Mums at work

Finding the right idea
According to Prowess, an umbrella body that represents organisations offering support to business women, the following tips will help you to come up with a winning idea:

• Carry a notebook around with you so that you can jot down ideas as they come to you.


• List your skills, experience, interests and hobbies and see whether any could be used to earn cash.


• Visit trade fairs for ideas.


• Pinpoint why your product or service is different from the competition.


• Decide how you can improve a product or service by making it safer, cleaner, faster, more convenient, cheaper.


• Think about what bugs you and find a solution. This approach led to innovations such as the "Anyway up cup" and "Tippex".


• Try to think positive thoughts. Negativity stifles creativity.

Finding the cash
Since women don't earn as much as men (on average 17 per cent less among full-time workers) they usually don't have the same money to pour in to a start-up. However, research shows that a new business that is starved of cash will grow at a slower rate than a business that has a healthy level of funding.
Women are less likely to use private equity or venture capital and to keep their ratios of debt finance low. Traditionally, they have preferred to borrow from friends and family and to avoid banks. But banks are now much keener to lend to women and any new entrepreneur should think carefully about whether they have a realistic level of borrowing.
Pregnancy and returning to work after giving birth can also be a risky time for women entrepreneurs as most won't enjoy paid maternity leave.

Home versus office
Working from home is no longer seen as unprofessional or slightly off-beat. But you need to decide whether you want your spare bedroom turned in to a stock room and whether you will be able to set clear boundaries between work and the rest of your life.

Prowess suggests:

• Setting priorities but recognising that you might not be able to achieve everything.


• Sharing the load and acknowledging that others might not do a task exactly as you would.


• Keeping a timetable of what you're going to do, and when, and pinning it up somewhere visible. Remember to include breaks and time off.


• At the end of each year stepping back to assess where you are and where you want to be.

Joining a business network - there are several specifically aimed at women - can stop you feeling isolated and help you to solve problems as they crop up. Ellen Kerr, Coordinator of the Women in Business Merseyside Network and Enterprise Development Relationship Manager, Business Link for Greater Merseyside, believes they are crucial.
When a lot of women start a business it's just them, the desk, the PC and the cat.

Is it worth it?
Many women entrepreneurs admit that they work much harder than they ever did in corporate life. The difference is that they're working for themselves - which they find much more rewarding. You may still not be able to pick up your son from school every day but the difference now is that it's your decision how you spend your time - not your boss's.

Prowess

Businesslink

The British Chambers of Commerce