounds fantastic, doesn’t it?

The problem is that so many mums really struggle with starting their part-time businesses.

Many plod on for years making little more than pocket money, putting their heart and soul into doing what they love but having very little to show for it. Some end up giving up their business dreams entirely.

So I decided to do something about this. I created a new e-course and community covers how to come with a business idea that will suit your passions and talents, as well as making sure your idea will actually make you money (that’s right, you can’t just take that for granted!) I’ve included low-cost marketing ideas that work best for small home-grown businesses and advice on how to start up on a tiny budget. Plus there’s a community to support you and encourage you as you take those first steps in starting up your own part-time business.

If that sounds good to you, head over to TheFastStartUp.com now because the closing date to sign up is 11.50pm on Wednesday 19th March.

If you’d like to find out a bit more about my approach, you can take section 2 of The Fast Start Up course for free, right now, if you sign up here.

Or you can watch me share my top tips for starting a part-time business in my pajamas below… 🙂

And if you have any questions at all then please feel free to contact me.

July 16, 2013

Starting a little online shop? You can still learn from the big guys

Starting an online shop is a popular choice for aspiring business mums. Most of us start small, with a tiny budget and we bootstrap our way as best we can, but it pays to be inspired by the big guys every now and then.

Let me give you an example: Zalando is an online clothing store that started in 2008. You might notice that at Zalando, things operate on a slightly bigger scale that most mum-run businesses (revenues for 2011 were $262 million, according to Techcrunch) 🙂

Although it’s now a multinational e-commerce business, Zalando started out with one product range (shoes) in just one country (Germany) and now sells fashion and lifestyle items in fourteen European countries including the UK. When we start our online shops, it’s tempting to sell a broad range of products to attract as many customers as we can. But if a big business with start-up funding chose to start with just shoes, that’s good evidence that going narrow is better than going broad. There’s plenty of time to add new ranges later on if you need to.

Something else you might notice from Zalando’s progress is that they didn’t have an original business idea. Online shoe stores were around way before 2008. Too many people get hung up on having a radically new and unique business idea when you just need to be better or different than what has gone before. In Zalando’s case they focused on customer loyalty which leads to repeat sales and word of mouth marketing.

Customer service, loyalty and word of mouth are all things that you can do well as a very small business, too.

So even though I focus on starting little online stores here at Business Plus Baby, I recommend you think bigger every now and then.

If you enjoyed this post, why not make sure you stay in touch by joining my mailing list?I’ll also send you a copy of my e-book Running a business around a family: 9 steps to success.

July 1, 2013July 1, 2013

Two minutes with Debbie O’Connor of Motivating Mum and Mums The Boss

Today, here’s the latest in my series of videos from BritMums. Here, I’m talking to Debbie O’Connor of Motivating Mum and Mums The Boss…

Debbie shares her top advice for getting started as a business mum.

Thanks Debbie and see you again soon!

Don’t miss a thing here at Business Plus Baby Click here to get my newsletter and I’ll also send you a copy of my e-book Running a business around a family: 9 steps to success.

June 5, 2013June 5, 2013

Getting the best deal on office supplies when you work at home

Work at home businesses are usually run on a shoestring, so if there’s a way to save money on business expenses we’re all over it!

If you spend most of your time at a computer, you might think you don’t spend much on office supplies because you don’t get through much stationary. But office supplies include things like printer cartridges, laminators, calculators, mobile phone accessories and many other things you need to get your work done. And all that can add up over time.

So here are some tips for getting the best deal on office supplies when you run a work at home business:

Bulk savings

True, you can’t buy huge packs of envelopes the way a much larger business would, but with a little planning you may find you can save, even if that’s just on postage. Providing you’ve got the space to store supplies, you could buy (say) a year’s worth of printer paper in one go. You could even get together with another home worker, buy in bulk and then split the cost and the items between you. Continue reading “Getting the best deal on office supplies when you work at home”