This week we have another fabulous Clever Mamma in biz for you all to meet. It's Vari Longmuir from Buttercup Ink, a boutique design and stationery business located in Melbourne. With a beautiful little 2 year old and another on the way this talented Scotland-born mamma now calls Australia home.
1. Tell us a little about yourself and your business... I'm Vari - owner of Buttercup Ink, my Melbourne based boutique design and stationery studio. As far back as I can remember, I've always had a love of paper and design. My first school report card, aged 5 said Vari loves to draw and colour-in! And so graphic design was a clear career choice. After university, I worked in different areas of the graphic design industry, from national publications to in-house positions, and decided in 2010, after moving from my hometown of Glasgow, Scotland to Melbourne a few years previous, to branch out and set up my own design and stationery studio. Buttercup Ink produces art prints, organisational stationery and note cards for the family and home. My designs have a clean, contemporary aesthetic with a strong focus on beautiful typography. All products are designed, printed and finished in my home studio. Buttercup Ink also creates custom wedding and event stationery as well as corporate branding and design.
2. How did your business begin? I've always dreamed of having my own business and being my own boss. Initially, I started doing custom wedding stationery for friends and family while working full time but it was more for the love of it than actually building a business. Being made redundant from my job whilst on maternity leave with my son in 2009 was a scary time but gave me the little push I needed to take Buttercup Ink to the next level and I've never looked back!
3. The bits I love... Working to my own schedule. I love being able to be at home with my little boy and still do the fun stuff like going for a milkshake and our afternoon trip to the park. I also love working with other creative businesses and brides-to-be on their designs. It's nice to have a one-on-one relationship as opposed to the faceless corporate world.
4. The bits I not-so-love... Bookkeeping and accounts! I'm sure this is a common complaint amongst people in creative businesses! I'd love nothing more that to spend all day creating new designs but it just doesn't work that way! I'm slowly but surely becoming more organised when it comes to the numbers stuff and paperwork!
5. Any tips for other Clever Mammas? Where possible, assign a 'work area' if working from home. Even if it's just a small desk with your laptop on it. Whilst the flexibility of working from home is great, it also has it's downsides as you are essentially ALWAYS at work! You need to be able to switch off mentally and be able to relax at home with the family. I've also turned off my email alert and do not receive emails to my phone. When you have to be everybody to your business you don't need the added distraction of the email ping. I find I work so much more effectively when I can focus on one task at a time.
6. Devonshire Tea versus Coffee & Cake??? Coffee and cake - YUM!
Vari, thanks for stopping by Clever Mamma HQ to say Hi. We wish you all the very best with bubs number 2 and would love to hear when your bundle of joy arrives... oooh two Clever Mamma babies are in the midst! So exciting. To sneak a peak at Vari's gorgeous designs head over to the Buttercup Ink listing on the Clever Mamma directory. She has recently added some pre-made template logos for those on a small budget too. Head on over and sneak a peak!
With a baby on the way, our next Clever Mamma is working very hard to get her business up and running! Dr Alison Gaut is based in Melbourne but with an online store shipping Australia-wide, this mum-to-be is preparing herself for full-time motherhood with Bump Stuff on the side!
1. Tell us a little about yourself and your business... I am an osteopath by trade and have known for several years that physically I would not be able to do this job forever. I also knew that the hours I work are not what I wanted for my family when we started having babies. After several months of really thinking about what I wanted out of life, and the kind of lifestyle I wanted for myself and my family, I realised that an internet business was the best option. It would provide me with the freedom and flexibility that I desired. All I needed was an idea! I thought hard about what topics I was knowledgeable on and also what I was passionate about! After lots of brainstorming, I came across the idea for Bump Stuff which enabled me to use my education, experience and also fulfil my deep desire to help people!
2. How did your business begin? The concept was born from years of frustration at hearing my patients say that they had been told by their carer that discomfort and pain is just part of being pregnant and to just put up with it. Through my experience in practice, I know that this is simply not the case; there are different treatment, product and lifestyle options that can have a great impact on symptoms. After a little look around, I realised that while there was a lot of information available on the net about the different muscular and skeletal complaints that women experience during pregnancy, no sites described or sold solutions!
3. The bits I love...
· I get to help many more women than I can in practice.
· All I need to work is my laptop so I can do it anywhere!
· Now that I am pregnant myself, I get to be surrounded in a topic every day that I am even more obsessed with than I was before!
· Everyday I know I’m growing a business that will enable me to spend lots of time with my family.
· I get to challenge and take myself out of my comfort zone with stuff like marketing, advertising and website development which I really know nothing about!
· That I can go to work in my pj’s and slippers and have a nap in my lunch break!
4. The bits I not-so-love...
· Money worries.
· When people I have employed to help me out let me down.
· When suppliers run out of stock.
· That everything takes longer than expected. I’m typical gen Y in that I want my business to be huge and successful right now!
5. Any tips for other Clever Mammas?
· Be kind to yourself, acknowledge your achievements and be proud of them!
· It’s better to realise sooner rather than later that paying someone to do certain tasks such as bookkeeping, copywriting or web development will save you time, money and lots of headaches.
· Get yourself a business coach. Having a great mindset will make working much more enjoyable and infinitely more productive.
· Plan, plan plan. If you don’t know where you are going, how are you ever going to get there?
· I recently sent myself out a timetable for my work days as well as a 90 day plan for my goals and what I needed to do to get there. This means when I sit down at my desk at 9am every work day, I know exactly what I need to do and why. This stops me from spending useless hours pottering on facebook or email.
6. Devonshire Tea versus Coffee & Cake??? Mmm, soy coffee and gluten free cake for me please!
Thanks for taking some time out to say hello to the Clever Mamma community Alison. And we can't wait to hear when bubs is welcomed into the world (ooooooh it might just be our very first Clever Mamma-baby!!). If you would like to contact Alison or check out her great online store Bump Stuff, it's as easy as popping over to the Clever Mamma Directory listing for more details.
This week say a big Clever Mamma hello to Allison Johnston from Chicks Talk Tech. Based in Canberra, this business mum offers Remote IT Support Services to small businesses and individuals (both Mac and PC), the ever important Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) plus even more! Sounds like every business could use a bit of Chicks Talk Tech to run smoother, more efficiently and most important of all - more successfully.
1. Tell us a little about yourself and your business... An IT Professional for over 10 years, and a mum of 3. As necessity dictates, I had to become creative to be able to turn my career into something I could do from home so I can ensure I am there for my children as they grow and need me. ChicksTalkTech provides Web Design, SEO, Social Media Management and Mobile Apps Development. We offer discounted prices on SEO for WAHM’s. ChicksTalkTech has recently developed an iPhone App to assist with breastfeeding, bottle feeding, nappy changes and more. www.facebook.com/bosombuddyapp
2. How did your business begin? By watching my boss at the time, thinking... "geez, if you can do it anyone can" ;)
3. The bits I love... Results, making a difference to how people see their online business. And solving problems, that’s always pretty cool when people think they have really broken something and we put it back together.
4. The bits I not-so-love... Never having enough time between the clients, the laundry and doing the dishes. I seriously underestimated being a WAHM.
5. Any tips for other Clever Mammas? Take Social Media seriously. Its a big game player, and is going to get bigger.
6. Devonshire Tea versus Coffee & Cake??? Coffee and cake.
Thanks for stopping by the Clever Mamma Blog Allison. It's been great getting to know you and your business better! To find out how to contact Chicks Talk Tech, just sneak a peak at the listing on the Clever Mamma Directory, where you'll find more info, a link to the website and direct contact details. Another great business run by a mum! There are so many out there and I'm having so much fun finding out about each one and sharing them with you. Stay tuned... there's even more to come!
Our fabulous Clever Mamma mum in business this week is Jennifer Williams from Berwick Business Solutions in Victoria. Offering bookkeeping, business solutions and recruitment, Jennifer is also kept busy with her beautiful son and puppy dog, AND at the moment is training for a triathlon... Go Jen, GO!! All the Clever Mamma community is behind you.
1. Tell us a little about yourself and your business... Well as stated in my blurb for the site I am a single mum (separated for nearly 7 years – hmm best I file that divorce paper sometime!). My son Liam is my ‘beautiful boy’ he is very active in sport, playing three games of basketball a week (+ training for all three) two domestic teams and a representative team Pakenham Warriors. Having always been very active, fit and healthy I struggled with the diagnosis of Breast Cancer in July 2010. Subsequent surgery, chemotherapy & radiotherapy have given me the opportunity to see my beautiful son grow to be a wonderful man and this is the most precious gift. I am continuing on a regime of hormone therapy (Tamoxifen) for the next five years. My long term prognosis is excellent, having had the chemotherapy gave me the ‘extra’ insurance that I am very unlikely to suffer a recurrence. I am currently training for the Noosa Triathlon (why oh why?) which should be fun. I am under no illusion that I will come anywhere close to winning but I would like to complete the course – oh and I don’t want to come last!
I have always worked in Admin / Management / Finance positions. I have worked in a variety of small medical & surgical practices before moving into corporate medical management with Mayne Health as the Victorian Primary Care Manager. In this position I was responsible for 11 primary care sites across Melbourne and Geelong. After this I entered the non for profit sector as the National Manager for Sports Physiotherapy Australia which I loved. This was a true combination of management and finance as the association ran over 250 courses nationally each year and a biannual conference - every one of them no matter how large or small had to have a budget! Since that time I worked locally whilst my son was in his first years of school part-time back in practice management of a large physiotherapy practice. My most recent position found me in a manufacturing company with an annual turnover of approximately $15m where I was responsible for everything ‘finance’. Stamping the invoices, payroll for 60 staff, landed costs for imported components, all the statutory obligations for IAS, BAS Payroll Tax, Superannuation etc.
2. How did your business begin? The manufacturing company that I was working for were acquired by a multi-national organisation and I felt that probably sooner rather than later my position would be chopped up and absorbed by their very large finance/accounts department consisting of CFO, several Accountants, Payroll Clerk, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable and several Data Entry Clerks. I thought I would start BBS as a small part-time concern until such time as acquisition was finalised and then re-assess. As timing would have it I was contacted by prospective clients and the timing just seemed right to give BBS a big push and see what happened.
3. The bits I love... I love being more available for my son. I am not as stressed or worried and my house is much tidier! As it has taken quite some time to recover from my treatment working for myself has given me a chance to rest when needed without feeling guilty for having a ‘slow’ day. I also get to enjoy the occasional lunch with my much loved girlfriends.
4. The bits I not-so-love... There really aren’t many bits that I don’t like, you do have to be disciplined with your time but that’s easy once you are in a routine.
5. Any tips for other Clever Mammas? Don’t sweat the small stuff. If the ironing doesn’t get done or the beds aren’t made it just doesn’t matter. So long as you and your family are happy and healthy everything else will follow along.
6. Devonshire Tea versus Coffee & Cake??? Definitely coffee & cake. I am a bit of a coffee addict (albeit I have very weak coffee and everyone says it’s hardly worth the effort !) – and the cake – I make the best banana cake ever! Oh and my pavlova is becoming legendary!
Yummm... I might be dropping in to Jen's for some of that banana cake soon! If you would like to see how Berwick Business Solutions can assist your business head over to the listing on the Clever Mamma Directory. Thanks for spending some time with us Jen.
