Mum-of-five Penny Palmer has always loved horses - but never in a million years did she think her dream would one day materialise and make her a living.
Unemployed for nine years, busy raising her children, setting a business was the last thing on 39-year-old Penny’s mind. Being unemployed meant that Penny has regular contact with her local Jobcentre, and it is here that the fairytale started to take form. During one consultation, Penny confided her dream to Jane Simpson, a New Deal for Lone Parents adviser.
“After nine years of caring …

Sarah Watkins: Fairbourn Children’s Furniture, www.fairbournchildrensfurniture.co.uk
Job title: Designer/director of Fairbourn Children’s Furniture
What was the motivating factor for staring your own business?
When my son was two I needed some furniture for his bedroom and couldn’t find anything that was good quality and affordable - there seemed to be a big gap between high quality and cheaper flat packed furniture, and a few years later I had the opportunity to start designing furniture and loved it. The natural progression seemed to move to make my own range.
What are the best bits about …

Tatty Bumpkin, a multi-award winning business, aims to open the door to a child’s imagination through yoga inspired multi sensory movement classes, and also sells funky, comfortable, fair traded clothes, in organic cotton and sustainable bamboo.
Sam Petter founded Tatty Bumpkin to inspire both children and adults through movement. She created the multi-sensory movement programme and the unique yoga doll as a means to encourage physical expression and the bond between child and parent. The national network of classes now reaches from Aberdeen to Exmouth.

Name of Franchise: Tatty Bumpkin

Industry: Children’s Multi-Sensory …

Before you read on, have a look in your handbag. Are you carrying more than one of the following: credit card, payslips, cheque book and national insurance number? If the answer is yes, you are leaving yourself open to identity fraud. Imagine someone else driving a brand new car, shopping with your money, and you probably wouldn’t be aware of it until they start damaging your credit – not paying for that lavish new car, or store card.
And we seem to be bringing it on ourselves by ramming everything we …

Anyone who can balance her toddler on her hip, while holding the largest Hermes handbag, and while sporting the highest-heeled platforms or stillestoes money can buy is a superwoman, period.
But as far removed from a normal life as we think celebs might be, Victoria Beckham of all people was quoted in the Mirror saying her family’s move to the US has been something of a godsend, as it allows her to work from home – coordinating the Beckhams’ business empire.
She said: “One of the nicest things about living here is …

Going green and becoming more ethical is rapidly becoming the way to do business. It’s been estimated that 38% of customers buy ethical goods, and top of the list are products with recycled content, fair trade products, and organic foods.
Smart businesses are picking up on buying signals from their customers and changing the way they operate, and the goods and services they sell. So how do you get started?

Energy saving IT solutions
Good energy management makes good business sense, especially when you consider that the average business wastes 30% of …

Normally priced at £229.99, Lexmark is offering one lucky motherswhowork.co.uk reader the chance to win this fabulous printer

More and more people are now cutting back on the time they spend in the office in favour of working from home. Whether this is an attempt to redress the work-life balance, or forms part of an environmental drive to cut back on carbon emissions, an increasing number of us are becoming more flexible in our working practices.
Whether you’re an occasional home worker, or it’s your permanent office, it’s vital that your working environment is productive, efficient and comfortable. Lexmark has put together a guide to help individuals set up …

Oxiclean is giving 15 lucky motherswhowork.co.uk readers the chance to win the OxiClean range

Studying is too expensive. I haven’t got enough time - what with the kids to look after, and I work full-time. These are just some of the excuses we can hide behind when it comes to taitselfking the plunge to go back to studying. But it can be done, and every year, thousands of ‘mature students’ stop put these mantras aside to grace the school gates of college or university in a bid to improve their career prospects - or change directions all together.
For many people, the prospect of studying …