Scot Mum

What is your profession and how many hours per week do you work?

I am a Graphic Designer working in the area of digital photo manipulation, I own and run www.enhance-me.com a service creating custom Magical Photo Portraits, a great way to create a one of a kind personalised keepsake gifts that can be treasured forever – I can work anything between 20 to 40 hours per week!

Could you describe a typical day in your life?

My day starts at 6.30, when I get up and give my youngest his breakfast – usually my daughter doesn’t wake until about 8am so she tends to have breakfast later! Once I have the children up and dressed, and done some household chores I will usually check emails and reply to any that I can whilst the wee ones are playing. Much of my time during the day is spent entertaining the children as it’s the Summer holidays at the moment – when my daughter is at nursery, my son naps between 9:30am and 12 noon allowing me a free run at work every weekday morning.

I always keep an eye on my emails when I am home and see that anything urgent is done. My days vary, sometimes we visit friends, sometimes we have friends over – we go to the park, soft play centre, pool etc – do crafty things. In between that, checking emails and getting housework done it can be pretty hectic! It’s when the children are in bed (usually about 8pm by the time they are both down) the work begins. My day doesn't finish until about 11pm, when I will try to relax for a while before heading to bed.

What do you feel are the pros and cons of being a working mother?

I feel so lucky to find myself able to work from home – though we have had to make financial sacrifices to enable this lifestyle it is something I felt very strongly about when my daughter was born. I didn’t want to miss out on a minute of her early years – they grow so fast that it is such a precious time. I didn’t want to come home after a day at work to a childminder telling me she had taken her first steps! So the time I can spend with my children is a definite pro!

Now I will almost completely contradict myself by saying that one of the biggest cons of being a work at home mum is simply lack of time! Juggling children, housework and a business is not easy. Late nights & early mornings mixed with children’s boundless energy can be exhausting!

Why did you decide to branch out and work for yourself?

It all began when I lost my baby boy Thomas, eight months into my pregnancy, I was advised not to work in my following pregnancy - something switched inside me at that moment that made me realise I just would not be able to leave my baby girl when she was born to return to full time work. Initially, as a hobby, I had played around with image-editing software on my computer, and had submitted a few pictures to art galleries – these had sold well. Later I did a few free portrait enhancements for friends, who had requested that photographs of their children be transformed into fairies. These friends had such a positive reaction at the final result that I decided to dip my toe in the water and put the service online. Very little financial outlay was required – I had everything I needed! I didn’t even need to pay for a website - I was able to create and build my own website, with the assistance of a very helpful and patient husband who had worked in web design. When my www.enhance-me.com went live I really wasn’t sure what to expect. I was surprised at just how quickly the orders came flooding in. I can’t even begin to describe how thrilling it is to find people who like and want the work that you do!

What are your childcare arrangements?

I am lucky to have very helpful parents-in-law who take my daughter Milly at least two afternoons a week (two full days during the holidays, sometimes more!) which means when Robbie naps I can actually work. Otherwise I rely on nursery and evenings when the children are sleeping to work.

What would be your top tip for working mums in order to cope with the demands of their day to day lives?

I think that being able to prioritise is so important – I have lots of ‘To-Do’ lists and have to deal with the most important first! That usually always involves my children and dealing with customers requests – then everything else eventually falls into place! Most importantly if you run your own business, it’s important you love what you do – otherwise finding motivation for it will be difficult.