Tell us a bit about your family?
I am 24year old mum of 1 little boy born in 2015. Married to my very inspiring husband who is 27 in 2014.
My husband has returned to University so that he can start his Postnatal business.-Very interesting and exciting stuff-Watch out for this!
When I found out I was pregnant my contract (for a very large corporation) was up for renewal, in which they decided to end instead of paying me maternity. I always wanted to work for myself so decided to take the time off while being pregnant to work freelance doing design and marketing.
What’s your business called?
Tropical Eleven
Can you describe it in one sentence?
One stop creative services for business start ups and small businesses.
When did you become a Mumpreneur and what inspired you?
It started in 2015. The the dream of being able to work when I wanted/could and having myself to answer to.
How did you fund your start up?
Luckily with Design and marketing all my work is done from home. I only needed money to setup my website when I first started so I used the money made from one of my first clients to pay for this.
How do you manage working around your children?
My working hours start when my little 10 month old boy goes to bed. I work until 11.30pm sometimes later depending on the day I have had. The days my husband is off I spend about 2 hours through the day working. I keep organised with a planner so that when I sit down to work I know exactly what needs done so my time is spent efficiently.
Can you describe a typical day, what tasks do you have to get done, how do you manage your time?
Each day I get up at around 5.30am/6am I get up and have breakfast while my little boy watches tv and plays with his toys. I then make him some breakfast and put him down for a morning nap. While he naps I get ready and check my emails, wash the bottles, unload the dishwasher and the day is ready to go. Some days we are at playgroup and playdates for a few hours. The task of lunchtime feeding and cleaning the mammoth mess. alot alot of playing follows. If I can manage to get him to have an afternoon nap I will then get some work done in this time. Most nights I am designing a website for someone. This includes emailing and calling the client. Mostly I am sat at my desk. Sometimes I need to do research work for startup businesses or businesses that are looking to revamp their strategies. I sometimes need to go away for this so We make a little family trip of it.
I keep organised by keeping a planner and keeping ontop of emails.
What challenges have you faced in your business and how have you overcome them?
I remember when I posted on Netmums. and earlier that day I had updated my website. Crazily enough I had reverted my websites history and saved it as a previous version! SO I had a man comment on my post absoloutely slating my website and my company. I went on to see what he had ment and there it was he was right I had some mistakes on my website. I was sharp to revert my website back to the update that should have saved, Hey mistakes happen. But this mans comments were so harsh and so disheartening. . I didnt let this stop me though. I know I am good at what I do. I am no extreme computer html coding genius. I am providing a service for people in situations like mine where returning to work sometimes is not an option. Always remember… when starting up you may make some obvious mistakes and you will always get someone who wants to bring you down. Dont listen to them. If you think you can setup a business GO FOR IT.
What’s the best thing about being self employed?
I can work when I want. I have myself to answer to. I work harder than ever before and I feel extremely proud.
What are your plans for the future?
I plan to work with my husband on his upcoming business. Tropical Eleven is not a full time income for me it is actually to be used to save for my son. I plan to hire freelance designers who want to work from home in which I will then purely manage the business and d the odd bit of designing as a hobby.
What advice would you give for someone just starting out?
Go for it. You do not need to have everything perfect before you start. Its all a learning curve, I have work with many startup businesses over the past few years and the perfectionists are holding themselves back.Take the plunge, The money will come, and if it doesn’t work out. Onto the next idea. Just make sure you manage your time!
Is there anything else you’d like to tell us?
I offer a referral reward for anyone who manages to refer someone to Tropical Eleven for a website, upon full payment and completion you will receive £35! Just get the person interested to email info@tropicaleleven.com and use the code ‘INSPIRATION’.
www.tropicaleleven.com
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