A sunny Sunday afternoon …

… and here I am in the office! Oh, the joys of setting up your own business! Actually, I have to say, it’s quite nice to have the place to myself and be able to spread out with my papers and my thoughts. I am, of course, missing the in-laws who are kindly entertaining my children for me! And I haven’t dared set foot outside because I’d have to lock up and risk setting the alarm off again like I did last time. But apart from that, everything’s good, and I’ve been cracking through my ‘To do’ list at a fair old pace. Now, though … well now I’ve got to the ’sort out accounts’ bit, which is closely followed by the ‘do tax return’ bit, and so obviously it’s time for a cup of tea and a bit of blogging instead. Why, oh why, oh why do I do this every year?! For someone who made a career out of telling other people how to manage their mindset and achieve their goals, I am shockingly bad at following my own advice when it comes to anything admin! Procrastination is definitely the name of the game. It’s just that, where once I used to be able to stay up all night to get something done and thrive on the adrenaline of it all, these days it’s not quite so easy.

Okay, so, I’ll get on with it as soon as I’ve finished this. Went out for a 40th birthday ‘do’ last night (and yes, we actually went out together!) and had a really interesting conversation about friendship in cyberspace versus the real life variety. It’s strange how much more easily we seem to let our barriers down in the virtual world. Is that good, or not so good? I’m not sure. I still think that, at the end of the day, there’s no substitute for face-to-face. What do you think?

Had another interesting conversation about this blog, too. About how tricky it is to write about setting up a business without giving too much of the game away and to write about your state of mind without coming across as completely crazy! I do try to seem more-or-less normal, whether I achieve it or not is another thing!

Anyway, there’s no getting away from it, it’s time for that tax return. Aaaarrgghh! Need chocolate, quick!

Aaaaagh, accounts!

Don’t know what possessed me to go into business. I completely forgot that, until you’re successful enough to have other people to do it for you, you have to deal with all the money side of things! Having spent the last few hours wading through spreadsheets and receipts to get everything ready for the accountant, who needs it all for the VAT (wo)man, I am beginning to realise that there’s a downside to running your own company! Numbers never were my strong point, so this is going to be a steep learning curve … and, most of all, a lesson in discipline. And Mummo hasn’t even started trading yet!

Everything else feels like a bit of a blur at the moment and, to be honest with you, I can’t really remember what I’ve been up to since my last post. Oh, yes, I’ve been going through the html templates for the website with a fine toothcomb, and also writing some more copy, and experimenting with the idea of incorporating an Amazon aStore. Seems like quite a good way of generating a bit of extra income for Mummo whilst providing people with something useful. And, let’s face it, everyone buys their books and CDs etc from Amazon, don’t they?!

I’ve also been trying to work out what to do about dads?! It’s tricky - I don’t want to dilute the focus of Mummo, and dads generally face different challenges to mums. But fathers do have a really important role to play, for their children and their partners, and there are times when it just makes good sense to include them. So I’ve been trying to find a creative solution to that one as well!

On that note, what’s the quote - “The best thing a man can do for his children is to love their mother.” Yes … and, if my other half is by any chance checking up on my blog before leaving work, I’d just like to add “and bring home a big box of chocolates!”

Tough one …

Tough old week, that is! Just as I thought I was actually starting to recover from this pesky postnatal illness that’s been hanging over me for the past, oooh, 15 months or so, it’s suddenly come back and bitten me on the bum again! Triggered, of course, by the fact that both my little ones have been poorly … for the umpteenth time, or so it seems. Came back from meeting a friend last night, having had a good old catch-up, only to find that my youngest had thrown up everywhere and was being sponged down in the bath. Not a nice sight. And, of course, it meant that I didn’t get any sleep at all and am feeling distinctly bleary-eyed and down-at-heel today. Hey ho. I guess it’s just one of those things that happens - part of motherhood, life, etc, etc. But when I think about the responsibility of having to deal with stuff like that for the next umpteen years, I really really want to run. All I can say is thank heavens for the nanny, she’s worth her weight in gold. Come to mention it, she probably costs more than her weight in gold! But she means that I can at least walk out the door for a little while, and concentrating on business helps calm me down. So Mummo is making me happier already, and that’s what it’s all about. Don’t know who’s out there reading this, if anyone, but if you’re a mum go and check it out: www.mummo.co.uk. You can register interest now even though the full website won’t be live for a couple of months - that way I can keep you up to speed with what’s going on.

In the meantime, who’s been watching Strictly Come Dancing? I absolutely LOVE that show. It’s definitely a dose of escapism … into a world of passion, romance, satin, sequins and sexy strutting, twirling, whirling, demon dancers. They’ve really upped the ante with the women this year and I’m just wishing I could be one of them.

Anyway, as for business, I’m just debating over the colours for the logo and putting my PR and marketing strategy together.  The big decisions for today are Rubine Red vs Rhodamine Red, do I need letterheaded paper and should a community blog have its own blogroll?!  Answers on a postcard please …

Softly softly catchee monkey!

Okay, I know, it’s been a while! The weeks have whizzed by, summer passed with barely a single sun-baked day and suddenly here we are in autumn! Been to the park with my little ones this afternoon, running in the rain, collecting conkers from under a blanket of bronze and golden leaves. And the nights are drawing in already. It’s been a good six months since I first decided to set up this business and still all I’m doing is shelling out from my savings with not a lot to show for it. Having said that, I am now officially a company director with a company bank account and a holding page on my company website! So some progress IS being made, even if it doesn’t always feel like it. I have to keep reminding myself that “softly softly catchee monkey”, and that it’ll all be worth the wait. Unfortunately patience never was one of my virtues though, and I’m chomping at the bit to start actually doing business rather than just thinking and talking about it! Had bad news this weekend, too, as I found out that I’ve been turned down for an award from UnLtd, the organisation that supports social entrepreneurs. Guess there are probably other people who need their help more than I do but, even so, I was really disappointed. Had one of those wobbly moments of thinking maybe it was all a very bad idea and I should just cut my losses and go back to being a 24/7 mum … Two tantrums later (not mine, I hasten to add!) and I’d decided that business is going to be a piece of cake in comparison! Famous last words?! …

A case of mistaken identity

Ooops, it appears that the name I’ve chosen for my new business venture may be a bit too close for comfort to something that already exists … and there was me thinking that I’d checked everything and covered all the bases! As I’m just about to commission a design agency to work on the brand identity, thought I’d better make sure that they don’t start work on a ‘mistaken’ identity. So this morning saw me on the ‘phone to trademark lawyers and on the web trawling the Patent Office’s website - which is now the Intellectual Property Office don’t you know! www.ipo.gov.uk Apparently nothing is black and white in these matters, which of course means that people can make money out of trying to decipher and interpret the various shades of grey for you! Anyway, I’m holding onto high hopes that I’ll get to use ‘my’ name, whilst simultaneously racking my brains for an alternative that I like just as much if not more. Isn’t it ironic, I wasn’t sure about it until I thought I might not be able to have it … and then I suddenly realised how much I wanted it! Story of my life! How about you?

To CIC or not to CIC, that is the question …

Forgot to mention earlier that I went to see an accountant today. He’s intrigued by my intention to set up the business as a CIC, or Community Interest Company. Of course he’s very polite about it all, but you can almost hear his brain struggling to come to terms with the idea that I might not be entirely motivated by money! I explain about the need for credibility, and how I think the business will only work if it’s seen as being more than just another profit-driven enterprise. And everything I’ve read suggests that a CIC is supposed to be a ‘halfway house’ between a charity and a normal limited company. You’re free from all the bureaucracy of the voluntary sector, but you can’t just get rich yourself, you have to reinvest any profits back into the business and/or use them for the benefit of the community. So I might, if I’m lucky, get to take a salary, but it certainly won’t be a ‘fat cat’ one and there’s no chance of selling out in a few years and retiring on my millions! The accountant said that, since only 500 or so CICs have been set up since they were launched in 2005 and around 300 limited companies are formed every day, it suggests that no-one thinks much of a CIC! Did you even know what one was before you read this? Would you be more likely to support a CIC than an ordinary company? Do you think I’m off my head not to want to make a mint?!

I must be mad …

Wow, the days and months are flying by - I can’t quite believe how long it’s been since I last ‘blogged’! Had to return to full-time mummy duties for a while as our poor nanny was “proper poorly”, as she put it - turns out she caught the dreaded salmonella from our daughter, which apparently means we’ll be investigated by environmental health! And now I’m officially office-less. Sitting here in the only local cafe with internet access, trying to concentrate and hear myself think over noise of the juicing machine. I sometimes wonder how on earth I can even contemplate setting up a new business when my life is scattered amongst various piles of paper all round our house and I drift from one coffee shop to another all day long. Not to mention needing to get over ‘postnatal depression’ (sshhh, don’t tell anyone!). Perhaps I should just take my mum’s advice and spend my days doing yoga and meditation … or then again, perhaps that would really send me mad?! Instead, being the kind of contrary Mary I am, I choose to busy my brain with new ideas, options, possibilities … escape routes to an exciting future.

But things have reached crunch point. Can’t keep on researching forever, I need to actually make a decision. Apparently, that’s what you have to do in business! Everyone I’ve spoken to so far about this idea seems to think it’s a good one, so do I just go ahead and take the plunge, investing all my time and money into it, or … ? Do I take the children, move to the country and opt for a simpler, less materialistic life? After all, whilst I may not really want to ‘play mother’ at the moment, I do know that once these precious years of my little ones’ lives have passed, I can never press rewind and go back again. Is there some way I can follow both paths? At the same time? Or is that called having your cake and wanting to eat it as well?! (I’ve always wondered, aren’t you supposed to eat cake?!) Anyway, enough rambling, I’m going to disappear to a cottage in the middle of nowhere and make my mind up. A whole week to myself - it’s been so long since that happened that I’ll probably be ’sectionable’ by the end of it! Which, I guess, is always another path! Want to come with me to my rural retreat and see what happens …

Kitchen table dramas!

Well, here I am again, sat at my kitchen table … except it’s not actually mine, it’s a friend’s. She’s been letting me use it so that I can stay out of the way of the nanny and the little ones, for their sake as much as mine. I just kind of knew that work and kids wouldn’t mix, even ‘pretend’ work which is often what this feels like! (And, before you jump in, I do know, from three years’ personal full-time experience of it, that looking after children is harder work than anything else you could ever do … but you know what I mean!) Anyway …

This is it, just me and my laptop, a mobile phone and a fledgling business idea. It’s a lonely old place, really. In fact, the title of this entry is more than a bit tongue in cheek, as I could do with a drama to liven things up. Still, shouldn’t tempt fate and - knowing me - I can always create one if I get too bored! So what am I doing … and how long before I can go to Starbucks (again) for coffee and company?! I’ve been trying to sort out my research questionnaire, which I’m hoping to send out to lots of mums to get some background data to support my plans. I’ll be slightly gutted if people’s replies come back and they don’t tell me what I want to hear, because then all that hard work will just have to go in the bin! I’m offering to donate money to charity for every completed questionnaire I get back, so fingers crossed that’ll motivate everyone to help out. I did sensibly remember to say ’subject to a maximum donation of …’ just in case the whole thing got out of hand and ended up as its own viral marketing campaign. Talking of which … (but I’ll have to come back to that as the coffee urge has just got the better of me!) See you later!