Mums in Business

Mums + Business

Esthers passion is to help other mums to fulfil their potential by starting businesses

Flexible working

Mothers these days are continuing the trend of having children at an older age than previously. According the Office of National Statistics (ONS), the average UK mother is now almost 30 (29.8 to be exact).

“We live in a society where we want to accomplish everything, so it is natural that some mothers build their career and then have children. It is just a shame that in general the workplaces are not flexible enough to cope it,” says Esther Radnor, who got the idea for her company, Mum Plus Business, whilst on maternity leave from her first son.

“After becoming a mother I didn’t want to return to a full time job and decided to set up my own business,” explains Esther,

“Although I had experience in PR and Marketing I felt that I needed to work with someone who could complement my skills and also provide support where necessary for the start-up. There wasn’t such a service out there that would help mothers connect to team up or work together in order to launch a successful business so I set up Mum Plus Business,” she says adding that she had noticed that there were so many mums in a comparable position to her. 

Mothers that wanted to develop their career and themselves but not being able to find suitable jobs that would give them the flexibility they needed.

Still hard to compare career and family

Esther feels that it is still generally harder to find flexible jobs compared to full-time jobs in London, even though the capital seems to have more knowledge around flexibility, probably because there are a greater number of mothers here voicing their demands.

“Most companies, in fact 98% do offer some form of flexible working, however very few actively advertise and promote the possibility of flexible working. Particularly more senior roles are mostly not advertised as flexible. 

“There is a barrier that needs to be overcome for many employers but flexible working can offer many benefits to businesses and shouldn’t be regarded as a hindrance,” Esther says.

Even though new technology means that many jobs can be carried out from home office, including meetings with Skype or other software, many businesses still don’t use enough of these options.

“Businesses should certainly take a look at the benefits of flexible working for their employees. Employers who work flexibly are for example generally less stressed and feel more in control of their work which results in better work outcomes,” Esther says. 

Amanda Rees

Helping mums with businesses

Mum Plus Business is the leading website helping mothers develop flexible careers trough a free collaborate program, enabling members to swap skills or find a business partner. The website also offers a job board, dedicated to flexible work opportunities for mothers. 

Esther helped both Judy Parris, who started her crafting business EK Buddy Blanquilts, and Amanda Rees, who founded Pumbaliciouc and sells pregnancy clothes online, to take their first steps into the world of business. 

Amanda Rees says that her inspiration to start a business came from trying to create better life balance to her family. Both she and her husband worked as lawyers. 

“Being a parent totally changed my priorities. My husband is also a lawyer and works very long hours. 

"I wanted to work but I also wanted the time to be a hands on mum. Setting up my own business gives me much more flexibility to work when I want," she says 

Judy Parris emerged herself from difficult times by focussing on her creativity.

“I re-found self worth through entrepreneurship,” she says. “I find crafting refreshing and therapeutic and it just feels right for me. I love what I do.”

Before starting her own business Judy worked as a beautician. She was also a full-time carer, which, she says, made her feel down at times. 

“You can feel a sense of helplessness and isolation when you witness a loved one in that kind of situation. But my work gave new purpose for my life,” she says.

At the moment Judy is working on a project that glows in the dark which makes her very proud of herself. You can see more of her products on her website here:

“Balancing work and family commitments can be difficult, whether you are pregnant or already a mother.  Working full time may be too much, but not working at all can become quite dull and make you feel isolated especially if you were used to going to a busy work place,” Esther says, adding that her number one advice to starting businesses is to plan their success.

Interactive map about live births by age group of mother in England and Wales between 1938-2013. Source: Office of National Statistics:


Have your say: Let us know when would you start a family (or when you did) and we'll create a story about how our readers see their future family life.

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey , the world's leading questionnaire tool.