Mums the word in business

While being at work has many attractions — security, a steady income, the camaraderie of colleagues, the buzz of being part of a team and financial independence — the downside is trying to juggle all this with having kids.

A single woman can stay late in the office when that extra bit of work comes in — a working mum needs to leave on time to get back to pick up youngsters from school, nursery, or the childminder.

And when your eldest is in the Nativity play at school, or takes a tumble and needs mum to be there, how are you going to explain these necessary absences to the boss?

With all these extra pressures, it can seem impossible to even contemplate having a shot at promotion, or arguing for a pay rise, when in the minds of some employers, you cannot reasonably give them your all.

For many women these seemingly incompatible demands can make them feel as though they are doing neither job well — at work, or as a mother.

For others, there is only one solution — to pack in the job and stay at home.

But three Oxfordshire mothers believe there is another way — to set up your own business and work for yourself.

Instead of trying to please an unimpressed boss and fit in with fixed hours, they work at home when they want to, and around their childcare needs.

And, most importantly, they say they are seizing control of their lives and achieving what many women believe to be an impossible dream: a happy home life and a profitable enterprise.

For Milada Cogginsova, 32, returning to her job as a legal secretary in Oxford was not an option once she calculated how much she would have to earn to cover the childcare, petrol and other costs of just getting to the office.

Instead, the Czech-born mother-of-two, decided to put her language skills to good use and focused on more actively marketing Absolute Czech Translations, her freelance translating and interpreting service.

“When my eldest child Stella was born, I just knew it would not be worth while returning to work,” said Milada, who also lives with English husband Dan, 40, and son Erik, two, in Grove, Oxfordshire.

“You do your sums and you arrive at a figure that does not justify all the effort you would have to make.

“The other reason I decided to go freelancing full-time was because I realised I had some skills that are actually quite unique and if I could find people who appreciated them, I would get paid a much higher rate than I ever would as a legal secretary.”

Now working on large market research projects for multi-national companies like Microsoft, Hewlett Packard, Nokia and Samsung, Milada says another advantage of being self-employed is the flexibility of the job.

“I can be there for my children any time they need me without having to justify this to my boss," she said.

"I don't have that added pressure of asking permission to leave somewhere early, or negotiating a day off for whatever I'd like to do — I can just do it. That is priceless.

“And because my work is fairly unpredictable — when there are jobs lined up, obviously I get stuck in and just get on with them. But if I have nothing lined up, I make the most of it and can just enjoy digging my garden.

“That is a luxury and one thing you cannot do as an employee.”

Sarah Collins, 40, was a high-flying PA to the managing director of a market research company in London before she had children, Ben, aged five, and Alice, three.

But when she considered the impact a full-time city-based job would have on her young family at home in Wantage, she opted for a change in direction.

Instead of spending five-days a week slogging up to the capital, she decided to set up Smart Type, an online secretarial service, which provides copy typing, PowerPoint presentations, database management and transcriptions.

“I work from home, mostly evenings and weekends, but I am also lucky enough to have grandparents to call on for childcare once a week, and of course my husband Phil,” she said.

“Running my own business is really the only way I can balance what I want to do with the children, while earning money and having a fulfilling job.

“The hours also work for my clients — if they need something done at 5pm or at weekends and their secretaries are going home, I can do that for them.

“I have always worked and I can't imagine not working. I need to have the satisfaction that I have earned some money to pay for whatever I want,” Sarah said.

“I love being a secretary and love dealing with the clients. I think it makes me saner to deal with the children and they get a good sense of things being split equally between Phil and me.

“Basically, I get the best of both worlds.”

Mother-of-two Sam Robinson, 36, was on maternity leave with her son Jack, now aged four, when she realised there was a gap in the market for good quality, inexpensive nursery products.

Instead of struggling to get the bus to places like Abingdon, Oxford and Swindon to buy them, she decided to source the accessories wholesale and set up her own Internet-based business, selling them from her Wantage home.

“I know from bitter experience how difficult it is to go anywhere with a buggy, especially when you have small children in tow,” she said. “And with more and more people preferring to shop online, I thought this was a business opportunity.”

Now her website Komfikidz offers a range of products from reusable nappies, bed linen and baby sleeping bags to gifts and organic creams for pregnant women.

She also works as a bookkeeper and runs her business when Jack and Chloe, aged seven, are at school or in bed.

“I have always worked and like being financially independent,” said Sam (pictured left).

“The advantage of having my own business is I am my own boss and can be there for my children at a moment's notice.

“If an order comes in at 11pm, I can get it packed, wrapped and sent out the next day, and people usually receive it within 48 hours.”