If you are a mum of children under ten and reading this, then more than likely you are either already running your own business, or would like to. In fact, three out of every five mums have seriously considered starting their own business. And there are now almost 1 million mumpreneurs in the UK according to the Office of National Statistics.
I’m writing this, at the kitchen table, with the doors open into the garden on a sunny day. My children have just rolled in on their bikes back from school. Would I rather be in an office, facing a long commute home? Not likely! On days like today, it seems the very best of all worlds.
A mumpreneur is simply a mum who runs a business. Some people find the word empowering, others not so much. You can take it or leave it. But whatever you call yourself, it is entirely possible to start and grow a successful business when you are the mum of young children. Sometimes it is even an advantage. I personally found the structure of having to work around children and their activities a marvelous advantage.
Of course, being a mum who runs her own business is not all plain sailing. Working for yourself has as many challenges as it has rewards.
But overall, the rewards of becoming a business mum – which are about how we control our time as much as money – are worth it. So what are the reasons driving mums to work from home and start a business?
Here are the top 5 reasons UK mums choose to start a business from home.
1. Spend more time with your children
One in five mums would like to run their own business from home in order to spend more time with their children. Running your own business gives you more control over when and where you work, which enables you to more effectively balance the important things in your life.
2. The cost of childcare
Childcare costs are truly crippling for many families with young children. Being able to work when children are at school or asleep is a dream for many mums. Working from home also cuts down on valuable time spent commuting to and from a place of work. How much easier for the commute to be just a few steps in your own home and five minutes a day instead of two hours.
3. The flexibility of being your own boss
Being a business mum is all about having control over your own time and space. Sometimes you may have to work extensive hours especially when you are getting the business started, but the sense of autonomy and control that you have over what you do can more than make up for it.
4. Lifelong ambition to be your own boss
Twelve percent of us have a lifelong dream of working for ourselves. That’s surprisingly in line with the ONS self-employment statistics so it seems that for most of us, the dream is highly likely to become a reality. It is easier than ever to start a business in the UK today. See our 7-step guide to setting up a business to see exactly what is involved.
5. Do not like your current job
Only 1% hope to start a business for this rather negative reason. It is better to start because of where you want to get to rather than where you want to move on from. If getting away from an unpleasant job is the driver for you, take the time to work on your vision for your business so that a positive future starts to take over from a negative driver.
Be inspired
Prowess has brought together more than 30 case studies of successful mumpreneurs. You can read here about mums who have started businesses in a wide range of sectors, including online retail, creative industries, consultancy, the invention of new products, digital marketing, and much more.
The rise of the Mumpreneur
This infographic brings the story of the rise of the mumpreneur together.
