Scotmum is proud to support working mums and is keen to bring you a different, inspirational mum on a regular basis so that you can see how they manage to attain that elusive work/life balance. This week, Scotmum interviews Jo Fazel, 34, from West London. Jo is mum to 2 girls (Lana, nearly 2 and a half, and Evie, 3 months)
What is your profession and how many hours per week do you work?
I gave up work as an HR manager after my first maternity leave. Since then have set up http://www.bestbabyshower.co.uk which sells baby shower party supplies and new baby gifts. I usually work in the evenings when the girls are in bed, but I check my emails and orders throughout the day and take calls when I can. I tend to work 7 days a week and find it difficult to switch off!
Could you describe a typical day in your life?
I usually drag myself out of bed around 8am depending on the time that Evie has woken demanding a feed!! Get myself and daughters dressed and give my older daughter some breakfast. After that I check my orders and emails and plan what I need to do during the day (be it stock ordering, product updating on the site, emails to suppliers or customers, speaking to accountant, researching products and ideas etc. Then I try to fit these in as best I can around my daughters and anything we have on during the day. At the moment because it's summer we have a bit more time because all the playgroups and classes have stopped and usually we would be out most mornings to something for my older daughter. Afternoons tend to always be at home as Lana will need a nap and depending on whether Evie's routine allows for her to have a sleep at the same time I might plough through some more work while I have some peace! My husband gets home around 6/6.30 and helps me give Lana dinner, then around 7/7.30 it's bath, stories and bed for the girls. By 8.30pm I am usually then checking and packing orders ready to go out the following day and finishing off any other little jobs. I usually manage to shove down some dinner (usually cooked by my hubby as I'm often too busy or tired!) whilst emailing with the other hand! Up to bed around 11.30pm for a dream feed for Evie and then, hopefully, some lovely sleep!
What do you feel are the pros and cons of being a working mother?
I get to be with my girls, seeing all their 'firsts', and enjoying watching them grow up and building a very close bond with them, whilst still having something that's just for 'me' and allows me to feel like a person in my own right rather than 'just' someone's mum. However, it can be very tiring when trying to work as well as my older daughter doesn't understand at her age that I have work to do and will want to be playing with me all the time as I am physically there. It also means that I can't always answer the phone (I might be feeding my baby), or get through as much work as I would like to, and I never get to finish a cup of tea!!
Why did you decide to branch out and work for yourself?
I used to be an HR Manager for a large media company which I did enjoy, but once on maternity leave with my first child I realised that there was so much more to life and wondered if I really wanted to miss seeing my little girl every day just to commute on the dreaded london underground and listen to office politics. Luckily I knew we could just about pay the bills etc on my husband's salary only and so I was priveleged to have a choice. I managed to mutually agree an exit from the business and I used the money to set uphttp://www.bestbabyshower.co.uk. I knew that if I was to set up a business I'd need to be passionate about it and know enough about the subject - what better than something to do with babies!!! My sister in law had introduced me to the idea of baby showers and we realised that there were very few places in the UK where you could buy baby shower partyware. I thought it would be more helpful to customers if they could not only get their party supplies but also their baby gifts from the same place, and have a massive choice including handmade and personalised gifts. I have tried to grow the business into a real one-stop shop and we have some really lovely things. I am always researching the market and trying to locate new and unique products and I am especially keen to bring on board suppliers who are also work at home mums who have fabulous products - I have quite a few now! It's great not having to report to anyone and to make my own decisions and take the business the way I want to.
What are your childcare arrangements?
At the moment I am full time carer for my two girls, but in September my oldest will go to a playgroup without me for a couple of mornings a week as a trial and by April next year she''ll get funding to go full time if she enjoys it which hopefully will free up an hour or two for me to do some work (or just to get around to finishing that cup of tea!!). If and when the business grows enough to make it financially viable to get childcare I'd love to consider some form of mother's help option so that I can still be around for the girls but can also escape for some peace and know that someone is entertaining them!
What would be your top tip for working mums in order to cope with the demands of their day to day lives?
Multi-task! I use the time I'm feeding my youngest to mentally run through the things I need to do that day or to try and think of new designs for my nappy cakes and bouquets etc. I also try and make big batches of food and freeze them for my eldest so that come dinner time I don't have to give up precious work time in the kitchen cooking for her and can just heat something up quickly.
