Tell us your name and a bit about your family? When did you become a Mum and to whom?
Caroline Graham
I am married and have two children, a boy aged six and a girl aged 13.
What’s your business called?
CG Safety
Can you describe it in one sentence?
I help small and medium sized businesses achieve legal compliance with their safety requirements and I also provide support to businesses looking to increase employee engagement by building a health and wellbeing plan.
When did you become a Mumpreneur and what inspired you?
I started my business earlier this year. A few years ago I was made redundant after working in the corporate world for about 15 years. I initially took some time out to care for my son who was only two at the time. I decided to pursue my own consultancy (now my son has settled into school) to enable me to work on my terms, have the flexibility I need and a work/life balance.
How did you fund your start up?
Personal finance. I try and keep my expenditure to a minimum. To begin with I did have to pay for professional indemnity insurance, register with the Occupational Safety & Health Consultants register. My initial other outgoings were business cards and building a website. More recently I have spent some more money using a Coach to help develop me and my business.
How do you manage working around your children?
Sometimes a challenge when holidays and sickness occur. Majority of the time I work during school hours but also fit in the odd hour/half hour when I can : evenings, weekends and during the holidays. I have sometimes got up extra early to complete some work.
Can you describe a typical day, what tasks do you have to get done, how do you manage your time?
In terms of building my business…
Check emails, quick look at social media posts on Linked In and Facebook
Draft blog posts for either my own website or guest blogs
Look at connecting with others on Linked In
Following up Linked In connections a couple of weeks after they accept invitation
Adhoc tasks such as sharing posts on social media, checking website to ensure up to date, preparing draft legal documents for clients
Following up any client enquiries
What challenges have you faced in your business and how have you overcome them?
Marketing my business – so much to learn and very overwhelming – initially joined closed Facebook groups and connected with some really helpful contacts who are specialists in others areas of business which helped enormously. More recently needed one to one support and engaged with a business coach.
People’s perception of what I do – I can be perceived as an enforcer which is not what I do. I am there to help, advise, guide and support businesses achieve legal compliance and create a safe and healthy working environment for their employees.
What’s the best thing about being Mumpreneur?
Having the flexibility to juggle work and home life
What are your plans for the future?
To keep building my consultancy and making it a success
What advice would you give for someone just starting out in business?
Do some ground work when it comes to understanding how to market your business. There are some key elements which pop up regularly by experts and once you know them it will help you get the ball rolling to making your business visible and start attracting clients.
Is there anything else you’d like to tell us?
Based on my networking experience a lot of businesses have a lack of understanding when health and safety needs to be considered. As part of telling my story with you, I am happy to offer readers a free 20 minute call to explain when they would need to start putting safety measures into place to meet legal compliance.
email : caroline@cgsafety.net
website : cgsafety.net
Linked In : https://uk.linkedin.com/in/caroline-graham-cmiosh-2a039117