Running your own business as a parent has huge upsides with the main being the fact that you can be your own boss and plan your work around your family, enabling you to be more present when you’re with your kids, have more quality family time – both while we’re stuck in a pandemic and when we’re finally out of it!

It is really common for parents to experience pain or frustration in bringing up their little ones which leads to a genius invention or a problem solving service to help others to overcome the same challenges. For me, The Sleep Nanny was born out of a real life experience of sleep deprivation and a discovery that it need not be something that families suffer through when there is often a solution. Like so many other successful businesses and brands, it came from finding the solution and packaging it in a way that it can be shared with others who need it.

So here are my top tips on starting, and running a parenting based business:

• Ask yourself two big questions. Does your service solve a real problem that people need help with? And is there an audience who are hungry for what you offer?

It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of an idea of something you believe will be great but you have to make sure there is a market for it.

• Get online and seek help. There are so many fantastic support videos out there that can inspire you, completely free of charge. When you're ready and you find the right coaches and mentors, it's important to take the leap and invest in yourself. You will go further, faster with the right support and with some skin in the game."
• Consider whether you want to go into business for pocket money or as a side-hustle or if you want a business that you can scale. What is your big vision? Have a plan in place.
• If you want to make it scalable understand that oroviding a service where you simply exchange your time for a fee is a model that is limited by the number of hours you can work. Do you need to consider a business model that is scalable and can keep going without you should you wish to take a holiday, be home with a sick child or take the school holidays off?
• Focus on the purpose. Of course you’ll want to earn an income from it, otherwise it’s just a hobby but what is your purpose? Always keep your focus on the purpose, the big vision or mission, then the income will automatically follow because you’ll be serving your audience to the highest level.
• Network. Attend events like The Baby Show to get your name out there and meet other like-minded people just like you.
• Speak to others like you and get inspiration. You can look to see if anyone else has successfully built the business model that you envisage for yourself. It will give you a clue as to how viable it is. If your idea is brand new, you will need to do further market research and find out if people ‘want it’.
• Don’t try to do it all on your own. I can’t think of one successful entrepreneur who doesn’t talk about the mentors they had along the way. There is always someone who has travelled the road before you or has the experience to share with you that will cut years if not decades off your journey to success.
• Be courageous and don’t give up. Let go of your fears and go for it! You’ve got one shot at this life so why wouldn’t you want to put every drop of the potential you were born with into doing something meaningful?