Littlemummy.Com

This is an interview with Maree Macey, parent and founder of Poteez.  A disposable potty to use on the move.  I hope you enjoy the interview and if you are thinkng of starting a business I hope this interview helps inspire you.

Q1. Give a brief description of your business

Poteez is a flat-packed, bio-degradable, disposable cardboard potty that is designed to make potty training on the go carefree and simple. It assembles quickly and simply into a strong, secure and comfortable potty your child can use anytime, anywhere.

Q2. How did you come up with the idea behind Poteez?

As a child I was diagnosed as having a degenerative bone disease known as Spondyloepimetaphaseal Dysplasia – only one of five recorded cases. My parents were told I would never walk but my mum gave me the belief. I spent much of my childhood in and out of hospital.

The condition means that I only grew to four foot tall and as an adult I was told I wouldn’t be able to have children, because of my size, condition and the possibility of passing the condition on. Eventually my husband David and I decided to try anyway and after a very difficult pregnancy Thalia Lea was delivered at 31 weeks on July 18th 2002. She weighed just 2lb 9oz and spent seven weeks in intensive care.

As she got older and we approached potty training I really struggled to clean out the potty, and going out was impossible and that’s where the idea for a disposable one came from.

When we researched it we found the only disposable potties available used plastic bags and we didn’t like that idea – so we set about creating our own cardboard-based version.

Q3. How did you come up with the name?

David has always been quite creative and it took him only a few designs to come up with the first version. When it came to the name we just brainstormed between ourselves, we wanted it to describe its function but convey the benefits – i.e. that it makes life easier. Poteez was our sixth attempt!

Q4. Did you have any start-up costs, if so how did you raise the finance?

Although we registered the name quite quickly we weren’t in a position financially to do much for quite a while. We did actually take part in a couple of TV invention programmes – The Richard Hammond Show and then Sky One’s The Big Idea with Ruth Badger, narrowly missing out on the £100,000 prize.

Around the same time we began speaking to some Business Angels, a firm of accountants called Winburn Glass Norfolk (WGN), who gave us information on how to raise finance. We soon learned that we may be suitable for Regional Investment Fund investment so we contacted South Yorkshire Investment Fund, compiled a strong presentation and were awarded £120,000 of funding to start the business properly.

Q5. Do you employ staff or do you do all the work yourself?

One of the first things we did was secure the services of a business mentor who had a huge amount of marketing experience. With his help we went back to the drawing board, redesigned the product, artwork and packaging.

We also employed a PR company to raise the profile of the product and – most importantly set up links in China to have the product made and imported.

In the early days we were assembling the products ourselves but as sales have grown we have recruited others to help.

Q6. How many hours a week do you spend on your business?

We work really hard – just about every hour possible. David oversees the production and sales side of things and I look after all the administration and financial aspect.

Q7. How do you manage your childcare?

Now that Thalia is at school it is much easier. During the holidays we sometimes take Thalia with us – she was the inspiration for the company (and features on the packaging) so it is great that she is involved. When we have important meetings we ask family to help out but as with all family-based businesses childcare involves a lot of juggling!

Q8. What strengths do you think it takes to run a successful business?

It takes a lot of patience, dedication and passion. We learned very quickly that nobody will love your product or put as much effort into it as you do and we therefore need to remain focussed.

Q9. What have been your most successful marketing strategies?

Our approach has been in two stages really - before we could afford to employ a PR agency, Lucre, we just entered as many competitions and TV shows as possible and sent our story to as many magazines and newspapers as possible. Now that the product is the in the market place we have a stronger story to tell and have been doing our own research into potty training methods that we hope will further raise the profile of Poteez.

Q10. Would you consider yourself a leader? What are your strengths?

Our strengths are our dedication and belief in the product. We truly believe that there is a market for this product and we have been told that our passion rubs off on other people.

When we started this we were both very inexperienced and have learned a huge amount since then. It has been a rollercoaster ride but our determination has won through.

Q11. Have you done any courses or learning programmes to help you run your business?

The whole thing is a learning curve, no specific course will prepare you for the journey you will follow, one thing I will say is If you can’t do something, find someone who does. It’s better to surround yourself with the right people and get somewhere, than pretend you know and get it all wrong, otherwise it just takes longer and costs more.

Q12. And finally, do you have any advice for parents considering starting their own business.

When you consider the odds I have overcome throughout my life and challenges we have faced with setting up Poteez, I think it demonstrates that no matter where you are from or what your background is, if you want it badly enough and try your best, you can achieve success. I’d just say “Good luck!”

Q1. Give a brief description of your business and how you came up with the name.

I design and paint art for children including limited edition, personalised name prints, posters, canvasses and door name plaques.

I know it’s a bit corny but doesn’t every new mum who starts a business try to incorporate their child’s name? I’m no exception, my daughter is called Katie and our little pet name for her is Katiepie, it’s as simple as that.

Q2. How did you come up with the idea behind Katiepie Designs?

I have been arty all of my life and after spending years working 9-5 in various, mundane office jobs I turned my hobby into my work. I went back to college when I was 26 to study art and design and spent a few years selling my art, but also worked part time to supplement my income. I painted in various mediums and also spent some time painting children’s murals, before going into interior design and soft furnishings. When I had my daughter, I painted some art for her nursery and so Katiepie Designs was born.

Q3. Did you have any start-up costs, if so how did you raise the finance?

I didn’t have any huge initial start-up costs as I was working from home, producing my own art work and I already had an office/bedroom at home. I did pay someone to design my website as I wanted a professional looking site, which has since been upgraded. I also spent a few hundered pounds on business cards and marketing material but my main outlay in the first year was advertising. It is very expensive and it didn’t always give me the return I was hoping for. I’d spent a few hundred pounds on an advert or offer a few hundred pounds worth of my work as a competition prize and anticipate that I was going to be inundated with orders. Sadly this rarely happened. This financial year I am more aware of what works for Katiepie Designs and my money will be spent more wisely. After a few months I also had to invest in a new PC, printer and some new art materials.

I was quite naive in that I thought it wouldn’t cost me a lot to finance the first year and that I could earn a bit of money while working round my daughter. Things aren’t quite as idyllic as that in the real world and I soon realised that I had to spend money to make money and if I was paying out for nursery fees for Katie then I would have to sell more than a few paintings a week to pay for it. Saying this, I didn’t want to borrow money and used savings and interest free credit cards to finance my first year.

Q4. Do you employ staff or do you do all the work yourself?

At the moment I do everything myself but I find that there just aren’t enough hours in the day. I am at the point now that I will need to consider taking someone on if I want to expand my business and increase sales.

Q5. How many hours a week do you spend on your business?

At least 40 hours a week but generally more. I could spend 100 hours a week working and there would still be things on my to do list. Basically, I work every spare minute I have.

Q6. How do you manage your childcare?

I don’t have any close family nearby who are able to help out looking after Katie, so I have to pay for all my childcare. Initially, my daughter went to a childminder for 4 hours a week while I was researching the business and she is now at nursery for 2 full days, 8am-5pm and two half days 8am-2pm. My nursery is very flexible and I often put Katie in for additional sessions if I have an exhibition coming up or I’m particularly busy. I hated leaving her at first, but she loves it and happily wanders off now with not even a backward glance. My husband is a teacher so in the school holidays we cut her nursery time down and Aidan looks after Katie while I pretty much work full time.

Q7. What strengths do you think it takes to run a successful business?

Determination, belief in yourself and your business, a risk taker, good organiser, ability to delegate, ability to work alone (in my case), to be a jack of all trades, to be able to juggle twenty zillion things at once and the patience of a saint when people (naming no names) think that because you work from home, it isn’t real work. When in fact you never turn off and will probably work harder than you ever have in your life!

I’m not saying that I have all (or even any) of these traits but they are what I think are important if you decide to go it alone.

Q8. What have been your most successful marketing strategies?

This is a difficult one as I’m still learning what works and what doesn’t and it’s obviously different for every business. Setting up and monitoring a successful marketing strategy also takes a lot of time, effort and money.

As my website was going to be my main marketing tool, it was essential that it looked great and was easy to navigate. I also produced a leaflet/brochure to send out to those responding to adverts and to give out at Baby Shows/Exhibitions. The Katiepie logo is my own artwork and this appears on my business cards which makes it very distinctive. People only have to glance at my business card and they instantly remember what Katiepie Designs offers.

I did a lot on advertising in my first year to try and get Katiepie Designs known and to test the water and see what worked for me. I have advertised in parenting magazines, google, exhibited at Baby Shows - large and small events, sponsoring competitions in parenting magazines and websites, sending out press releases to parenting magazines and other publications, advertising on parenting websites, shopping sites and leaving leaflets at local nurseries, playgroups etc. and passing out my business card to anyone who will have it! It has been a very expensive learning curve but a year on I am still getting business from adverts that were placed when I started out.

But undoubtedly the majority of my business comes from the search engines. It’s not cheap but this gives you an almost immediate return. My ideal is to appear on the first page of the organic listings for specific search terms relating to my products so that you get the hits to your website but don’t have to pay for it! I have started to appear on the organic listings as I found out while I was on holiday. I was still getting orders though despite not advertising and it was then that I realised that if you typed in certain search terms on the search engines that were relevant to my work, my website appeared. I was ecstatic!

I have also done really well at baby shows, but again they are very expensive to participate in and often the sales comes in months after you have exhibited, particularly due to the fact that a lot of people attending are still pregnant! Shows are however excellent for getting to your target market and I participate for exposure to the public and the press.

Q9. And finally, do you have any advice for parents considering starting their own business.

Do it!

My parents both worked full time and I was always under the impression that work was a chore, something that had to be done, even if you didn’t enjoy it, just to bring in money. When I was younger, despite being a great art student at school, no-one ever encouraged me to study art in further education or go into it as a profession. I therefore spent many years working in jobs that didn’t satisfy me, getting bored with a year and moving on. I started studying marketing at evening classes while working full time and when I successfully completed the course I told my tutor that I always wanted to study art, and she simply said “do it” and I did, so at 26 I returned to study art and design and have never looked back. I now realise that you can enjoy work, it doesn’t have to be a chore. I think that is so important when you have children, that you, as a parent should be happy in whatever you choose to do, be it working for someone, or setting up your own business or being a full time mum. If you’re not happy, it will rub off on your kids.

If your kids are toddlers or older, make arrangements for childcare. Katie is 2 and trying to work for any longer than 5 minutes with her around is very difficult. She gets frustrated because she wants my attention and I get annoyed when I turn round after writing an email and she has decorated the carpet or the walls with paints, pencil or waterproof markers! It’s not fair on anyone.

I am quite a forthright person, sometimes a good thing, sometimes not. You have to very determined that you will succeed and really believe in, and know the business you are getting into. Research the market and make sure that there is a market for your product or service.

It can be lonely setting up on your own but I have found some great friends and met some amazing people and got some good advice simply through talking to people. Starting from the guy who owns the small local shop where I bought my PC, my web designer and printer, who have all become friends. I’ve spoken to people exhibiting at baby shows and people on ‘mums’ websites. A guy who contacted me from one of these websites giving me free advice on sales and marketing, helped me through a really tough time last year, I felt like packing it all in and he was amazing. I had never met the guy before, it really restored my faith in human nature. I know it sounds a bit weird, we did eventually meet at a Baby Show I was exhibiting at and he was a normal, regular guy, and I met him, his wife and his lovely newborn baby. I also met Julie White, from Truly Madly Baby (She appeared on Dragon’s Den and won funding to start up her party plan business) on a ‘mums’ website as she was starting up, she sells my products now and we have become friends. So I guess, my advice is don’t be afraid to talk to people, ask questions and get as much free advice as you possibly can.

Use your local Business Link, they can advise on everything from sales and marketing to employment law and tax. My local one also runs courses on book-keeping etc.

Don’t underestimate how much time and money you will have to spend on the business to make it work. I very rarely get time to myself and am constantly trying to juggle too many balls at once and I always have a ‘to do’ list as long as my arm. Saying that, I am happier and more fulfilled doing what I am doing than in any other job I have ever done. I am also very proud of what I have achieved and still get a little buzz when people ask me what I do and I say ‘I’m an artist’.

Littlemummy: Please go and visit Katiepie Designs, the name plaques would make a beautiful gift and are very reasonably priced.

Thanks Helen for the insight into how you got started and how you make your business work.

From chapter 3 of ‘Work for Yourself and Reap the Rewards’.

Looking for business ideas;

Can your hobbies provide a starting point?

Did you excel in any subject at school?

Find a gap in an existing market?

Look for a product that requires updating?

There are more in the book, however, I see these as the most relevant for any ‘mumpreneur’. I would add to this that many successful mumpreneurs come up with new products from their experiences of bringing up their children, and this is the basis of their business. Take Carol Beck for example who has featured on Career Mom Radio, she came up with the idea behind babywear exchange.

Here are some of the other business ideas that are workable from home;

Web Design
Graphic Design
Hairdressing
Bookkeeping
Telesales
Consultancy
Child Minding
Chiropody
Homeopathy
Art
Crafts
Teaching

In chapter two of ‘Work for Yourself and Reap the Rewards’ the author asks several questions of your character, enthusiasm, drive and capabilities. It’s an extensive ‘test’ to see whether you have the appropriate skills and characteristics to succesfully run a business.

The chapter seems to be justified by the idea that starting your own business is a major financial risk. This may be the case for a conventional ’shop-front’ business but with todays technology you can have a website up in a day. The cost of running such a venture? A mere £10 or so, this is for your domain name and hosting. Hardly your life-savings…you don’t even have to give up your job or if you’re a mum you can do it while still looking after the kids.

Introducing my first case study then – Helen Broadhead.

Helen runs her own business ‘Helen Broadhead’s Designs’ at www.helenbroadhead.co.uk, where she designs and paints childrens furniture. Here I have asked her some questions about her business in the hope that we can all gain a better idea of what it’s like to run your own business.

How did you come up with the idea for your business?

A friend asked me if I could paint a toy box for them in a design to match their childs bedroom, I was only 16 at the time, but gave it a go and it worked fantastic. Nothing more came of this at the time. I continued to study at school and then went onto study at college and university. After leaving university I was at a loss of what to do. I tried many jobs, managerial and other and it wasn’t for me. This was when I decided I would own my own business and its just gone from there. I created my own website at first, but soon discovered this wasn’t ample for my business and had one designed for me. I’ve never looked back since, my business has gone from strength to strength.

What was your main motivation for starting your own business?

I was at a loss with jobs, I knew I didnt like working for other people and then got pregnant. These all combined were enough to push me into doing this. I had no knowledge of running my own business, but I knew this was right for me. I didn’t want to have to return to work after I had my baby and to have to rely on childcare, this wasnt an option for us.

Did you need to raise any finance to start your business?

I didn’t raise any finance, I started with absolutely nothing. It was very hard at first as very penny I earned went back into the business, also my partners income was funding it too. Slowly as things progressed it became a little easier. My business is proof it can be done with no money to begin with!

How many hours a week do you spend running (creating for) your business?

Most of my time is taken up with running the business. I work extremely long hours and it is hard work, however it is very rewarding and I feel worth it in the end. I have no spare time with looking after a baby and running the business, but its something I love.

What strengths do you think it takes to run a successful business?

I believe you have to be very commited and it takes an awful lot of strength and willpower. You need to be commited as, in effect it will take over your life to begin with, it is a constant battle to become established and this takes time. You have to be strong to fight through all the negativity and knock backs to begin with. If you can fight through this, your business will grow and grow.

Have you done any courses or learning programmes with regard to your
business?

Apart from studying art and design at university I have had no formal training or qualifications. There are lots of accounts and business courses out there, business link is a good place to start, but I decided to start from scratch knowing nothing and learn as I progressed. I basically taught myself!

What does your typical day consist of?

A typical day consists of making sure the children are ready to begin with, I then check my emails as these easily build up and become overpowering. I then do some painting in between playing and looking after my son. After tea is when I really begin to work. I will then paint and work until at least midnight to catch up on the time lost during the day. At busier periods I will be up early too - before the children to catch up on work. At weekends I spend a full days working as my partner is home to look after the children.

Do you have any advice for mums or dads considering starting their own business?

Be strong, if things look bleek to begin with, fight through this and continue, things will become brighter and you will see the light as you continue to work at your business. Its always harder to start with - maybe the first year or so.

You can visit Helen at www.helenbroadhead.co.uk

This is an example of Helen’s work. You can purchase the clock which is on sale at the moment at the reduced price of £22.50

An entrepreneur is a person who is able to recognise a business opportunity, raise the necessary finance, minimise the risk and turn the plan into a profitable business venture”
Brian Isaacs

A mumpreneur is a mum who is able to recognise a business opportunity, raise the necessary finance, minimise the risk and turn the plan into a profitable business venture – whilst simultaneously providing childcare for one or more of their offspring.
Erica Douglas (aka Little Mummy)

In this series I will be considering different aspects of starting and running a business, whilst still being the main child carer.

I will (hopefully) do some case studies with mums that have started their own businesses and investigate the resources available.

I am currently reading ‘Work for yourself….and reap the rewards’ by Brian Isaacs so there will be some discussions based on the content of that and how it relates to being a mumpreneur.

If you are a mum already running your own business please get in contact, so that we can all benefit from your wisdom and insights.

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