Tilly Beazeley, inventor of The Wean Machine was born in the Cotswolds and bought up in a village just outside Bath. Tilly began her work life in Scotland and after the sudden death of her father she headed home.

Ambitious to start a long term career and with a desire to learn more about the development of pharmaceutical drugs, which may have prevented her father’s death, Tilly started her career within the healthcare industry.  As part of a Contract Research Organisation, Tilly started at the bottom of the ladder, working hard, listening and learning, she progressively worked through and up the ladder, to finally become Director of International Business Development for Premier Research.

 In the middle of this aggressive career path Tilly had her son, Ted. When Ted was 16 weeks old, the issue of weaning arose and this is when she came up with the idea of The Wean Machine. 

 As a single mother with high demands and having an  ‘every penny a prisoner’ ethos, the cost of baby food was never considered as the health aspects of providing great food was more important. Though the practicality of making small amounts of food was not always simple and with some restaurants no longer willing to heat up pre-pared food the frustration began to build.  That was the point that The Wean Machine was born. 

The Wean Machine saves time and money as there is no need to cook separate meals, simply take some of your own food and ‘squidge’.  Not only are you saving time and money, you are also able to waste less.  You are more like to ‘squidge’ a few left over through The Wean Machine than get out a large blender – the idea is to educate your children from the first stages of weaning to sit with the family and eat real food and to learn that snacks come from the fruit bowl.  The Wean Machine is not limited to babies – we use our Wean Machine to make fruit sauces, guacamole and all sorts of squidgetastic things. Ted who is now 8 loves to make banana sandwiches and I have been known to have a cocktail or two and great for spoiling Grandma with fruity facials!

 Check out www.theweanmachine.com for more information.

Competiton

Tomorrow on the blog you will have the chance to win a fantastic wean machine for yourself. Don’t forget to pop in!

The quality is lovely, good thick card and I think unbelievably good value at just £1-£1,20 a card. My favourites are definately the butterly and the Russian dolls.  My son loved the pop up racing car and my daughter the fairy cakes and fairy… (it must be nature vs nurture I bought her up with trains to play with!)

The cards cost between £1.00 and £1.20, which is a great price in a competitive market.

For you  to purchase the cards, you need to contact a local Trader in their area. Not putting them into shops is how they keep their costs low. . If you don’t know your  local Traders you can contact Phoenix Trading directly through their website www.phoenix-trading.co.uk and they will let you know who your local trader is.  

We make a lot of our own cards in this house and this is great fun to do with kids and can be a cheap option. But I have to say I am loving the qaulity and prices of Phoenix cards.  Their stationary, particularly their notecards are gorgeous too!

Working for Phoenix

In order to become a Phoenix Trader, you would need to contact a local Trader. They would act as your sponsor and introduce you to the business and offer guidance and support. Becoming an independent Trader only costs £45 and this includes a business kit to get you started. 73% of new Traders also buy a Special Introductory Offer starter pack to make sure their business gets off to the best start. New Traders can always discuss with their sponsors about which pack is best suited to them. Once you have set up as a Trader, you can put in as many hours as you want to. There is an opportunity for you to earn a helpful extra income by working part-time or you can develop a full-time business. Truly a perfect job for mums.

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Thanks to Julia Odgers from kidstravel2 for this fab guest post and personal story

Before having children I had a senior role as a Marketing Communications Manager reporting into the board of directors & worked long hours.  A stimulating career was always important to me but I knew when I had children I didn’t want my working life to carry on like this or I would miss their childhoods!  We relocated to Dorset when I was on maternity leave with my son and I knew that when I went back to work I wanted to do something different but which built on my previous skills acquired in publishing, online marketing and which critically enabled me to achieve that ever elusive work life balance. 

I set up as a freelance web design and marketing consultant, taking on small projects that enabled me to work in the evening and around my son’s sleep times.   I would help business startups or small businesses set up online and develop a marketing strategy for them, KidsTravel2 (www.kidstravel2.com) being one of them.   

I am a mum of two, Jenny (6) and Keiran (3) and work from home as a Virtual Assistant specialising in Online/Internet Marketing.

I first heard about Virtual Assistants from Jasmine Birtle of MoneyMagpie.com over 3 years ago, whilst carrying child number two. “Super!” I thought “The answer to all my problems, no need to return to work, I have a PC and can type, let’s do it!” And so I started Googling everything I could about Virtual Assistants, what they do, how I could set up the business and naively thought within 6 months I would have a thriving business working for 20 or so clients on a daily basis…

I soon realised after reading into the industry a little more there was much more to it than setting up a website and attending a few BNI Breakfasts, still I was not deterred a little hard work goes a long way, right?

I came across The Society of Virtual Assistants early on in my campaign for new found working freedom, and boy was I glad I did! SVA is run by Caroline Melville an award winning and well respected Virtual Assistant who also runs Virtually Sorted from her Glasgow offices. The site and forum are a huge information source as well as being supportive and friendly place to chat to other Virtual Assistants from different niches and gain valuable business advice from those in the know.

Joining SVA made me realise two things:

1. Becoming a Virtual Assistant was not going to be easy
2. There was A LOT of hard work ahead in the coming months – although I have a good business head and a wide range of skills, it was clear there was a steep learning curve ahead.

That all seems like such a long time ago now, I now write guest blogs for SVA and have several sticky posts and wrote a short SEO guide for the SVA site!

SVA also put me in touch with some of the most professional people I have come across, all very talented and dedicated to what they do.

Another fantastic support group is Virtual Assistant Support Group or VASG – started by Anne-Marie Mittleman (A Virtual Angel), Dee Uzoka (DeeVAS) and Emily Robe (emilyrobe.virtualassistant) where “Collaboration not Competition” is the ethos. Everyone is very supportive and business relationships are built on mutual respect, honesty and being open. If you need help or need to outsource a job the VAs are there to help!

So is becoming a Virtual Assistant for you?

YES: If you are prepared to work hard, take on new challenges and have the required skills and dedication to make your business work and are in it for the long haul.

NO: If you have a PC and think it is a quick way to make easy money!

If you have been looking for the answer to staying at home and making an income then being a Virtual Assistant could be for you. The most important thing you need to do before making that leap is research, research and a little more research!

Recommended reading:

http://vact.co.uk/ – Virtual Assistant Coaching and Training

http://www.societyofvirtualassistants.co.uk – SVA Website

http://www.vasupportgroup.co.uk  – Virtual Assistant Support Group

Emma Ewers runs The Internet Marketing VA specialising in SEO, Social Media, Web Design and can be found lurking on Twitter @emmaewers and Facebook.com/internetmarketingva J www.internet-marketing-va.com

There willl also be the odd book competition and giveaway hosted on this blog.

Do pop over and say hello . My new blog is at http://bookreviewsformums.blogspot.com/

Bx

This month I have been trying out Aapri exfoliating facial cleansing pillows. I love Aapri stuff and have been using the facial scrub on and off for many years and it has always worked a treat, These pillows have a textured side to exfoliate an a smooth side to cleanse and you just add a few drop s of water to activate. hey have a subtle peachy aroma too. They certainly made me feel fresh faced and refreshed  and I have been looking a bit bleugh recently. They are recommende for daily use and retail at …..

 I have alsobeen trialling the Inecto pure coconut oil leg and body scrub. My knees are  all dry fro kneeling down playing and my legs are a bit bumpy/lumpy these day (oh how glamorous I sound!)  This product contains 100% pure coconut oil and exfoliating particles to remove dry dead skin. You simply massage it into wet skin and rinse. Feels great and definitely does a good smoothing job I have used it each day in the shower for about a week and am happy with the reaults . It reatils at ….

 I emerge from all this pampering  a gorgeous goddess

(oh well alright….just a bit more glowy and smooth skinned but that’s got to be a good thing!)

 I’ve been a freelance copywriter and editor since 2004. About a year into being self-employed, I thought it would be a good idea to have a baby. I dreamt of casually bouncing my little one on my knee while I typed away, chatting to clients and thinking up creative ideas for clients marketing and advertising. I can already hear all the business mums rolling around laughing…

When Mia arrived in 2006 I had a bit of a shock. On the one hand I realised my workday would now be completely fragmented. But I soon realised I’d picked the ideal profession for working around kids. Fast forward to 2010 and I now have two little ones to work around (both preschool age) and I still manage to run a successful little copywriting business with minimal childcare. And this is how I do it:

Finding work

This can be the toughest part of being a mum and a business owner. If you are starting out or want complete flexibility to pick and chose projects then there are a number of sites where you can pick up writing work including www.elance.com, www.guru.com and www.peopleperhour.com. The money isn’t fantastic but it’s all done online so no client meetings and you decide which bits of work you want to bid on. The next step up are specialised sites like www.skillfair.co.uk  and www.freelancersintheuk.co.uk , you usually pay a fee to join but the jobs are of a much higher quality, better paid and usually with larger companies (so there’s a chance of building a relationship and ongoing work). And finally there is networking, face to face is brilliant and with morning, afternoon and evening networking there is usually something I can get to. If not then social media (so facebook and twitter) is a great way to connect with people and find work.

Different types of work and changing your focus

Before I had my lovely babies I did a lot of big projects which often meant long days of focussed work. It can be tricky to maintain this when you have a toddler crayoning on the walls and a baby wailing for a feed. So it’s a good idea to focus on finding work that is more flexible. I started doing some copywriting tutoring, it’s flexible and fits around my other writing work. Then I started looking into types of work that married up with where I was in my life, I now review baby and child products with a large publisher and have a couple of clients in the baby sector. It’s a good match because they know I have kids to work around and I’m able to offer them a view from the trenches!

Forgetting 9-5

I’ve left behind the idea of a conventional working day. And that’s hard. It’s so ingrained that we should sit down and do a ‘full day’s work’ that realising there is another way to work doesn’t always come naturally. Today is my one childfree day and so I will sit at my desk for eight or so hours but on most days I work in fits and starts with chunks done at naptime or in the evenings. While you might grimace at the idea of working late into the night, the benefit is I get to spend all the next day with my kids instead of being stuck in an office.

Having help

Before I had my kids I asked other working mums how they coped. There was a lot of mumbling, a lot of ‘oh I work around the kids’ and a few honest people who told me they had help. And boy do you need it. It’s really really hard to work if you have no childcare, no colleagues, no family or friends. It turns out many of the working mums who told me they worked around their kids in fact had au pairs, nannies or grandma just round the corner. There is plenty you can do at the weekends, in the evenings and when Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is on (I bless the inventors of Sky) but you need sometime to meet the odd client, make a phone call or just focus your entire brain on the project in hand. Then there are those little things like holidays, which we all need, and maternity leave. After Mia I had almost no time off, this time around I was a bit smarter and found someone to help out. Find other people who work in your sector and use them as support, a sounding board and someone to pass work to if you become overloaded.

I’ve got 4 hours childfree time left, must get writing!! Do pop over to All Words if you need some copywriting or some more information/inspiration.

My kids both have a ‘todo’ with sunscreen, but they are both fair and young  and it features heavily in our summers.. They hate the gloopy feel , the look of it on their skin, the sticky feel .  They squirm when sand gets stuck on it, they don’t like it being rubbed in or how long it takes  or how it makes their clothes stick to them. I can’t stand the bottle getting sticky and leaking in my bag and the kids moaning! 

 We went to Scarborough last week and the sun shone beautifully.

 We had some new sunscreen to try Banana Boat Ultra Defense SPF 30 clear mist (this was suitable for the whole family but many of the products in the range are higher factor and baby specific)

What an absolute REVELATION  Banana Boat’s clear ultramist is so different! So easy. You don’t need to rub or squirt you  just spray this fine clear mist and with a sweep your little one  are covered but can’t see anything. GENIUS!  No white patched, no stickiness and it is VERY water resistant (£11.99.) My kids thought this was a huge improvement and it stopped me having gloopy hands and the bottle didn’t have stuff stuck to it either!

 It also comes enriched with aloe vera which gives it a cooling effect for hot skin.

I was a bit nervy about spraying mist on their faces but didn’t need to.  A little balm like stick for ears and noses and around the mouth came too and it was again simple and easy to use  (£6.99.)

Loving the fact this takes mere seconds and loving the lack of sticky mess everywhere  .I’m loving these products ! Can we now have a bit more sun please!

Well done to Rebecca Brown who wins a copy of my book How to afford timeoff with your baby. Here is how she finds creative time. 

I don’t do early mornings and my children are 4 months and 3 years old respectively so it’s a case of grab time in snatches here and there!

I do most of my writing in the evening when they’ve gone to bed but also during 4 am feeds, using an iphone to either get inspiration or to make notes or even blog posts! I’ve found breastfeeding is great thinking time, and ironing too – so many times I’ve had to put down the iron and rush to the computer!

I’ve also taken up sketching and it’s great watching the kids play and trying to capture their movements in little sketches.

(Basically she ditches her ironong….way to go Rebecca!)

 Baby bath – my daughter has very sensitive skin so I still use baby products on  her at 3. This can be used as a bubble bath or an in all in one body wash and its hypolallergenic and non drying.  There are no scary chemicals in these products and it made the water and Lisi’s skin feel silky soft . We only needed a tiny bit too so it will last for ages. Lovely stuff.

Zingy orange hair and body wash smelt good enough to eat and my son declared the bath smelt likle a satsuma It is also kind to eys too (always a hit!)  I love that these productrs contain matural condidtioners and plant extrats, I don’t want to empty an entire chemoistry lab on my kid heads.

Mango-Melon Mayhem Shampoo and Conditioner is  green and gooey. My kids have pretty wild hair which HAS to be conditioned rsatherrt than doing it twice this get the job done quick as you like and if i pretend its alien slime that smells like mangos it get a good few giggles from my 6 year old son

Also in the range are:  

Berry Burst Shampoo & Detangler: with natural plant-derived conditioners and.

Toothy Fruity Toothpaste: a strawberry flavoured toothpaste for children, with added fluoride to help reduce tooth decay, and free of SLS.  – which my kids refused to try because it didn’t taste like their normal tootchpaste (give me strength). Tasted good to me though!

Competition

To win these 5 products for yourself please answer this daft Friday question. If you were a fruit what fruit  would you be and why?

The winner will be picked at random next friday Sept 10^th at 4pm. UK entrants only please.