How do mumpreneurs maintain flexible working hours?

Mums Tips

Mumpreneurs & Mums at work

Published on Tuesday, 07 July 2015 11:10

Last Updated on 06 July 2015

Monica Costa

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Being a working mum in London can be quite a challenge especially if you work in an office which is based far from your house. Even before becoming a mum, I set up my own business to enjoy some flexibility and I have never looked back. As it’s my 10th year anniversary of flexible working and homeworking, I am now spilling the beans on pro and cons for London Mums.

The Pros of flexible working

You are your own boss and can decide when to work.

You can do the school run and never miss a school play or a sports day event.

You work when you want.

You save on commuting time and costs.

Modern technology means remote working is far more achievable now than ever before.

Homeworking is ideal for tasks like planning, report writing, preparing for meetings, research and data entry

The Cons

Being your own boss means that you need to be extremely driven and focus on the tasks at hand.

You are expected to work 24/7 and in the evening when necessary.

Flexible childcare can be challenging as nannies and nurseries all expect long-term commitment.

Homeworking is difficult with children around, even if they sleep for long periods of time.

You end up working a lot more than in a 9 to 5 job.

A lack of contact with colleagues could limit exchange of ideas. Flexible Working can be isolating so it is recommended to join networking groups to have creative brainstorming sessions or opinion exchanges.

Recently I have come across Hiive, a brand new FREE professional networking site, which is basically a digital community of collaborators from the creative industries all across the UK. Hiive allows professionals, employers and educators to tap into the UK’s collective industry insight. It’s a community where you can get in, get on and get better! It is a great online community for bloggers and creatives to avoid working in isolation.

Hiive is a creative network that offers users a portfolio platform, job opportunities and access to careers resources. It’s designed to encourage discussion and collaboration within the creative industries across advertising, graphic and interactive design, animation, VFX, filmmaking and more.

For example, I find it useful to bounce back ideas on collaborative groups called Swarms. Swarms allow users to openly collaborate on projects, bringing together members to share media and contribute to discussions. I get inspiration from posts by creatives from other industries and in the Knowledge section where I find useful tips from professionals. You can throw your questions to the virtual ‘floor’ and you get some ideas back as if you were in an office.

For mums who don’t have an outlet or a blog, but are simply looking for work, Hiive offers vacancies in creative industries. On Hiive you can showcase your portfolio of work and share it with other creatives who might be able to offer to work on a specific project. The difference between this platform and others is that the job offered here are more quality positions in reputable companies from the likes of BBC, Channel 4, Framestore, Google, Penguin, Sky and Warner Brothers.