Wednesday 16 February 2011

The wonders of being a freelance working mummy

5 months pregnant in Sydney
I spent this morning being interviewed on film about becoming an entrepreneur and a working mummy, apparently I'm a great case study for both :)

You see I set my marketing freelance service up when Belle was 10 weeks old.  After that short time I knew I didn't want to go back to work full time but knew I needed to work. We fell pregnant whilst living in Australia so I had to leave my job there as a Marketing and Sponsorship Executive and wasn't entitled to maternity pay from the Government when we got home as we had been out of the country too long (don't get me started, I'll tell you about that another time)  So... www.themarketingbean.co.uk was born and I have been taking on freelance work from home ever since.

But how do you juggle work and baby...?  Be organised!  Be upfront! and ask for help when you need it!

Whilst being interviewed today I realised what a great position I am in.  I'm upfront with my clients, they know I have Belle full time and that she comes first.  Therefore I get the best of both worlds, the ability to organise my week around Sure Start classes and play dates whilst still actively using my business skills and contributing to the household, UK economy and wedding dress fund (Vera Wang in my dreams!)

I am lucky and if I have meetings to go to, or days I need to be at events both Belle's nannies can help out, or James will schedule time off when he can. But, for the majority, I work around Belle so I can enjoy her and we can spend time together.

Setting up your own business may sound scary and doing so with a 10 week old baby may sound pure crazy but I am so glad that I did and would encourage any new mum to do the same.  Being your own boss is a great way to ensure you spend as much time as you want with your little one.  It works for me, and maybe it can work for you too!


I don't think working mums get enough good press.  People shouldn't make us feel guilty that we are not with our children 24/7.  Children acquire great social skills whilst attending nurseries and day cares and flourish by having a happy and contented working mummy.  So here's to us!


I would love to hear your working mum stories.  Do you work full time?  Do you feel guilty about being a working mum?


Watch this space for a sneak peak of the film I was featured in today.







5 comments:

  1. The hardest thing I've ever done was having to leave my preemie daughter at the hospital when I was discharged. The 2nd hardest thing was going back to work a week after she was able to come home. It's hard to be one place when your heart is beating somewhere else.... Some of my closer friends couldn't wait to get back to work, though.

    New follower from Social Moms on GFC and Twitter. Feel free to visit and follow me anytime at Back Porchervations.

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  2. Thanks for stopping by Keeping Up With The Rheinlander's! I am a SAHM... I could not have imagined having to go back to work!! I love being at home with Alex!!
    ~Melissa

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  3. That’s awesome that you have started your own company. If you ever need freelance writers, I’m available ☺ Freelancing is tough work, so I wish you the best!

    BTW, I’m following your blog now!
    -DP
    Hip Chick's Guide to PMS, Pregnancy, and Babies

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  4. Love working for myself!

    Thanks for visiting my mom blog:

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    Have a great weekend!

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  5. I'm planning to be a work at home mum (our baby's due in three months) and I've had friends say that I won't be able to stay focused and others (like my mum who was also a WAHM) say that of course it can. So I'm just working on becoming organised enough to make it happen!

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