"Mum Job" helping local school families

[WorkForMums]

Would really appreciate people's input please. I want to set up a work from home small business, and as my children are young, it would make sense for the target audience for my service or products to be local primary school families.

Many parents from the school are successfully doing this and we have "go to" trusted people for services such as secondhand uniform shop, party entertainers, party plates/cups hire, sweetie cones, cakes, after school clubs (language, sports and music), pet sitting, child minding, tutoring...

These are great and I don't want to step on anyone's toes, but what other popular services do parents run linked to or convenient for your school? What is most successful, and what else would you like to see?

I wouldn't want to work in school, as a TA or in the school office for example, and can't commit to a lot of hours in the afternoons as otherwise would need paid childcare.

Ideally looking for something I can do at home during school hours or on a flexible basis evenings/weekends. We have a home office sitting empty post lockdown that I can use.

Thanks for helping me brain storm. Hopefully this will help others too.

What did you do for work before kids? I would think a new business should play to your strengths and qualifications too.

Great post and good on you! What are you good at and what do you love? No point doing something you find thoroughly boring.

I agree. What are you actually good at? What skills do you have?

I also don't think it is true that "as [your] children are young, it would make sense for the target audience for [your] service or products to be local primary school families". You don't have to be your own target market.

Your children won't be young forever, but presumably you want to build this business for the long term?

I would think about the other needs in your community. There's a huge need for reliable home helps - not care or cleaners exactly but someone families can hire to shop for their loved one, put away shopping, change bed linen, Do a wash load, chat to the client etc. plus crucially report back to the family who may live a distance away. We managed to get a lovely lady to go in twice a week for two hours, she did clean but it was more (and better paid, we paid £15 an hour then in 2019) our lady cooked when she was there as well, leaving meals in the fridge to microwave. You could fit around school hours

@gogohmm you’ve absolutely hit the nail on the head. Great idea, and you’ll really make a difference to the people you're working with too. Only thing is how you navigate school holidays if people become dependent.

Thanks, appreciate you all taking the time to respond, and for your questions and ideas.

I had a career in banking for 15 years before my children were born. Professional, high earning role. Key skills are communication, negotiation, organisation, risk assessment.

However my priorities have totally changed and I want flexible, local work. Not looking to earn loads, just be useful and busy and enjoy what I do. Not looking to build a long term business or career. This will be for a few years only.

I currently work a couple of mornings for a local business and volunteer at school and for PTA.

Would love to do something like "life laundry" or help people with home admin, clearing out junk etc. However with current economic conditions I am not convinced people will be spending on this kind of thing. I think the idea of companion/carer is a good one, but not quite the right fit for me personally. I guess a housekeeper role is similar and may be something I would enjoy. However likely to also be needed in school holidays, hence why something more flexible and from home would be best.

It's really ideas for school linked small businesses I would like. Thanks.

I'd love someone who could help me declutter but be the one to sell the things that are worth selling and get rid of the rest. So could split the profit and recoup some of the cost of paying for your services. Depends how big that home office is!!

Be careful of Joe Public if you’re corporate background, from experience I know there are some people who are just impossible to deal with as they’re never happy and expect everything for nothing. You have to be sure you’re up for the “customer facing” side of things, when the customer ms won’t always be school gate mums. That says I will put thinking cap back on

Sorry typos

You could do the tidy & declutter needed before people have a cleaner. Cleaners don't tidy, and this is the hurdle people need to overcome before getting on top of things. It's less regular than a cleaner, so you take more people on term time but they won't rely on you the same if you're not there.

What about something with helping people budget/declutter finances?

A friend is a professional Declutterer. She does everything from hoarders to people getting ready to move to people who just want to organise themselves. She sells the stuff on eBay.
But she started off with a storage unit and now has a space in an industrial estate - photographing the items and shipping are almost a full time job in itself, not to mention the initial decluttering part.
How about going in to help people organise their paperwork for doing their taxes? Or organising their kitchen/wardrobes/playrooms? Does that appeal? Charge an hourly rate. Most would be one off so you'd constantly have to be touting fir more business, but word of mouth might help here.

If you are tech savvy there is a massive need for all communities to have support with setting up computers, tvs, devices like laptops. All generations not just the elderly need support.

Managing telecoms on their behalf etc, it's nothing that can't be searched up on google but just having the support is lacking in most areas.

You could just have appointments during the hours you want to work.

The declutter and selling stuff I think you'll find the demand will increase, people wanting to sell to raise money but too busy to list.

School related, could you do babysitting?

And finally, no idea if you like dogs, but everyone offers doggy daycare, walking etc.. but there is still a gap for evening dog sitters, everything is focused on the daytime, but evenings can sometimes be tricky.

And good luck!!

@daffodilandtulip

my goodness, this is me!

we have wanted to have a cleaner for years but I can’t quite get the house under control enough to have a cleaner in.

I would love a one off, tidier, declutterer, find new homes for things-a.

I would honestly pay hundreds for my whole house to be attacked!

The declutter and selling stuff I think you'll find the demand will increase, people wanting to sell to raise money but too busy to list.

If someone is sufficiently short of money that they need to sell things (as opposed to just wanting to declutter), how much are they going to be able to afford to pay? I wouldn't target that customer group unless you plan to price your services VERY cheaply.

I live in the type of house that needs a good sort because we have too much stuff. However, I would really really hate to have someone come in and do it for me. I’m really protective of my house and hate others seeing my mess. Maybe I’m alone in that.

Could you organise themes for parties? Someone wants a Harry Potter party so you sort the balloons, decorations, games, cake…

If you have qualifications and senior experience in banking, is there something niche you could do that is related to that? Investment advice, tax planning, pensions adviser, will writing. You may need additional qualifications but with so many people wfh or hybrid working, you could probably schedule appointments around your child-free time. I’m not a believer in so called mum jobs, I can’t imagine a senior male banker being satisfied with filling sweet cones.

Offer to do social media and marketing for all the small school-based businesses. Offer to do their accounts.

Learn all about fundraising (via PTA) e.g. grants etc and offer your services as a bid-writer for community groups.

Any event-based or goods-based business (party stuff, after school groups & tutoring, pet sitting etc) will need time that’s not just school hours mornings, or stock to be held, stored, delivered.

So you want a desk-based service, like a virtual assistant, sort of thing.

Also I saw a brilliant ad on a van the other day for a company called something like ‘Tech & Tea - IT support for silver surfers. We’ll visit and have a cuppa while you get online’

I thought bloody hell, my MIL needs them. And she’s got family (us!) who can do this but I’d happily outsource it!!

The professional qualifications needed to advise people on tax or pensions would take a few years of work and study to obtain. They're highly technical specialisms, not jobs that can be done by anyone who's numerate and has some finance experience.

I’m not a believer in so called mum jobs, I can’t imagine a senior male banker being satisfied with filling sweet cones.

I agree with this though. Far better to work in something related to your current specialism, but scaling down your hours for a few years, than spend years doing a "mum job". Getting back into working in a professional field will be hard if you haven't kept up to date.

Thanks everyone, I have read all your responses with great interest.

So, here are all the ideas I have picked up from the thread or thought of off the back of it that are viable, but perhaps not things that would suit me but may work for others:
Home Help
Tech Support
Social Media Support
Website Support
Dog Walker
Babysitter
Party planner
Flat Pack Support
Professional ebayer
Virtual assistant
Book-keeper

I absolutely love the Declutterer idea. It's something I thought about a few years ago and started to research local businesses and put together the bare bones a business plan, back when Marie Kondo was so popular! Then Covid happened and nobody invited people into their homes anymore. I'm buoyed by the fact that several of you think there would still be demand for this in current times. I will revisit. Helping people get on top of admin would also fit well with this and perhaps helping people review energy bills and providers etc too. I think there could be some scope here, thanks.

I am a pretty experienced ebayer and I often sell my daughters' clothes etc, but I don't think the time involved and the sharing of profit with the customer would make this worthwhile. A friend used this type of service before and made hardly anything despite selling huge amounts of baby clothes/equipment etc through the service, I believe proceeds were split 50/50.

The fundraising bid-writer is a really interesting one too which I will investigate further.

I appreciate the concern and the comments about not getting trapped in a low paid term time only role when I have business skills, and would usually advise others the same. However I am truly only looking for something low key and relatively short term due to personal circumstances. I won't be returning to Finance and will be moving abroad with my husband and daughters, so not a concern in this situation.

I would literally love to be able to source someone to come in and organize my house and all the toys. I wouldn’t mind cleaning it then. And someone to help me decorate it better, make it nicer and more homely. Time, not money, is what a lot of people are short of…. What takes people a lot of time… when they don’t have time, or could be spending what little time they do have, better? Instagram and visual marketing of before v after is magical…

Lots of great ideas! I definitely think you'll have the most success with something you have experience in or a true love for. I recently set up new holiday clubs for kids, but have been a teacher for 20+ years and also launched games and learning resources for parents and teachers to teach kids about things like diversity, inclusion, social and emotional learning etc...
It was an easy step to set up a quality play scheme after so many years of working with kids of all ages.
Have you thought about setting up school-based clubs? Local schools are often looking for before/after or lunchtime options and maybe you could set up something fun around financial literacy.

I have kids too -but mine have play dates, other clubs or sometimes join in when I run mine and it allows me lots of freedom and flexibility which, as you pointed out with TA or teaching work, you just can't have.
Good luck and keep us posted!