Every so often you come across a product that is just so fabulous you want to share it with the world. Well that’s how I felt, about 18 months ago, when I discovered Alison Webb selling her Dinky Duvets on ebay.

My eldest daughter had recently moved into a toddler bed and having just bought a duvet and 2 bedding sets I was horrified at how expensive these special sized sets cost. Fast forward a couple of months to our first bout of sickness in bed in the middle of the night and I soon realised I needed more bedding – and fast!

Dinky Duvets are hypo-allergenic 4.5 tog duvets with a bright and funky cover stitched onto the duvet – so the whole lots goes in the washing machine and tumble drier – genius! They fit a cotbed or toddler sized bed and are perfect everyday bedding for your little ones, great for holidays and ideal as spares in case of illness. 

Alison started up the ‘Dinky Duvet’ business soon after the birth of her first child 5 years ago.  He was seriously asthmatic and had terrible reflux which meant Alison was washing all his bedding at least once a day.  With the lack of availability and choice of duvets coupled with the prohibitive cost of buying a duvet (and possibly a spare) Alison decided to dust down her sewing machine and make her own. No sooner had she finished it, than her friends were asking her to make one for their children.  And so her business began! 

“What started off as a sideline has now become a fully fledged business and keeps me busy every spare child free moment of the day and night!” says Alison.  ”I feel lucky to be able to turn one of my hobbies into something that gives me great satisfaction and earns me some money at the same time. Plus it is a welcome break from hoovering, the school run and my old job of IT project manager.  Give me a sewing machine any day!”

We are now the proud owners of not one but two Dinky Duvets (including the pink spotty one on the right) and I have to say I far prefer them to the boring and expensive bedding I originally bought from Mothercare! In my humble opinion, every home with a toddler should have one!

For a full range of Alison’s homemade products including quilts, blankets, clothing and bags please visit www.dinkyduvets.co.uk

Popularity: 7% [?]

When you first have a baby you long for the day they can talk. Then, as soon as they can you realise a) they never stop and b) there is now a very strong possibility they will embarass you in public by saying something toe-curlingly un-PC about someone’s size, gender, appearance or smell!

But the flipside of this ever present danger, is that every now and then they come out with nuggets of pure brilliance – little sayings that stop you in your tracks, make you marvel at the way their minds work and maybe even force you to look at the world in a new way. And sometimes they just say something that is SO random that all it does is make you laugh and laugh and laugh….

Take my 3 year old, for example. A week or so ago I was compelled to Tweet about something she had just said to me. She was running round and round the garden and suddenly shouted “Mummy, mummy, I’m faster than a PEANUT!” Excited as she was at the revelation, I couldn’t quite bring myself to burst her bubble and tell her that, in fact, MOST things are!

So, as it’s Monday, it’s muggy and we could all do with a giggle, please leave a comment and share any of your children’s finest moments – from the profound to the obscure, we’d love to hear your children’s classic quotes!

Popularity: 4% [?]

As mums we beat ourselves up about a lot of things – what our children eat, how they behave, how much TV they watch – the potential for feeling guilty is endless. Add to the pot the added guilt that Work at Home Mums feel about not spending as much time with their family and you could be heading for guilt-overload.

Guilt is a state which occurs when you believe you have done something you shouldn’t, or conversely, when you haven’t done something you think you should - and so has the potential to pretty much affect most situations! But if it IS only a state of mind, then maybe a change in perspective is all that’s needed to turn guilt on its head. So here are some ideas about how you can turn a guilty thought into a postive one:

I feel guilty for relying on my family to help out with childcare
You are giving your child the opportunity to form a really strong bond with their dad, grandparents, aunts, uncles etc. Your child will benefit from these close relationships and you can relax knowing your child is being cared for by someone you trust and by someone who loves them as much as you do. Plus you are saving money on expensive childcare which can be spent directly on the family or channelled back into your business, making the most of the money you earn.

I feel guilty for not spending more time playing with my child
You are teaching your child how to be independent and how to use their imagination and initiative to amuse themselves, qualities that will stand them in good stead in later life. Plus the time you do spend together will be extra special to both of you.

I feel guilty for spending time on a business that isn’t making any money yet
You are building the foundations for your business. A big house needs a strong foundation, and by getting that right from the beginning you stand a greater chance of success long-term. Plus it is widely recognised that very few businesses will see a profit in the first 12-18 months, so you are not alone!

I feel guilty for not keeping on top of all the housework
In the short term you are helping your family learn about teamwork and contribution, and also to appreciate the things they would normally take for granted. By sharing out the chores your children are learning valuable life skills and in the long term, when your business is more profitable, maybe you could afford to employ a cleaner!  Plus, you are helping to build up a strong immune system in your child – a spotlessly clean house is not necessarily a healthy one!

I feel guilty for not spending more time with my partner
If like a lot of WAHMs your working day begins once the children are in bed, you may not spend the evenings together with your partner like you used to. But thinking back, were you doing anything really special with that time, or just watching TV? Make sure when you do spend time together that you try and make it really special – remember it’s Quality not Quantity!

I feel guilty for thinking about work even when I’m having ‘time off’ with the family
Without your contribution to the family income there wouldn’t be so many treats, days out etc. Your work helps to provide a certain standard of living for your family and you should be proud of your financial independence and contribution

I feel guilty for inflicting my business concerns on my partner
Men are natual problem solvers and relish the opportunity to help. Give your partner credit for being interested and wanting to support you. If he seems disinterested when you are talking about your concerns it may be the ‘way’ you are speaking and not the subject matter. Men like to get straight to the point and solve the problem – if all you want to do is offload then maybe a girlfriend IS a better person to talk to.

I feel guilty for not being able to do everything!
Nobody can! And anyone who looks like they can is just a really good actress! You are doing the very best you can with your given set of circumstances, you are being human and falliable and brave and amazing and wonderful – and don’t ever forget it!

American journalist Arianna Huffington once said “While all mothers deal with feelings of guilt, working mothers are plagued by guilt on steroids!” So more than anyone you need to retrain the way you think and learn to see your situation from a different angle – it might take a little practice but it’s amazing what a shift in perspective can do!

Popularity: 4% [?]

Working from home presents an ideal solution for many women; being able to work between school hours, being at home if the children are poorly, fitting in some housework during the day, not paying rent for office space…..we know all the benefits. But how can we ensure that our home working is healthy?

1.  A decent office chair to ensure good posture is vital. Spending hours on a dining chair hunched over a computer, or perched on a kitchen stool is bad for backs and necks. Invest in yourself and your health and have a decent chair.

2.  Be aware of the dangers of RSI. Computers have done much to revolutionise work, but long periods of computer use without a break can be bad for backs and wrists.

3.  Good light to work in is important, without it you could suffer headaches and eye strain.  Arrange your working space in a room with a window where possible. Although being able to see out can be distracting, natural daylight is far superior to artificial. If you work in the evenings then good artificial lighting is essential.

4.  Working from home, the kettle and biscuit tin are constantly available. It is very easy to be drinking more caffeine than you realise and snacking throughout the day on biscuits and sugary snacks. Try and set a time for a morning and afternoon ‘break’ when you have tea or coffee and drink water in between. If you start the day with a good breakfast and eat lunch then you will be less tempted to snack.

5.  Have a proper break. Working from home it is very tempting to just keep going to fit in as much as possible in the time you have.  Having a break allows important time to re-focus and re-energise.

6.  Working at home often means sitting at the computer and talking on the phone. Exercise is vital to help keep your energy levels up, strengthen your immune system and will release powerful ‘feel good’ endorphins.

Always remember, the most important element in your busy life is YOU – take care of yourself and then you can take care of everything (and everybody) else!

Popularity: 2% [?]

When I became a mum I never realised how much I would miss silence. From the moment my eldest came kicking and screaming into this world my eardrums have never been the same.

As any parent knows, the sound of a baby crying is like a siren and it does something to you – it forces you to react, respond and rectify whatever is wrong, whatever the time of day or night. At first the list of possibilities is fairly limited – hungry, tired, poorly or a dirty nappy. But as your baby grows so the complexity of their demands increases, along with their volume button!

Don’t get me wrong – I love my kiddies to bits – but they are bloomin’ noisy – and they don’t have an OFF button!! Children’s TV has become like Chinese water torture to me, along with my other pet hate – Electronic Toys! The constant repetition of phrases and songs worms its way deep into my subconscious until I find myself humming along hours after the children are in bed.

Then, as they grow older the noise pollution takes other forms – the continual chatter of the ‘new talker’, that incessant “mummy, mummy, mummy…” when they actually have nothing to say to you, the constant whining as you get closer and closer to bedtime, the arguing with siblings and that most dreaded of all words (when uttered at any volume) – “No!”.

And finally there is that one sound that makes any parents blood run cold – the high pitched scream that accompanies a public tantrum. All that rage and defiance bundled up into one spectacular hissy fit, designed purely to make YOU look like the worst parent that ever lived! 

I used to love listening to music, either on the radio or one of my numerous CDs, but now, on the rare occasion I find myself alone in the house I don’t play music or watch the TV. After a day of having my senses assaulted I wallow in silence. I give myself over to the pure, unadulterated pleasure that is noiselessness, because for me now, as Christina Rossetti wrote in the 19^th Century, “Silence is more musical than any song.”

Popularity: 4% [?]

Last Tuesday I had a ‘Day Off’. Unfortunately this didn’t involve a duvet day, a spa, or a mammoth shopping trip. Instead I drove 150 miles – and spent about 5 hours in the car doing so, thanks to road works, closed roads, a police census and horseboxes travelling at 30mph – all so I could visit my Dad (an early Father’s Day visit) and my 104 year old Gran who I don’t see as often as I like.

Despite the time spent travelling I had a brilliant day. I was all by myself in the car so I could listen to my own eclectic selection of music instead of The Wheels on the Bus CD! I didn’t have to play ‘I spy something green…..’ or spot tractors – instead I could just enjoy the beautiful Cotswold countryside. I was able to enjoy a proper grown-up lunch with wine and un-interrupted adult conversation with my Dad – a rarity indeed these days. I even got to just sit with a cup of tea staring at the birds in the garden.

But what I also escaped from was the housework, the phone ringing, my emails, watching the clock and working out who needs picking up and taking where; all the many simple, but routine tasks which usually measure out my day. And because of this it freed up some ‘head space’ – my mind was free to ponder and roam, something that in the increasingly busy life I find myself leading just never happens.

So when I finally arrived home, yes I was tired, but also refreshed…..maybe a change in routine IS all you need to recharge the batteries once in a while.

Popularity: 1% [?]

We could all do with a bit more money in the bank, a house with more space or a faster, more reliable car. And when we are constantly being bombarded with adverts it’s easy to get hung up on the things we DON’T have rather than be grateful for what we DO. 

So, when money is tight, or business isn’t exactly booming, it’s worth remembering that many of the best things in life are free! And to get you started here are some of my personal favourites!

• The feel of warm sunshine on your face
• Watching your children sleeping
• Line dried laundry
• A good nights sleep
• Kicking leaves on a bright Autumn day
• Laughing so hard you struggle to come up for air
• Clean sheets
• Getting hooked by a good book
• A nice hot cup of tea
• A cuddle from someone who matters
• An evening thunderstorm after a hot, muggy day
• How your kids smell after a bath and hairwash
• Bare feet in cool grass
• That first sip of wine after a trying day
• A hot bubble bath
• A good natter with a friend

And on the odd occasion that I do have a spare fiver in my purse a bar of Dairy Milk, a bottle of Pinot Grigio or a crisp new paperback would also be guaranteed to put a smile on my face!

We’d love to hear about the things that make you happy on a budget. Leave a comment on our blog and share your top pick-me-ups with our other working mums!

Popularity: 2% [?]

“I’ve just got SO much to do!”…….sound familiar?

Saying no can be really hard….but sometimes you just need to.

I don’t know if you are anything like me, but I find it incredibly difficult to say no to people. There are several reasons for this; I am flattered to be asked, I enjoy helping other people, and finally I just struggle to find the words to say no, fearing I am going to upset somebody. The result of this is that I end up with too much to do in too little time, running around like a headless chicken, a seemingly endless list of ‘must do today’s’ and feeling resentful towards those who I am trying to help. This happens as much in my personal life as when dealing with work and that can end up compromising time with my family not to mention any valuable ‘me’ time disappearing!

Sometimes it seems like the easiest solution is to just say yes, but if you think about it rationally, will your life, or that of the person asking, suddenly grind to a halt if you say no?

So how DO you say no? Next time you are asked to help with something, or do something for someone else, instead of your usual ‘Yes, of course’, try a new line;

1. ‘I’d like to but I already have made a commitment to something else at that time, maybe another time I will be able to….’
2. ‘No I can’t help you with that, but I know somebody who may be able to…..’
3.  ‘Can I let you know tomorrow, I must check with my family/partner/diary first’
4. ‘Yes, but it will have to be tomorrow/next week/on Thursday….’

Saying no, or yes but on your terms, gives you back more control over the extra tasks you take on,. And maybe once you stop being such an easy ‘yes person’  people will stop being so reliant on you being the one who always says yes.

Popularity: 1% [?]

The topic of discussion at our last networking meeting was ‘How to be more like a man in business’. We women often congratulate ourselves on our multi-tasking abilities but maybe sometimes we would do well to emulate our tunnel-visioned counterparts and really FOCUS on one thing at a time. But as mums, is that really possible?

For most working mums, our career is just one of many balls we are juggling in the air at any one time, along with the kids, the home, the shopping, the cleaning, making sure everyone is fed and has clean clothes – the list goes on and on. These multi-tasking skills date right back to prehistoric times when Mrs Cavelady looked after the Cave-Babies, picked the berries, made sure the fire didn’t go out, and used her powers of intuition and perception to watch out for any signs of danger. Meanwhile Captain Caveman was entirely focussed on his ONE goal – bringing home the dinner.

I myself am RUBBISH at concentrating on one thing at a time. If I’m on the computer working, I’ve always got numerous windows open, flicking from one screen to the other. I think that by doing lots of things at once I am being ultra-productive, but maybe I’m kidding myself. So, I’m going to TRY taking a leaf out of Captain Caveman’s book. I’m going to try and be 100% present in whatever task I am doing. If I’m working on the website or sending emails I won’t have Facebook or Tesco.com open in the background. And equally if I’m playing with the children I am going to TRY not to feel guilty or resentful for the work I could be doing.

So, as a gentle introduction to exploring my ‘masculine side’ I took a leaf out of my partners book this afternoon. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon and the girls and I spent most of it in the garden. Normally I would be pottering – doing a bit of weeding or dead-heading, reading a book, moving my pots around the patio – just keeping busy. But today I reclined the deckchair and just sat. I even shut my eyes for a while and tried switching off my brain (and the guilt) for a little while.

It felt worryingly good!

Popularity: 1% [?]

Working from home means different things to different people. Some may have a garage full of stock, a bedroom converted into an office or a purpose built workshop at the bottom of the garden. But for many work at home mums their workspace is their dining room or kitchen table.

In my case I have a laptop on the dining room table, a kitchen cupboard full of stock and a laser printer tucked away in the corner of the dining room - and hey presto, I’m a self-employed business woman!! 

Mum’s The Boss would love to hear about your home working arrangements. From the mundance to the bizarre, we’d love to know how all you WAHMs are balancing family and work.

Please leave a comment on our blog and share your resourceful brilliance with our readers!

Popularity: 6% [?]

Last week I caught up with an old schoolfriend who I hadn’t seen for 15 years. She had hardly aged a day and we chatted like it had been days, not years, since we last met.  And it got me thinking – do we really change that much from the child we used to be? And if we don’t, then maybe revisiting the dreams we had then could be the key to the happiness we seek as adults.

As a child I liked to draw, paint and make things. My favourite subject at school was English and I liked writing stories and funny poems about my friends, and then illustrating them. But my real love was books. I would make tickets for my Ladybird books and line them up on my windowsill, sometimes alphabetically, sometimes in order of colour. When I grew up I didn’t want to be a Nurse or a Ballet Dancer – I wanted to be a Librarian!  I pursued my love of books to University where I studied English Literature. But there the trail ended.

Caught up in various dead-end admin jobs I stumbled my way into Marketing, where I was again writing, but only technical instructions, and drawing, but this time using DTP programmes to design wiring circuits and application diagrams. The books, the stories, the poems and the drawings were all tucked away.

That was until 4 years ago when my first child was born. Now the house is again full or story books, crayons and colouring books. The time has come to dust off the scissors, the glue and the glitter. I can’t wait to share the books I loved, and to discover new ones together. After 18 years in the wilderness I feel as though this rediscovery of the things I loved could very well be the key to being a happier and more fulfilled ’grown up’.

As an adult it’s all too easy to get bogged down in what’s practical and what we ‘ought’ to be doing – but true happiness comes when we do what we love. So maybe we could all learn a lesson from our 9 year old selves about what we should be doing with our lives?

Popularity: 1% [?]

Mum’s The Boss has been developing a new concept (within networking) of a business book library. Business books are helpful, but expensive. And as your business progresses through various stages, so you will want to look at a changing  aspects, such as marketing, employing other people, expanding the business etc. So to help our members we are building our own selection to loan out to members.We have kindly been given some business books to start off our library, and one of the most impressive is The Essential Business Guide. I was like a child with a birthday present when the box arrived – so much so that my husband thought I must have been ordering handbags on line!

The shiny red cover, the practical ring binding, the coloured tabs – all ticked my boxes.  Where to start…..the beginning is usually a good place….but because of the layout of this book you can dive in where you please!

Unlike so many business books it is bright, it has pictures, diagrams, tables, colours, photos of people smiling, real life case studies – warts and all. But most of all it is so direct and genuine. Nothing is sugar coated, glossed over, or equally dry and full of warnings. It is inspirational and practical….which is what you want.  If gives you questions to answer, tasks to complete and places to go for further help, advice and information. It is very easy to see why it was winner of  the plain English Award in 2007.

If you are just starting out in business – this could be one of the best investments you make!

To find out more, order a copy, or download some free e-books please visit www.essential-business.co.uk

Popularity: 2% [?]

Many work at home mums start their businesses from their dining room or kitchen table – or if they are really lucky they may have an office or study at home in which to work. But what do you do when you have outgrown your home but are not ready to make the leap to having your own premises?

The next step

The answer could be Hot Desking or renting a work-POD at one of the many Business Incubation Units throughout the country. They provide an affordable community for start-up and growing businesses that can provide you with small offices, work-PODS, virtual tenancies (with or without hot-desking facilities), full IT systems, phones and wi-fi capability, meeting rooms and office support services. They also often work with enterprise agencies such as WENTA or Business Link to deliver business support services on site.

Professionalism and personal safety

Even if your home office meets all your present needs, what do you do when you need to meet with a client or supplier? Working from home there are obvious safety issues around inviting strangers into your home. At a Business Incubation Unit you can hire a small or medium sized meeting room, suitable for one-to-one sessions or informal meetings, or larger conference rooms suitable for formal presentations, helping you to maintain an air of professionalism as well as keeping you safe.

Special trial rates for Business Mums in Bedfordshire

We are delighted that The Bedford i-kan Incubation Centre is now a sponsor of Mum’s The Boss, and having used the meeting room facilities ourselves we can highly recommend them. As an offer to Mum’s the Boss members, Bedford i-kan are offering 5 hourly hot desking sessions at £4.50+VAT per hour, or a trial use of one of the meeting rooms at preferential rates, starting from £8 per hour for a 2 seater meeting room, to allow you to try out the facilities before making the commitment of signing up to a virtual tenancy.

To take advantage of this offer or for more information please contact i-kan Manager Alan Levy on 0845 888 4526 / alevy@bedford.gov.uk or visit www.bedfordi-kan.com.

Popularity: 3% [?]