Adam Bannister: Your website is fairly self-explanatory as to the type of people it is targeting. What services does it offer?
Gillian Nissim: I launched WorkingMums.co.uk to help mums who have had successful careers get back into jobs they love, but with a more flexible approach. It started primarily as a job site focusing on most mums’ need to either work from home, or have part-time, project-based or freelance work without having to sacrifice the level of career they’d reached before having children.
It has now evolved to include access to flexible full time opportunities – for those mums who want to work full-time, but need some flexibility like the ability to work from home occasionally, or a later start in the morning to accommodate the school run.
Employers benefit too, by finding experienced, committed professionals who can fill the hours they’re looking for.
AB: Do site users have to pay a subscription?
GN: Mums register for free and can apply for jobs and post their career profiles online. Employers pay to post jobs on the site and contact candidates.
AB: How’s it going so far?
GN: We have had an overwhelming response. Four years on, over 70,000 mums and over 5,000 employers are registered with us, and that number grows daily!
I used to have quite a high-flying career, and when I had my first child I realised how difficult it was to combine a full-time job with being a relaxed and dedicated mum
AB: And moving forward?
GN: We will continue to build on our product offerings, providing enhanced advertising services to employers, as well as improving the website’s useability. In the last year we have introduced two new items onto the site – 'the Franchise Zone' which offers parents access to flexible franchise opportunities if they are considering working for themselves – and 'Top Employers', which showcases corporate organisations which are proud to be offering some of the best flexible working policies in the UK.
We also continue to build the community side of the site, making it more interactive and informative. As well as regular news stories relevant to working mums, our blogs are becoming more dynamic and interactive, and we’ve also introduced an interactive ‘Ask the expert’ section, where mums can ask our panel of experts questions about employment law, childcare, education, careers and work-life balance.
AB: Why did you decide to set up this business?
GN: I used to have quite a high-flying career, and when I had my first child I realised how difficult it was to combine a full-time job with being a relaxed and dedicated mum. I started to look at my options for a more flexible approach to work, and realised there was huge potential in connecting employers who need skilled professionals on a more flexible basis (including flexi-hours, homebased, part-time or on a temporary contracts), and mums who wanted a degree of flexibility in their jobs to maximise the time they could spend with their children.
AB: Starting a business with two young children must have been a challenge…
GN: Especially when they both got chickenpox within a couple of weeks of each other just before we launched! My friends thought I was mad when I first started the business, but in many ways having an outlet for the business side of my brain is what keeps me sane. I do a lot of late nights and weekend working — but so do many mums, so I just feel lucky that I have a choice about when I do my work.
Working from home can be a bit isolating at times. I’ve never had a problem being motivated to get started, but particularly in the early days, I missed the sociability of the office environment and getting out of the same four walls.
That’s not so much of an issue now. The Workingmums team has grown to 11 over the last year. Some of us are office based and some work remotely from home, but we’re in contact by phone and email throughout the day and all meet up a couple of times a month.
AB: How have you dealt with any teething problems (with the business, that is)?
GN: Mainly by getting plenty of help. I’m lucky to have a great support network. I couldn’t do it without my husband, Leigh – he’s very supportive and has a background in finance and the internet, which helps a lot. Both families help out with the children.
Many of the people I’ve taken on to help me in the day-to-day running of the business are mothers themselves, and I recruited all of them through the Workingmums website. They’re fantastically experienced people, and because we all understand the pressures of having a family and working, we are flexible with our hours but also thoroughly dedicated to achieving our goals. Mums are great multi-taskers!
AB: You’ve really proved that running a business can coexist with motherhood…
GN: The key is being organised and planning things in advance, so you always know where you are and that you can fit everything in. That sounds very regimental but it also means planning in plenty of time for relaxing and having fun.
I find it helps not to get too stressed out if things don’t quite go to plan. It is a juggling act and I’d be lying if I said I got the balance right all the time — but then who does?
The most important thing is to find a balance that works for you and your family.
