Mumpreneur Case Studies – Page 7

June 24, 2011June 24, 2011

I started a business with a baby: Jan Steward of Babybond Ltd

Tell us a little about your business

My business is Babybond Ltd – The business started in Uppingham, Rutland in 1998. We were pioneers of the time by directly offering parents-to-be an Ultrasound scan for Emotional and Bonding purposes without having to get a referral from the GP or Midwife. It is now a National Company and the UKs largest private Ultrasound company for self pay scans. We have just opened our 50th location and have recently extended our services into Mens Health and Womens Health scans. www.ultrasound-direct.com.

What was your job before starting your business?

On leaving school at 18, I trained as a Radiographer and then specialised in Ultrasound – This role is called a Sonographer. I spent most of my early years working for the NHS. I did have an exciting 2 yr “career break” to work at running the Ultrasound service in Barbados. On my return to the UK I went to work for an Ultrasound Company as an Applications Specialist and I suppose this is when I got my first real experience of the business world. After having my daughters I returned to the NHS part time as the company I worked for wasn’t keen on part time staff (working mums!)

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

Babybond was initially what could be described as a “Lifestyle” business – something that I could do with a young family. Although we did have the dream initially that it would be a “Big business” & something that both my husband & I could do together- it took longer than anticipated to fly. So I continued to work part time at the hospital and part time with the business. It was 4 years before I gave up the NHS to go full time with Babybond.

What were your reasons for starting a business

I believe Entrepreneurs are born not bred, if there is an entrepreneurial spirit in you – it will come out. The idea came first and we believed so passionately that what we had was so good we just had to do it. It was more than “being your own boss” but that was certainly a positive consideration with 2 small children. I did believe it would give me more flexibility. That however is a debatable point.

Did you use any childcare?

None of this would have been possible without the support of our extended family, in particular my mum. My girls have always been looked after in their home. I am not sure how I would have felt if I had had to leave them in childcare elsewhere for the long hours it took. It was a comfort knowing they had their own toys around them. They did go to nursery/play school but that was for the developmental reasons rather than childcare reasons. I have to give credit to Mike who was a brilliant hands on Dad. I know people say I have missed a lot but I feel I was always there for them and have been at every key stage in their lives so far.

How did you get your business idea?

Even after 15 years of scanning it wasn’t until I was pregnant did I fully appreciate the emotional impact of Ultrasound. We were full of the anxieties and excitement of pregnancy, but the official scan was over in a flash. I knew from every day at work that parents wanted more – More time & something more tangible i.e pictures & videos.

A pregnant woman on average received 30 minutes of scan time in 40 weeks and more often than not it wasn’t a pleasant experience.

What were your challenges and how did you overcome them?

The main challenge at the outset was having to create a market. A good thing about competition is that it raises awareness. But at the start it was pre-internet days so we were totally dependent on expensive paper/magazine advertising. It was a national advert in a pregnancy magazine that really ignited the interest. Marketing a business and getting right is the biggest challenge for any business big or small. The second challenge was growing the business with a young family. That is why Franchising was the best option for growth. It takes time to find the right people and it is quite hard having to hand over the reins for someone else to run. We have a great team of Business owners many of whom are Babybond customers who liked the service so much they bought the Franchise!

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

As this was a completely new concept there was not a lot of information around for such a “niche” business. We took advise from several sources but it was mainly retail or product based businesses which is completely different to the service /health sector. The advice we were given didn’t work. Good advice is only good if it works!

The standard help for all business about writing business plan and raising finance and employing people is all worth reading but I would stick to the well known official websites like Banks, Businesslink, Federation Small business etc.

Getting started is all about self belief and drive and energy.

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

I couldn’t pin it down to just one piece of advice – I use many clichés –

Success is a stairway not a doorway – it will take longer than you anticipate.
Put your dreams/ideas on paper – Build a strong realistic business plan. Pull it to bits and build it again.
Fail to plan & your plan will fail.
Business sense is 90%common sense! – You can’t do it all – Play to your strengths – what you can’t do, outsource

My Motto –

Its not what we do that determines who we are –
Its who we are that determines what we do !

Photo: Ella Steward

May 30, 2011June 6, 2011

I started a business with a baby: Claire Rocuzzi of Better Birthing

Tell us a little about your business

Better Birthing offers a wide range of antenatal and postnatal services, from antenatal classes to doula support both postnatal and in labour and breastfeeding advice too. It is important to me that all women receive information that they need, when they need it.

My dream would be to ultimately see the whole “process” of birthing become natural and led by the instincts that we are given rather than how we are told to do it. All in all, the whole childbearing process is a wondrous celebration of all that is woman. My calling is to add to this experience, making it a memorable one by providing emotional support and knowledge to the mother-to-be and partner. Who knows, maybe one day my dream will come true? Part of my dream is to treat each mother as the unique woman that she is, and to walk with her, besides her, on this wonderful journey that she is on.

What was your job before starting your business? Continue reading “I started a business with a baby: Claire Rocuzzi of Better Birthing”

May 3, 2011April 30, 2011

I Started a Business With a Toddler: Li-ling Ooi of Xelium

Tell us a little about your business

We run an IT educational consultancy, Xelium. I believe the fancy term is ‘education technologist’, in essence we help schools, the school management and teachers work towards incorporating and applying IT into their lessons and try to encourage schools to move towards more technology—based methods of communication (e.g. emails, twitter). We specialize particularly in building, creating and supporting Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) and building and maintaining websites. We are currently working on a set of navigational tools which will allow easier navigation within VLEs.

What was your job before starting your business?

I lectured in Structural Chemistry at University. This was where I had my first foray in to VLEs both from an academics and a students perspective. I also worked on a teaching and learning qualification here, which got me interested in how teaching and learning could be made more attractive to students.

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

Going back after maternity leave was very difficult, because the work environment simply was not supportive at all. I stayed there for about a year, before finally resigning. It was a big, big move and some personal experiences had helped to put things in to perspective. Between quitting work and starting a business, I wrote an undergraduate textbook on my specialism, Principles of X-ray Crystallography, published by OUP in Dec 2009.

What were your reasons for starting a business?

The business started as a natural extension to what we had been asked to do for some schools. We had for the past few years been supporting and maintaining some website for schools, and we were asked to work on VLE implementation and training for these same schools.

We progressively moved towards formalizing that relationship and started to take on more clients. I started the business on my own first, and then later on, managed to persuade my husband that we could do it together and make it work better. Unlike a lot of mums, I did not quit work to spend more time with my child, in all honesty I felt as if I was ‘backed in to a corner’ with no other way out apart from leaving.In hindsight though, I am really glad I did it, because I would have missed out so much with working fulltime and a child in nursery all day, every day. I must say though, staying at home, with a child, is so so so much harder work than actually ‘going to work’, although juggling work and child-care is an immense feat in itself! Hats off to all mummies out there!

An amazing wonderful plus, to working from home is having the flexibility and the ability to define our own working hours. Having said that, we only ever work at 50% capacity whenever G is at home. She’s used to having someone ‘entertain’ her.

Did you use any childcare?

When I was writing my book, she went to nursery 1 day a week, and the rest of the book was written in her nap times and at night after she went to bed. Now that she’s at school, we work the hours that she’s at school and continue after she goes to bed.

How did you get your business idea?

We were in part already offering these services to some clients who had requested them prior to us becoming a business.

What were your challenges and how did you overcome them?

I think one of our challenges, still a challenge, as a business, is getting word out, about what we do. We have grown very organically mainly through word of mouth and requests, with clients passing on our information to other prospective clients. In an ideal world, I would love to have the business grow exponentially, but it has worked well so far and we have very good relationships with all of our clients.

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

I looked up masses and masses of information online, particularly about starting up a limited company, and learning about taxation, returns etc. Surprisingly, the HMRC helplines are very helpful and businesslink.org.uk contains a lot of very helpful information. Whenever I have a question about something, I usually google it, and often find my way to some business forum, where I can lurk about and eventually find the answer to my question. It seems quite rare to encounter an issue that has not been asked before.

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

I think the advise I wished someone would have been able to give me early on, was that as mums, we often are so used to juggling so so many things, and our to-do lists are infinite and down right scary! It’s so very important, to be able to take stock each day of how much you’ve accomplished in that day, regardless of how many to-dos have or have not been ticked off. Every day is a success, and even if you’ve managed to just do one thing for your business, you would have done so much for your children and family, whatever it is, it’s still an accomplishment.

I’ve also found it really really important to learn to ‘let go’ and live in the moment. For example, if I’m with Georgia at the park, I used to keep thinking about all the things I hadn’t done for work, but I’ve since learnt to just live in the ‘present’ and enjoy the time I spend with her or our time as a family.

April 20, 2011April 14, 2011

I Started a Business With a Baby: Stuart Barr of Spin Collective

Tell us a little about your business

Our company Spin Collective Wall Stickers design, produce and retail wall stickers for interior design and home decorating. We have had our stickers featured and currently featuring in many magazines as well as TV programs like 60 minute makeover and Britain’s Top Next Model. We do most designs in-house, but we also call upon the help of talented freelance designers for commissioned projects.

What was your job before starting your business?

I was Creative Director for a retail company.

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

I started the business in my spare time with my girlfriend Penny-lyn not long after Amelie was born and then handed my notice in when Amelie was 1 to go full time on the business.

What were your reasons for starting a business?

To be more involved in Amelie’s development and upbringing as well as that of our older children, by having more flexibility in my working hours. A lot of businesses these days still see paternity leave and associated male parenting in a negative light and I wanted to get away from that. But I also wanted to do something more creative and of course I hope to gain a greater standard of living for myself and my family (eventually)!!

Did you use any childcare?

We were lucky as we were both working on the new business so we could juggle things around.

How did you get your business idea?

We had found some wall stickers we really liked but they were in France and couldn’t find anything similar we wanted in this country so we decided to make our own…. and it kind of snowballed from there.

What were your challenges and how did you overcome them?

The main challenges were trying to get it off the ground whilst I was still working full-time so it was more of a strain at first. But we knew it would be worth it in the long run if everything worked out which luckily it has….. so far!

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

We had a friend who worked at Business Link who was very helpful in all things running a business as well as my experience being a director definitely helped. Everything else we muddled through but having the internet nowadays is invaluable as someone somewhere has already asked the question you are thinking… well 99% of the time.

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

It’s difficult for me to give advice for a mum but for an online business I would definitely advise to invest in some proper search engine optimisation and advice, as doing it yourself can be very hit and miss. Being placed well and staying there on Google can make or break a fledgling company. Oh, and be social, use your networking on Facebook and other social media as this is free and you will get out of it what you put in.

April 11, 2011September 23, 2013

I Started a Business With Kids: Libby Hill of Smart Talkers Pre-School Communication Groups

Tell us a little about your business

I have Small Talk Speech & Language Therapy which runs Smart Talkers Pre-School Communication Groups. The speech therapy side deals with children with all types of speech, language or communication difficulty. We work in their homes, nurseries or schools. The groups, however, are for all children to help them achieve their potential; we do this in a fun way with puppets, stories games and songs. Both the speech therapy and the groups have started to be franchised. Communication is so important for many reasons but if spoken language skills are delayed then it will have a major bearing at school. We can all improve our communication skills.

What was your job before starting your business?

I worked with my ex-husband in a business we set up together, manufacturing and supplying garden buildings. We’d also had a property development business and were in partnership with another couple to own a bar (called Libby’s!) in a local town. Continue reading “I Started a Business With Kids: Libby Hill of Smart Talkers Pre-School Communication Groups”