Working Mums with Pre-School Children

[JoJoPearce]

I have put this in the biz forum as I think it doesn't matter what field you are in as you may be able to help me.

I have been trying for a while (not hard enough to be honest) to set up my home salon. Well it might be a little longer as we are planning other things on the house now and the room I was going to use seems to be put on the back burner. I'm lucky that at the moment I dont need to be earning a wage so there is no pressure to get up and running and am losing all motivation in starting up but at the same time getting frustrated as i'm not using my skills.

Then at the weekend, I saw an ad for a nail tech locally, but now I have this voice saying to me you cant go for it because it's going to cost you more than you may earn in childcare (have to put both girls in a nursery at £60ish per day). This is also another reason why I have not pushed the home salon.

How do you working mums with young children not at school manage, as at the moment I just cant get my head round this at all.

Please help this very confused and unmotivated geek.

 

[Bagpuss]

well you could do evenings and weekends....thats how i started...it built up my clientel and put my name out there...and as most people work anyway the evening appointments go down really well.

 

[HappyHands]

I have put this in the biz forum as I think it doesn't matter what field you are in as you may be able to help me.

I have been trying for a while (not hard enough to be honest) to set up my home salon. Well it might be a little longer as we are planning other things on the house now and the room I was going to use seems to be put on the back burner. I'm lucky that at the moment I dont need to be earning a wage so there is no pressure to get up and running and am losing all motivation in starting up but at the same time getting frustrated as i'm not using my skills.

Then at the weekend, I saw an ad for a nail tech locally, but now I have this voice saying to me you cant go for it because it's going to cost you more than you may earn in childcare (have to put both girls in a nursery at £60ish per day). This is also another reason why I have not pushed the home salon.

How do you working mums with young children not at school manage, as at the moment I just cant get my head round this at all.

Please help this very confused and unmotivated geek.

Unfortunatly I am still waiting, If i was closer hun I would have had your kids for that a week..

 

[JoJoPearce]

well you could do evenings and weekends....thats how i started...it built up my clientel and put my name out there...and as most people work anyway the evening appointments go down really well.

This would be ideal but unfortunately doesn't suit me as matt (hubby) works in London and gets home late most nights (8-8.30 onward) or he is away with work, like he is tonight. So the only option I have at the moment is day work and saturday's.

 

[florence2004]

can you not offer evening appointments from home? That what I am going to do and at the moment it means doing the nails in my kitchen but thats not a major problem.

 

[JoJoPearce]

can you not offer evening appointments from home? That what I am going to do and at the moment it means doing the nails in my kitchen but thats not a major problem.

I could do this and it could be an option, but (there is alway's a but in my life at the moment) I worry that the night I have a client, is the night the girls play up. I do this alot picture situations and put myself off. I must sound like a real prat.

 

[Glamnails72]

Honey - we sound the same, I do that alot too! I work one day in the week (very kind mother in law has my 2) then I work saturday when my husband does childcare.

Do you have a close friend in a similar position who you could "swop" childcare services with?

 

[florence2004]

No you don't sound silly at all

I have been putting off getting clients in for weeks now cause I am worried that they will want full sets and I am still taking too long and needing a lot more practice, but I guess that is why I am advertising for models and doing them at a much cheaper rate.

This is what we do and we want it to be right and worring about children coming down stairs when you are in the middle of a client is not good when you are trying to concentrate. However it could be that this is playing a little on your mind because you are just worried about taking the plunge.

Advertise for models at a cheaper rate and do a few and see how you get on. If the kids are a problem the you need to sort something else out but they might not be!!

 

[keeleydee]

I have put this in the biz forum as I think it doesn't matter what field you are in as you may be able to help me.

I have been trying for a while (not hard enough to be honest) to set up my home salon. Well it might be a little longer as we are planning other things on the house now and the room I was going to use seems to be put on the back burner. I'm lucky that at the moment I dont need to be earning a wage so there is no pressure to get up and running and am losing all motivation in starting up but at the same time getting frustrated as i'm not using my skills.

Then at the weekend, I saw an ad for a nail tech locally, but now I have this voice saying to me you cant go for it because it's going to cost you more than you may earn in childcare (have to put both girls in a nursery at £60ish per day). This is also another reason why I have not pushed the home salon.

How do you working mums with young children not at school manage, as at the moment I just cant get my head round this at all.

Please help this very confused and unmotivated geek.

jo, all i can say is that i think so many of us have been there or are there. its so easy for the men hey, they go off to work with not a care in the world while we stuck at home with our stretched bellies, lost identities, no money or career, worrying about our kids and wats best for them. i have two kids, one of which is only 4 bless her, i went thru a very very messy divorce and was left homeless, penniless, 2 kids to feed, and no career, but do u know what, it does get easier and u will get there, very quickly the kids go to pre school and school, my son is at school until 3 and my daughter until 11.30, basically i have 2 and half hours monday to fri to work, when i fetch madi i do still do a couple of clients, only ones that are chilled and have kids of their own, madi will be at school fulltime in september and it will open up a big window for me, so dont despair, maybe enjoy your time with your kids as it passes by so quickly and before you know it you will have YOUR time back again and you can build your business without to many childcare worries. good luck and chin up xx

 

[JoJoPearce]

Honey - we sound the same, I do that alot too! I work one day in the week (very kind mother in law has my 2) then I work saturday when my husband does childcare.

Do you have a close friend in a similar position who you could "swop" childcare services with?

Unfortunately, I dont have anyone I can rely on as my family live in london/essex and hubby's family have their own commitment's.

No you don't sound silly at all

I have been putting off getting clients in for weeks now cause I am worried that they will want full sets and I am still taking too long and needing a lot more practice, but I guess that is why I am advertising for models and doing them at a much cheaper rate.

This is what we do and we want it to be right and worring about children coming down stairs when you are in the middle of a client is not good when you are trying to concentrate. However it could be that this is playing a little on your mind because you are just worried about taking the plunge.

Advertise for models at a cheaper rate and do a few and see how you get on. If the kids are a problem the you need to sort something else out but they might not be!!

I have thought about this and I'm not worried about taking the plunge and starting off but I suppose worried aboutgetting things right. My hubby is happy to support me while I'm at home looking after the kids but he will not give any additional financial support if I have to get childcare. In other words, once I start working, if I do not cover childcare costs he wont be paying them.

I dont want to start out and have to let people down (if working from home or in a salon) as I cant cover childcare. But I really want to be do something for myself and get myself back into work. It would be an easy option just to go get an office job and have enough to cover childcare, but that's not what I want to do.

 

[JoJoPearce]

jo, all i can say is that i think so many of us have been there or are there. its so easy for the men hey, they go off to work with not a care in the world while we stuck at home with our stretched bellies, lost identities, no money or career, worrying about our kids and wats best for them. i have two kids, one of which is only 4 bless her, i went thru a very very messy divorce and was left homeless, penniless, 2 kids to feed, and no career, but do u know what, it does get easier and u will get there, very quickly the kids go to pre school and school, my son is at school until 3 and my daughter until 11.30, basically i have 2 and half hours monday to fri to work, when i fetch madi i do still do a couple of clients, only ones that are chilled and have kids of their own, madi will be at school fulltime in september and it will open up a big window for me, so dont despair, maybe enjoy your time with your kids as it passes by so quickly and before you know it you will have YOUR time back again and you can build your business without to many childcare worries. good luck and chin up xx

Thanks, this means a lot.

 

[hayls]

How 'pre' school are they?

An educator once told me that if you let the client know that you will have your children at home with you while you are doing their nails, 9 times out of 10 they wont mind, as long as they get their nails done!

I have 2 children, 1 is 4 1/2 and the other 2 1/2, so 1 is full time in school and the other is only in nursery for 2 1/2 hours 4 mornings a week.

Hopefully my home salon will be open in about 1-2 months, so to overcome my problem of having my little girl at home with me after 11.30 every day, I will tell potential clients that she is here and is it a problem?

My husband also works shifts, so sometimes my working hours will be round him. Evenings and weekends are another option, and I know you say your hubby isnt home till after 8.30, this could be good for some clients! I have one that doesnt come till 9 cos it suits her that way, and I dont mind!

Hope you get it sorted one way or the other! xxx:hug:

 

[*Garfield*]

Have you checked your entitlement to Working tax credit and child tax credit...my hubby and I only qualify for child tax credits but we get still 80% of our childcare paid, it may be worth phoning them and asking.:hug:

 

[mobilebeauty]

Well i know how you feel and i know how hard it is to get everything up and running i have two little girls one is nearly 3 and one nearly 1 so they are both at home with me during the day i set up my own business in nov last year and was not to sure if it would take off i work around my hubby so when hes not at work i work and it works really well but has took me a while to get into the rountine so stick with it you will figure it out

Ema

 

[JoJoPearce]

How 'pre' school are they?

An educator once told me that if you let the client know that you will have your children at home with you while you are doing their nails, 9 times out of 10 they wont mind, as long as they get their nails done!

I have 2 children, 1 is 4 1/2 and the other 2 1/2, so 1 is full time in school and the other is only in nursery for 2 1/2 hours 4 mornings a week.

Hopefully my home salon will be open in about 1-2 months, so to overcome my problem of having my little girl at home with me after 11.30 every day, I will tell potential clients that she is here and is it a problem?

My husband also works shifts, so sometimes my working hours will be round him. Evenings and weekends are another option, and I know you say your hubby isnt home till after 8.30, this could be good for some clients! I have one that doesnt come till 9 cos it suits her that way, and I dont mind!

Hope you get it sorted one way or the other! xxx:hug:

Emily is 3 and is at pre-school 4 mornings a week but sophia is only 1 (almost 2) and wont be starting for a while. I suppose if I did nails while sophia is at home it would be OK but emily would end up sitting on their lap as she loves watching and tries to paint her own nails. Not a good combination.

She will be going full days to pre-school in sept. for 3 days, so it wont cost me as much in childcare as I will be only paying for sophia. might have to wait until them but the salon job will have gone and it just seems good at the moment as it's just down the road and around the corner from the school.

 

[JoJoPearce]

Thanks everyone for your help. I think I'll meet with the salon owner in the week and see exactly what she wants and if maybe I could do a saturday or just one day then that's should be manageable. I'll let you all know what i decide.

 

[aquariushoney]

Hang in there. It's a tough decision to start out on your own when you have little ones.

I am a single Mum of an 8 year old and have set up my own at home salon 3 years ago.

Sometimes, I think to myself that I might be better off working in a salon and having a steady income. BUT, in saying that, I love the flexibility of working my own hours from my little home salon.

If you don't need the income yet, just start out small and work around your children. There will always be a few hours here and there where you could fit in a small number of regular clients.

And, look into childcare options too - there could be someone who would like their nails done for free in exchange for a few hours babysitting. Or, childcare options that you may be able to get a subsidy for?

I used to get a sitter (in exchange for FREE beauty treatments), who would sit upstairs and watch TV while my daughter slept and I worked. That way, if she woke up, or played up, the sitter could get her settled again and I would carry on working. Most times she wasn't needed but it was peace of mind for me and I have always aimed to keep my salon professional.

Choose whether or not you will allow your children in the salon while you're working or not, then devise some strategies to work around it.

There will always be a way. All the best

 

[Scratchers]

It is very hard having a business or working and having your family life as well, but we all do it and i think when you start its not as bad as you think it is going to be.

my little girl tiegan is going to be 5 in october and goes up to school in september but for thelast couple of years when i started my business she was with a childminder who works out ALOT cheeper than a nursey, then when she was 3 she started pre-school so she went ther and did a couple of hours at the child minder, i think it is key to have a supportive friends and family which we are very lucky to have.

i guess it comes down to what you really want when i had tiegan i realised that in order to pay the bills and give her nice things myself and lee had to both work and lee is not on a great wage to keep all 3 of us so i had to work.......i find now that tiegan is very independent and LOVES being around other children so it has worked out really well.

i'm not saying its perfect because yes i would like to spend more time with her and lee and have time to do my ironing but i really want this not just for myself but for my family, i want us to not have to worry about money bills etc so i have to work my butt off to make it happen.

i feel like alot of people judge me because i had her young, me and lee hadn't been together long plus they think i am never home especially lee's mum i know thinks this but tiegan is fine and when i do spend time with her we have great fun but its all worth it!!!!!

i think you need to just think what do you really want?? it may look hard but its never as hard as it seems hun :hug:

 

[essentia]

Hi You do not say how old your kids are but when they are 3 you will get a nursery grant to help towards the fees. If you plan to work 16 hours or more you can get assistance with your nursery fees so check with the Inland Revenue. I did not start my beauty room until my son was 3 - the nursery fees beforehand were too much. He is going to school in Sept and I will have more time. It does get easier but if you cannot get started now do all your research and make your room as best as it can be. Good luck.

 

[rebeccaj]

I get the feeling that as you dont "have" to work that perhaps the effort of trying to sort through this issue is more overwhelming than the desire to actually get going.

Perhaps the timing is just not right for you at the moment. Perhaps it would be more advisable to continue practicing, upskilling, preparing you marketing plans and enjoy your children while you have the opportunity. Time with young children unfortunately is so short yet so very very precious.

All the very best.