Thanks to modern technology, an office is no longer the only environment in which you can do your job. This is great news for anybody juggling multiple demands, such as childcare, as there is now much more flexibility in the way that we work.

Whenever I tell people that I work from home I am often told how lucky I must be. People who have never worked from home since they were given homework as a school pupil then (uninvited) describe the image they have of my normal working day. This fantasy normally involves me waking up then sitting upright in bed casually tapping away on a laptop while devoting most of my energies to watching daytime television.

Work and family are both central to our way of life and finding ways to keep them in harmony can often be difficult. Today, many families are dual-income, so the dynamic of the traditional home has been effectively set on its ear. No longer is it expected that a woman will sit at home and take care of the children and household. Research suggests that when children are added to a family, men and women gravitate towards a more traditional division of the workload, with tasks being delegated by gender rather than according to the individual’s interests or abilities.

Starting your own business is something many mums think about doing, but coming up with an idea which utilises your skills and is a bit different can be tricky. Even once you have that idea, making your way in the market can seem very daunting - it's difficult to know where to begin building a new business.

Self-confessed 'shoeaholic' and mum-of-three Andrea Alli is enjoying great success with her handy product, the 'Flexi Shoe Rack' (www.flexishoerack.co.uk). In this exclusive interview, London-based Andrea, 38, shares with other budding mumpreneurs how she found her feet in running her own business.

“Like a lot of women, I love shoes. The problem was I had 200 pairs and a lot of space in my house I simply couldn't use. Corners of rooms, gaps under the stairs or recesses in the laundry room just weren't compatible with the shoe racks available on the market. It frustrated me to buy a shoe rack that was of a fixed width and height with no flexibility built-in. The product just didn't conform with the space I had to play with.

Birgitte Lydum, one of our business mentors, is to have her invention showcased on a  new BBC show.  Birgitte wrote a blog for us in Mummy Mentoring month (read here), saying how she had great support at the start of her business from attending Motivating Mum events. Indeed it was Alli Price, the original Motivating Mum that encouraged her to apply for the show.

Birgitte was fed up with pegging flimsy muslins onto her pram to stop the sun going into her daughter’s eyes, so she invented a sun cover that solves this common parenting problem. The SunSnoozer has been chosen among thousands of applicants, to appear on BBC Two’s new series Britain’s Next Big Thing, hosted by Theo Paphitis . On the show, which is due to air April 12th 2011, we will be able to follow the SunSnoozer’s journey from concept to consumer product, alongside other up-and-coming products and designers that made it through to the show.

As a Mum it is important always to have a Plan B (and often a Plan C and D as well!).  From the tricky early days of leaving the house with your newborn baby only having to return unexpectedly because you haven’t packed enough changes of clothes, nappies or wipes; to when they’re older and you have to think of endless indoor activities because of the incessant rain, the importance of planning for every eventuality becomes the norm.

One very easy and popular way that mums can make money is to start up a distributorship business. 

Most of the 'party plan' companies are run in this way and it is a very low cost way of getting started in what can be a very fun business.

Many of us still think of the American Dream. Some already have a business running and want to branch out to other markets. But bringing a business to another country can be an arduous affair. There are so many things one has to consider; things which one might forget in the great hustle, or which get one stuck in the bureaucracy.

Tips and advice from Genius creator and food lover, Lucinda Bruce-Gardyne, on production, research, funding and the challenges, inspirations and issues that mumpreneurs face in starting and growing their businesses today.

1. What is your background as a mumpreneur?

I have three sons, two of whom have food allergies.  Prior to having my children, I trained as a chef at Bibendum restaurant in London and went on to teach at Leith’s School of Food and Wine when I co-authored their Techniques Bible. I also used to run my own business when I catered for exclusive parties and events in London.

When I discovered that two of my children had food allergies I decided to write a book called How to Cook for Food Allergies.  Knowing how difficult it can be to cook for a family with various allergies, I had the cookery knowledge to impart to others to make it easier for people in the same situation as me.  After writing the book, I went on to start-up a business called Genius Foods.