Mixing Business and Babies!

Juggling a tiny person and work commitments is hard for any parents and the reason why many mums and dads choose to look for a new way to earn money - a route where they can manage their time more effectively in order to meet the demands of a growing family.  I had never planned to start Tykes Tights, the idea came looking for me and I realised that it could work.  Yes, it has taken a lot of time and some days, I feel like I let my son down because I have orders to pack, emails to reply to and blogs to write rather than getting stuck in with the play doh.  Other days, I can give my son 100% attention and leave the admin side of things until he is safely tucked up in bed.  Working, whether for yourself or someone else, and being a parent is always going to be juggling act but hundreds of new mums are full of new business ideas, looking for a way to make family life a little more manageable.

When I started Tykes Tights, I can across mumsclub where I found all the help and advice I needed from like-minded mums, as well as making great business contacts and good friends along the way.  Each year, Jane at mumsclub organises a Business and Baby Show where mums (and dads!) with new businesses or just a seed of a business idea, can gather for advice, whether it be on the legalities, setting up a website, managing social media, advertising and even gaining funding.  At the show, there is also a 'mumpreneur alley', a row or two of stands showcasing businesses who are run by mums. 
A couple of weeks ago, I entered a competition to win one of the mumpreneur stands and was delighted to find out that we were one of 20 businesses chosen to go along.

On Friday afternoon, I packed up Toddler Tyke and drove him to stay with his dad whilst I carried on my journey to Birmingham.  After an overnight stay at a local premier inn, me and Nanny Tyke were up early to head to the venue and set up for the day.  As well as selling our products, there were lots of seminars and networking events set up throughout the day.  I went along to listen to Antonia Chitty talk about the use of social media and how to promote your business.  I also went along to a 'speed networking' event where I met a host of other business mums and learned about their businesses as well as talk about how we could work together and help each other out.  It was great to finally meet some of the other mumsclub regulars who I had 'virtually' known for over a year but never before met face to face.  For any mum thinking of setting up a business, or even running a business, it was a great day with lots of information and help available.  Whilst I was busy making contacts, Nanny Tyke did a great job of promoting our products and we returned home on Saturday night with a lighter car load. 

A big thanks to mumsclub for organising the event.

I was even more delighted when I got home to find out that I had won the prize draw from Vitabella, a fab new company offering gorgeous beauty products direct from the heart of Italy.  I had tried out the handcream at the show and it smelled gorgeous, as well as sorting out my dry skin.  I can't wait for my prize to arrive so that I can try out some of the other products.  VitaBella are also looking for consultants to host parties so that they can expand the areas they reach out to.  if you are a mum looking for a way to juggle work and family, this could be an ideal opportunity!