Inspiring Mumpreneurs

am giving a speech next week, and I thought that I would try it out on you first to see if you have any feedback. It is a concise history of Mothers of Innovation and why fellow female entrepreneurs should take the plunge.

The first thing to examine is the word entrepreneur, the definition is: One who starts a business or other venture that promises economic gain but that also entails risks. Yes, setting up does involve risk, as if it was easy to set up a successful business everyone would have done it! Not only does it take risk but also a huge amount of hard work - as a friend recently said - working as if the hounds of hell are pursuing you.

The other thing about entrepreneur is that it seems to conjure up the image of Richard Branson, or a dragon straight from the den. Well, I resemble neither, and I view my customers more as intelligent individuals that I want to share ideas with. The first draft of the site has been all about sharing information - and I talked about the Mums, the products and the marketing. As you can see from this picture we have useful things, products that are unique to the site and prices as low as £2.99.The first critical thing was getting the name right; from that we moved onto the branding. While I have a background in design and have at least some experience of logo design I thought that I should employ a professional. Being a modern girl I thought that I would develop a very sleek look, but somehow when we started to play a very different style started to emerge. I am so delighted that I kept an open mind. You may be amused to look at some of the over 20 drafts that were considered - none of these passed muster. (While I listen and act upon most of your comments, it is too late to change this element now.)

A quick note about branding - a logo is only part of your brand. You need to sort out the whole identity, of what font to use, how to use it and your strap line and message hierarchy etc.

The first hurdle was to find Mums to share my vision and to want to stock the site. A designer I knew was very dismissive and just asked my how I thought that I was going to find stock. I had been hoping that this would be the least of my problems (having managed a gallery, this was more than just a hunch). I was delighted when before my holding page was even live I got a call from a lovely lady called Sarita to say how much she loved the concept of the site, and could she stock us. Not only is Sarita my daughters name (so it seemed like a particularly good omen) but her multi-sensory Splodge box is all that I could hope for - it is original, ethical, fun and kids just LOVE it! After 'recruiting' Sarita others followed in quick succession.



Working on your own it can be easy to take things to heart, you end up working 24 hour days and can loose sight of the overall picture. It can be very difficult to step back and accept helpful advice, as your natural reaction could be to defend your project first and listen second. There are so many sources of advice - I have tried to list the most useful on the links section of the site, from Business Link to your local council. One lady who is very worth tracking down is Antonia Chitty, recently voted Inspirational Mumpreneur of the Year. I would really recommend your site, Family Friendly Working, as it has a great free e-course to help you consider the options for setting up on your own. She has also written a few books which are excellent - they offer tangible advice either on being a Mumpreneur or her step by step guide to promoting your business.

The most useful thing I can say is just DO it! I spent about a month reading endless documents about everything you need to consider, legal frameworks etc. In the end I just found a lawyer through the Lawyers for Business scheme and had a free consultation that would have saved me hours of reading. The other great quick win was joining they FSB. As a member I have access to a legal helpline and they give me access to some great training and free banking. The best training session I went to was run by Nigel Morgan of Morgan PR on Organic PR . This opened my eyes to the potential of new media marketing.

All I can say that if you are not familiar with Twitter, Facebook and forum sites you should be. I won't repeat myself as you can read my earlier posting about Twitter. It suffice to say that I have even found some great suppliers from Twitter including BPA award nominee Cheeky Wipes and the amazing gift sets from Molliemoo in addition to all the other lovely contacts that I have made.

The highs have all been on-line from camaraderie of the fora to the access to training and information. Obviously you have to be very careful about what and who you trust on-line. I have saved hundreds of pounds by finding Opensource software on-line (and avoided the temptation of using illegal pirated software). I use Open office, I am a whiz with Inkscape and Gimp (the photo and graphics programmes) and recently I am publishing a charity fund-raising book using an Opensource DTP programme. When I get stuck there are tutorials, fora and help sites to help. The lows are while you may get the most expert advise the answers are only as good as your questions. I thought that by engaging a fabulous web designer and a SEO specialist my site you be user friendly and perfectly fit for purpose without being tied into a rigid structure of an off the peg e-shop - but there was a still a missing link between their specialisms (belatedly I am working with another specialist). Likewise when working with a solicitor to set up the company we discussed engaging the accountant later - big mistake, there are huge potential tax implications that I have overlooked.

Be critical about what your skills really are - I have been delighted and shocked in equal measure by my skills set, when removed from the comfort of a team setting. Having done an MA in Arts Criticism and written booklets, education packs and reviews I thought that I could write while the world of computer code was beyond me. I now realise that I can think like a computer (believe me that is a HUGE compliment from a computer programmers) and that my unproofed text looks like dodgy GCSE homework. This would only be a problem if I did not appreciate the issues and opportunities that this presented!

Another of the highs of setting up on your own is that you can do it! I have learnt so much. My single biggest lesson has been how to accept advice / criticism. I was so proud of the first draft of the site but much to my surprise customers found alternative ways to navigate the site - making it seem farm less user friendly than I had envisaged. Rather than getting defensive I got active and started the second draft of the site. It is amazing that as much as you can plan for one thing, customers may not see things that way at all. Find a mystery shopper who can offer constructive but honest advice.

A penultimate thought, since setting up Mothers of Innovation I have been surprised and delighted by how supportive seemingly random strangers are. My biggest tip is ASK and you will be amazed by how often people will take the time and effort to help you. Before I even had a working site over 200 lovely people (mostly strangers) had completed an on-line survey giving me hints on what would make a good site. Obviously this works both ways - recently I was approached by a Bath Baby Cakes who asked me to write about her in my blog. Readers of this blog may know I never randomly plug businesses, but I can use Hannah as a great example of pluck - if you are going to set up in business you can't afford to be shy! Just look at her site - they look good enough to eat :)

Finally, you may be aware that there are two types of marketing: profile building and the call to arms i.e. selling! The first draft of my site was so much about 'adding value' that it was hard to discover what the purpose of the site. You could read tips, recipes and help for Mumpreneurs - all great for differentiating me from the mainstream competition - but nothing to encourage visitors to shop. Well, I met up with the wonderful Julia from Storyshapes today and she told her audience that I was an innovator who helped Mumpreneurs across the country - well, Julia I can do that best if I sell your products to delighted customers. So, with that, I must conclude with my final tip: if you want great products for babies, toddlers or the family - long onto our site, browse then buy. Enjoy, leave lovely feedback, recommend then buy some more! xx

Legal Redress?

I have by now spent over a thousand pounds on lawyers fees. One of the things that persuaded me to get my lawyer to set up the company was he fixed me with his steely eyes and asked me if I understood what I had copy and pasted into my Memorandum and Articles; while he was impressed that I had read them his glare made my confidence seep from every pore and I commissioned him to do the job. I have just received confirmation from Companies House that it is all set up, but rather than merely not fully understanding the governing documents, now I have not even seen them!
I got the lawyer to help with my T&Cs (apparently in business you never say Terms and Conditions in full). I had wished that I had known that the FSB has down loadable T&Cs on its site available to members.
In retrospect I am not sure I should have commissioned such a large job - frivolous no, necessary, I am not convinced.

My Marketing Postcard

Well, I needed something and a post card seemed so much more stylish than a flyer. Besides, there is a chance it may be used minimising the eco-extravagance of marketing.
Dot Com Dot did her usual magic and came up with a great design.
I did a fair amount of shopping around and settled on Vista Print, the big on line company as they seemed infinitely cheapest...then. Since settling on Vista I have got a little frustrated, the original appearance of 500 cards for £44 rose quickly to £82 once they had added on a range of expected and less expected fees - then they bored and frustrated me by the endless attempts to get me to buy more.
I'll update you shortly on my credit crunch discussions with a range of banks...I think I am going to have a happy ever after story there

Euphoria!

I have just heard that the company has now been formed! Yippeee! It is now official! Welcome to the world 'Mothers of Innovation'!
Hard work and long hours await, but I am sure that this will be a success as it is a great idea.

Setting up the Company

Government and Companies House pride themselves in making business more accessible and reducing red tape. I was going to take them at the word and set up a Limited Company on my own. From what I could see I needed to fill out a few simple forms and send them off with a fifty quid cheque and my liability would be limited.

I was keen to pass from the ranks of the talkers to those of the doers. I had advised about setting up charities, companies house and being a charity director so I felt that I had a little insider information. (Maybe this was another source of my cynicism for Business Link, had they, like me, merely read the Internet and a skimmed few books to prepare themselves for the role of adviser).

I sailed past first base, understanding the need and purpose for a Limited Company. I could also navigate my way around the Companies House site. I was further delighted when I came across eSources.co.uk that sent a three email tutorial on How to Set up a Limited Company, including a free document to help with write your Memorandum and Articles worth £24.99. I went to work to prepare my Articles, the Memorandum of Association and the all important forms 10 and 12.

The first delay was getting the right software to amend eSource's template documents. So I downloaded a free trial of Adobe Acrobat and squandered hours setting this up, then read endless clauses, sub clauses and exemptions. I cross referenced this with the hallowed 'Table A' that is so critical to company law (if you want to know more go to Companies House and search for it, reading it makes paint drying seem a dynamic spectator sport). Things were going swimmingly until one of the two key forms need to be signed by a notary or a solicitor...

I knew that I needed legal help, and it was just a matter of time until I started to shell out cash for my dream of professional* self sufficiency, so I took up Business Link's advise and tracked down a 'Lawyer for Business'. A bargain, I thought, a free half hour consultation. It was very simple finding one, I contacted the Law Society who sent a list of participants in my area. I did a search on the most local lawyers; only one seemed to focus on business (divorce is not on my mind and most of the lawyers on the list seemed to rank this as their preferred sport) so I booked an appointment with him.

To get the most out of the session I was going to get the documents signed and talk about other legal aspects of the business. This week has been a frazzle of terms and conditions. What would the business be doing? what did I need protection against? what do other similar companies put into their terms? (and why do they need to registered in Luxembourg)? I came up with twenty odd pages of document for the unfortunate lawyer to unpick.

If there is a theme to my journey into business it must be this: set aside everything that you think you know and prepare for it to cost more! The lawyer seemed a great guy, but he did ask impertinent questions. Had I read Table A? Yes - one up. Did I understand it? No - lip starts to wobble. Had I thought about half a dozen wise issues that these pro-forma documents would fail me on? No - over and out.

All I can say is that this free half hour consultation has cost me a fortune! I understand that if I want Mothers of Innovation to have a long term future I really need to get the legal footings solid. I walked out daunted and since have signed up to a course of action that will cost me over £800 but should set me on clear course to focus on the bits that I can really do well.


*I will start another blog when I renew focus on my other aim for real self sufficiency, but then again will a chicken poo generator power this computer?

Link in

Cynicism had clouded my judgement, but the last time I met someone from Business Link all I heard all about the iniquity of their sales targets and all that that the 'computer said no'. I really never found out what they were selling except that I am sure their experience would have taught me a great deal about folding and selling a t-shirt. However, all web roads seemed to lead to them and eventually I picked up the phone: five minutes later, all questions answers and I had a host of fact sheets (that I may read when I get desperate) and they have passed my first test.

The best thing they told me about was 'Lawyers for Business', the Law Society's scheme to offer free 1/2 hour consultations - more about that later.

Buoyed by this success, I logged onto the regional pages of Business Link. With the click of the 'Enter' the permanence of this move dawned on me, the clouds darkened and I had entered the layer of hell dedicated to those dealing with the government. Two minutes later the phone rang and it was a gleeful soul from Slough Business Link (yes, I do mean gleeful) and five minutes later I was signed up to meet one of his advisers... At least she passed her first test, she was not called Carol and I was meeting in the library, far away from any computers.

How many excuses can you think of for avoiding a meeting? The dog ate my house keys? I am scared of being swallowed by a Kafkaesque nightmare? Well, not a pin stripe or sneer in sight. I found a very breezy lady, with significant business experience sent me through a mental assault course; making me explain, justify and project future ideas about my business - while her brain leapfrogged through advice and anecdotes. Her style could have been discombobulating to the tidy minded, but it worked for me.

Two days later a typed report came through highlighting our discussion - and I sensed this is where the sales came in: there were random and inexplicable references to London 2012 littering the pages. I rejoiced in overcoming my prejudice and filed the report in the recycling. I can't wait for our next meeting (unless the dog really does it my house keys).

It should be easy to set up in the UK

I just heard, it should be easy to set up a company in the UK:
http://www.doingbusiness.org/economyrankings/
As I trawl through pages of small print I am not sure if that is any consolation. Today I have spent hours just collecting information for the loan application and to set up the on-line payments. Every time the post arrives it is more junk that needs to be read and almost understood.
I had been warned, everything takes twice as long and is twice as hard.
I am not downhearted, the lawyer's bill came in under estimate. The world is a wonderful place!