Whether or not you like the term ‘mum-preneur’, no one can doubt that the phenomenon is hugely positive, not just for the women involved, but for the economy as a whole. Mum-preneurs are expected to be pumping £9.5bn into the UK economy by 2025 and employing hundreds of thousands of people. They have and will achieve all this while raising their children at the same time. Not only are they a wonderful inspiration to their children, they are an inspiration to us all so here are some examples of mums whose entrepreneurial skills have brought them amazing success.
Jessamine Hislop-Newton
This mum of five children runs an organisation called Little Pickles Markets which organises the buying and selling of nearly new children’s toys, clothes and equipment. Having so many children meant she had lots of children’s things she didn’t need any more and found car boot sales and eBay inconvenient options for selling them. This gave her the idea of creating a special market just for these items and her company now runs over 30 of them around the country.
Denise Armer and Jane Halpin
As the mums of disabled children, Denise and Jane struggled to find the right childcare for their children so decided to start their own charity to fill this gap. They started Unique Kidz and Co, a centre for childcare and social activities for disabled children in the Morecambe area. The centre now supports over 130 children and received an outstanding rating from OFSTED in 2010 and 2014.
Eve Bell
Like Jessamine Hislop-Newton, Eve Bell also didn’t like the idea of producing waste when things could be reused so she started Baba & Boo, a brand selling reusable nappies. As a mother of two, Eve was always looking for ways to reduce waste and save money so wanted to give cloth nappies a try. She found it difficult to buy good quality cloth nappies at an affordable price so used her experience as a buyer to source good products at a good price and sell them on eBay. Her business grew from there and she now has a popular website selling cloth nappies, accessories and clothing.
Julia Rockett
This mum of four decided to sell things for mums on eBay. Her popular eBay store, Boho Mama Boutique sells maternity wear and ladies fashion from high street retailers and designer brands at discounted prices. She found that since she left her normal 9 to 5 job and started selling goods on eBay full time, she has had so much more time to spend with her family.
Cara Sayer
Another mum who saw a gap in the market invented a product that has been incredibly successful and made Cara very rich indeed. Fed up with having to drape a blanket over her daughter’s pram, she invented a sun and sleep shade for prams which became known as the SnoozeShade. It is now the number one selling sun shade from prams in the UK. She had no real previous experience in retailing or manufacturing a product but managed to do some good research and create an extremely successful business.
If you’re inspired by these successful women but find the idea of starting a business from scratch a bit daunting, taking on a fully supported franchise like Raring2go! would be a great way to start. Our franchise involves sourcing content and advertisers for a local magazine and website aimed at families with primary school aged children.
It’s such a great option for people who want to work from home but don’t want to completely go it alone as you get all the freedom and flexibility of working for yourself but with a huge amount of support from head office and other franchisees.
For more information about this franchise and taking the first step towards being the next superstar mum-preneur, click here or call our team on 01273 447101.
