Karen Dell’ Armi is a  designer, mum of two, welsh women walking member and founder of

What inspired you to start your own business? 

I lacked the courage as a student to disappoint my family and follow my heart into an arts and design led career. Despite being fortunate enough to have had a successful career in marketing for almost 10 years before I had my children, I knew that I wasn’t doing what I should be doing in life.

The time I took out of employment to raise the boys was hugely fulfilling and gave me the space and time to think through my options carefully. I knew that I wanted to start up a business on my own but wasn’t completely sure which area of art and design would suit me best. I found a jewellery design and silversmithing course locally and I was quite literally like a kid in a sweetshop from day one; I had found my niche.

Having taken a career break to raise my children before they started school, I yearned for flexible working hours and I didn’t want to miss out on watching the boys grow up. By this stage, we were used to money being tight and I finally decided that I just couldn’t reconcile returning to a full time career in marketing.

What have you learnt about yourself since you became self-employed?

I have learnt that I am far more patient than I would previously have given myself credit for.  I love the feeling of being totally ‘in the moment’ and I continually lose track of time when I’m making my jewellery. I’ve also learnt that I am at my most creative when I’m relaxed and happy so I do try not let the daily stresses of family life get to me (with varying degrees of success!)

What has been your biggest challenge?

My biggest challenge has been learning to market myself; even with a background in marketing. I have designed and hand-made each of my pieces and so my work is very personal to me. I feel very exposed when throwing myself in the spotlight and it can be a daunting experience.

What has been the best thing about being your own boss?

Definitely having greater flexibility. My working days and weeks are probably just as long as when I was in full time employment, but the positive side is that I can choose my own working hours. For instance, I still do the ‘school run’ most days and I am still a parental taxi service, but I am often on the computer managing the website or the social networking sites, or in the workshop filing and polishing after dinner when the children are in bed. I still have to juggle my workload and family life just as everyone else does, however this is done on my own terms now.

How did you get involved with the charity challenge?

I am a fan of the Superwoman networking group in South Wales, run by an inspirational woman called Bethan Darwin and I try to attend as many of their events as I can. I received an email from them about a group called Welsh Women Walking, set up by a local woman in business Jacquie Williams. It was a new women’s networking group, focused on women walking and talking for wellbeing. 

Jacquie was planning to take a group of around 15 welsh women on a charity climb of Mount Kilimanjaro to raise £100,000 for Breast Cancer Care Cymru and Ty Hafan, a Children’s Hospice in Wales. I decided to go along to the launch event and afterwards introduced myself to Jacquie. I emailed her the following day to say that I really wanted to be part of the group and after a coffee and a chat I was thankfully accepted into the team.

Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro was an awesome challenge, (especially for a big lass like myself) but I threw myself into training.

The charities that we were walking to fundraise for were so close to my heart and so it really was a case of mind over matter; as our head guide said to us at the beginning of the climb- “You climb mountains with your head”. This, together with a great team spirit, was certainly the driving force. There was some great camaraderie and some enduring close friendships as a result.

Who has given you the support to succeed?

My family and friends have been amazing and without them I really couldn’t have made a success of the business, nor made it to the top of the mountain.

Fortunately, it was just the right time for me to take part in such a challenge. The business, whilst still relatively new, was ticking along nicely and with my 40th approaching, I really wanted to get fitter and lose some weight. As the boys were 9 and 7, I felt comfortable in doing something for myself, although I did miss them terribly.

I remember asking them what they thought about me going on the climb and my eldest son replied simply: “I’d be so proud of you mummy” while my youngest said “I’ll really miss you mummy but you have to do it”. I couldn’t ask for more could I?

Where do you see yourself and the business in 3 years time?

I see myself in the same sort of situation as I am in now I hope. I am so lucky to be doing something that I love for a living, I have great friends around me and a healthy and happy family.

I hope that the business will continue to grow and that my work continues to evolve. I am still experimenting with techniques and materials and I love to get my hands dirty in the workshop. I am fortunate to have been well received by exhibition organisers, galleries and shops and hope that this continues also. I would like to continue my work with the Association for Contemporary Jewellery and as a nurturing person I would also like to do some teaching in the hope that others can gain the contentment that I find in creating jewellery.

If you could give one piece of advice to someone with a ‘dream’ an aspiring ‘mumpreneur’ what would it be?

Dare to dream and keep dreaming until you have figured out how to make those dreams a reality. We all have it in ourselves to be happy and fulfilled, it is just sometimes difficult to listen to ourselves in the routine of our daily lives.

Be true to yourself and be honest with yourself about your own strengths and weaknesses. Most of all, keep at it; there will be ups and downs and financial pressures can be extremely daunting for a small business, but if you want it badly enough, you will succeed. Go for it!

For more information please visit www.dellarmi.co.uk plus you can follow Karen on Twitter at @KarenDellArmi

In business, it can feel like everybody is using Facebook, Twitter, blogging and a host of other social media options for their business, and for the uninitiated, this can feel very daunting, especially if you feel compelled to follow suit without really knowing why – this is why you see so many unloved Facebook business pages and abandoned Twitter accounts and blogs.

For a start, every business needs an online presence. Even the businesses who have resisted having a website (I know, shock horror), are dragging themselves out of the 20th century and recognising the value and utter necessity of having a presence and a reputation online.

Most people do some level of searching online about a business, whether they’re looking for further information about you, or are on the hunt for ’social proof’ – evidence from others that you/your services/your products are great, and when they search for you, ideally it’s you that they should see first, not something dodgy or otherwise that someone else has written. Even if you don’t sell online and aren’t hugely fussed about having a ‘website’, a blog is actually a very low cost alternative.

But does every business need a blog?

A different way to look at it is, every business needs to find ways to communicate with their customers and communicate news and information about their products and services.

If that’s a blog, so be it, but understanding who your customers are and what they do will tend to make the decision easier. As an example, there may be 400 million people using Facebook, but if your audience isn’t actively using it, it wouldn’t make sense to throw all your eggs in one Facebook basket and focus all your social media energy there.

So here are my tips for helping you to decide:

1) Do a bit of planning and research.
Who are your customers? We should all know this anyway but it’s good to segment your customers rather than do a one size fits all. If you think they’re likely to be online, using stuff like Facebook etc, then blogging could represent an opportunity.

2) What will you write about and how?
Better to think about this before hand because if you end up losing sight of why you started or appear to run out of things to write about, you’ll get very frustrated, very quickly.

While there is obvious stuff that you can write about based around your business, if you’re looking to stand out, you’ve got to tell it differently and find your angle. What can you share that will inspire, provide knowledge, excite your customers/potential customers about your business/product/industry that they will remember you, buy from you, or tell people about you?

Do you have anything to say other than buy from me? If you don’t then a blog may not be for you as you will alienate more people than you’ll win over if you cannot strike a balance between informing and selling.

Content is the big area that people get stuck on and so while you can no doubt come up with some initial ideas, this is one area where I suggest you spend some time brainstorming and getting creative.

You’re not the only business to consider starting a blog and what you want to avoid is creating the feeling with a reader where they say ‘Oh…here’s another business trying to search engine optimise their site by having a blog’. Even if you are, you need to be genuine in your efforts to connect with users/readers/customers because unfortunately being online is one place where dodgy efforts come across quite transparently.

3. Do your ‘competitors’ have blogs?
This can be a very strong indicator as you have social proof that your market is not only active in social media but creating an impact and getting a response, but you can learn from them. Find out what resonates with you and what makes you uncomfortable. Get inspired. And remember – people in the same or complimentary space represent an opportunity to network and collaborate, for example with guest and cross posting on your blogs etc.

4. Would you like to engage with your customers?
If you have a genuine desire to connect with your customers or potential ones, blogs and the likes of Facebook and Twitter are great. However you don’t have to do them all! I think you can control the frequency of how often you post to your blog more because Facebook and Twitter tend to compel you to feel pressured to post frequently and be super interesting.

5. Are you prepared to make the time?
You need to have about an hour a week to post on your blog. If you’re already complaining of feeling overloaded, you will not be committed to your blog plus you will regard it as a time suck especially if you don’t get instant results. Use that hour or however long you have to write as many posts as you can and that will allow you to keep some spare. Agree to post once a week and that way you don’t overload yourself. Anything extra is a bonus.

The following checklist will help you to comply with the Data Protection Act. Being able to answer ‘yes’ to every question does not guarantee compliance, and you may need more advice in particular areas, but it should mean that you are heading in the right direction.

• Do I really need this information about an individual?
• Is this information all accurate and up to date?
• Do I know what I’m going to use it for?
• Do the people whose information I hold know that I’ve got it, and are they likely to understand what it will be used for?
• If I’m asked to pass on personal information, would the people about whom I hold information expect me to do this?
• Am I satisfied that the information is being held securely, whether it’s on paper or on computer? And what about my website? Is it secure?
• Do I have consent for all sensitive personal data that I hold?
• If I am transferring data outside of the EEA (ie the European Union plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein), have I either ensure adequate protection or obtained consent from the data subject?

Lawyers4mumpreneurs is a new legal practice established to focus on mumpreneurs’ needs. We cover the full range of business law services and have over 12 years’ experience at the highest level in providing such services. Our aim is to provide mumpreneurs with a top quality, approachable and flexible service that most importantly is affordable. See details of our experience, clients and testimonials at www.lawyers4mumpreneurs.com.

There is nothing quite as terrifying as the prospect of going shopping over the weekend in search of school supplies. The endless queues, the crowds of harried shoppers, the whining of hungry and tired tots, and so the list goes on. If you haven’t already, it’s time to stop, stay at home, and do it all online. You may have to pay for delivery but that’s already cheaper than bus fare/parking/ petrol.

The thing is, when you first open up the internet using your favourite search engine, it’s difficult to know where to start. Do you visit your usual retail haunts and see what they have on offer, or do you trawl through acres of pages in search of what you need?

This is where the hard work of other people makes your life easier. There are quite a few sites that list all the latest bargains on their sites. You only need to amble onto the landing page, search for the items you need, and see what special offers come up. It’s brilliant way to save money by taking advantage of special offers, sales and bundled deals.

When it comes to school supplies, there are so many exciting offers on at the moment you’re going to be hard pressed to choose which ones you prefer. I advise having a shopping list at the ready so you don’t forget the essentials, and don’t buy too much. It’s one thing to have a fantastic deal but often we can get so swept up in the excitement that we buy too much or buy things we don’t need. And that just kills any savings you could have made.

Old hands at the school shopping insanity will know which brands of school clothes are the most robust. If you are new to the business, you may have to brave the shops just one last time so you can try out the fit on your kids and check the quality first hand. Once that’s done you can get exactly what you want online.

The special offers often come from many of the lesser known online stores, but they can be truly impressive – like 100 pens for £1.29 including free delivery. You won’t be needing to stock up on those for at least a year. The thing is, finding deals like these demands a measure of patience. Shopping online is far more convenient (and you can drink a nice cup of tea while you’re doing it) but it can take a very long time if you are determined to find the very best bargains.

It takes me at least four to five hours to complete my online shopping for school goodies but I have saved so much money. I sorted out my daughter’s entire school wardrobe and essentials for less than £40 this year. And that includes shoes!

Hey, sod the tea, get a glass of wine and do the online shop with your feet up and your kids quietly asleep in bed.

This week we have teamed up with Bayard Magazines to offer you a chance to win a 3 month subscription one of their children’s magazine series, which are Winners of the Parent Choice Gold and Silver Medals and Recommended Award 2010.

Most parents will have experienced the pestering for a magazine or comic, and whilst bright and exciting they are expensive and often don’t last much longer than the plastic ‘toy’ that come sellotaped to the front. In a move to provide an alternative Bayard have come up with a range of 3 ‘magazines’ to suit children from 3 to 12 years old; Story Box for 3 -6 year olds , Adventure Box for 6-9 year olds and Discovery Box for 9-12 year olds.

Each magazine is actually more like a proper book and is packed with stories, poems, cartoons and factual information as well as games and puzzles. Unlike most children’s magazines they are smaller, printed on high quality paper and can be kept to form part of your children’s own book collection. They have good quality illustrations and photographs and exciting content, and can be used to help with learning as well as reading for pleasure.  As a subscription service which starts for as at little as £9.75 for 3 months it has the added bonus of being delivered straight to your door.

There is a chance for 9 people to be winners today – as we are giving away 3 x 3 month subscription in each of the 3 categories.

To enter simply answer the following  question;

Q: On the Discovery Box books what picture is used instead of the letter O in the title? (Need a hint?)

1. A planet
2. The earth
3. An eye

Email your answer to info (at) mumstheboss.co.uk with STORY BOX as the subject heading and tell us which age group you would like to be entered for – Story Box (3-6), Adventure Box (6-9), and Discovery Box (9-12) and include a full postal address.

The competition closes tonight (Friday 3^rd September) at 7pm and winners will be notified directly by email.

Bayard Books also produce a FREE ‘Reading can be fun!’ guide which is full of tips and information about reading which you can sign up for here

If you aren’t lucky enough to win then take advantage of the current 10% discount and subscribe for yourself, or as present for someone.

Following on from the ‘3-6pm No laptop Challenge’ of last year (which now needs to include ‘and no Blackberry’ as well) I am setting myself some new ‘working guidelines’ in an attempt to get organised, be productive in ‘work hours’ and generally keep everything balancing  - including myself!

1. Start ‘work’ at 10am each day – use the time before to catch up on ‘house’ related jobs so they don’t mount up

2. Don’t be distracted by emails – plan 2/3 slots a day to answer them and ignore at other times.

3. Prioritise work tasks for each day – including all the ones I want to avoid!

4. Stop for lunch for at least 1/2 an hour

5. Don’t feel guilty if I don’t get everything done – I am not superwoman!

What are your plans for the ‘new term’ ? Have you got a schedule or a top tip to share?

When life hands you lemons you have a choice. You can, as they say, make lemonade, or, you can cut the lemons in half and squeeze the juice in life’s eyes!

We all react differently.

Personally I have a problem with any revenge based action. I usually freefall into despair for a while and then just before hitting rock bottom tend to step back, dry my eyes and make a plan to sort things out. I suppose that’s the delayed lemonade approach.

I have friends, though, whom I would definitely put into the ‘juice in their eyes’ camp. Their mantra of “I’ll show ‘em” works just as well in the short term. The real issue here is what is the ultimate outcome of the action.

If you simply exact revenge with no positive outcome then obviously that is a missed opportunity. Lemon in the eyes is painful and hurting others is not the mature response. If your first response is to “show ‘em” then do so by creating a brighter, bolder vision and making it real. Take the anger and channel it into a productive and positive energy.

If you hate conflict and turn the anger inwards by comfort eating, having a little wine etc. then again how far are you prepared to fall before you start planning your way out? Hurting yourself is not the mature response either. How bright and bold will your new plan be? You have fallen down – do you want to get back simply to where you were before or take yourself out of the danger zone by making a bigger dream come true?

What I am trying to say here is that every challenge is an opportunity in disguise. To throw another cliche into the mix “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”. So take that new strength and build.

Sometimes life can hand you some very big lemons, and they can be a very bitter lesson, but what you do with that lesson is down to you.

Seize life by the lemons and squeeze all the juice you can!

You will find there’s more options available than just lemonade – be creative, think big – there’s always lemon tart, lemon curd or better still add tequila, a little salt and party!

Susan Odev is the author of Amazon best seller Mum Ultrapreneur and host of the weekly blog talk radio show of the same name. Details can be found at www.mum-ultrapreneur.co.uk

Contact Susan and find out more about her services at www.susanodev.me.uk (launches Sept 2010)

Your children may be off to school for the first time this autumn, or perhaps they’re already well into their school years: either way you might be one of the mums currently thinking about what to do now the dependents are becoming less dependent. More and more mothers are thinking of starting their own business, each for their own reasons: they’d like to work from home; need flexible hours because of childcare restraints; desire a different experience to being an employee; have always wanted to be self-employed; or have an excellent idea for a business inspired by parenting and the parenting community.

Whatever the reason, it’s understandable to be a little overwhelmed at the prospect of setting up your business after time out from work. Even returning to your old workplace as an employee would be daunting enough! Your experiences as a mother, however, can actually help make the transition back to work a smoother one and can be of particular use in starting your own business.

We shouldn’t underestimate the value that our motherhood experiences can bring to other arenas, including business. The transferable skills you develop as a parent are no different in variety or value to the type of skills that can be acquired during other key stages of your life, such as getting married or starting that first job. Being a SAHM is, after all, one of the biggest challenges there is.

So how exactly can being a SAHM help you become a WAHM? Well, for a start, successfully looking after your children involves continuous multi-tasking, managing your energy levels and maintaining a laser focus, not to mention clear goal setting, calmness in the face of emergencies and the ability to think outside the box.

It’s really not a stretch to see how all of these skills are vital in the context of starting your own business and dealing with the pressures of being your own boss for the first time.

In an ideal world, you would be equally expert in all the above competencies. In the real world, no one can expect to be. Before looking at how you can transfer SAHM skills to business, you must first identify which of these skills are particularly prominent in your own unique skills set. Here are a few suggestions for doing this.

1. Take time out to think about which new skills you’ve developed. Try making a list of actions you take during the week and then listing the skills you use to do them. Consider the settings, pressures and essential outcomes. What did you do, why did you do it and what was the result? In what aspect of your start-up could these actions be of value?

2. Think about which skills you’re using whilst you’re actually using them, then consider how they could be used in business. For example, the next time you’re making up a bedtime story with your child, acknowledge the fact that this takes imagination and communication skills, which can be converted into innovative leadership and successful networking.

3. Get feedback from others around you, as they will have seen how you’ve developed as a mother and how parenting has added to your capabilities.

Once you have an idea of the transferable skills you’ve developed through parenting, you can set about using them to go from a mum to a mumpreneur. Here are a few ideas for doing so.

* Creatively use your parenting experiences to sell yourself to prospective business partners and customers. Explain to them how your parenting abilities will benefit your venture. For instance, as a parent you will have learnt to organise your finances in a way that acknowledges it’s no longer just about you, or you and your partner. Having to take dependents into account when you’re doing your own accounts will work in your favour as you start learning to balance your business’ books.

* Before really getting the ball rolling with your start-up, consider seeking out voluntary opportunities where you can test out your newfound skills in a context away from the family. Get involved with a charity or offer to do pro bono work for those you know. Getting leadership and/or project management training is also an option.

* Feedback from others can again play its part. Get suggestions on how your particular parenting skills can benefit your particular business from those who know you well. You could also consider consulting a career guide. There are many good quality career guidance services that not only help people in ‘employee’ roles, but also those who are self-employed or considering self-employment.

If you’re looking for career or business guidance once school’s back in, but you don’t want to commit to anything long-term, the Mums 2 Work Workshops could be for you. Launching in London this autumn, each one-off workshop is designed to help mums whether they’re seeking a return to employment, considering mumpreneurship, or have no idea what they want to do.

Each workshop will be run by Nathalie Ross Metcalf, a Position Ignition Career Guide who herself has experience of establishing a business as a mum to two small children.

To find out more about the workshops and the optional follow-up one-to-one counselling sessions, click here, call Nathalie on 07759 465237  or email her on nathalie@positionignition.com

However you go about it, remember that both returning to work after a break and starting a business are major life events that take a lot of effort. Combining the two things requires patience and realism, but it’s not impossible. Don’t be too hard on yourself, ask for help when you need it, and know that it’ll be worth it once you’re a fully-fledged mum in business!

By the Position Ignition Career Guides. Position Ignition is a modern day careers advisory firm for professionals offering help around careers, transition and personal & professional development. W: www.positionignition.com Blog: www.positionignition.com/blog

For this week’s Freebie Friday we have teamed up with Nelson’s Teetha to offer 1 lucky mum a Stokke Tripp Trapp Highchair.

Teething can be a difficult time for both mothers and babies. Babies who are teething can experience sore swollen gums and flushed cheeks causing them discomfort which can lead to disrupted sleep patterns. This can also be very distressing for mums as they want to help soothe their baby’s discomfort. Of course, babies cut their teeth at different times. Anything from three months to a year old is within the normal range, but teething trouble can begin months before.

Nelsons Teetha is a homeopathic remedy specially designed for the soothing and calming relief of the symptoms of teething. It is ready-dosed in a convenient granule format that simply dissolves in a baby’s mouth to ease the pain of teething. The ready-dosed sachets are easy to administer, they just need to be tipped into the baby’s mouth or spoon fed – bringing back the smile for babies and parents! It contains a 6c homeopathic potency of natural Chamomilla. If you’re concerned about your baby displaying the symptoms of teething, please seek medical attention first.

Nelsons Teetha costs £4.80 for 24 sachets and is available from Boots, Holland and Barrett, selected grocers, Lloyds pharmacies and all good independent healthfood and pharmacy stores. www.teetha.co.uk. Always read the label.

Nelsons Teetha are offering 1 lucky mum the chance to win a Stokke Tripp Trapp Highchair. Its award-winning ergonomic design brings your tot up to the correct height for any table, so they can join in with family meals as soon as weaning starts. The high chair and footrest adjust to ‘grow’ with your little one, and the Tripp Trapp can even be converted into a comfy adult seat later!

HOW TO ENTER

For your chance to win a Stokke Tripp Trapp Highchair worth £130, simply leave a comment on our blog telling us what one thing is guaranteed to comfort your baby or child when they are sad or under the weather?

Competition closes at 7pm today (27^th August). The lucky winner will be contacted directly by email.

As a mum you might feel you have enough to keep your eye on without having to worry about credit card bills, but as a mum in business there may be benefits to using a business credit card.

Here’s a look at the pros and cons of using a company credit card.

The pros:

Keeping track

If there’s one thing that mums are good at its keeping track of things. Whether it’s the children’s school schedules and homework, or the family’s spending, it usually falls to mum to make sure everything runs like clockwork.

Business credit cards can take some of the hassle out of record-keeping when it comes to outgoings.

You receive a monthly business expense report so that you can keep track of what’s going out and where it’s going.

Measuring your success

In a way, the records collected from your spending on a business credit card can give some indication of your success.

As your business credit score grows you will more credible in the eyes of lenders and, potentially, investors.

Building trust

When running your own business, company credit cards can help you build a level of trust with your employees, if you have any.

They allow staff to buy items and services they need for work without having to meet the cost themselves and then submit an expenses claim.

It potentially saves you some paperwork and can be seen as a mark of trust in your employees, as well as making it easier to keep track of spending.

‘Mum’ and ‘Boss’ are separate jobs!

Business credit doesn’t affect your personal credit score, so when you use a business credit card, it does not put your personal score in jeopardy.

The cons:

Don’t mix business and pleasure

Just as with a personal credit card, it can be tempting to spend more than you should with a business credit card, and it could also be tempting to make personal purchases on the business card, before trying to justify them as a business expense, so it’s important to be careful.

Trust works both ways

If you do have employees, and you do give them permission to use your business card, then they will feel trusted and valued, but there is always the risk that an employee will misuse the card, so you would need to be careful about who you allow to use it.

Costs

Some business credit cards are free, but some can charge anything up to £80. If you are a particularly small business, this might not be a viable expense for you.

The alternatives

Business loans

With the downturn in the economy in recent years, it has become harder for small firms to get hold of loans. As a result many more have used business credit cards to temporarily finance their operations.

The bank pays, you pay or pre-pay

Small and medium-sized businesses can request an overdraft from their bank, or use pre-paid cards to allow their staff to make corporate purchases.

The other option of course, is that individual employees pay using their own credit or debit cards and then submit an expenses form to recover the costs.

Mark Hooson writes for the financial team at Moneysupermarket.com about credit cards and consumer issues.