Kitchen Table Tycoon
Mothers at home are getting busy making a fortune with a kitchen table business, over this week UKpreneur features three women from Ireland making a start:
Women often face a tough decision after having a baby – should they return to the workforce or should they forget about their career and concentrate on being a stay-at-home mum?
There are pros and cons with either choice, but an increasing number of Irish women have settled on a third way, by deciding to enjoy the best of both worlds and setting up a business from home.
There is even a glossy new name for these ladies – kitchen table tycoons.
The phrase was originally coined by an expert at the London School of Economics and is now the title of an excellent new book by British journalist Anita Naik.
Naik combines looking after her daughter with running a successful writing business from the comfort of her own home.
She explains that it can work very well but, of course, there are some drawbacks to be aware of, including the fact that, without the social aspect of going out into a crowded workplace, there is the risk it can feel isolating and lonely.
One of the biggest helps for ‘Work At Home Mums’ (WAHMs) is the wonderful flexibility and freedom that the internet offers.
Mums can run online businesses, selling everything from children’s clothes to greeting cards and jewellery.
Their work is just a click of a mouse button away and can be dealt with at any time of the day and night, meaning mums can work around family commitments.
While the kids are in school or the creche, or when they are in bed at night, mums can focus on the job at hand, without the hassles generally associated with going out to work: commuting, office politics, etc.
And while it can take time to build up a business, most WAHMs enjoy running their own show.
A UK survey last year found that two thirds of kitchen table tycoons said they took more satisfaction from running their own business than in their previous job, working for someone else away from the home.
For more information and advice on setting up business in your own home, visit