New business taking over everything?!

[ImYourMama]

I feel like I'm going to burst. DH and I have started up a business from home selling designer shoes (new and preloved) for which there is a bloody huge market. Business is booming (which is ace) but it's completely taken over our lives!

DH works a 60 hour week, DD is 7 months and still breastfeeding, I work 2 days a week, we can't keep up and something has got to give. Or we need to work out how to organise the day better. DH gets in at 6, takes the baby while I do dinner, we clean up and then all night is spent photographing, listing and responding to buyers, until at least 11pm.

The sort of people who buy our shoes are the ones with a large disposable income, so aren't around in the day typically. We're trying to get a website built but it's just not happening. Any ideas on how to manage a start up with 2 jobs and a DD 7months?!

Get the website built. Invest in an employee to take on some of the work. You're expanding fast so it's going to be damn hard work.

I know the website needs to be done but we're managing on 4 hours sleep a night some nights, we literally have no more hours to give.

I've never been an employer before, any ideas on how to employ someone?

The govt website has all the information you need.

Can you hire someone else to do the website? Or use something like wix in the meantime?

Maybe your DH can go part time in his day job for now, then give it up if the business really takes off? Or you give up your 2 day a week job and concentrate on the business. Childminder for a few hours a day for the baby? Or an au pair of you have a spare room.

www.gov.uk/employing-staff

There's the info for employing someone for the first time.

Get a student to design the website as a project? Contact your local uni or college or put an ad in gumtree.

Hire someone to design the websites or buy it "off the shelf". Bring someone in on a casual basis for a month and see how that goes? Could you use an employment agency to recruit someone with marketing experience? Or approach your local university marketing department / employment department and hire a marketing student?

Pay someone to do the website.

Can you get someone to do childcare for you so you can do more work? As you're around someone to do babysitting in your home or take the baby for a couple of hours in the day?

Otherwise I think you need to make the decision about cutting down on the other jobs to invest the time in your business.

There are plenty of people who can set up websites and run them for you without being an employee as such.

I've had a website set up for a local society I'm in and it costs £25 a month for full set up, management and checks.....would that help?

I would def get website done as a priority-something like wix as already mentioned. Can someone help with childcare on a weekend day so you can sort this asap?
Then figure out how many hours per day you need to spend on the business to be in control and from there figure out how to get that- be it reducing other work hours or increasing childcare or hiring someone to help you. Good luck!

This is an example of a home business website. Bought off the shelf:

www.bottledbaking.co.uk

shamelessly punting brother's company. Buy cake. :-)

I probably wouldn't go to the hassle and expense of hiring an employee at this stage. It sounds like you need some help with one off and professional services but you can buy those as services: e.g. Accountant to do your accounts, web designer to set up site.

Maybe some freelance help too with updating or maintaining the website?

Employing someone would be last on my list at the moment. Things sound busy enough without adding on a whole load more obligations and responsibilities.

Do you work two days a week in your business or as an employee for someone else?

If it's the latter leave and put your time into your new business.

Go back to basics: what is the point of this enterprise? What are you trying to achieve? If you are serious then it is worth ditching one or both of your current jobs to do it. Do it properly or don't bother.

DH is doing a 60 hour week: if he takes a fortnight's annual leave then that is at least 120 hours he can invest in the business. A big block of hours like that may be what you need to crack the back of this.

A lot of small businesses that I know rope in friends to help. You know them and trust them and they usually do it for pin money.

Whichever way you do it, it's going to be hard work. Good luck.

I agree that you may have to take the plunge and give up the jobs (either both or one of you) and maybe get some child care help a few hours a day.

My neighbours set up their own business from home and they both quit their jobs and have frankly worked like dogs for the last 5 years. I often notice their office light still on at 1 or 2 in the morning.

Please don't use Wix, it's not a viable long term strategy - especially for ecommerce websites.

Something like Shopify - either as a standalone solution or a third-party plugin to a different CMS (such as WordPress) - would be a better long term solution if you're not looking to employ an agency or freelancer to do the work for you.

Also, make sure you nab all branded profiles at the same time - domain name (both .co.uk and .com), social media (FB, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest...) - so that no one else comes along in the mean time and gets them.

I agree with SpiderAndMouse.

If you have a slick, well built site with your accounting, payment and billing software integrated that will not only be attractive to customers but it will also save you time.

Pay someone to build your website and make sure they offer an ongoing service. That way you can build the basics to get started and add things as it becomes obvious what's needed ( ask all your users for one thing).

It need not cost thousands. It will be worth every penny and you can claim the costs as a business expense.

I'm so worried about it not working long term but I think my job might need to go. DH said PIL would love to have DD one day a week, I can express so she can have EBM with them, and she's weaning so not too much pressure. DH is going to look at a weeks annual leave to build the website.

Thank you all for the suggestions. I think it's going to be worth it in the end it's just hard getting the set up going!