Our next book for review is another one generously donated by Crimson Publishing. How They Started – Global Brands  was published last year and looks at some of the biggest global brands in the world today. One of the most striking things I noticed was that almost without exception all the brands featured were ones that I buy, use, eat at, or have in my home somewhere – from Pizza Hut to ebay and Coca-Cola to Google these really are the biggest brands of all that really do dominate... (more...)

Most of the time I feel like I’m operating on a completely different time zone to my children. They never want to eat when I want them to, or get dressed, or have a bath, or – God forbid – go to bed! Similarly I find that I am rarely ready to wake up in the morning when they want me to. Nor do I find I want to be used as a trampoline when they think it’s a good idea. And, of course, as soon as I want to work, that is when they want me to play! And on those occasions when... (more...)

Spare Room Start Up: How to Start a Business from Home is written by Emma Jones, the founder of Enterprise Nation, the UK’s largest website for people starting and growing a business from home. Emma also runs the Home Business Awards, produces the annual Home Business Report and advises Government on the topic of home-working, so has a fine pedigree to be writing a book on home-working. My first impression of the book was that it would look just as good on your coffee table as it would on the bookshelf... (more...)

It’s holiday time again and already you may be beginning to wonder ‘How am I ever going to fit in any work?’. Most of us are self-employed because of the flexibility this affords us to be able to be with the children during their holidays. But how do you keep everything ticking along? Nobody said it was going to be easy….but mums are incredibly clever at multi-tasking and time management, and work at home mums even more so. Try not to feel guilty about finding time to do... (more...)

Today’s Follow Friday blog post is another one close to my heart and all about some of our lovely Mum’s The Boss members who regularly frequent the Twitter airways! All of them have fab blogs or websites, or in Sarah’s case both! @HelenLindop Helen has been a member of MTB right from Day 1 when she came along to our very first meeting with her baby daughter. Soon after Helen found out she was pregnant with baby No 2, meaning she would have only a 15month gap between babies, and she has... (more...)

This week Mum’s The Boss is attending a local business event – not as visitors as you might think, but rather as invited guests where we will on hand to talk to visitors who are thinking of starting their own business. This marks a massive turning point for us. In less than a year we have gone from the people seeking advice to those giving it! It is also an enormous compliment that outside agencies rate what we do enough to include us in their event and a fantastic way for us to raise our... (more...)

Continuing our series of book reviews, we now turn to the Everywoman collection of Simple Approach pocket book business guides. The Everywoman website offers ‘advice, tools and networking for business success’ including  practical tips, fact sheets and useful online tools to help you grow your business. Their handy set of 8 pocket books covers a whole range of areas which are all important for anyone with their own business. The ones that I chose to read first were those that related... (more...)

 This week’s Follow Friday theme is one close to my heart – Advice for Work at Home Mums. @FunkyAngelClair – Claire’s website www.funkyangel.co.uk was the very first work-at-home resource I came across when I started looking for information on the subject, long before I got bitten by the Twitter-bug. Claire is one of the founding-mothers of the WAHM revolution and was instrumental in Mum’s The Boss evolving from just an idea into a reality. Her Thursday evening Consultants... (more...)

Now that I work from home my wardrobe of ‘work clothes’ consists of jeans, jogging bottoms and pyjamas! This is in sharp contrast to the vast array of trouser suits and shirts I wore to the office before I had children. So now, when I go to networking meetings or to meet with potential sponsors, I face a dilemma about what to wear. I want to look professional and businesslike – but I no longer feel comfortable in (or can fit into!) the suits of days gone by. So what is the dress... (more...)

We all know how our children benefit from an after lunch nap, and as busy mums we are probably all guilty of using that precious time to crack on with work or housework. But research shows that a 20-30 minute power nap after lunch can reduce stress, improve memory & patience, increase learning & efficiency and generally make for a more productive afternoon all round. It may seem like a criminal waste of time to sleep when you feel you could be getting lots done but if you are lucky enough... (more...)