In recent years, the UK has seen a rise in working mums setting up businesses and working part-time while also looking after children. The movement has become so successful owners have been dubbed “mumpreneurs”.
Leading the way in “mumpreneur” start-ups is the North West with women across the region turning hobbies or ideas relating to their children into successful businesses. One of the most well-known start-ups in the North West is online fashion retailer Want That Trend, which is run by Manchester mum Victoria Molyneux. She set up the business in 2014 with just £1,000 of savings and has turned it into a roaring success, turning over £7m now. She uses her experiences with motherhood, having given birth to daughter Isabella five months after launching, to tailor her products, providing matching outfits for mother and baby as well as her upcoming breastfeeding friendly range.
Another North West start-up is Baba + Boo, a baby boutique specialising in cloth nappies, owned by Eve Bell from Worsley. She set up the business after deciding that the costs involved in going back to work such as paying for childcare would have cancelled out her wage. Her passion for using reusable cloth nappies on her own children grew into an ambition to get “more babies’ bums into cloth nappies”. Since her business has taken off, purchases from her have prevented 15 million disposable nappies being dumped on a landfill site. She has now also expanded to provide matching bibs, organic t-shirts and shoes.
It’s not just hobbies and baby related businesses that have seen mums step onto the entrepreneurial ladder, corporate services are also thriving. Professional cleaning service, Bright and Beautiful, was launched in 2007 by Rachel Ray. The Altrincham mum has grown her business extensively over the past decade and now runs a network spanning more than 50 locations across the UK. She is a firm believer that the flexibility running your own business is the main reason so many are doing it and she also praises the excellent support networks available to women in business.
The owners of Queen Bee PA certainly know the meaning of support, having been friends for 28 years before setting up their freelance personal assistance company. Jane Moore and Helen Burton, from Northenden and West Didsbury, believe that juggling their time between being business owners and mothers means they have learnt how to compartmentalise and get tasks completed efficiently and effectively in a balanced manner.
800,000 women in the UK are now running their own businesses part-time with the main benefit of this being the flexibility that is offered to balance a work and home life easier than having their time managed by another company. It has been predicted that by 2025, the mum economy will be generating £9.5bn for the UK.
Farleys Discounted Legal Fees for Start Ups
There is no denying the importance of these kinds of start-ups which is why Farley’s Solicitors have launched a new scheme to provide a helping hand to start-ups nationwide. Farleys Evolve is a service offering discounted fixed fee services to start ups and those considering setting up a business. If this is you, get in touch for more information about how Farleys can help you.