Over the years I've helped many women set up their own infant businesses and it can be one of the most fulfilling and empowering experiences of your life. There are more women in business now than ever before – a new report revealed that early-stage entrepreneurial activity among women has tripled since 2002.

Yet there are still so many misconceptions out there that can hold them back.

I think a lot of this is based on old thinking and I'm an advocate for change. 42% of women are less likely to start a business after having kids, and a lot of this is down to misunderstandings around running a startup or online business.

Due to the online space, there are so many more opportunities for women to create businesses. It allows them to create a business from home, which is critical when they have responsibilities of children or sandwich generation members caring for elderly parents.

I want to break down some of these misconceptions. Here are the 4 biggest ones I hear when it comes to creating your own business as a parent.

You need a huge budget to set up a business

There are so many businesses that you can set up for a small investment, whether it’s creating a logo on Canva or a website using Squarespace. You can start small and don’t need to get investment straight away (or at all-we’ve grown a six figure business without any funding.) If you’re wanting to retrain, it doesn’t always require a degree or years of learning either. For example, at The Sleep Consultant Academy we help mums train as sleep consultants to certify and set up a business and this can take as little as 3-4 months, with an initial investment of just a few hundreds pounds when spreading the cost.

Women need to have an existing skillset to set up a business

You don't have to turn your existing job into a career – particularly if your existing job doesn’t offer that flexibility you need as a mum. You can learn a new skill set and set up a brand new business, whether it’s following your passion, a creative pursuit or something you know you can help people with.

You need to give up a rewarding career to fit around children

Parenthood makes us feel like we can’t have it all, and I’ve known many mums and dads who have quit the career they’ve spent years building up to get low paid flexible jobs that fit around the family and the school run. Many industries simply aren’t family friendly, so people feel as if they’ve got no choice but to just take the first flexible job they can find. But creating your own business or startup allows you to feel fulfilled and do a job you love in a way that works for you. 

It’s too late to set up a business

Age is absolutely not a barrier to setting up a business. In fact, my business has just run a cohort of infant sleep trainees and 25% of the students were grandparents.

There are so many reasons why women want flexibility at work (which isn’t just about children!) and the financial freedom working for themselves can offer, which is why more women than ever are setting up their own businesses

Business is still a man’s world

This is a big one for me. I think this misconception comes because we often see male business owners around us – we all know a builder or an electrician. But we see fewer examples of women that own their own business. Whilst it’s changing, there’s significantly more men who start businesses than women and part of that is the narrative around business. There’s also still barriers around funding and even business conferences and events are still 9-5 or require travel and an overnight stay, they’re not always set up for mums. But there are also many women, particularly in the online community, who are creating spaces for everyone to run a business and thrive.

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