How to Quit the 9 to 5 and Become a Mompreneur

November 12, 2021November 12, 2021 JayneLeave a comment

A “mompreneur” is both a mother and an entrepreneur, someone who can expertly balance their roles as a parent and business owner. This may sound like an impossible feat, especially if you’re already juggling a 9 to 5 job and a family. But it’s not impossible. This guide offers advice for quitting the 9 to 5 and embracing life as a full-time mompreneur.

Start a side hustle

Before you can quit your job, you’ll need to figure out what your new business plan is. Whilst it may be tempting to give up your job and dive headfirst into starting your own business, this could be risky if you haven’t tried and tested your business plan.

The best way to get started with a new business idea is to start small and start it as a side hustle. This could be dedicating one day every weekend, a few hours in the morning or evening, or even a single night a week to your new business idea and starting it as a very small business. That way, you can see how easy it is to make money from your business idea and get the ball rolling before taking the leap. If you’re unsure how to start a side hustle and transform it into a full-time job, check out this podcast where you can learn from others who have succeeded.

Create a business plan

Once you’ve got the ball rolling with your side hustle, it’s time to create a business plan that will help you scale your business from side hustle to full-time job. You may even want to take this step before you start your side hustle as it will help you perform the necessary market research, set goals and milestones, and plan for the future.

If you’re unsure what a business plan looks like or what you should include in it, the UK government has plenty of resources for writing a business plan, templates and links to pages about self-employment and taxes. You should do plenty of research, especially before quitting your job, so that you have all the tools you need to succeed.

Get your finances in order

No matter how confident you are that your business will make you enough money so that you don’t need to work full-time anymore, it’s essential that you have healthy finances before quitting your job to become a mompreneur. Make sure that you and your family are living well within your means, pad out your savings account, and eliminate as much debt as possible.

This doesn’t mean you need to be rich to start your own business. Many mompreneurs start off with little to no investment and even take out business startup loans to get going. What’s essential is that your personal finances are healthy so that you don’t need to worry about them in addition to managing your business finances.

Take the leap

You can prepare all you like, but there’ll never be a ‘perfect time to quit your job and start your own business. At some point, you just need to take the leap and go for it. Whilst preparation and organisation are key to becoming a full-time mompreneur, it requires the courage to get started too. With the right balance of preparation and self-belief, you’ll be off to a great start.

Business Ideas for the Busy Mum

December 16, 2020December 16, 2020 JayneLeave a comment

As a parent, you want to ensure your children have the best, whether it be food, clothes, toys, furniture, or leisure activities. Alongside this, bills still need to be paid, and all of the above can cost money.

To be able to manage this, you may want to consider taking on some work. For some, getting a traditional job may not be a possibility, especially with very young children to look after. This is where working for yourself can tick some of those boxes. This can give you the freedom to earn your own money, around a schedule that suits you and your prior commitments to your family.

Also, keep in mind that when you have found a selection of clients for your product or service, you may need an invoice template to be able to request payment on completion of each project. Always use the tools available to you online (click the link) to make your working life easier – you have enough to juggle already parenting and building your business!

Writing

If you have a gift with the written word, you may want to consider taking on some jobs involving the writing industry, such as writing articles, aiding with literature, and, if you understand another language, translating text. These jobs can be found on both job sites and social media, and can quickly give you some money to play with.

Since many writing tasks will have a day and time deadline, as opposed to requiring a certain amount of work to be completed each day, this means you can adjust the amount you are willing to work based on the hours you will be available. For the busy mum, that may be while children are at school or even when they are in bed.

Baking

Some mums find they spend a lot of time in the kitchen, either preparing meals or baking alongside their children. For those who are confident in their ability to produce some delicious goods, selling them may be an option.

Within this, you may be required to complete food safety qualifications, as well as to obtain business insurance. It may also be a requirement to display a list of allergens and ingredients on the boxes to avoid any illness occurring.

If you have a passion for baking, this can definitely be a good step forward for you.

Crafts

Some women love crafts, while others hope it can be banished from their home. If you are the former, you may want to consider creating items either in bulk, or made to order, to sell to the public. Many people sell their homemade crafts on websites such as Etsy every day. You can factor the cost of materials, as well as the time it takes to make the item, into the price, and potentially make a good income from your artistic nature.

Working for yourself from home can be extremely rewarding, especially if it means you get to simultaneously earn money while raising your children. Depending on how much you earn, you may need to declare this to the tax office, and pay any tax or NI contributions, as necessary.

Business · Home · Organising · Parenting

Make Your Life Easier as a Mumpreneur

May 2, 2019May 3, 2019 JayneLeave a comment

With childcare costs at an all-time high and earnings not really falling into line, it’s little wonder that so many women are turning to the idea of running their own businesses from home. The advantages of working in your own home are numerous, allowing you to set your own hours, work around school times and school holidays, and ultimately save a lot of money on childcare. It’s not for everyone, and some people struggle with the challenges of running a business in their home, but if you’ve got the drive and the patience, it can be a great alternative to a traditional 9-5 career.

If you’re thinking about becoming a work-at-home-mum, or even if you already are and are looking to make your life a bit easier, we’ve got some tips on how you can delegate certain tasks.

Get an Assistant

If you’re not keen on the idea of having someone coming to work alongside you in your home office every day, virtual receptionist services could be a great solution. For as little as 30p per day, you could have an automated service to handle all of the calls you don’t have time to deal with. It also means that you’re not tied to a desk and have the freedom to work from absolutely anywhere without the risk of missing important calls or losing business – far cheaper than a human assistant!

Outsource the Cleaning

Having a cleaner may seem like a luxury you can’t afford, but when you think about how much time you spend cleaning in a week, and then consider the fact that you could spend that time working on your business instead, can you afford NOT to have a cleaner?! Taking the domestic chores off of your plate can free you up for more important things and increase your earning potential.

Co-Parenting

As we mentioned above, childcare is a massive expense for many families, which is why homeworking is good for parents of younger kids. However, when you’ve got a deadline or an important meeting to deal with, having kids around isn’t always doable. Teaming up with another Mumpreneur could be the answer – arrange to cover each other’s childcare during important times and the reciprocal arrangement means your childcare won’t cost anything and you both have the opportunity to develop your businesses when you need to. This can also work when you have to start doing school runs – take it in turns each day to take the kids to school while the other works.

Do Everything Online

The world is set up so that most things can now be one online, so set aside a couple of hours each week to get as much done online as you can. From your weekly shop to paying bills and even booking appointments, doing things in a set time slot each week can save you lots of time and give you a clearer head for dealing with work-related tasks. You can even use services which will not only remind you that someone’s birthday is coming up but will also send a card out to them without you even needing to go near a post box!

Get Your Beauty On!

If you’re the kind of person who likes to look ‘put together’ but struggle for time, there are a few things you can do to help you feel good without spending hours in the bathroom each morning. A Brazillian blow dry will cut down on hair styling time and keep your mane sleek without too much heat. Having your eyelashes permed and tinted could help give you the confidence to go out without mascara and having your eyebrows micro-bladed could save you loads of time each day, too. Think about your beauty priorities and see if there’s a permanent or semi-permanent solution.

Work

Starting Your Own Business as a Stay at Home Mum

July 30, 2018 Jayne1 Comment

Being a stay at home mum can seem like a full-time job. Sometimes, though, you want or need a paying job alongside minding your own children. Luckily, you don’t have to give up being a stay at home mum to have a job.

Instead, you could always try starting your own business as a stay at home mum. You’d be surprised how many options you have when you are trying to choose what business model is best for you. Here, we will look at just 7 options to help you get inspired.

1. Child Care Service

If you don’t mind watching more children than just your own during the day, you could always start a child care service. After all, you already have things that a child around the age of yours or younger would need such as toys or sippy cups so you won’t incur too many starting costs.

You can make a lot of money off of this idea because there are plenty of mums and dads that have to work during the day. With this business model, you aren’t dependent on people making purchases on a whim, you’re serving a necessity.

2. Etsy Store

For those mums who love to craft or sew, something like an Etsy store might be the best option for you. Here, you can sew clothes or craft anything you can think of and sell it to interested persons.

Running a shop is like a running a business. Therefore, branding your Etsy shop is important. Logo, header image, product photography, social media presence, SEO are all important parts of your Etsy marketing strategy. Moreover, when creating your handmade goods, you will want to make sure to add a tag with your own logo or classic printed ribbon to the items you make. This way, they are marked as uniquely yours. This also helps to cut down on someone buying your items to simply resell them as their own handmade items later.

3. Virtual Assistant

A virtual assistant is exactly the same as any other assistant. You would do things like handle phone calls, scheduling, or anything that a standard assistant would do. The major difference is that you do it from a distance. Instead of being at your client’s side all day, you would be in near constant contact with them via phone or the internet and you would take care of the tasks they set out for you.

4. Financial Planning

If you have a knack for numbers, you could also start a business in which you help others work a budget and live the best they can within their means. You’d be surprised at how many families would appreciate a little help planning their finances.

A great idea would be to learn to help others budget for college. After all, this is one of the biggest financial decisions a family has to make and they might see some help planning as a wise investment.

5. Teach Music

For those mums who are interested in music, you could always consider being a teacher for private lessons for the instrument of your choice. Not only is this a great way to make some extra money, you’ll probably get some enjoyment out of it too!

In addition, teaching music will help you to keep your own skills sharp. This is because you will be teaching the basics and the theory behind an instrument to someone else, forcing you to practice these rudimentary skills once again.

6. Pet Boarding

Much like child minding, if you love animals, you could always consider animal boarding as a stay at home business. With this business, you would take in other people’s pets and watch them while the owners are away.

You might want to have some restrictions on the animals you’ll take in, though. For instance, you could only take in trained pets. After all, you don’t want to accidentally allow an aggressive animal into your home when you have children around.

7. Freelance Writing

For those mums with writing as a passion, you could always write from home. This is a job with a lot of open opportunities. Whether you want to dedicate your time to writing novels or articles, there is a market for it.

It might take time with freelance writing, as with the other business ideas on this list, to build up a client base. If you’re patient, though, you will find these business ideas can become quite lucrative.