Getting my Business ready for Baby Brown

Head to Toe Topshop ! Now 33 weeks and maternity leave is nearly here!!

Behind the scenes at Wardrobe Angel I have been getting ready to go on maternity leave for a long time. Instead of working in my business I've been working on it for months, prepping for 1st June when I go on maternity leave. If you are self-employed, pregnant and going on maternity leave I hope this list helps you get your head around temporarily leaving your business whilst still growing a baby:

1. Clear out your office. I used to keep all my back copies of Red magazine and HFM magazine for reference. They have all been recycled. I have been through all my styling folders and recycled all the articles I haven't used, I have cleared out books, unsold clothing, pens and stationary: it's been an incredibly cathartic and freeing experience.
2. Clean your computer. I updated my anti-virus softwear last month to protect my laptop when I'm out of office. I've also cleaned all my files (hello 'to do' lists from 2014!) and deleted unnecessary emails. 
3. Get your books up to date. Print out all your paid out invoices and client invoices. Have you paid all your invoices? Have clients paid you? Chasing invoices is never fun however being pregnant has made me really brave - I've been on the phone to clients chasing unpaid invoices and making sure each invoice sent out has the payment term "before 1st June" written on it. 
4. Make sure you have enough money in your business bank account for the months ahead - tax, phone, wifi and any other bills you pay out of your business account. Check, cancel and/or alter any standing orders you need to pay whilst on maternity leave. 
5. Talk to your accountant. My accountant, Claire Howarth from Novis and Co, has been a huge source of knowledge about my business transactions when I'm away. As I'm receiving Government Maternity Allowance I can't earn any money through my business whilst on mat leave - thanks to Claire I've been really savvy about saving money this year to see me through to my return to work in 2018.
6. Decide what you are doing about online presence. I've written a hefty amount of blogs for my website and have been stockpiling articles on the Pocket App to tweet whilst I'm 'away'. I decided to keep my Wardrobe Angel brand alive online but my out-of-office will definitely be on.
7. Word your out-of-office. As this is my first baby I'm not sure how long I'll be on maternity leave for. My out-of-office will tell people I'll be back at work sorting wardrobes in spring 2018 - a season not a specific date.
8. Unsubscribe. Each time I have emptied my junk folder I have unsubscribed from all of those newsletters I thought I'd read but never did and from those odd marketing lists I seem to be on. I intend to check my emails once a month and this will really lighten the load. You can use Unroll Me if your email account is compatible. 
9. Check your contracts - when do contracts expire? Need renewing?  I paused my Mailchimp account this year which takes care of one expense but my car insurance is due in August. I've saved for this and made a note in my diary for the week it needs dealing with.
10. Manage people's expectations. In the run up to my maternity leave I only saw local clients for 3 hr appointments. I answered new client requests saying I'd keep their details and contact them again in 2018. A new work stream has emerged for me over the past month (working as a Creative Consultant on a business re-brand) so the preliminary work has been done and they are more than happy for me to finish off the work in 2018. 

Boundary setting has been a huge part of me getting ready to go on maternity leave - working more from home (hello Wedding Guest outfit shopping for clients online!) and pausing working further afield, saying 'yes' to some opportunities and unfortunately saying 'no' to others. The mantra that has been running through my mind for the past few months has been:

Image from Preppy Obsessions

What's been really heartening is the number of new clients, existing clients and businesses who are more than happy to wait for their appointments in 2018. 

From the bottom of my heart I thank you. 

I'll still be blogging on this here website during maternity leave so check back every now and again, won't you?

Til next time ...x

The Wardrobe Angel

The baby likes mango (I'm pregnant)

This is clearly not a picture of my baby. 

Rich and I are over the moon thrilled to announce that Baby Brown will be coming into the world in July. The past couple of months have been challenging to say the least: all day morning sickness, 2 weeks in bed to get over a cold, weird pregnancy cravings (tinned ravioli, cottage cheese and mango have been a highlight of my sick strewn days). Pregnancy has taken its toll on my energy; sleep has become my saviour. The sleep of the dead actually. I feel like I've been out for 5 minutes, turns out I've been out for 45 and could easily and greedily lap up more. 9pm is my new bedtime. I eat at 5.30pm.

I'm not only growing a child but eating and sleeping like one. 

And what about my wardrobe? Bye bye to 3/4s of my high-waisted wardrobe. I wore a trusty pair of naturally high-waisted culottes to an interview one day and the feeling of pressure was enough to (nearly) make my puke on the face of my questioner. So it's hello to a 90's low rise jean, a plethora of Rich's shirts (gorgeously oversized on me) and welcoming with open arms flat shoes. My whole centre of gravity has changed and I am now shopping for trainers rather than heels. Rich looked at me in amazement when I came home with some trainers before Christmas and exclaimed "we really are living in upside down world!" Amen husband, Amen.

But can we just talk about the sisterhood?

A powerful network of family and friends has opened up and support has flowed through loud and clear. 

A suitcase full of maternity clothes from my sister, books on pregnancy, a Baby Bjorn baby carrier and a foot muff for the pram, an offer of a spare car seat, and bags of baby clothes from couples who have walked this path before us. We have been touched, and overwhelmed, at the generosity of our nearest and dearest.

I'm nearly out of the worst of it - hoorah!!! Apparently in the next 3 months I will "bloom" and "feel energised". No evidence of that yet but as always, trust will out. So onward into 2017 we go. The year we will become parents. And nothing will ever be the same again. 

Why there's no such thing as a small business

To all the business owners out there, big and small, this one's for you! Photo Quote from Google Images

I met a wonderful lady in 2015 who said she ran a "small business". This phrase has been percolating in my mind ever since. Well, not all the time but sometimes that phrase "small business" would just pop into my head and irritate the heck outta me. Why? Because, honestly,

when you run a business, however big, nothing you do is small

As a business owner you actually go out into the world and make your own money, precariously providing your own paycheck, and none of the actions you take in order to do this are small. Constant learning and innovation drive your business forward and whole rafts of shiny new skills have to be honed at each stage. Want to send a newsletter? You need to learn how to use Mailchimp. Want to keep data? A CRM System (Customer Relationship Management) or a fricking large dose of Excel spreadsheet should do the trick. Want a shiny new laptop, premises and some sparkly stationary? Hello basic forecasting, book keeping and cash flow. And all the time in the background, foreground and side-to-side, there's brand building: every tweet, each picture posted to Instagram, the wording in your blog posts, that networking interaction and client satisfaction. Learning how to say NO ....and YES so your business, and your goals, advance. Getting outside your comfort zone, time and time again, believing in yourself and finding the people who believe in you when you don't have any more to give. To sum it up business  = persistence. And a frickin boat load of it.

That's why no business is small - you take HUGE actions everyday to make your business succeed and to achieve your goals. And part of being a business owner means celebrating those successes. So here are mine from 2016. The picture above is from my Instagram feed 87 weeks ago, in April 2015. It was part of the awesome Gala Darling's #InspirApril. The word missing from the picture on the bottom left hand side reads RADIO. Despite the political side swipe that 2016 served up for us all, I've loved the majority of this year. I've filmed my first TV show, got a radio show, contributed to a book and now write a column for a national magazine. Those goals took time to manifest but damn were they worth waiting for! That's why I refuse to call The Wardrobe Angel a small business: what I've built is epic.

And I look to other female business owners doing epic things: Frances Day of Bird Board, Cate Wood from Flowers at 180 and Natalie Willingham make-up artist. Women who have all taken their businesses from scratch to success and keep on building day after day after day. It is a pleasure and an honour to know them.

This is my last post of 2016 and I wanted to say a HUGE THANK YOU for stopping by and reading my posts. I hope 2017 serves up something truly amazing for you. 

Til next time ...x

The Wardrobe Angel 

PS - As a business owner it would be remiss of me to mention Wardrobe Angel Gift Vouchers are on sale NOW! Give the gift of an awesome wardrobe this year and never have to hear the words "I have nothing to wear" ever again. Drop me an email info@wardrobeangel.co.uk to buy buy buy!