Having worked in the IT industry for almost 20 years, focusing mainly on IT Security, I decided to start my own IT business. Being my own boss was such a revelation! I could do the school run, work from home if one of my children were ill or leave early if I had to go somewhere urgently, with no-one to answer to!. My office is based in Hemel Hempstead so I have an easy commute to work, so no stressful traffic jams or train journeys.

As this is my first blog I thought it may help if I gave an account of a typical day in the life of this working Mum. The day usually starts with a trip to my eldest son’s school in Hemel Hempstead and then followed by returning to Abbots Langley to drop my youngest at his school. Then it’s back to Hemel yet again, and into the office (my carbon footprint is not very impressive!). My business specialises in IT Security which covers a multitude of areas, but mainly Anti Virus, Spyware & SPAM etc. These are all terms that have become very familiar to most computer users, unfortunately due to the vast amount of security threats that are now out there.

I spend my day looking after my existing customers to ensure they have the best product to suit their requirements whilst vying to generate new business, negotiating pricing, and arranging licensing. This can be very satisfying when it all comes together but I do wish some would stop changing their payment terms!

3pm and it’s time for school run part two but this time in reverse! I pick my son up from School in Hemel and my Mum collects my youngest from school 3 days a week which really helps me. I also have a very kind neighbour who also walks my son home with hers from primary school some days. One day a week my eldest child finishes at 2.15pm, how on earth do working Mums who don’t have the same flexibility, manage when schools finish at such odd times!

I carry on working from home in the afternoon while the boys do their home work or play. My husband usually gets the job of assisting with any homework they may have as he is the more creative one of the two of us!

I hope to keep a blog on some of the highs and hopefully not so many lows of being a working Mum and business owner in the middle of a credit crunch….