PARENTING:A new breed of 'mumtrepreneur' are finding the right work/life balance by going out on their own, writes SHEILA WAYMAN
WHEN JILL Holtz’s eldest daughter, Blythe, was four, she was desperate to do ballet. But as a “blow-in” from Scotland, via the US, Holtz could not find ballet classes near their home in Oranmore, Co Galway, although she knew they were there somewhere.
“Every week I could see little girls in ballet dresses. I had asked in the library, and I had asked everybody I knew.”
Finally, she followed a group of girls in ballet clothes down the road to see where they were going. They went into a room above a pub; she went in after them and, at last, found a ballet teacher.
“I thought to myself, there must be a better way of finding out this information,” says Holtz. And so a seed was sown for a web-based business, MyKidsTime, offering information on a wide range of children’s activities.
Holtz (39) is typical of a growing number of “mumtrepreneurs” who are determined to forge a path between stay-at-home mothers and those who work outside the home. They do not want to work for inflexible employers and not see their children from one end of the day to the other, but they do want to contribute to the household income and be able to apply their brains beyond the domestic domain.
Some experience of motherhood often sparks an idea, such as the ballet classes for Holtz. A baby can bring more than the obvious personal changes, when every facet of life is seen through new eyes.
Darina Loakman runs a number of websites, including iamawahm.com, aimed at providing information, support and opportunities for work-at-home mums (Wahms). She is fascinated by the way many mumtrepreneurs find a niche linked to babies and children. However, they may not do as much market research for an online business as they would do with a greater investment in bricks and mortar, she suggests.
“It is very hard to compete in this world, particularly in the online business selling products. You have to find the little hook that gives you your unique selling point,” she stresses. “There is still huge scope out there.”
Home business is no longer regarded as just a stepping stone to a “real” business, but rather something that is beginning to be recognised as valid in its own right and a contributor to the economy. It can also be a viable option during this volatile time for the world of work.
The beauty of these businesses is that women are running them on their own terms, Loakman adds. “It’s a lifestyle choice and the opportunity is there.”
Holtz, who worked for a data-minding software company in Boston before moving to Galway with her husband, Ramsay Stuart, six years ago, reckoned the chances of getting a job to suit their family life were slim. She opted instead to study for an MBA at NUI Galway.
“You just cannot find part-time professional jobs when you have gone down the having-a-child route,” she says. “The course was Fridays and Saturdays, perfect from a child-minding point of view.
“It was really good and I got to meet people. It also gave me the idea of going into business.” She did “amazingly” find a part-time job after that, but all the time her idea of information for parents was brewing.
She joined forces with Michelle Davitt, who had recently returned to her native Galway after 15 years in London where she worked in publishing, and who had experienced similar difficulties as a mother trying to find out what was happening on her doorstep. They started the project in the summer of 2006 and launched the website the following year.
“We decided early on to try it in Galway and see what the response was and then we could take it elsewhere.” As it is all about local information, which is difficult to get hold of, this has to be gathered by somebody in the area, she points out.
The website is free to parents and, to ensure it is as comprehensive as possible, basic listings are also free to the providers of activities. Revenue is generated by display advertising.
Holtz works full-time in the business but spends most afternoons with Blythe, who is now seven, and Fern, who is nearly four, before resuming work in the evening. However, the child-related nature of the work means she can sometimes combine the two in the afternoon, by visiting places she’s writing about for the website.
She is particularly glad to be creating part-time, home-based employment as the venture expands. They are setting up MyKidsTime associates in other parts of the country, giving them the Galway template to follow. It started listings for south Dublin and Wexford earlier this year; Limerick, Kilkenny, Co Dublin and north Dublin will be included by late spring.
They are also looking to go into other areas. The local advertising pays for the local person, she explains, and the associates they have found so far also like the idea of doing something for other parents. “They buy into the ethos of good quality information, and not just making money for the sake of it.”
You can make a nice income from it, she adds. “It is not as much as you’re going to earn from a corporate job but you get all the other benefits, such as that you can work it around your kids. Everything in life is a trade off, isn’t it?”
- See mykidstime.ie