Home is where the heart is for mums starting new businesses

Mums are changing the way they work, as growing numbers on the northern beaches decide to start their own businesses in their homes.

Sania Saady is one local mum (there are seven in total) who have been nominated for an Ausmumpreneur Award - she started her own cake business and has lots of cakes as well as her daughter Sophia, 4, and son Jacob, 6 in the picture

THERE’S been an increase in northern beaches mothers starting their own businesses, a local networking group says.

Diana Holwerda, who runs Mum Entrepreneurs, a business networking group for mums, said her membership figures had ­skyrocketed to close to 1000 in the last year.

“The amount of new businesses coming through our network is amazing,” she said. “Mums working from home is a growing trend. Our members are increasing rapidly.”

Banika Smee, left, and Diana Holwerda, right, run Mum Entrepreneur networking and support for mums on the northern beaches. Pictured here with their children.

Mrs Holwerda, set up her own company, PA on the Go, when her eldest was born six years ago. She is a virtual assistant for other small businesses and now employs other women as virtual assistants to work for her — all from their own homes.

“With child care becoming more expensive and many women unhappy about inflexible working, they are creating their own little industries at home,” said Mrs Holwerda.

MUMS NOMINATED FOR AWARDS

“These women are changing the shape of the ­workforce and some of these businesses are awesome.”

Mum-of-four Peace Mitchell, 42, runs the AusMumpreneur Network, and said 75 per cent of new mums have considered starting their own businesses to spend more time with baby.

“I think mums are sending a message to corporate Australia that they need to be more flexible if they want to keep their female workforce.”

Figures also show a growing number of women are choosing to work from home, rather than returning to the corporate world.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics said in the last figures available from 2011, 6.5 per cent of women on the northern beaches were working at home, compared to 4.6 per cent on average in NSW and 4.4 per cent in Australia.