Canberra FitMums will be hosting a free pregnancy seminar onTuesday 16th June 2009 at 12 noon for 1 hour at the  Wesley Uniting Church, Forrest ACT.

They are currently seeking sponsors and any business who wishes to promote their pregnancy and birth services.

PREGNANT? Come along!

Topics include: Keeping fit during pregnancy, preparing for your birth, Regaining your figure, the latest and greatest products on the market and more!

• Fabulous Prizes
• Free Samples
• Information
• & much more!

RSVP is Essential. Places Limited This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Tags: Seminar | canberra | mums

I met Michelle a little while ago and fell in love with her beautiful dolls, so I thought I'd ask her to tell us her story.

Michelle Williams tells us the Poppy Bean and Bloss Story

I started my online business in February 2008, but really started working towards it 12 months before that. I had been looking for a present for my niece and had seen some sock monkeys on US websites. I told myself that I could make that, and I did. I had a few practice runs (which ended up with my children) and then made one for my niece which was a huge hit. A lot of people commented on how wonderful the monkeys were and that I should sell them. I started with sock monkeys (and a business name - The Super Monkey Shop. Never let your five year old choose a name to fill the last spot on the Business Name Registration form). In the last year I have expanded my products to include art folders, some gorgeous dolls and a few other things. I have also started doing some markets around Canberra, which I really enjoy.

Highlights and Lowlights

The highlights are easy - getting feedback from customers about how much their child loves the toy; making my sons bed in the morning and seeing that all the toys he has on his bed have been made by me; the joy of making, and being able to share what I make with others.

Lowlights - the main one would be finding the time to make. All the toys I make are very labour intensive and invovle a lot of hand sewing. With three young children and a day job which I also do from home and squeeze in around the children, time is very limited. Making sure that my toys would comply with Australian Safety Standards wasn't exactly a lowlight, but was a big learning curve for me. The tests are reasonably expensive for a micro business like mine, and I have had to revise designs a few times to ensure the toys complied, and have them retested each time.

Tips for other business mums

• A good written business plan is essential (and I promise I will do mine soon)

• Prioritise - with a micro business like mine it need to fit in with the family and I need to make sure that I don't over commit.
• Don't be afraid to ask - be it for help, advice or just a shoulder to cry on. A good network of supportive people is a wonderful thing.
• Be aware of any legislative requirements that cover your products, services or industry. The ACCC can be a great source of information for consumer related businesses.

Tags: handmade | craft | canberra

Welcome to the Daisy & Dandelion blog for business mums in Canberra.

We will be discovering some of the wonderful businesses started by mums in Canberra and you can also check in for information about resources, events, news and products relevant to working mums.

Tags: business mums | canberra