It's time to celebrate 'Mumtrepreneurs'
Despite living in an age of equality, many women today are still faced with the difficulties of balancing a career and being a mum writes Helen Cook, Women’s Enterprise Manager at SEEDA (South East England Development Agency)
Confronted with squeezing the 9-5 into the 10-3 to fit in with the school run, it’s no surprise many women never return to their previous full–time jobs Whilst many women struggle to find more flexible ways of working within their current jobs, an increasing number have discovered that running their own company is an alternative way of creating a good work/life balance.
This need for flexibility has created a significant rise in the number of ‘mumtrepreneurs’ – mum’s who have started businesses which can be run from the home. This group of women is now a considerable economic force and according to research conducted by the London School of Economics, mothers who run businesses from home now contribute £4.4 billion to the British economy each year.
In the South East region alone, there are approximately 165,000 female entrepreneurs, many of whom are mothers. However, if women matched the number of male business start-ups in the region there would be 25,000 additional firms in the South East.
The South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) is responding to this need with a regional women’s enterprise advocates programme involving the recruitment of a number of women entrepreneurs to act as role-models for other women and to promote the benefits of being in business.
One such Women’s Advocate, Alyson Howard, a partner of Meta Corporate Finance and mother of three comments on how she manages to combine motherhood with running a corporate finance business.
Alyson says: “I think that the challenges of being a mum and a business owner are to some extent the same as when you are working as a teacher, an accountant or in a supermarket - only you have more control over the hours you work. The benefits of being your own boss can make life better in many ways so I would like to persuade more mothers that it is an option they should actively consider.”
Alyson appreciates that it can be difficult to juggle working life with motherhood but as her own boss she finds it a lot easier to get the right balance. “I am like any typical working mum. If I work late and cannot get home until after 6.30pm, I feel guilty. But as my own boss I have the ability to make sure that I make time to pick up and talk to my son after school at least a couple of times each week. I also try to ensure that we have breakfast together each day, a luxury I would be unlikely to have if I was working for someone else. With broadband and blackberries we really can work anywhere. As a result, I now work more from home than I ever did.”
Setting up a business requires a lot of hard work, particularly in the early stages to get the business off the ground and ‘mumtrepreneurs’ have to learn how to compartmentalise their different roles as mother, wife, entrepreneur and housekeeper. However the rewards of creating a good work/life balance and achieving the flexibility to interchange between roles throughout the day makes it all worthwhile.
Clearly being a mother and running a business doesn’t have to be mutually exclusive. With women’s well renowned skills for multi-tasking, the flexibility that running a business offers can provide women with a way of having a career without missing out on playing an important part in their children’s upbringing. Of course, setting up a business is hard work initially but the most rewarding things in life usually need effort and determination to succeed.
If you’re interested in setting up your own company, why not attend one of the events being run as part of the ‘What’s Stopping You’ programme which is especially designed to help women who are thinking of setting up businesses. To find out more about these free events call 01732 878007 or visit www.whatsstoppingyouevents.co.uk. Alternatively contact your local Business Link to get tailored business advice and support.
