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Business Ideas For Mums: Gardening, Ironing, Cleaning and More

Tell me more…

People often want help with these tasks around their homes:

  • Cleaning
  • Oven valeting
  • Gardening
  • Ironing
  • Pet sitting
  • Dog walking
  • Window cleaning

As older people now want to stay in their own homes for as long as they can, demand for this type of service could well be on the increase.

What are the benefits?

This type of business is usually simple, cheap and quick to get started (although getting a steady stream of clients will usually take some work).

  • You can do as many hours work as you want.
  • You can choose to offer as many of the different services (listed above) as you want.
  • If you get too much work for you alone, you could employ other people.

Things to consider…

  • Word-of-mouth is a very effective way of finding clients for this type of business. Make sure your friends, family and neighbours all know about your service so they can refer people to you. Even better, get some business cards printed and leave a few with all your family and friends so they can pass them on.
  • Agree with your clients exactly what you are going to do and when. Will you be using your own materials and tools (e.g. cleaning products, lawn mower) or theirs? Which cleaning tasks will you do in the time you are working for your client? This helps you avoid disagreements later on. 
  • You could try to think of a way to stand out from other businesses in your area. How about using only eco-friendly products?
  • Because these types of business are quick to set up, it could be easy to overlook the basics of starting a business. For example, get adequate insurance as you could accidentally break a client’s window, stain her carpet or burn and item of his clothing with an iron. If you’re offering an ironing service, will you need a heavy-duty iron and ironing board to avoid replacing your ordinary one frequently? Also, don’t forget you will need to register as self employed.

Further information

Not convinced that helping others around the house is for you? Take a look at other business ideas for mums.

Photo by Impicard

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Creation Collaboration Women Wednesday

Creation|Collaboration was set up by eight women, all existing friends, who run small businesses from their homes. They started the Women Wednesday blog hop to link up with other women in business, spread the word about Creation|Collaboration and basically just have fun visiting new and interesting blogs.

This week, I was determined to do the blog hop properly and actually write a post about it, so here it is! Last week I ran out of time because I trying to get my baby to sleep (I wish I had his energy…).

Here are the blogs, enjoy!

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Choosing a Party Plan or Direct Selling Company

Direct selling or party plans can be a great way to start off in business.  It’s quick and cheap to get started and you should have much more support than you would get if you were starting up on your own.

(I said should rather than will because you need to check out the support you’ll get from the company and your team leader before you sign up. I’ve written more about this in business ideas for mums: party plans and direct selling.)

It’s tempting to go with a well-known name such as Avon, Kleeneze or Usborne, but there are lots more direct selling companies out there. It’s well worth doing some research before you take the plunge, because you really do need to love the product to succeed.

So what you really need is a list of direct selling and party plan companies? Well here you go…

Netmums.com : direct selling opportunities

Family Friendly Working: Franchise, direct selling and party plan directory

Direct Selling Association members

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11 Top Tips For Business Mums from Karen Sherr of Musical Minis

Last week Karen Sherr told us how she started her business, Musical Minis. Today she gives us her eleven top tips for running a business as a mum.

1. Research the market and competition.

2. Start small. Let the business grow as and when you can cope with expansion.

3. Have a clear idea what you want out of the business e.g. money, how much?

4. Try to separate work from home. If your business is based at home (as all the Musical Minis administration is) have a second phone line fitted. If you’re bathing the children, for example, the answer machine will pick up the call. If a child is having a tantrum you don’t have to speak about business and get more stressed – phone back once the children are settled.

5. Have backup. If your child is ill what will happen to your business? e.g. in Musical Minis will you have to send away the children or can you phone someone to run the class.

6. Know your limitations. For example if you have problems with accounts get someone to help you.

7. Set time aside to be a Mum. After school play with your child or help with homewok. Whenever possible I take and collect my children from school. On the 25 minute journey, I have time to hear about their day and my time is just focused on the children – no phone calls, email or supper to deal with.

8. If there are not enough hours in the day to do everything, do the bits you like (with both work and home life) and get help with the bits you don’t. E.g. get a cleaner, shop online.

9. Work out the balance between work and home that you want. Get help with either work or home life, if the business grows too big for you to manage both roles then work, home and you, will all suffer.

10. Set time aside to deal with administration, household tasks etc. If you keep putting it off the task will become huge (e.g., hours of paperwork, loads of ironing). Regular manageable chunks of mundane but important tasks will help things flow smoothly.

11. Set time aside for yourself. Running a business and having a family gives you no free time – there is always something you should be doing. It is important, whenever possible, to give yourself time to relax – maybe meet a friend for lunch, go shopping for yourself.

I have found the balance that is right for me. Others would need a different balance. Expansion with Musical Minis has purposely been kept small, on a level I can manage, as I still want to be a Mum. Now as the children are growing up, I feel expansion can be more rapid.

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How to Manage Two Businesses and Two Toddlers at the Same Time

Award winning mumpreneur Joanne Dewberry of Charlie Moo's tells us about how she manages to be mum to two toddlers and run her businesses:

I’m constantly asked "How do you fit everything in?"  My mum is always saying "You need to slow down!".  I have two small children, Charlie age 3 and Megan age 1, I run two businesses, Charlie Moo’s and Networking Mummies. ( I co-own Networking Mummies with Laura Morris of RentaBuggy), so my life is pretty hectic! But I wouldn’t have it any other way!

The reason I started Charlie Moo’s was because I was disheartened by the rubbish party bags Charlie had received at parties. Not only did they break straight away, they were either very age inappropriate or made of plastic. At one party he received near enough a whole bag of chocolate. It became a slightly stressful experience. Charlie would wander out of the party tightly clutching a plastic bag in his hand and we would fight with him for the contents, in most cases he would be left with a balloon and some bubbles. I took the plunge to build and start up my website after Megan was born in August 2008. I became very adept at typing with one finger whilst breast feeding at 2am. I now sew all the fabric bags myself too!

When I struggle to fit everything in I remind myself why I started Charlie Moo’s: not for the money, not for the fame, not even to rid the world of plastic party bags … because I wanted to.  I also wanted to be a full time mum and that is what I am! My day is dictated mostly by the children’s routine, pre-school, toddler group, friends, trips to the park, I fit my businesses around this.  Sometimes I do have day meetings, events and workshops that I can’t take to. I work these in so they are not very often and it actually becomes a nice treat for them to spend the day with nanny or daddy.  In a lot of cases Megan does come along to meetings with me, but I find if I’m upfront and honest and let them know the situation most people are very accommodating. 

Being a mum is my number one job and being a business woman always comes second.  Which means I will work late at night early in the morning, and am proud of what I have already achieved. I’m fine with this arrangement as by September 2012 my children will both be a primary school and I will have missed nothing in the first four years but gained enough knowledge, skills, contacts and hopefully business kudos to be able to take Charlie Moo’s into the next phase.

(The photo is of Joanne's daughter, Megan.)

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